Weekend sports roundup from Mexico: A win for women’s soccer, pro tennis in recovering Acapulco

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March 4, 2024

Alex de Miñaur and Casper Ruud pose on a tennis court with their respective first and second-place trophies — Alex de Miñaur and Casper Ruud after winning first and second place, respectively, at the Mexican Open. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscruo.com)

The upstart Mexican women’s soccer team qualified for the semifinals of a prestigious tournament during a busy weekend on the Mexican sports scene.

The activity included a men’s pro tennis tournament in hurricane-damaged Acapulco that the director called the “first stage in the rebuilding process,” and also the final regular season games in a new women’s pro softball league in Mexico. Here’s the recap:

Red-hot Mexico advances to semifinals

Fresh off its historic 2-0 win over the United States, Mexico beat Uruguay 3-2 in women’s soccer on Sunday to move into the semifinals of the Concacaf W Gold Cup tournament.

Mexico had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, but Paraguay’s second goal in the 72nd minute made for an exciting and nerve-racking finish.

Aguascalientes native Jacqueline Ovalle scored two goals, giving her five in Mexico’s last three games, and Nuevo León native Karen Luna added one. Goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras, who was born in Phoenix, saved a penalty shot.

A soccer player in a green jersey jumps for joy and grabs her teammates hand, on a professional soccer field — Karen Luna of Nuevo León jumps for joy after scoring for her team. (Selección Nacional de México Feminil/X)

In Mexico’s professional women’s league, Liga MX Femenil, Ovalle plays for Tigres UANL, Luna for Club América and Barreras for CF Pachuca.

With three wins and a tie in four games, Mexico next plays in the semifinals on Wednesday against Brazil, which advanced with a 5-1 win over Argentina. Brazil is ranked 11th in the world and Mexico is 35th.

The game will be at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego at 8 p.m. CST. In Mexico, it can be viewed on ESPN+, which is also available on the Star+ platform.

Wednesday’s other semifinal will be the United States against Canada. The world’s No. 2-ranked U.S. team rebounded from only its second loss to Mexico in 43 meetings to beat Colombia 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Canada beat Costa Rica 1-0.

Women soccer players celebrate a win on the field — Mexico’s 2-0 victory over the U.S. in California last week was the second time the Mexican women’s team had beat the U.S. on that country’s home turf. (Concacaf)

The championship is slated for Sunday night.

Concacaf stands for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. The association has had a Gold Cup for national men’s teams since 1991, but this year marks the first for women.

Tennis tourney ‘worth gold’ in Acapulco

Alex de Miñaur of Australia became the first player to win back-to-back titles at the Mexican Open in more than a decade when he beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday in Acapulco.

He was the fourth player to win back-to-back titles in this 31-year-old tournament, joining Austrian Thomas Muster (1993-96), Spaniard Nicolás Almagro (2008-09) and Spaniard David Ferrer (2010-12).

All-time great Rafael Nadal of Spain won the tournament four times, including most recently in 2022, but never consecutively.

Alex de Miñaur celebrates a win on the tennis court — Alex de Miñaur celebrates a mid-tournament win over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. (Abierto Mexicano de Tenis)

“Acapulco is becoming like a second home,” said de Miñaur, 25, after earning his eighth title on the top pro men’s circuit, the ATP. The win earned him US $412,555 out of a purse of US $2.21 million.

The tournament was in peril due to damage inflicted by a Category 5 hurricane in October, which left at least 52 people dead. The city’s oceanfront Diamond Zone, where the tennis stadium is located, was devastated; Arena GNP Seguros needed more than US $11 million in repairs, the newspaper Milenio estimated.

“We [the tennis players] wanted to bring some joy to this wonderful city and I’m sure that Acapulco will shine stronger than ever,” de Miñaur said.

The tournament drew approximately 35,000 fans over eight days, said tournament director Álvaro Falla, well short of last year’s record of 90,000.

“Much more than expected,” he noted in a press release. “I confess I had my doubts that it would be possible, but the fans really believed in the project. It’s a great number. It’s a nice first stage in the rebuilding process. The most important thing was to take this first step. It is worth gold for Acapulco.”

New women’s pro softball league

On Jan. 25, the Mexican Softball League began its first season after 2½ years of planning. The fastpitch La Liga Mexicana de Softbol (LMS) started with six teams, and most of the games were played in professional baseball stadiums.

The first game in the Monterrey Baseball Stadium drew 13,408 fans — a record for a softball game in the Americas, according to the New York Times. Overall, the league said it drew 109,000 during its first four weeks.

The bulk of the league’s players are from Mexico, but there have also been some “big-name” signings from the United States and Cuba. Many of the teams wear uniforms that could easily be seen on a big-league baseball diamond.

