Tulum inaugurated its international airport in 2023 with high hopes of pulling in more of the tourists that previously could only fly into Cancún. But the end to airline subsidies and the area's declining tourism trade led to an increase in canceled flights, and now Aeroméxico is suspending all of its own.
(Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s largest international airline, Aeroméxico, has announced plans to suspend its flights to Tulum starting Thursday due to lower-than-expected demand.
Tulum opened its Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in December 2023 under military control, with high hopes for its tourism industry as it aimed to reduce reliance on arrivals to Cancún airport, some 115 kilometers away.
Despite the best efforts of military and civilian authorities, Tulum has been among the hardest hit by sargassum beach invasions among Quintana Roo coastal areas, devastating its tourism industry and contributing to reduced flights. (Semar)
The airport rapidly reached the 1 million passenger mark, domestic and international, under the management of Grupo Mundo Maya.
However, the elimination of airline subsidies, typical in the industry when a new airport or route begins operations, led to the cancellation of several flights in the last year.
“We are going to implement a temporary suspension,” Aeroméxico told the newspaper El Financiero. “September 30 will be the last day. The suspension is due to market conditions and to maximize our route network.”
Tulum’s tourism industry has suffered more broadly in recent months due to the huge influx of seaweed on its beaches and rising costs of accessing key destinations, such as the famous archaeological zone, which now costs 209 pesos (US $12), more than double the previous 104 pesos ($6).
Since the military took over management of the tourist area in Tulum, visitor numbers have fallen even more rapidly, El Financiero reported.
Tulum’s real estate market has also slowed, further discouraging investment in the region.
In August, Quintana Roo Tourism Minister Bernardo Cueto Riestra reported that Tulum’s hotel occupancy rate had fallen to an average of just 15%, the lowest in its history.
The Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport is now expected to offer seasonal flights to five destinations in Canada and the United States during the 2026-2027 winter season, but almost no flights from the U.S. in the coming months, despite the U.S. being the main market for Mexico’s Caribbean coast.
United plans to operate a biweekly direct flight between Newark, near New York, and Tulum from December 17, 2026, to January 24, 2027.
Meanwhile, together, Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet and United Airlines will operate seven connecting services, totaling only up to 10 weekly flights. This will result in minimal use of the facility, with most airlines operating just one flight per week.
France is the featured guest at this year's 54th International Cervantino Festival and is starting things
off with an adaptation of its circus production, “Vértigo,” first staged last year at the Grand Palais inaugural festival in Paris. (Quentin Chevrier)
Acrobats and tightrope walkers will turn Guanajuato’s historic city center into an open-air circus Saturday night, performing high above the crowd in a free opening-day show at the 54th International Cervantino Festival.
“Vértigo” — a Mexico-France collaboration adapted from the French production “Vertige” — is scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday in Plaza Allende, the small square beside the Cervantes Theater in the historic city of Guanajuato.
Mexico City’s contemporary-circus company Cirko de Mente will provide many of the performers at Saturday night’s high-altitude spectacular over Guanajuato’s city center. (Cervantino Festival)
The 60-minute show will combine aerial circus, dance, live music and a site-specific visual design.
The spectacle will bring together artists from Chaillot, a Paris-based national theater, and Mexican performers. Some of the acrobats and aerial balance artists (aka highliners) are affiliated with Mexico City’s Cirko de Mente.
Created by choreographer Rachid Ouramdane, musician Christophe Chassol and highliner Nathan Paulin, “Vértigo” adapts a piece first staged last year at the Grand Palais inaugural festival in Paris.
It was conceived as a mobile work, with performers suspended high above a public space and moving along tensioned lines.
The Guanajuato version was developed with Andrea Peláez, co-founder of the Mexico City contemporary-circus company Cirko de Mente, and Mexican artists.
France’s program will include 18 presentations spanning classical and contemporary music, theater, dance, cabaret, street art, film, opera and multidisciplinary work.
The aerial circus is free, but overall, the Cervantino Festival mixes ticketed events with free events and free-access areas. It will run from Saturday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 18.
