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Mexico in Numbers: 10 facts about the Mexico-US border

By
MND Staff
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The Mexico-US border wall cuts through an arid mountainous landscape
The Mexico-U.S. border is the 10th-longest land border in the world, spanning over 3,000 kilometers. (Greg Bulla / Unsplash)

Everyone knows Mexico shares a long land border with the United States. But how much do you know about this dividing line and the vibrant, complex regions on both sides of it?

To enhance your knowledge of the Mexico-U.S. border, here’s a quick crash course in 10 numbers.

3,145 

This is the length in kilometers of the Mexico-U.S. border. The border runs from the Pacific coast in the Tijuana-San Diego area to the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Rio Grande near Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas. The length of the border in miles is 1,954.

10

This is the ranking of the Mexico-U.S. border in the list of the longest international land borders in the world.

The longest land border between two countries is that between the United States and Canada, measuring 8,891 kilometers.

Ten is also the number of states on the Mexico-U.S. border. Six of those states are in Mexico: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.

Mexico in Numbers infographic showing 10 border states of the Mexico-US border

The other four are in the United States: California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

50

This is the approximate number of official vehicle and pedestrian crossings between Mexico and the United States.

In addition, there are seven rail crossings between the two countries. There is also a ferry crossing between Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, a municipality in Tamaulipas on the southern side of the Rio Grande, and Los Ebanos, Texas.

7.58 million 

This is the number of trucks that entered the United States from Mexico in 2025. On average, 20,972 trucks entered the U.S. from Mexico every day last year. That figure is a testament to the importance of trade between Mexico and the United States, which are each other’s largest trade partners.

76.05 million 

This is the number of personal vehicles that entered the United States from Mexico in 2025. The figure represents a decline of 1.1% compared to 2024. The busiest border crossing for personal vehicle entries to the U.S. last year was San Ysidro, where 15.27 million cars entered the country.

44.79 million

This is the number of pedestrians that crossed into the United States from Mexico in 2025.  The figure represented an increase of 9.9% from 2024. The busiest border crossing for northbound pedestrians was San Ysidro, between Tijuana and San Diego, where 7.96 million people walked into the U.S. last year.

Mexico in Numbers infographic showing numbers of people crossing the border based on transporation type

237,538

This is the number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 2024 to September 2025. The figure represents a decline of 84.5% compared to fiscal year 2024.

The Pew Research Center wrote in an article in February that “the 2025 total was the lowest in any fiscal year since 1970, according to historical data from the Border Patrol.”

26.4 million 

This is the number of people living in the border region in both Mexico and the United States, according to 2020 data from the North American Development Bank (NAD Bank). Of that number, 19.3 million people live in 224 municipalities in Mexico that are within the NAD Bank’s border region jurisdiction. Just over 7.1 million people live in 41 U.S. counties that are within the bank’s jurisdiction (see map here).

440.87

This is the daily minimum wage, in Mexican pesos, in Mexico’s northern border region. The rate is 39.9% higher in the border region than in the rest of Mexico. The daily minimum wage in the northern border region is equivalent to around US $25 at the current exchange rate.

8

This is the percentage rate of Mexico’s IVA (value-added tax) in the northern border region. The IVA in the rest of the country is 16%.

Of course, many other numbers could be included in a “Mexico in Numbers” article on the Mexico-U.S. border. Let us know of any that come to mind!

Mexico News Daily 

Institutional inefficiency and judicial uncertainty drag Mexico down in new competitiveness ranking 

By
MND Staff
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Mexico skyline
The Swiss-based Institute for Management Development (IMD) dropped Mexico down seven spots in its 2026 competitiveness rankings, based principally on inefficiencies in economic performance, governance, business and infrastructure. (Unsplash)

Mexico fell seven spots in the latest global competitiveness rankings compiled by Switzerland’s Institute for Management Development (IMD), primarily due to lower institutional efficiency and a lack of legal certainty.

The IMD’s annual World Competitiveness Yearbook — which benchmarks 70 nations by the four “pillars” of economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure — placed Mexico at No. 62. 

Mexico saw declines across all four categories. It fell from 39th to 41st in economic performance, from 54th to 57th in business efficiency, from 62nd to 67th in government efficiency, and from 61st to 64th in infrastructure.

A decline in public finances and lower economic growth also had a negative impact.