Softball player Alejandra Casas takes a swing — Alejandra Casas of Veracruz at bat against the Bravas of León on Feb. 29. (LMS)

The short regular season of seven-inning games concluded over the weekend, with Monterrey (15-9) atop the final standings, followed by Jalisco (14-9), Mexico City (14-10) and Veracuz (12-12). Tabasco and León didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

The best-of-five semifinals will run from Tuesday to Sunday, with the inaugural Serie de la Reina (Queen’s Series) beginning March 12.

The championship series in the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) is the Serie del Rey (King’s Series). Opening day in the LMB, which will have 20 teams this year after expanding by two, is April 11.

The pro softball league has fewer teams because ownership groups were asked to make a three-year commitment.

Some of the stars of the league so far are Mexico City’s Leannelys Zayas, a Cuban who had a league-best .479 batting average, and Veracruz pitcher Yilián Tornés (also a Cuban), whose 141 strikeouts beat out 132 by Jalisco’s Yeraldine Carrión for the league lead. Four LMS players hit over .400.

The United States has had a few women’s professional leagues over the years, but all but Women’s Professional Fastpitch, a four-team circuit that launched last year, are defunct. Until now, there had been no other pro softball league in this hemisphere.

“I think we will be a mirror for many Latin American countries, and it is something very important for women’s softball,” said Denisse de Carmen, manager of the Mexico City Red Devils. “I am personally delighted to be part of this story. There is a lot of talent to see.”

Monterrey Sultanes manager Nancy Prieto added that the women are committed to putting on a good show for the fans. “We cannot ignore the great responsibility we have,” she said. “Rest assured that each of us will work to make the games good and attractive to the people.”

With reports from AP, Remezcla, Concacaf and Milenio

By Mexico News Daily staff writer Andy Altman-Ohr

The murder of another mayoral candidate puts the spotlight on violence in local elections

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MND Staff

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March 4, 2024

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A man in a bullet-proof vest reading FGE in front of a crashed car — State investigators collect forensic evidence from the scene of Alfredo González Díaz's assassination. (FGE Guerrero)

A young man aiming to become the next mayor of a municipality in the southern state of Guerrero was shot dead on Sunday.

It wasn’t an isolated case: Alfredo González Díaz is one of more than a dozen political aspirants who have been murdered during the electoral period leading up to Mexico’s largest ever elections on June 2.

González, who would have represented the Labor Party in the mayoral election in Atoyac de Álvarez, was the third political murder victim in seven days after rival candidates for mayor in the Michoacán municipality of Maravatío were slain within hours of each other last Monday. Another mayoral hopeful in Maravatío was murdered last November.

Aspiring to political office in Mexico — especially at a municipal level in certain states — is indeed a risky business.

Candidates — or “pre-candidates” as political hopefuls are known before the commencement of the official campaign period or before they have won endorsement from a political party — have been killed in around one-third of Mexico’s 32 federal entities during the 2023-24 electoral period, which began last September.

In a report published early last month, the non-governmental organization Laboratorio Electoral said that 16 political aspirants had been killed during the 2023-24 electoral period, and that a total of 33 people had been murdered in acts of violence “directly related to the electoral process.”

A selfie of Guerrero candidate Alfredo González Díaz — Alfredo González Díaz, in a photo he shared on social media hours before he was killed. (Alfredo González Díaz/Facebook)

Those figures have already increased, and with almost three months to go until election day, they will almost certainly continue to do so.

Political violence in Mexico is most common at the municipal level, at which candidates and officials are usually more accessible to the public and have small or non-existent security details. That makes the thousands of people seeking to win an elected municipal position especially vulnerable to violence, as does the fact that influence over governments at that level is highly coveted by organized crime groups and seen as much more obtainable than holding sway at a state or federal level.

“Local power is extremely important to organized crime,” Manuel Pérez Aguirre, a political scientist, told the Associated Press.

“That’s why they look to establish control at the municipal level,” said Pérez, an academic at the College of Mexico who studies electoral violence.

Perhaps in some municipalities — there are close to 2,500 in Mexico — officials are able to be corrupted more easily than their state and federal counterparts.

According to Itzel Soto, a data analyst with Data Cívica and the coordinator of the organization’s electoral violence project, the municipal level is “where corruption agreements” are most common between officials and organized crime.

When a change in municipal power is approaching, “violence is unleashed because those agreements are in dispute,” she told Radio Fórmula.