Featuring more than 200 performances by some 2,750 artists, the event will include headliners such as Mike Patton’s Italian-song project Mondo Cane, which will open the festival at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The lineup also includes Australia’s Bangarra Dance Theatre, the German contemporary-music ensemble Ensemble Modern, Colombian salsa band Grupo Niche and Austria’s Camerata Salzburg with Spanish violinist María Dueñas.
One highlight will be an Oct. 15 tribute to the late José Alfredo Jiménez, the Guanajuato-born ranchera songwriter who wrote enduring Mexican standards including “El Rey” and “Si nos dejan.” Tenor Arturo Chacón Cruz and Mexico City-based Mariachi Gama 1000 will perform at the event at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas esplanade.
Banxico's closing USD:MXN rate, reported daily at 2:10 p.m., was 17.94, a depreciation of 1.3% compared to the closing rate on Friday. (Sandra Gabriel/Unsplash)
The Mexican peso depreciated to 18 to the US dollar on Monday, a weakening of more than 1% compared to Friday and over 6% compared to its strongest position this month.
A USD:MXN exchange rate of 18, as was the going rate early Monday afternoon, represents a depreciation of 6.2% for the peso compared to its strongest closing position this month — 16.89 to the greenback on Sept. 4, according to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico).
At 3 p.m. Mexico City time, the peso was trading at 17.99 to the US dollar, according to Bloomberg.
Banxico’s closing USD:MXN rate, reported daily at 2:10 p.m., was 17.94, a depreciation of 1.3% compared to the closing rate on Friday.
The peso has benefited from the substantial difference between Banxico’s key interest rate (6.50%) and that of the Fed. However, that difference is now smaller than it was at the start of the month, and the gap could close further if the Fed raises its key rate again next month.
For now, the peso is back in a position it was last in almost six months ago.
In an X post on Monday afternoon, Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, wrote that the peso hadn’t traded at 18 to the dollar since March 31. In a separate post that includes a graph showing the peso trading at 18 to the dollar, she wrote: “Strong dollar or weak peso? Both.”
When Julia Carpenter traveled to Tijuana for gastric bypass surgery at the Beauty and Light Medical Solutions center, she was just one more patient in the Mexican medical tourism sector that is expected to grow by 27% over the next five years. But when she experienced post-operative complications, she found that a different operation had been performed by a surgeon who was not licensed for it and has since disappeared.
(Beauty and Light Medical Center)
While studies show that medical procedures in Tijuana can cost up to 75% less than in the United States, patients considering this option might want to embrace the maxim “caveat emptor.”
Although cheaper dental work, plastic surgery and bariatric surgery might sound appealing, insufficient regulation and inadequate oversight are legitimate concerns. And when patients’ lives have been endangered, the question of where to turn has not always been encouraging.
That might be changing, however.
Julia Carpenter, recovering back in Oregon from complications after her surgery in Tijuana that turned out to have been performed by a doctor unlicensed for the procedure and who has since disappeared. (Julia Carpenter/Facebook)
Early this month, a district judge in Baja California ordered the Baja California Medical Arbitration Commission (CAMEBC) to consider a complaint of medical negligence filed by an Oregon woman who suffered severe complications following weight-loss surgery in 2024.
Julia Carpenter, 40, had traveled to Tijuana to undergo bariatric surgery at the Beauty and Light Medical Solutions clinic. But instead of the gastric bypass and cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) that had been agreed to, Dr. Mauricio Gutiérrez García performed an ileoduodenal anastomosis, a different weight-loss procedure that ties together sections of the small intestine. What followed was a medical nightmare.
When Carpenter suffered complications back home, she found that the clinic had vacated its registered address. What’s more, it turned out that Dr. Gutiérrez not only had an expired license, but had disappeared.
A medical negligence complaint was filed in February 2025, but after delaying six months, CAMEBC refused to consider it, claiming it “lacked jurisdiction.”
Many efforts at redress would end right there, but Carpenter filed an appeal in court. Earlier this month, a judge ruled CAMEBC had violated Carpenter’s rights by delaying its decision and ordered the commission to hear the complaint.