Overall, Mexico received 42.85 points out of 100, whereas top-ranked Singapore earned a perfect score of 100. Hong Kong came in second, followed by Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.

According to El Economista newspaper, Mexico’s competitiveness profile “reflects a structural tension between a large, commercially integrated economy, an exceptionally tight labor market, and deep institutional weaknesses that worsened markedly” in 2026.

Employment stands out as one of Mexico’s most notable competitive strengths, ranking 12th globally. This is driven by three key indicators in which the country ranks in the top 10: overall unemployment (7th), long-term unemployment (3rd) and youth unemployment (9th).

The slip in the overall rankings — which are based on more than 250 indicators — means Mexico has now fallen 12 spots since coming in at No. 50 in 2019.

The Mexican economy’s competitiveness lags behind other large Latin American countries such as Chile (43rd), Argentina (58th), Colombia (59th) and Peru (60th). It only ranked higher than Brazil (65th) and Venezuela in 70th.

Considering sub-criteria of the four pillars, Mexico performed especially poorly in business legislation (69th), basic infrastructure (66th) and public financing (65th). 

It also found itself in the bottom 10 for institutional framework (63rd), social framework (62nd), financing (62nd), technological infrastructure (63rd), health and environment (61st) and education (65th).

The deterioration recorded this year indicates that governance deficiencies are increasingly offsetting the economy’s structural advantages in the manufacturing and labor market sectors.

In its country report, the IMD identified the following challenges for Mexico:

  • Reinforcing the business environment, rule of law and legal certainty to increase investor confidence 
  • Strengthening coordination between municipal, state and federal governments and industry to improve execution of strategic initiatives
  • Promoting economic productivity through innovation, operational excellence and performance measurement, and strengthening local markets
  • Improving the alignment of talent development with the technical and managerial capabilities required by industry
  • Strengthening national value chains and key infrastructure in energy, logistics and digitalization

IMD’s rankings are computed by using the perceptions of executives together with statistics so as to use different types of data to measure quantifiable and qualitative issues separately.

Statistical indicators are procured from international, national and regional organizations, private institutions and partner institutes, while 6,900 executives were surveyed between February and April 2026.

With reports from El Economista, El Universal and Opportimes

Vance: US reserves ‘the right’ to take military action against cartels in Mexico

By
MND Staff
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26
US Vice President JD Vance speaks into a microphone
As U.S. President Trump took aim at Mexico in comments at the G7 summit, his Vice President JD Vance reiterated the possibility of U.S. military action on Mexican soil. (Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 4.0)

The United States reserves “the right” to take action against drug cartels on Mexican soil, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said this week.

Vance made the remark in an interview with N+ Univision that is set to be broadcast in full this Sunday.

During the interview, a snippet of which was released on Wednesday, journalist and news anchor Ilia Calderón reminded Vance that before he became vice president, he said that “the president should take military actions against the drug cartels in Mexico.”

“But President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated … ‘No [U.S.] military action on Mexican soil, that’s a red line,'” Calderón said. “Will the United States respect that red line?” she asked Vance.

“Well, what we want to do is work with the Mexican authorities to ensure they are able to take care of the cartels themselves. We, of course, are going to have to take defensive actions to protect the American people. We want to work with the Mexican government, but we really do need to take out these cartels,” Vance said.

“They’re very, very bad organizations, as I’m sure you know well,” he said.

Vance went on to assert that “the cartels” had “free rein of Mexico” when U.S. President Joe Biden was in office, “because they had so much money … from the United States because of the drug and sex trafficking trade.”

After the vice president described cartels as “like a cancer on Mexico,” Calderón pushed Vance to provide a “yes or no” answer about U.S. military action in Mexico.

“Well, we would take military action if we feel like we have to to protect our people,” Vance said.

“We don’t want to do that unless we’re working with the government of Mexico, but we have to reserve the right. Let me give you a very concrete example,” he said.

“If you have a Mexican drug cartel that has a massive shipment of weapons and fentanyl that is about to come into the United States of America and the only way to stop it is to go after that cartel, of course we have to go after that cartel,” Vance said.

“We’d love to work with the Mexican government, but we have to defend our own people,” he said.

N+ Univision’s publication of an excerpt of the interview on Wednesday came the same day as U.S. President Donald Trump said — and not for the first time — that the United States would shift its focus to combating drug cartels on land rather than at sea, where U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats have killed more than 200 people since September.