Desde Apatzingán, cuna de la Primera Constitución Política de México, vamos con toda la fuerza y todo el corazón por un #MxSinMiedo Representamos la Alianza de ideas, propuestas y capacidad. Este proyecto hay cabida para todos. ¡Vamos a ganar y vamos a construir juntos el Michoacán que tanto queremos! — Paco Huacas of Apatzingán, Michoacán, uses a bullet-proof vest as he campaigns to be a federal legislator, a decision he made after an ambush recently killed five soldiers near his town. (Paco Huacus/X)

If a crime group can get its preferred mayoral candidate elected — perhaps by murdering a rival candidate or coercing voters — its operations at a local level could be made much easier given that mayors have authority over municipal police forces, many of which have been have been shown to be corrupt.

“What [crime groups] are looking for is to continue controlling an area or [to begin] to control it by making an impunity pact with a future leader or by keeping a [current] leader with whom they already feel comfortable … in power,” Gerardo Rodríguez, a political science professor at the University of the Americas in Puebla, told the El Economista newspaper.

While data shows that candidates at the municipal level are most likely to be victims of murder and other crimes during the electoral period, the federal government doesn’t provide any specific protection to them, as it does for some hopefuls at the state and federal level.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has downplayed the extent of Mexico’s electoral violence problem, saying last month that there was no risk to the integrity of the upcoming elections and that the country was “at peace.”

Guillermo Valencia, president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in Michoacán, has a very different view, telling AP that in his home state — where several candidates have been killed — and across Mexico “democracy is threatened” by electoral violence, which has affected all the nation’s political parties.

“Four candidates have already resigned on me and I’m struggling to find candidates” for other municipal elections, he told AP.

Soto, the data analyst, noted that the levels of such violence are not the same “in the entire Mexican republic,” pointing out that certain municipalities in states such as Veracruz, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Michoacán are suffering the most.

The United Nations weighs in

In an address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, mentioned that “in Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence and violence of gangs and organized crime have severe impact on the lives and rights of millions of people, including in Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras and Mexico.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk walks across a stage — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk approaches the podium to address the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)

He also noted that “in Mexico, several electoral processes will coincide in June, resulting in the planned election of more than 20,000 public officers, including the president, all members of the federal parliament, and a wide range of state and local representatives and authorities.”

“This immense exercise of political and civil rights must be safeguarded against violence,” added Türk, tacitly acknowledging the prevailing situation and seemingly issuing a directive to — and perhaps even a veiled attack on — the federal government.

López Obrador responded to the remark at his morning press conference.

“With all respect, the high commissioner is very biased, he’s against us and colludes with those who want to show that Mexico is a very violent country,” he told reporters shortly after describing the murder of the mayoral aspirant in Atoyac as “very regrettable.”

With reports from Radio Formula, El Economista, El País, AP and El Universal

‘Checo’ Pérez starts the 2024 F1 season in Bahrain with a ‘good result’

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MND Staff

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March 4, 2024

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Sergio "Checo" Pérez after F1 race — Sergio "Checo" Pérez (left) came in second in the Saturday race in Bahrain. (redbullracing/Instagram)

Mexican Formula 1 driver Sergio “Checo” Pérez, looking to bounce back from the disappointments of last year, began the 2024 season in a one-two finish with Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Unfortunately for Pérez, he was the one who took second place in Saturday’s race.

The 34-year-old Guadalajara native is in his last year of a contract with Red Bull. (@vladimirrys/Instagram)

But the 34-year-old from Guadalajara wasn’t complaining after fighting his way forward from an unenviable fifth spot in the starting grid. Moreover, few these days can get past Verstappen, the sport’s three-time defending champion who won for the 20th time in his last 22 races.

The Dutchman is on one of the most dominant runs in F1 history. On Saturday, from the pole position, he led all the way and took the checkered flag by a whopping 22 seconds over Pérez.

“It’s a good result after starting fifth,” Pérez told the British journalist and former F1 driver David Coulthard after the race. “It was the maximum we could have hoped for today … The 1-2 is positive for the team.”

Pérez, a hero in Mexico, spent much of last season answering the big question of whether he was about to lose his Red Bull seat. In F1, each team has two main drivers, each driving identical cars, and a reserve driver.

Was it a fair question for someone whose 285 points were second only — albeit a very distant second — to Verstappen’s 575 in the 2023 standings?

Throughout his F1 career, Pérez has won only six times in 258 starts. Two came last year within the season’s first four races, raising hopes that 2023 might be his year. But there were no checkered flags and only three second-place finishes for Pérez the rest of the way. His qualifying skills were called into question, and his ownership team rarely – if ever – praises him.

Pérez recently talked about his 2023 woes in the podcast “F1: Beyond the Grid.”

Even teammate Verstappen didn’t include Pérez when he was asked last week to name which three drivers will finish atop the 2024 standings. He listed himself first, Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.

This season will mean a lot to Pérez, who is in the final year of his contract with Red Bull. The spotlight will be on him again at F1’s next race, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, where he is the defending champion. Qualifying is on Friday and the race will be on Saturday.