The Carpenters have also filed criminal complaints against the doctor and the clinic.
CAMEBC has handled more than 1,000 patient complaints this year through August. The Carpenter case illustrates the risks of unregulated medical tourism in Tijuana, a city that accounts for 80% of plastic surgeries in Mexico.
In 2021, a doctor accused of negligent manslaughter in the death of a woman during cosmetic surgery agreed to pay the victim’s family US $194,000. It remains unclear what, if any, criminal punishment the doctor, who was not licensed to perform cosmetic surgery, suffered, but according to newspaper reports, criminal punishment is waived if a financial settlement is complied with.
On the positive side, the Tijuana government recently launched an alliance between the Tourism and Conventions Committee, the Baja Health Cluster and the Association of Recovery Centers with the goal of regulating the industry and eliminating fraudulent clinics.
This decade, the Mexican government has provided significant monetary support to Pemex to lower its debt of nearly US $78 billion. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
The federal government is projected to earn net oil revenue in 2027 for the first time since 2024, even as it continues to provide monetary support to the state oil company Pemex.
According to an analysis of the proposed 2027 budget by the think tank México Evalúa, the government is projected to earn net oil revenue of 127 billion pesos (US $7.1 billion) next year.
That figure reflects projected oil revenue of 211 billion pesos in 2027, minus 84 billion pesos in planned government transfers to Pemex, to be made via the federal Energy Ministry.
Data published by México Evalúa shows that the government’s transfers to Pemex exceeded total oil revenue last year and were forecast to do so again this year based on the amount budgeted for the state oil company. Thus, the federal government is projected to record a net oil loss for a second consecutive year in 2026, although it could avoid such a loss if its transfers to Pemex end up being lower than planned.
While the projected 127 billion pesos in net oil revenue would be the government’s first net oil revenue since 2024, the figure would remain well below the amounts it received in some previous years.
In 2022, for example, the government earned net oil revenue of 551 billion pesos. That figure (expressed in “2027 prices,” per México Evalúa) was the result of 780 billion pesos in oil revenue, minus 229 billion pesos in transfers to Pemex.
According to México Evalúa, the government’s net oil revenue was 1.78 trillion pesos in 2012 — a year in which it didn’t transfer any money to Pemex — and 1.51 trillion pesos in 2013. The latter figure was the result of 1.64 trillion pesos in oil revenue, minus 123 billion pesos in transfers to Pemex. The government can use net oil revenue to fund things such as healthcare, security, infrastructure and education. Pemex used to be known as a “cash cow” for the government, but has become a financial drain in recent years.
However, the government’s support for the state oil company in 2027 is projected to decline by close to 70% compared to the budgeted outlay in 2026. Whether that in fact happens, allowing the federal government to earn net oil revenue in 2027, remains to be seen.
México Evalúa: Government has a ‘tradition’ of providing Pemex with more support than planned — but that could change in 2026
Jorge Cano, head of México Evalúa’s public expenditure program, told the newspaper El Economista that government transfers to Pemex have a “tradition” of being significantly higher than planned.
He said that if support for Pemex exceeds the planned level in 2027 to the same extent as in recent years, the government could again record a net loss from oil instead of the projected 127 billion pesos in net revenue.
Cano said that the government has discretion to increase support for Pemex beyond the planned amount and need only notify Congress if the allocation is adjusted by more than 5%.
While the government has exceeded its planned support for Pemex in recent years, it doesn’t appear that it will do so in 2026, based on data for the first seven months of the year. Mariana Campos, general director of México Evalúa, pointed out that the government had transferred 139 billion pesos to Pemex by the end of July, representing just 51% of the 272 billion pesos earmarked for the company.
She said that “for the first time,” the government’s monetary support for Pemex is lower than budgeted. This development, Campos said, supports the projection that the government will earn net oil revenue in 2027.
Guadalajara boasts a full slate of upcoming cultural events. But be careful en route of the metro area's growing collection of sinkholes. (Irvin Macfarland/Unsplash)
There is an exciting slate of cultural activities in Guadalajara in the coming month, including the 20th edition of Cirque du Soleil, the Leyenda de la Noche theme park and a Ukrainian ballet performing “Swan Lake.”