“Drugs are down by water 97% … and now we’re going to go and focus on the land,” Trump told a press conference at the G7 Summit in France.

Sheinbaum brushes off Trump’s cartel claims, sets meeting with King of Spain: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

“They come through Mexico. Mexico has lost control of their country. The cartels run Mexico. And it’s sad,” he said before asserting that President Claudia Sheinbaum is “a very good woman,” but “a very scared woman.”

Sheinbaum told her Thursday morning press conference that Trump is “not well-informed” about the situation in Mexico.

U.S. military action in Mexico against Mexican cartels — six of which were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government last year — has been seen as a possibility since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Asked on the very first day of his second term whether he would consider “ordering U.S. special forces into Mexico” to “take out” drug cartels, the U.S. president responded: “Could happen. Stranger things have happened.”

Since then, Trump has intermittently threatened to take action against cartels in Mexico. In January, for example, he said that the U.S. would start “hitting land, with regard to the cartels.” In May, Trump said that the United States would take action against cartels in Mexico if the Mexican government doesn’t do so itself.

Despite the threats, Sheinbaum has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of U.S. military action in Mexico, while highlighting the security results her government has achieved, including a significant reduction in homicides and the arrest of well over 50,000 alleged criminals in the past 20 months. She is confident, publicly at least, that her government’s crime-fighting results and its ongoing security collaboration with the United States — even amid tensions in the bilateral security relationship — will stave off U.S. military action in Mexico.

Sheinbaum has already characterized the CIA’s alleged participation in a recent drug lab raid alongside Chihuahua state forces, and U.S. prosecutors’ drug trafficking accusations against the governor of Sinaloa and other officials, as a violation of Mexican sovereignty and/or interference in affairs that solely “correspond to Mexicans.”

Crossing the “red line” with a U.S. military attack on Mexican soil would cause even more serious damage to a bilateral security relationship whose closeness has been touted by Mexican and U.S. officials alike.

Mexico News Daily 

Nuevo Laredo looks to turn hunting ranches into ecotourism destinations

By
MND Staff
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1
Hunters point guns in a grassy Tamaulipas plain
With over 500 hunting lodges in the state, Tamaulipas is a leading destination for hunting in Mexico. (Turismo Tamaulipas)

The border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, plans to transform hunting ranches into ecotourism destinations during the off-season of white-tailed deer hunting, in an effort to diversify tourism revenue in the region.

Nuevo Laredo Tourism Director Alfredo Guarneros Carranza said that the initiative emerged from recent meetings with the National Association of Diversified Livestock Producers (Angadi).

white tailed deer
Already a destination for deer-hunting, Nuevo Laredo is now looking to expand off-season tourism options. (Seth Wickham / Unsplash)

Guarneros said the project already has support from Nuevo Laredo’s municipal government.

“We are proposing that [ranch owners] make use of their ranches during the off-season for white-tailed deer hunting,” Guarneros said, adding that the goal would be to attract ecotourists looking for weekend stays or even a full week in peaceful surroundings.

If it moves forward, the ecotourism proposal would complement hunting tourism, an activity that draws thousands of national and international visitors between November and February each year, for white-tailed deer hunting.

Hunting tourism takes advantage of the natural richness of northern Tamaulipas and operates under regulated hunting seasons, allowing for a balance between habitat and species conservation.

Guarneros said the ecotourism proposal aims for ranches to generate income year-round, reducing their dependence on a single season and at the same time showcasing a more conservation-oriented approach to wildlife and responsible land use.

Ranchers already have the infrastructure to house ecotourists, he said, in addition to having experience hosting visitors thanks to their hunting tourism activities.

“We have the ranches with the houses, the trails, the places where you can watch birds, enjoy a sunset, or take early morning hikes and return to relax with excellent service,” Guarneros said.

Guarneros explained that ecotourists prefer destinations that are far removed from urban and technological environments, in which they can “escape to a peaceful place, surrounded by nature where they know they will forget about their cell phone, television and the news.”

According to estimates from industry experts, ecotourism remains among the most dynamic travel segments globally, with double-digit growth rates above traditional tourism, making it a particularly attractive niche for destinations seeking to diversify their offerings.