With reports from Marca and AP

Hot, dry weather in the forecast across Mexico

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MND Staff

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March 4, 2024

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969789_Calor Valle de México-4_impreso — Read on for the region-specific weather forecast for the week of March 4, 2024. (Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro)

Hot and sunny weather is in the weather forecast for this week, bringing the first heat wave of the year to Mexico City.

These weather conditions will be influenced by the circulation of wind in the middle levels of the atmosphere. A dry line over the northeast of the country will reduce humidity, while a low-pressure channel from the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea may create pockets of rain in some states.

Five heat waves are expected in Mexico during the first half of 2024. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

What are the high and low temperatures in the forecast?

According to the national weather forecast, scorching temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius (104 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit) are forecast for Guerrero, Michoacán, southern Morelos and Nayarit.

Meanwhile, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatán are expected to experience high temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius (95 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Southwestern México state, Nuevo León, Puebla, Sinaloa and southern Sonora will experience temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius (86 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit).

To the north, freezing temperatures between -5 to 5 degrees Celsius (23 to 41 Fahrenheit) are expected at dawn in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango and Sonora, and in the mountains of Aguascalientes, México state, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Zacatecas.

The Monday weather forecast across Mexico. (@conagua_clima/X)

Which states could see rain?

Rain is not in the forecast this week for most of Mexico. The few states that could see isolated rain storms are Chiapas, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Baja California, Coahuila, Quintana Roo and Veracruz.

What are the regional forecasts?

In the Valley of México, expect cool temperatures and partial clouds in the morning on Monday with a warm afternoon and possible dust devils in Mexico City.

Fog banks and chilly mornings are forecast for the Baja California Peninsula, with temperate to warm weather throughout the day.

In the Pacific states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Nayarit, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero, expect cool mornings and warm to hot temperatures towards the afternoon. Similar conditions are expected for central and north Mexico, including Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.

The Yucatán Peninsula can expect mild mornings and warm to hot temperatures in the afternoon, while Veracruz and the Gulf of Mexico will see cooler mornings and a temperate climate towards the end of the day.

Are the high temperatures signs of a coming heat wave?

Mexico City authorities announced on Monday that the above-average temperatures predicted for the city this week qualify as a heat wave, which may last for as long as 15 days.

A heat wave is defined as at least three consecutive days of above-average temperatures, which vary according to location.

Mexico News Daily

Authorities say Oaxaca wildfire is now 95% under control

By

MND Staff

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March 4, 2024

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The wildfire in rural Oaxaca that claimed the lives of five people last week is 60% extinguished and 95% contained, according to a statement by government officials on Sunday.

A press conference held Sunday afternoon provided details about the 6-day, 704-hectare blaze in the state’s mountainous Central Valleys region, some 40 kilometers from the state capital Oaxaca City.

The fire has been burning for six days straight. (Salomón Cruz/X)

On Feb. 28, the day after the conflagration began, residents of San Lucas Quiaviní were attempting to keep the fire from reaching their village when the advancing flames surged and took the lives of five farmers.

Since then, the firefight was taken over by the Defense Ministry (Sedena), the Navy (Semar), the National Guard, and state civil protection personnel.

Other villages affected include San Felipe Güilá and San Pablo Güilá.

Officials at the press conference indicated that more than 400 firefighters were battling the blaze, some of them on behalf of the National Forestry Commission (Conafor).

Some of the 400+ firefighters working to extinguish the wildfire in Oaxaca. (@GobOax/X)

An MI-17 Navy helicopter had carried out six water drops from its 2,500-liter capacity bucket from Saturday through 10 a.m. Sunday, officials noted, but no update was available beyond that.

Mountain residents had held a protest to demand that an aircraft join combat efforts, but at the press conference, officials stressed that water drops are only a small part of the strategy in fighting fires.

Officials said that 9,800 work hours had been put into battling the blaze as of Sunday morning, with 95% of the fight carried out on the ground and 5% through the use of technology such as helicopters.

Much of the on-the-ground work has involved setting up firebreaks and applying counterfire; additionally, there was surveillance to prevent the contained portion of the fire from getting out of control.

Officials also reminded communities to be extra careful when slashing and burning, and in a Monday morning post on the X social media platform, the state’s civil protection unit warned that the burned areas represent a risk for flash floods. “Stay aware of inclement weather if you are in or near an area affected by a wildfire,” the unit wrote.

So far this year, 35 forest fires have been recorded in Oaxaca, affecting more than 1,500 hectares, Magdalena Coello, director of the Oaxaca state forest commission, was quoted as saying in newspaper El Imparcial. At least two are active, including one in the jungles of Chimalapas.