But before we dive in, let’s look at the myriad road closures around town stemming from dangerous sinkholes to help you navigate safely.
Be careful out there: It’s sinkhole season in Guadalajara
As the rainy season winds down in Jalisco state, this year’s storms have caused more than 3,000 sinkholes of various sizes around the city, with at least five massive ones creating havoc along major commuting corridors.
The gargantuan holes have caused accidents, lengthy traffic jams and road closures as SIAPA (the public water authority) tackles repairs, creating new headaches for area motorists.
To date, SIAPA has addressed only about half of the reported sinkholes due to limited resources.
According to Ismael Jáuregui Castañeda, head of SIAPA, most of the new sinkholes are in older neighborhoods where aging water infrastructure long past its useful life is collapsing, triggered by especially heavy rains this past summer.
On Sept. 7, a massive sinkhole opened on Malecón Avenue at the intersection with Tanacatita in Tonalá, measuring 45 meters long by 12 meters wide and 8.5 meters deep. Commenting on the collapse, Jáuregui said the cause was a failure in the drainage system under the road.
SIAPA expects road repairs to last around two months due to the complexity and scale of the problem.
In separate incidents over the past month, Enrique Díaz de León Avenue collapsed in two places. The larger sinkhole spans roughly 17 meters long by 6 meters wide and 3 meters deep. This stretch of Enrique Díaz de León Avenue north of Camacho Avenue is closed while repairs are made.
Last week, yet another large sinkhole appeared on Manuel Ávila Camacho Avenue at the intersection of Jacarandas Street, just south of Zapopan Centro. A similar failure occurred last year about 100 meters from the current sinkhole, which measures 5 meters wide and 3 meters deep.
The northbound side of Camacho Avenue, heading toward the Arcos de Zapopan, is closed while SIAPA carries out repairs. If the weather cooperates, authorities expect to have the work finished by Oct. 2.
Cirque du Soleil performs in Guadalajara for two weeks in October
Cirque du Soleil returns to Guadalajara next month for a two-week run of its latest show: “Echo.” (Cirque du Soleil)
Cirque du Soleil returns to Guadalajara for its 20th season this month, performing its new show, “Echo,” over a two-week run.
The show features a young woman named Future and her dog, Ewai, as they embark on an exploratory journey. The set reportedly features a massive, enigmatic 23-foot cube on stage that is disassembled and rebuilt throughout the performance, symbolizing the delicate balance of our ecosystem.
Directed by Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar, “Echo” features plenty of the high-energy acrobatics and rich visuals the company is famous for, along with live music and vocal performances.
Dates: Oct. 8–25, 2026
Location: Gran Carpa Soleil, Plaza Patria, Guadalajara
Cost: Available at the on-site box office and through Ticketmaster.
Visit Leyenda de la Noche, a holiday horror theme park
This month, Guadalajara welcomes a new horror theme park inspired by beloved stories in Mexican pop culture.
Legends of the Night brings immersive experiences for all ages. The park will feature five themed houses, plus live shows, characters and an atmosphere designed to transport visitors into each magical setting.
While some houses deliver terror and surprises best suited to guests with nerves of steel, others promise more family-friendly fun.
Dates: Oct. 1–Nov. 2, 2026
Location: Calzada Independencia Norte 500, across from Parque Morelos in Guadalajara Center
Make plans to enjoy Guadalajara’s Day of the Dead parade
The Guadalajara Day of the Dead Parade returns in 2026, showcasing colorful costumes and traditional art, music and dance. (Fernando Carranza García/Cuartoscuro)
One of the most anticipated and colorful events is back for its 20th anniversary edition in Guadalajara: the traditional Day of the Dead Parade.
This popular annual parade fills the streets with brilliant colors, traditional music, art and joyous dancing for an unforgettable day. Hundreds of participants embrace the celebration with skull-themed costumes and spooky makeup.
This year, the parade takes place Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, with the route beginning at the former Oblatos Penitentiary. It is open to the general public with participation by voluntary donation.