With reports from La Jornada

Sheinbaum brushes off Trump’s cartel claims, sets meeting with King of Spain: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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0
President Sheinbaum at her morning press conference
Criticism from Trump, a tête-à-tête with the King of Spain and Thursday's World Cup match against South Korea were points of interest at President Sheinbaum's Thursday morning press conference. (Carlos Ramos Mamahua / Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🇺🇸🇲🇽 Trump’s ‘cartels run Mexico’ claim rebutted: Responding to remarks Trump made at the G7 in France — including that “the cartels run Mexico” and that the Mexican president is “a very scared woman” — Sheinbaum asserted that Trump “is not well-informed” and urged calm, saying her government can’t get hung up on every statement by the U.S. president.
  • 👑🇪🇸 Meeting with King of Spain confirmed: Sheinbaum announced she will receive King Felipe VI at the National Palace next Thursday, the day before Spain’s World Cup match against Uruguay in Guadalajara. She said the conversation will center on the importance of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples throughout history — consistent with her longstanding call, shared by her predecessor, for Spain to apologize for abuses committed during the conquest and colonial period.
  • ⚽🇲🇽 Good luck to El Tri: Sheinbaum opened the press conference by polling reporters on the outcome of Thursday night’s Mexico–South Korea match in Guadalajara, before declaring that the majority expected a Mexican win. She wished the team and all Mexicans good luck, and revealed she plans to watch the game from the National Palace.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Ahead of the Mexico vs. South Korea World Cup match in Guadalajara on Thursday night, President Claudia Sheinbaum once again found herself in the position of having to respond to disparaging remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Sheinbaum — who has maintained an amiable relationship with Trump despite his repeated threats toward Mexico and the slurs he has made about her — sought to play down the significance of the U.S. president’s remarks, including a claim that “the cartels run Mexico,” while defending her government and the officials who serve in it.

Sheinbaum remained diplomatic in her response, apparently not wanting to inflame an already strained bilateral security relationship, but did make a significant remark — and a slight — in saying that Trump is “not well-informed” about the situation in Mexico.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s confirmation that she will meet with King Felipe VI of Spain next week, and her message of good luck to El Tri, as Mexico’s men’s football team is commonly called.

Sheinbaum says Trump is ‘not well-informed’ after he claimed ‘cartels run Mexico’ 

A reporter asked the president about the Mexico-related remarks Trump made at the G7 Summit in France on Wednesday.

During a press conference, Trump said that “Mexico has lost control of their country” and “the cartels run Mexico.”

He also said that Sheinbaum “is a very good woman,” but “a very scared woman.”

“The drug cartels are totally running Mexico. It’s not even close,” Trump said.

Sheinbaum noted that the U.S. president has made the same remarks in the past, before saying — as she has said before — that Trump has his own unique way of communicating.

“We can’t get hung up on every statement,” she said.

“But the people of Mexico know we’re working, that’s what matters to me,” Sheinbaum said.

“The people of Mexico know that every day we give our minds, hearts and souls [to the tasks at hand] — everything, for the people of Mexico,” she said.

Pushed on Trump’s assertion that the Mexican government has “lost control” of the country, Sheinbaum responded that the U.S. president “is not well-informed.”

“… The Mexican state exists,” she said, adding that she conveyed that message to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during his visit to Mexico City last month.

Sheinbaum said she told Mullin:

“Here you have [Security Minister] Omar García Harfuch, who was on the verge of losing his life due to a criminal group [attack]. And who after this attack, decided to continue dedicating his life to public service and the people of Mexico.”

Sheinbaum said she also pointed out to Mullin the dedication and commitment of National Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo and Navy Minister Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles to the security and protection of Mexico.

In addition, she said she presented the security results her government has achieved to the homeland security secretary, among which is a significant decline in homicides.

Sheinbaum confirms meeting with the king of Spain 

Sheinbaum said that she will meet with King Felipe VI of Spain at the National Palace next Thursday, the day before Spain’s World Cup match against Uruguay in Guadalajara, which the king will attend.

She said she and the king would speak about Indigenous people — “the importance of the people of Mexico throughout history, since before the Spanish arrived and now.”

King Felipe VI of Spain viewing exhibit in Madrid
King Felipe VI, seen here visiting the exposition “Half the world. The women of Indigenous Mexico” at Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum, has increasingly acknowledged “abuses” that occurred during the Spanish conquest of Mexico — an event that remains a point of diplomatic contention 500 years after the fact. (S.M. El Rey Felipe VI/Facebook)

Sheinbaum said she would speak to the king about “the value” Mexico’s Indigenous people “represent to the country.” She said she and the monarch would also speak about “other things,” but told reporters a formal agenda has not yet been set.