With reports from El Universal, Animal Politico and El Imparcial

Peso starts out the month gaining on the US dollar

By

MND Staff

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March 4, 2024

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Mexican peso bills — The peso is the strongest it has been since June 5, shortly after Mexican elections. (Cuartoscuro)

The Mexican peso made a good start to the new week, appreciating to below 17 to the US dollar for the first time this month.

Bloomberg data shows that the USD:MXN exchange rate was 16.96 at 11:40 a.m. Mexico City time.

The USD:MXN exchange rate on Monday, March 4, 2024.

The appreciation on Monday morning followed the peso’s improvement to 17.01 against the dollar at the close of markets last Friday after it traded at 17.09 a week earlier.

The business magazine Fortuna reported that analysts and foreign currency traders are attributing the peso’s positive performance to the expectation that the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) will be cautious in its approach to cutting interest rates.

The central bank’s key interest rate has remained at a record high of 11.25% since it was raised to that level almost a year ago.

The vast difference between Banxico’s rate and that of the United States Federal Reserve Bank (5.25%-5.5%) has benefited the peso, helping the currency appreciate around 13% against the greenback in 2023. Strong incoming flows of remittances and foreign investment also contributed to the peso’s positive performance last year.

The Bank of Mexico board will hold its next monetary policy meeting on March 21. A rate cut this month is seen as possible, but Banxico isn’t expected to aggressively lower rates this year. Interest rates are also expected to decline slowly in the United States, with an initial cut possible over the summer. However, some economists say the Fed might not make any cuts this year.

In Mexico, inflation declined in the first half of February after increases were recorded in November, December and January, but, at 4.45%, the headline rate is still above the central bank’s 3% target. Inflation data for the whole month of February is due to be published this Thursday, March 7.

In its most recent monetary policy statement, Banxico said it would “thoroughly monitor inflationary pressures as well as all factors that have an incidence on the foreseen path for inflation and its expectations.”

“In the next monetary policy meetings, … [the board] will assess, depending on available information, the possibility of adjusting the reference rate. It will take into account the progress in the inflation outlook and the challenges that prevail,” the bank added.

An interest rate cut in Mexico before one is made in the United States would obviously narrow the differential in the prevailing rates in the two countries and would likely benefit the greenback.

However, a range of other factors influence the value of currencies. Therefore, it is no easy task to predict how the USD:MXN rate will behave this year, especially considering that it is an election year in both Mexico and the United States and there is a climate of political uncertainty in the two countries. Donald Trump’s victory in a single primary contest earlier this year was enough to inflict some pain on the peso, although the currency has strengthened since then, despite the former U.S. president’s unrelenting march toward the Republican Party nomination.

In a survey report published late last year, Citibanamex said that the consensus forecast of 33 banks, brokerages and research organizations was that the USD:MXN exchange rate would rise to 18.65 at the end of 2024.

Mexico News Daily

10 women on what you need to know when moving to Mexico

By

Laurel Tuohy

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March 4, 2024

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brooke-cagle-ICFPv3xJY90-unsplash — Ten women from across the world share their experiences and wisdom about Mexico. (Unsplash)

Moving to Mexico is incredibly exciting but comes with its own set of challenges. For many of us who have made the move – either full-time or part-time, short-term or long-term – there are likely a plethora of things we wish we had known before the journey, as well as tips and advice we can now offer other women who are considering a life in Mexico.

Mexico News Daily spoke to ten women who have traded life in their home country for the excitement, beauty and culture of a life in Mexico. From twentysomethings to retirees and sea-seekers to city dwellers, here’s what they had to say.

Look past your preconceived notions of Mexico to discover the incredible country within. (Kinga Howard/Unsplash)

Escape the Expat Community

“Try not to get stuck in the expat bubble. It’s easy to make only English-speaking friends and stick to areas like Condesa and Roma in Mexico City or Americana in Guadalajara, but is that really why you left your home country?

Practice your Spanish, visit local markets and nightlife spots and make local friends. I promise you, it will open your eyes and show you an entirely new perspective on life in this beautiful country!”

-Elizabeth, 27, [Australian based in] Guadalajara

Patience is a Virtue

The founder of the popular Facebook group Mexico Wild Women Expat Community said, “I am not by nature a patient person. Mexico has taught me the value of being patient and flexible. Being like bamboo is the key to success here. Mexicans have a different sense of time; accept that, and you will be much happier.”

-Wendy, 64, [American based in] Lake Chapala

It’s Safer Than You Think

“I relocated to Mexico in August 2022 without any prior visits or acquaintances in the country, leaving me largely in the dark, aside from clichéd notions of tequila and tacos gleaned from American media. Naturally, my perceptions were colored by skewed portrayals often found in TV and news reports. However, upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find an incredibly warm and welcoming nation.