For more information, follow the event’s Instagram account.
Palenque de las Fiestas kicks off in Zapopan Oct. 2
The Palenque de las Fiestas is a traditional concert arena and major annual music event held during Guadalajara’s famous month-long Fiestas de Octubre festival.
This year’s event, which takes place at the Benito Juárez Auditorium in northern Zapopan, includes top-tier Mexican acts performing banda, mariachi and pop music. Confirmed artists include Alejandro Fernández, Banda MS and Grupo Firme.
Below are the dates for several of the most anticipated performances:
Oct. 3–4: Jorge Medina & Josi Cuen
Oct. 9: Banda MS
Oct. 16–17: Alejandro Fernández
Oct. 25: Remmy Valenzuela
Oct. 29: Julión Álvarez
Oct. 31–Nov. 1: Grupo Firme
The full schedule can be viewed on the festival website.
For those considering attendance, this event retains some traditions — such as cockfighting — that many foreigners (as well as some locals) find offensive.
Dates: Oct. 2–Nov. 1, 2026
Location: Auditorio Benito Juárez complex in Zapopan
Cost: Available online from Mi Pase
MND writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Baja California Sur could see rainfall totals of between 100 and 200 millimeters, with isolated areas potentially receiving up to 250 millimeters. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
Hurricane Polo is poised to make landfall this afternoon in Baja California Sur after moving across the Pacific as a major cyclone. Although it is expected to lose some strength before reaching the peninsula, authorities warn that it will remain a powerful hurricane, bringing the risk of destructive winds, torrential rains, flooding and dangerous surf.
At 9:45 a.m., Polo remained a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of approximately 185 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 220 kilometers per hour, the National Water Commission (Conagua) reported. The eye of the storm was located 140 km southwest of Santa Rosalía, moving northeastward.
Hurricane Polo is only a few hours away from possibly becoming the FIRST known Major Hurricane to make landfall on the western coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
Usually, the ocean temps this far north are too lukewarm to sustain CAT 3+ intensity (which is why the… pic.twitter.com/KRGGogI4PA
Forecasters expect it to make landfall in central Baja California Sur, and subsequently make a second landfall in Sonora before moving across the northwestern mainland, potentially affecting parts of Sinaloa and Chihuahua.
The state government suspended in-person school and work activities this Monday and Tuesday.
Beyond strong wind gusts, intense rainfall is expected in Baja California Sur. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the state could see rainfall totals of between 100 and 200 millimeters, with isolated areas potentially receiving up to 250 millimeters.
Authorities have called on residents of affected areas to take extreme precautions, as this rainfall could trigger flash floods, surging streams and landslides, particularly in rugged terrain, on rural roads and in areas near watercourses.
Hurricane #Polo Advisory 32A (11 AM MST, Mon Sep 28): NOAA Hurricane Hunters Investigating Polo. Conditions Deteriorating Over Portions of Baja California as Life-Threatening Winds and Flash Floods Expected to Occur Soon. https://t.co/NyUGSIFCuo
Surf associated with Polo could also trigger rough seas, rip currents and potential coastal flooding. Authorities advise avoiding beaches, piers and jetties, as well as refraining from boating activities even if it does not appear to be raining or the system’s center is still far away.
The ports of Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, San Carlos, Bahía Magdalena and Loreto have been closed to small craft, in addition to other maritime restrictions.
When and where is Polo expected to make landfall?
Head of the National Civil Protection Coordination Laura Velázquez said in a live broadcast during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference that Polo is expected to make landfall in the municipality of Comondú between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time today. The cyclone will make a second landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the central coast of Sonora late on Monday or early on Tuesday.
Velásquez called on residents to remain calm and to anticipate power and internet outages for a period that could extend through midnight.
Rachel intensifies into tropical storm off southwestern coast
Meanwhile, south of the country, Tropical Storm Rachel, which was moving 13 km/hr approximately 370 km south-southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero, at 8:27 this morning, is bringing winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour and heavy rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacán.