Like her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has called for an apology from Spain for abuses committed during the fall of Tenochtitlán and the colonial period.

Earlier this year, King Felipe VI acknowledged that during the Spanish conquest and colonization of America, “there were significant abuses” and “moral and ethical controversies.” Those remarks amounted to an unprecedented statement on the matter for a king of Spain.

Sheinbaum wishes El Tri good luck ahead of World Cup match against South Korea 

“Ready for the match,” Sheinbaum asked reporters at the start of her press conference.

“What’s the prediction?” she asked.

“… Who votes that la selección [Mexico’s national team] will win?” Sheinbaum asked before determining that the majority of the press corps believe El Tri will prevail.

The president wished “good luck with affection” to the Mexican team, and “all Mexicans.”

Sheinbaum said she planned to watch the Mexico-South Korea match at the National Palace, where she lives and works.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

Lost in translation? Not at Mexico City’s upcoming bilingual CDMX Comedy Fest

By
Lydia Leija
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0
Comedian performing in Woko Comedy Club in Mexico City's Condesa neighborhood
Woko Comedy Club in Mexico City's Condesa neighborhood will be one of six venues hosting performers during an upcoming bilingual comedy festival. (CDMX Comedy Fest)

The CDMX Comedy Fest is ready to take the city by storm this month, giving Mexico City locals and foreigners alike a place where they can find common ground — in laughter.

The event is scheduled to take place June 23-27 across six venues in Mexico City, all in the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods. Organizer Stephen Steers, who, with Mexican comedian Martín León, created this one-of-a-kind festival, says that the type of cultural connection this festival represents is all the more important these days, when everyone could use a smile on their face.

Comedian Martín León performing in Mexico City
Comedian Martín León is one of the organizers of the CDMX Comedy Fest, along with Stephen Steers, and will also perform. (Instagram)

“What we’re doing here is bringing positivity into a world where there’s a lot of negativity,” said Steers. “It’s just, ‘Hey, come sit down and laugh for a little bit.’”

The magic of a bilingual comedy festival

Steers calls the CDMX Comedy Fest a love letter to Mexico City, a multilingual platform for a common form of communication — laughter. For him, it is also an attempt to give back to the city what he has gotten from it: a warm welcome and a sense of belonging. 

“It’s like, I love being here. It’s a cool place. We have great people. We have great talent. And it deserves a chance in the conversation. English is a part of that because (with English) people pay more attention in some ways, but we also do (the show) in Spanish. And that can open the door to more vision and more people to see what’s happening here across the board, in English and in Spanish.” 

To understand the magic of this festival, one must understand the venues that keep the comedy flame alive in Mexico’s capital. These include El 139 in the Coyoacán neighborhood — a cramped, high-energy room where iconic comedians test their tightest sets — and the underground club Clandestino — with a secret pop-up location for every show. Both are local gems of the Mexico City standup scene.

“The English-language comedy scene here was largely built by Mexicans,” said Steers. “People like Mariana Ramírez, Efraín Lomelí, Martín León and others helped create spaces where we can all connect.”

These spaces are more than just rooms with a stage and a microphone. They are sweaty, intimate spaces where the boundary between the performer and the audience blurs. The CDMX Comedy Fest aims to bring this underground energy into its five different venues and capture that classic, indie comedy club vibe where locals and expats are forced to share a table and rub elbows — and where anything can happen.

Spanish vs. English humor  

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stephen Steers (@stephensteers_)

The CDMX Comedy Fest is meant to make two (and if possible, more) languages collide. The main objective is to bring people together to laugh in the face of a complicated real world, and to meet face-to-face and hear each other’s voices. 

For foreigners in Mexico City, it’s a unique — and very funny — opportunity to get to know another culture through jokes.

Mexicans take pride in their sense of humor. Each word spoken can have a twist, an addendum that changes its meaning. It requires a sharp mind both to create and understand Mexican jokes, which will, of course, present a challenge for foreign comedians like Steers himself. 

Mexican humor is “its own thing,” Steers acknowledges. “So doing stand-up in Spanish is difficult in some ways, but it’s a good challenge.”