Hailing from South Africa, where safety is a paramount concern, I am particularly mindful of my surroundings and security. Despite this, I’ve never felt threatened or uneasy in my immediate neighborhood of Condesa. I frequently take solo walks and feel at ease, knowing that the kind-heartedness of Mexicans is always near.”

-Sarah, 33, [South African based in] Mexico City

Mexico can be a great opportunity to find yourself and experience something new. (Unsplash)

Forget Your Expectations

“Arrive with an open heart and mind. Try to lose your expectations about what it could and would be and experience it for what it is. Live in the present and learn to slow down. Try your best.

First, learn the language and then you start to understand the culture, and it won’t be so foreign and scary. I’ve been here for 10 years, and Mexico has taught me so much.”

-Michelle, 34, [American based in] San Cristóbal de las Casas

Embrace the Challenges

“Living in Mexico is not the same as being on vacation here, and it’s not like living north of the border; comparing life here to life in your country doesn’t help. Learn to love all that Mexico has to offer. I first moved here 27 years ago, and I’m still challenged each day. It keeps me on my toes and feeling young. Mexico is not for everyone, but I would not want to live anywhere else.”

-Maria, 77, [American based in] Zihuatanejo

Learn the Language

“Learn Spanish because it will change your experience in a phenomenal way. I spent a couple of years in an expat community, from 1996-1998, and hung out with only Americans and Canadians. Learned poquito español. Now I live in a non-tourist city and, after eight years, my Spanish is pretty good. I’m 76, so anybody younger can learn a lot faster. Besides, the depth of the friendships you can make with Mexicans… helps in navigating all the stuff in life that comes up.

Looking back, it would’ve been better if I had taken learning Spanish far more seriously early on.”

-Barbra, 76, [American based in] Aguascalientes

Explore Before You Commit

“Don’t make plans, sign a lease or settle down in a place based on what you’ve read or seen on travel sites and Instagram. Move around if you can and see how different places feel. Mexico is huge, and the beaches feel so different from the mountain towns, which also feel different from the cities. But it’s also the people who make the places [what they are] … maybe you make a few friends and discover your happy place in a location you never would have expected.”

-Jess, 29, [Canadian based in] Mazunte

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Explore all that Mexico has to offer. (Shutterstock)

Travel Far and Wide

“The beauty and diversity of the country surprised and delighted me. I came here for a job but have been lucky enough to see so many amazing places during my years here, from the surreal Xilitla to the stunning Hierve De Agua (and the crazy drive you take to get there).

I can’t recommend enough exploring beyond the cliched destinations and embracing the country’s cultural wealth, warm people and amazing landscapes.”

-Kate, 37, [Brit based in] Puerto Vallarta

Understand the Cost of Living

“Most North Americans think of Mexico as inexpensive, but the cost of living varies wildly!

The cost of rent, bills and transport in bigger cities and fancy beach towns, like Mexico City or Playa del Carmen, can cost almost as much as living in Canada – especially if you develop a taste for good restaurants and nightlife. Choosing a more local city or rural town – even a gorgeous beach town – can cut your costs by half, and people tend to be friendlier.

If you can accept the slow pace of life, you’ll find absolute paradise.”

-Joana, 43, [Canadian based in] Oaxaca City

Just Do It

“What I love about Mexico is not just one thing, it’s a combination of all of them.

You can take your pick of weather, climate and geography. There are mountain ranges, valleys, deserts, jungles, tropical forests, coastlines, cenotes and more. For food, you can choose from fresh seafood, vegetables, meats, farm products, salsas, tortillas and more. Different regions offer different seasonings, varieties of tacos and food for every palate.

As far as the people, how much time do you have? I can’t say enough about people’s warmth, open arms, genuine ways and kindness shown through manners, sharing food and more.

My advice is DO IT! What are you waiting for?”

-Marel, 59, Nomadic [American based in different places around Mexico]

Laurel is a nomadic lifestyle journalist whose favorite stories focus on weird and wonderful travel and culture. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vice, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, South China Morning Post, The Culture Trip and more. @laureltuohy. www.laureltuohy.com

How you can save Mexico’s wild Lacandon Jungle

By

Ana Paula De la Torre

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March 4, 2024

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cabin — The Canto de la Selva hotel is tucked away in the heart of the Lacandon jungle. (Canto de la Selva)

Can you imagine waking up to the sound of howler monkeys and exotic birds in the middle of the jungle, with all the comforts of home, while helping to preserve the ecosystem? In the most biodiverse part of Mexico, considered one of the 25 biological hotspots on the planet, you can do just that, thanks to a sustainable tourism conservation project called “Canto de la Selva.”

The tropical jungle in question is the Lacandon Rainforest in Chiapas, and we’ve discussed its outstanding natural beauty before. It is home to 600 species of trees, including Spanish cedar, mahogany and rosewood. Located next to the Montes Azules Biosphere, this 1,500-hectare tropical forest is one of the last surviving remnants of the tropical jungle in Mexico, thanks to the conservation efforts of its inhabitants, the Indigenous Lacandon people, who have preserved this amazing place for centuries.