Federal authorities activated prevention and surveillance zones for tropical storm winds from Punta San Telmo, Michoacán, to Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. Rachel is currently traveling west-northwest and is not expected to make landfall.
Christian (L) and Gael (R), both 17 years old, were students at the UAEM-affiliated “Antonio L. Mora del Castillo” Preparatory School. (Social media)
Just two weeks after the femicide of a Spanish exchange student in Morelos, two prep school students were shot dead in the state capital, Cuernavaca, on Saturday night.
After attending a birthday party in the Chula Vista neighborhood, a group of teenagers was reportedly gathered on the street when attackers on motorcycles approached. They fired indiscriminately into the crowd, killing two boys and seriously wounding another.
This brings to six the number of students murdered in Morelos this year, including Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, the 21-year-old Spaniard who was stabbed to death on Sept. 12.
Like Tacoronte, the other three victims — Kimberly Ramos Beltrán and Karol Gómez Toledo, killed in March, and Michelle Itzayana Fuentes, murdered in June — were all studying at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM).
The two boys killed on Saturday — identified as Gael and Christian, both 17 years old — were students of the UAEM-affiliated high school, the “Antonio L. Mora del Castillo” Preparatory School.
Upon hearing the gunshots, neighbors notified emergency services. Agents from the State Attorney General’s Office (FGEM) arrived soon thereafter and cordoned off the crime scene to collect ballistic evidence, while beginning an inquiry to determine the motive for the attack.
The UAEM issued a statement offering condolences to the families of the victims, decrying the violence and demanding justice, as well as greater assurances of security for the university community.
“Outrage is no longer enough,” it said. “We neither want to nor should we get used to a permanent state of mourning at the UAEM.”
A memorial in Cuernavaca remembering five women who were killed while studying at UAEM. Karol Toledo Gómez (L), Michelle Fuentes Calderón (third from left), Kimberly Joselín Ramos Beltrán (top) and Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera (R) died in 2026. Aylin Rodríguez Fernández (second from left), also a student, was killed in 2025. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)
On Sunday, UAEM students — joined by members of Somos (a new center-left political party) and dozens of local residents — staged a protest outside the FGEM headquarters demanding results and calling for greater transparency in the investigation of these murders, as well as unsolved disappearances of female students.
Attorney General Fernando Blumenkron Escobar responded by saying that some progress has been made, though critics say such progress has only occurred in cases where considerable public pressure has been generated, pointing to the quick arrest that occurred after Tacoronte’s murder.
The FGEM said it “will exhaust all lines of investigation” in its pursuit of justice.
Sheinbaum stressed that the investigation into the disappearance of the 43 students — a crime in which the Mexican Army is long thought to have been involved — is "not closed." (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
🌀 HurricanePolo nears Baja California Sur: Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez said Polo, a Category 3 hurricane, is forecast to make landfall in Comondú between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., “very probably” still at Category 3. She said that a “second impact” is forecast on the central coast of Sonora on Tuesday. She urged residents of Comondú, Mulegé and Loreto to stay in their homes or temporary shelters from 2 p.m. Monday. Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío said “the three levels of government are together and ready” to respond to the hurricane.
📈 1.2 million jobs created in a year: Labor Minister Marath Bolaños said the number of people in jobs reached 60.7 million at the end of August, up 1.2 million from a year earlier, while the economically active population rose 1.3 million to 62.6 million. He didn’t mention that 55% of employed people work in the informal sector, where workers typically don’t pay income tax or have access to benefits such as IMSS healthcare.
📑 New Ayotzinapa report due at 1 p.m.: Sheinbaum said Deputy Interior Minister Arturo Medina and special prosecutor Mauricio Pazarán will present new “lines of inquiry” in the 2014 case of the 43 missing students. She stressed the investigation is “not closed” and said the students’ parents have already been informed of the report’s contents.
Why today’s mañanera matters
President Claudia Sheinbaum held her Monday morning press conference as Hurricane Polo continued to move toward Baja California Sur ahead of its forecast landfall later on Monday.
National Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez joined the mañanera by video link to provide an update on the hurricane, which strengthened to Category 5 level last week before weakening. The hurricane remains a dangerous storm mere hours before it is expected to slam into the Baja California Sur coast.