Mexican Spanish loves albures (wordplay), a nearly untranslatable source of humor, and even a mystery for non-Mexican Spanish native speakers. Steeers says that’s one of the most difficult things to get (and replicate) when a foreigner tries to be part of Mexican stand-up.

But English isn’t lacking in linguistic tricks either; the flavor it injects into its humor also relies heavily on exploiting wordplay. 

“In English, one word can mean five things,” Steers said. “So, for example, the word ‘two’ is the number two. It’s also ‘to’, and ‘too.’ There are three different ways you can use that word right there. That could change in the way that you’re making a joke or the way you write.”

Who will be appearing?

From headliner Danysteria — bringing a fierce, millennial energy to the stage and navigating the absurdities of modern life with a sharp, unfiltered perspective — to comedians Martín León and Mariana Ramírez, bedrock members of the local comedy scene — everyone playing the CDMX Comedy Fest is an expert in manipulating language and leaving a room in tears of laughter. Along with Steers’ own sharp observational humor as a foreigner navigating this beautiful, chaotic metropolis, the festival promises a rollercoaster of styles. 

“Hopefully, everything’s really hilarious, and you love every bit of it, but that’s not how comedy works all the time. Sometimes you’ve got to make a mistake, but the whole thing is we want to bring people together for something positive.”

Lydia Leija is a linguist, journalist and visual storyteller. She has directed three feature films, and her audiovisual work has been featured in national and international media. She’s been part of National Geographic, Muy Interesante and Cosmopolitan.

In town for the World Cup?: Why you should eat spicy salsa while you’re here

By
Andrea Fischer
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3
Spicy salsas in Mexico
Mexico has a seemingly unending variety of piquant salsas, a legacy of its rich culinary history. (German Matus/Wikimedia Commons)

If you’ve decided to pay a visit to Mexico during the FIFA World Cup, you’ll no doubt also be checking out the country’s world famous food scene. Here’s a reminder of why it’s important to make sure you take an extra large spoonful of salsa with every bite.

As a regular diner at Mexico City taquerías, my partner constantly asks me to join him for tacos. More than once, we have witnessed foreign customers asking the taquero if the place offers spiceless salsa, especially in the trendy Condesa and Roma areas. “No picante,” they plead with heavy accents. Some play it safe and just order a side of guacamole. 

We understand. Eating spicy food begins in the cradle here in Mexico. Meanwhile, there is not even a word for picante or enchilarse in English. It all falls under the category “spicy,” which can refer to anything related to peppers or seasonings — from Indian masala to Mexican chile peppers. Due to the growing demand for mild salsa, however, some local eateries have succumbed to what their foreign customers want: less flavor. 

chile de árbol
Chile de árbol is one of 64 different chile pepper varieties native to Mexico. (Stephan Hinni/Unsplash)

Even though one can understand their cultural preferences, let’s be honest: No joy compares to eating tacos with a very spicy sauce. Beyond the fear of missing out, trying salsa bien enchilosa is a cultural experience, intimately connected with the Mesoamerican voices that can still be heard in our Mexican lands.

Honoring the great Tlatlauhqui Cihuatl Ichilzintli

Paleontological evidence shows that chiles have been grown in the Americas for at least 10,000 years. Specifically, per Universidad de Guadalajara researcher Edgar Pulido Chávez: “In the geographic, biocultural and climatic zone located between central Mexico and Central America, known as Mesoamerica.” In Mexico alone, there are at least 64 different varieties of chile. 

Given this spicy diversity, it was only natural for the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations in what is now Mexico to offer these precious fruits to their gods. “Chile was not exempt from ritual connotations and was part of the offerings made to the gods,” points out archaeologist and editor of Arqueología Mexicana magazine Enrique Vela. The Mexica even had a goddess of chiles, Tlatlauhqui Cihuatl Ichilzintli, which means “respectable lady of the great, red chile” in Nahuatl. 

Beyond the religious aspect of chiles, ancient Mexicans also used them to season their cuisine. Cacao, as a drink, was infused with chile seeds, which made it a bitter and spicy drink — definitely different from hot chocolate or the ceremonial cacao we know today. Moreover, spicy salsas have been deeply influenced not only by the pre-Hispanic culinary arts, but also by the Europeans who arrived on the continent in the 16th century. 