The Lacandon Rainforest is the home to 24% of Mexico’s terrestrial mammal species, 44% of its birds, 13% of its fish, 10% of its reptiles and 40% of its diurnal butterflies. (Canto de la Selva)

A story of conservation

In the 1970s, most of Mexico’s tropical jungles were destroyed and converted into agricultural fields; fortunately, places like the Lacandon Rainforest and the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve survived, though to this day both remain under threat of deforestation. That is why in 2009 a group of residents of the community of Galacia decided to set aside 1,500 hectares to preserve their jungle and focus on ecotourism, with the advice and support of environmental organizations such as Natura and Ecosistemas Mexicanos.

To give you an idea of the pivotal importance of this paradise, the Lacandon Jungle is the most extensive rainforest in the Americas and is included in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The Lacandon Rainforest is home to 3,400 species of plants, 625 species of butterflies, 345 species of birds and 84 species of reptiles, many of which are endemic (not found anywhere else in the world) or endangered.

Fortunately for the people living near Canto de la Selva, ecotourism is a great option to diversify their productive activities and improve their income without destroying the natural wealth of the forest. In fact, no trees had to be cut down to build this charming hotel with its 14 cabins and terrace overlooking the Lacantún River. “We took advantage of a disused agricultural area that has now been rehabilitated, and the local vegetation is our garden,” says the community on its website.

As you can see, a visit to Canto de la Selva is a perfect way to preserve one of the world’s most special ecosystems and enjoy activities that will leave you with unforgettable memories.

The jungle is home to 3,400 species of vascular plants and almost 600 species of trees. (Canto de la Selva)

Activities to awaken your senses

“Canto de la Selva” is not only comfort in the middle of the jungle, which is a dream in itself, but also a direct connection with its history. The owners and managers have deep roots in the Lacandon Rainforest, with family ties stretching back for centuries. As you can imagine, this means that they know the secrets of this magical place like few people in the world.

If you want to see the giants of the jungle, you can pass through tree corridors lined with enormous ficus cedars or climb “Las Dos Torres,” a place where you can contemplate the immensity of the jungle from the heights. The guides of this hotel also offer a nocturnal walk to listen to the orchestral sound of the jungle in the dark. It is also possible to kayak the Lacantún River, one of the last clean and biodiverse rivers in the country.

The lodge offers bird watching, monkey watching, mountain biking, hot springs, suspension bridges, zip lines and more. “The jungle enchants, the jungle heals, the jungle educates, the jungle transforms,” says Omar Vidal, a passionate scientist and former director of the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico, who previously wrote about the magic of the Lacandon Rainforest for this publication.

More information is available on the Canto de la Selva website.

Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator of various media such as Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.

The week in photos from Mexico: Huachinango to Tulum

By

MND Staff

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March 2, 2024

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A gray whale surfaces near a boat in the waters off Mulegé, Baja California Sur — Feb. 27: After traveling over 10,000 kilometers from frigid Arctic waters to the Mexican Pacific, gray whales breed off the coast of Baja California Sur every year. The area is protected as a marine reserve and is a popular eco-tourist attraction from November to May, with the most sightings around late February. (ADOLFO VLADIMIR /CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Take a visual tour of Mexico — from a religious ceremony in Puebla to the newly opened Maya Train station in Cancún — with this selection of pictures from the week.

Huachinango, Puebla

A woman holds a ceramic vessel with incense — Feb. 24: Dozens of people attended one of the religious ceremonies in honor of the patron saint of Huachinango, Puebla, Lord of the Holy Burial, which is held every year from Feb. 22 to March 3. (ESTRELLA JOSENTO/CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Tulum, Quintana Roo

View of the construction of Jaguar Park in Tulum — Feb. 24: The new Jaguar Park in Tulum, which includes recreational and protected areas, is getting closer to completion. The park covers around 2,913 hectares. (SEDATU/CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Patti Smith in Guadalajara — Feb. 27: The “Godmother of Punk,” American singer-songwriter and poet Patti Smith attended a press conference in Guadalajara, where she participated in an immersive sound performance called Correspondences with the Soundwalk Collective. (FERNANDO CARRANZA GARCIA / CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Acapulco, Guerrero

Tennis players in a match at the Mexican Open in Acapulco — Feb. 29: Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur in a match with Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Mexican Open 2024 in Acapulco. (CARLOS ALBERTO CARBAJAL/CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Cancún, Quintana Roo

Cancún Maya Train station — Feb. 29: President López Obrador attended the opening of the Cancún to Playa del Carmen stretch of the Maya Train on Thursday, including the Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Cancún stations. (FOTO: ELIZABETH RUIZ/CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Mexico City

Why will Mexico benefit from the ‘collapse’ of globalization?