Also of note at today’s mañanera was the presentation of new employment data and Sheinbaum’s comments on a new report on the 12-year-old investigation into the disappearance and presumed murder of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College. The students disappeared on Sept. 26, 2014, in Iguala, a city in the southern state of Guerrero.
Scores of people have been arrested in connection with the case, but no one has been convicted of the crime and some suspects have been released from prison. Among those who have been detained are soldiers, high-ranking members of the Mexican Army, police officers, members of the Guerreros Unidos crime gang and Jesús Murillo Karam, federal attorney general at the time of the students’ disappearance.
At the start of her press conference, Sheinbaum noted that Hurricane Polo was on track to make landfall in Baja California Sur (BCS) on Monday afternoon before heading to Sonora.
Via video link from Ciudad Constitución in the BCS municipality of Comondú, Civil Protection chief Velázquez noted that Polo was a Category 3 hurricane. She said that the hurricane was forecast to make landfall in Comondú between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., “very probably” as a Category 3 hurricane.
Velázquez said that the hurricane was forecast to make a “second impact” on the central coast of Sonora on Tuesday.
“Wind, rain and swells will continue intensifying in Baja California Sur and Sonora,” she said.
Velázquez called on residents of various communities in the municipalities of Comondú, Mulegé and Loreto to “remain attentive to all the recommendations that Civil Protection authorities make, and to remain in their homes or in temporary shelters from 2 p.m. today.”
Seated alongside Velázquez, Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío thanked Sheinbaum as “federal forces” — the army, the navy and the National Guard — have been working with BCS authorities in recent days to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Polo.
He said that the municipalities of Comondú, Loreto and Mulugé were forecast to bear the brunt of the hurricane.
“We’re here in Comondú … to take care of all the people who need support, finalizing the last details at the shelters. … We still have half a day to finalize anything that is needed here in Comondú, in Loreto and in Mulegé, where it is believed Hurricane Polo will be strongest,” Castro said.
“… We hope that this … [hurricane] causes as little damage as possible. The three levels of government are together and ready,” he said.
Mexico’s workforce increases by more than 1 million in the space of a year
Labor Minister Marath Bolaños noted that the National Employment Survey, conducted by the national statistics agency INEGI, found that Mexico’s “economically active population” — people either in jobs or looking for work — was 62.6 million people at the end of August, an increase of 1.3 million compared to a year earlier.
He also noted that the number of people in jobs was 60.7 million at the end of August, an increase of 1.2 million compared to a year earlier. In other words, 1.2 million jobs were created in Mexico in the 12 months to Aug. 31.
Bolaños didn’t note that 55% of people with jobs are employed in Mexico’s vast informal sector. Informal sector workers typically don’t pay income tax and don’t have access to employment benefits such as IMSS healthcare coverage and paid vacations.
New Ayotzinapa report to be presented on Monday
Sheinbaum noted that a new report on the disappearance and presumed murder of the 43 students in the state of Guerrero in 2014 will be presented at 1 p.m. Monday.
She said that the report — to be presented by Deputy Interior Minister Arturo Medina and Mauricio Pazarán, special prosecutor for the Ayotzinapa case — includes information on “lines of inquiry” developed from “new mechanisms” and “new investigation methodologies that hadn’t [previously] been used.”
Sheinbaum stressed that the investigation into the disappearance of the 43 students — a crime in which the Mexican Army is long thought to have been involved — is “not closed.”
She said that the parents of the students have already been informed of the contents of the new report.
The remains of just three of the students have been found and formally identified in the 12 years since they disappeared.
Despite recent efforts to restrict voting for U.S. citizens living abroad, their votes still count. (Christian Lucas/Unsplash)
The U.S. government’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) estimated that 91,000 eligible voting-age U.S. citizens lived in Mexico in 2022. But FVAP also estimated that only 3.1% of these American citizens in Mexico voted in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.
This low rate may be because U.S. citizens in Mexico have questions and doubts about voting in U.S. elections that this article will address one by one.