These syncretic elements make “Mexican sauces much more than just condiments,” according to the Mexican government. Rather, “they are an expression of Mexico’s rich culinary culture.”

¡Que pique! — Why trying spicy, hot salsa matters

Even today, centuries after the Mexica gods ceased to appear on the altars (officially), we Mexicans preserve a mythical relationship with chile and its different varieties. Enchilarse is a part of the daily experience for residents across the country, who long to feel the hot rush of their taste buds burning. 

A representation of Tlatlauhqui Cihuatl Ichilzintli, the pre-Hispanic goddess of chili, from the Florentine Codex
A representation of Tlatlauhqui Cihuatl Ichilzintli, the pre-Hispanic goddess of chile, taken from the Florentine Codex. (Héctor Zagal/X)

Because, yes, picante is not a flavor, but a sensation. “Also referred to as pungency,” notes Chávez in The Conversation, “it is an adaptation of the chile plant to defend its fruits from herbivorous mammals and other predators.” That is why, if someone is not exactly used to bathing their food with salsa, their body sweats and they feel the sudden need to drink a lot of water — disclaimer: water will not help.

This happens because the brain literally feels like the tongue is on fire. When the taste buds interact with capsaicin, the chemical substance that creates the hot feeling in the mouth, the saliva binds it to receptors called TRPV1. That’s when chile peppers — and practically anything that you prepare with them — start to sting or burn.

A rite of passage that is not for everyone

Even though this article is an open invitation for foreign visitors and people living in Mexico to try a primordial piece in the great mosaic of our cuisine, by all means, do not do something you’re not comfortable with. Again, chile peppers are naturally designed to defend themselves from predators. If your stomach is not used to these kinds of spices, you can easily get stomach aches and have memorably bad bathroom experiences. 

Beyond a worthy-of-mention warning, trying hot salsa does not imply covering your favorite Mexican dishes with it. Trying is just that: trying — probably just a few drops on your next visit to a local market, nearest puesto or taquería. This, of course, leads us to the following question:

Where to try authentic (and spicy) Mexican salsa?

The perfect place to try authentic and spicy Mexican salsas is in a Mexican home, of course. If you’re visiting a friend or have relatives living in Mexico, please ask them to share some of their homemade salsa with you. Especially if it’s made in a molcajete — that is an excellent starting point.

If you’re a digital nomad and don’t have any Mexican friends or relatives, a local market should be your top choice. Even Polanco, Mexico City’s most elegant neighborhood, has a local market. There are abundant helpings of “vitamin T” — tacos, tlacoyos, tamales, tortas and so on — and at the bar or the table, you will always find a bowl of salsa verde, salsa roja and sour cream. 

If you’re ever brave enough to try hot salsa in Mexico, instead of drinking tons of water to ease the burn, try tasting something salty — that’ll do the trick. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)

Not just an adventure, but a gateway to better-tasting food

If you’re feeling adventurous, try El Califa de León restaurant. This was the first authentic taquería in Mexico to ever receive a Michelin Guide star (although it subsequently lost it). You can embrace the entire experience, beginning with ordering your tacos al pastor directly from el trompo, that massive spinning top of pork fillet covered in axiote chili. But it’s best to arrive early, around 1 p.m., or you can expect a long line of customers waiting to try their beloved salsa roja.

Coyoacán is another recommended option. If you’re visiting or living in chaotic Mexico City, this is the borough to try the best Mexican hot salsas in the capital. Go to Mercado de Antojitos and get comfortable at the first quesadilla stand you find — you can thank me later. 

This article was first published in 2024.

Andrea Fischer contributes to the Mexico News Daily Features desk. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.

 

As a storm system forms in the Gulf, rain pummels Mexico’s north and east

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MND Staff
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Rain
Intense to torrential rainfall is forecast for areas of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, with the potential for flooding. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar / Cuartoscuro.com)

An area of ​​atmospheric instability in the Gulf of Mexico has prompted alerts from weather authorities in both Mexico and the United States, due to its potential development into a hurricane. 

Although the system still has a low to moderate probability of becoming a hurricane, it is already generating significant rainfall in several parts of Mexico. 

clean up in Monterrey
The heavy rains in Monterrey have forced city workers to remove accumulations of mud, debris and garbage. (Gabriela Pérez Montiel/Cuartoscuro)

According to the National Meteorological Service (SMN) of the National Water Commission (Conagua), the combination of this area of ​​instability and an unseasonal frontal system, low-pressure troughs and tropical wave No.7 is causing heavy to torrential rains in northern and eastern Mexico. 