By

Travis Bembenek

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March 2, 2024

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Skyline of Monterrey — Mexico News Daily CEO Travis Bembenek continues to explore the geopolitical shifts that put Mexico in a enviable position, based on insights from the book "The end of the world is just beginning" by Peter Zeihan. (Shutterstock)

In my column last week, I shared my thoughts on a book called “The end of the world is just beginning” by Peter Zeihan.

In the book, Zeihan predicts an accelerated collapse of globalization in the years to come. He also predicts that North America — and specifically Mexico — will be big winners in this new world order.

Today I will dig more deeply into the big question: Why will Mexico be a big beneficiary of the “collapse of globalization?”

Geography

The book talks a lot about the benefits of “good geography” and Mexico clearly has the huge benefit of proximity to the U.S. market, a massive shared border with the U.S., and access to oceans both to the east and west.

Demographics

In a world of rapidly aging societies, Mexico stands out as having a relatively young population and relatively high birth rates. The point is not that Mexico won’t at some point have a demographics problem, just that it will happen decades later than most of the rest of the developed and developing world. These “good demographics” ensure that Mexico will be one of the best-positioned countries globally to continue to ensure both growing domestic demand (consumption) from its citizens, as well as a growing workforce to supply companies looking for labor.

Food security

Mexico is a net exporter of food, and the food it does import largely comes from the United States. This puts Mexico in a relatively safe position with respect to food security in a deglobalizing world.

Energy security

Mexico produces a lot of its own energy and is in the process of increasing its refining capacity, with energy independence possible by 2027. Even if this goal isn’t met, the proximity to the United States energy production and refining centers in Texas ensures that Mexico is extremely well-positioned with respect to energy security in a deglobalizing world. Mexico also has significant untapped wind and solar energy potential that has yet to be realized.

Trade agreements

Mexico already has trade agreements with 50 nations globally and a multi-decade comprehensive trade agreement with the United States and Canada (the USMCA, formally NAFTA).

The latest version of this agreement, ratified in 2020, increased the amount of “local content value add” that must occur within the block of countries to 80% in order for goods to flow free of tariffs. This ensures that actual value-added work (not just final assembly of parts made elsewhere) occurs in the region. This is a hugely important clause to drive investment and employment in the USMCA countries.

Labor skills and costs

Many countries are finding that their labor costs have increased to a point in which their workforce is no longer competitive except for doing the very highest skilled work. In many cases, this has pushed the work to a lower cost country, often far away from the home country. In the case of the United States and Mexico, the two nations’ workforces are highly complementary. The high cost/high skill work can remain in the United States while the lower cost/lower skill work can be done in Mexico — ensuring that both parts are completed all within the same region.

Logistics

The COVID-19 pandemic opened the eyes of the world to the risks of long supply chains. Multinationals are now far more aware and concerned about the time, cost, and risks of long or complex supply chains. Mexico is exceptionally well positioned from a logistics perspective. Highways and railways that can quickly and with low cost supply the United States and Canada and shipping ports on both coasts to receive and ship goods around the world. Mexico is actually the solution to many of the supply chain concerns and problems that the world has today.

The above factors along with others mentioned in the book make Zeihan confident enough to predict that, over the next 30 years, Mexico will have the fastest-growing GDP of any nation in the world.

That is such an important point that I think that it is worth taking another minute to look at the list above again.

Ask yourself: Does any other country in the world rank as highly as Mexico does on this list of critical factors? It’s tough to come up with one.

However, Zeihan did highlight several areas in which Mexico must make improvements to fully realize this opportunity such as the rule of law, expanding quality and depth of financial markets and dramatically improving infrastructure.

Zeihan stated that Mexico needs over US $1 trillion in infrastructure (transportation, energy, and water) investment in the near future to fully realize its potential, and that the country is actually already years behind on this important investment. Lack of investment in this area would act as a significant drag on the growth potential.

I ended the discussion by asking Peter what he would say to the many cynics who suggest that Mexico has a tendency to often under-perform versus its potential.

He stated that this opportunity is so big, and the relative strengths of the region so strong, that Mexico will benefit regardless of what has happened in the past. He sees Mexico “winning” in any political or economical scenario that could take place going forward. The next president of Mexico, to be decided in just a few months, has a huge responsibility to deliver on the promise of this opportunity.

It’s inspiring and motivating to read such a positive outlook for North America — albeit a decidedly not very positive one for the world — presented in the book. Mexico truly has a golden opportunity with this rapidly changing and deglobalizing world.

We at Mexico News Daily are committed to giving you a front row seat to see the action!

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.