Only an estimated 3.1% of Americans living in Mexico voted in the last U.S. midterm elections, held in 2022. (Consulado de Estados Unidos en Tijuana/Facebook)
People are hearing a lot in the news lately about efforts by the U.S. government to restrict absentee and mail-in voting, including for overseas citizens. But Congress recessed without passing the SAVE America Act, the voting legislation backed by President Donald Trump.
U.S. courts, including the Supreme Court, have blocked the Trump administration’s restrictions on mail-in voting before the midterms. So U.S. citizens in Mexico can take this opportunity to vote with some confidence that their ballots will be delivered and could make a difference.
Maybe you are a dual citizen, and you wonder if you can vote. U.S. government websites make it clear that if you are a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship, you can vote in U.S. elections from abroad.
Some myths and misunderstandings about the connection between voting abroad and paying taxes may be fueling the low turnout by U.S. overseas voters in Mexico. The U.S. State Department makes clear that “voting for federal candidates from abroad does not affect your federal or state tax liability.”
That is, voting for president, vice president and U.S. Congress does not influence your tax profile or status. Voting below the federal level, in state or local elections, could incur state tax liability in some states.
The most important elections in the upcoming midterms are the federal elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate, so voters abroad can still have an important impact without any danger of affecting their taxes by voting only at the federal level and leaving the rest of the ballot blank.
American expats in Mexico should not be dissuaded from absentee voting by concerns over federal tax status. (Joshua Woroniecki/Unsplash)
For U.S. citizens living abroad, the right to vote in federal elections is guaranteed by law and more manageable than you may think.
If you are outside the U.S., your voting rights stay with you, even if you are a first-time voter. There are tools to help you out and walk you through it.
Registration and ballot request tools
The U.S. Vote Foundation and the Overseas Vote websites provide clear, nonpartisan guidance on how to register and vote from abroad.
Try the U.S. Vote Foundation’s user-friendly interactive tools, like the “Journey Map for How to Vote in America,” to help plan and track your process. It can even help you track your ballot as it moves between you and your election office.
Many states also offer sample ballots to help you plan your choices before you are faced with the actual ballot.
The rights of overseas voters are protected by U.S. federal law under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. This law requires states to allow eligible overseas citizens to register and vote absentee and to transmit ballots in a timely manner.
Voters abroad should use the Federal Post Card Application, which combines voter registration and a request for an absentee ballot. You can request this online, and your ballot can be sent to you electronically. To complete the form, you will be asked to give your last U.S. residential address. This does not have to be an address where you still live.
Even U.S. citizens living in Mexico without a current U.S. address are eligible to vote. (Ashley Diane Worsham/Unsplash)
All voting ballots in the U.S. are local ballots, so you must give an address in the U.S. to receive a ballot, but it needs to be a place where you lived last, or even where your parents lived last.
How to safely return your completed ballot
Once states receive your request for a ballot, federal law requires that blank absentee ballots must be available electronically to overseas voters. Fill out your ballot when it arrives and arrange for it to be sent back to the U.S. Notarization of the ballot is not required.
Overseas voter ballots must be sent from abroad, so do not ask a friend to take it back to the U.S. for you and mail it there.
There are three possible return routes:
Mexican mail, with international postage.
Electronic return, but only if the voter’s state permits it.
FedEx, DHL, UPS or Estafeta, particularly if time is short.
While the U.S. Embassy or consulate can forward ballots to the United States, the embassy itself warns that this can take up to four weeks to reach the final U.S. election office, while other sources say it can take as long as six weeks. Since time is of the essence right now, that is no longer a reliable route.
The best option is to take your ballot to the post office or carriers such as FedEx, DHL or UPS, and make sure it is postmarked with the mailing date and place.
Now is the moment to take action to make sure your ballot arrives on time.
Research on voter participation has found that personal contact can increase turnout. In practice, that suggests informal networks — friends, colleagues and community groups — can play a meaningful role in encouraging Americans abroad to vote. People in Mexico can remind their American friends and neighbors that U.S. elections have far-reaching consequences for Mexico and for the world.
Kathryn Sikkink is the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