In particular, intense to torrential rainfall is forecast for areas of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, with the potential for flooding, landslides, rising river and stream levels, and severe waterlogging in urban areas.

As a preventive measure, authorities ordered ships and fishermen to suspend activities due to the high waves that will affect navigation.

Instability in the Gulf is located off the coasts of Veracruz and Tamaulipas, and although models suggest the system could move northwest across the Gulf and subsequently approach the southeastern U.S., forecasters expect that the main immediate impact for Mexico will be rainfall rather than cyclonic winds. 

In contrast, southeastern states such as Campeche and Yucatán will register very high temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius before the storms.

Monterrey, Nuevo León’s capital and a World Cup host city, has been experiencing much of the recent heavy rains, forcing the suspension of the FIFA Fan Fest on Monday. There has been no official announcement regarding any further cancellations. 

Civil protection authorities are urging the public to stay informed through official channels and to take extreme precautions in areas vulnerable to flooding and landslides.

With reports from Players of Life and Ambas Manos

Thousands of Colombian fans make their jovial presence felt in Mexico City

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MND Staff
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Colombian fans
On the eve of their national team's World Cup opener, a multitude of enthusiastic Colombian fans turned the area around the Angel of Independence into a sea of yellow. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

Thousands of Colombians are making their colorful, loud and jovial presence felt in Mexico City ahead of their national soccer team’s debut at the FIFA men’s World Cup in Mexico City Stadium (Estadio Azteca) on Wednesday night.

Colombia, ranked 13th in FIFA’s world rankings, will take on Uzbekistan, ranked 50th, in the 24th match of the World Cup. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.

Silvestre Dangond
The Colombian “takeover” of Mexico City Tuesday included a concert by the Colombian star Silvestre Dangond at the Estadio GNP Seguros. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)

On the eve of the game, a multitude of Colombians — most wearing the bright yellow shirts of the national team or the yellow, red and blue colors of the Colombian flag — gathered around the Angel of Independence monument on Paseo de la Reforma, the stately avenue that leads into Mexico City’s Historic Center.

“Colombia takeover,” MND writer Bethany Platanella wrote in a message to colleagues above a video she filmed at El Ángel, as the Angel of Independence is commonly called. “… My neighborhood is a sea of yellow.”

ESPN reported that close to 10,000 soccer fans — including some 7,000 Colombians as well as Mexican fans of the Colombian team —  descended on Paseo de la Reforma to party around the Angel of Independence, where they interrupted traffic. Mexico City “heard the chant of ‘¡Colombia! ¡Colombia!” along the emblematic boulevard, the news outlet wrote.

The El País newspaper reported that the large crowd included Colombian residents of Mexico as well as visitors from the South American nation, whose best World Cup performance is a quarterfinal appearance in Brazil in 2014. El País also reported that a lot of the Colombian fans don’t have tickets for tonight’s match, but are nevertheless “living the experience” of being in Mexico City during the World Cup.

“We have the best impression of Mexico, which has welcomed us very warmly on our first visit here,” Patricia, a Colombian national, told El País at El Ángel.

Patricia, who traveled to Mexico with seven other members of her family, said: “We’re going to the opener to support our team and on the 20th we’re going to Guadalajara for the match against the Democratic Republic of Congo [on June 23].

The Colombian fan said she and her family would also be supporting Mexico, which plays its second match against South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday night.

Another Colombian fan among the singing, dancing and flag-waving crowd at El Ángel was Mariana, who spoke to the El Financiero newspaper.

“We’re super fans, we always support our country, we hope this time we do something more,” she said, expressing her hope that the Colombian team — which received a warm welcome from fans when arriving at a Mexico City hotel earlier this week — will reach the latter stages of the quadrennial tournament.

Mariana told El Financiero that there is “una hermandad” (a brotherhood, sisterhood or fraternity) between Colombians, Mexicans and other Latinos.

The Los Angeles Times reported that visiting Colombians feel at home in Mexico, where the Colombian football team will play two of its three World Cup group matches. Apart from the soccer, the Colombian fans are enjoying the sounds, sights and tastes of the country.

Juan Ortiz, a Colombian fan from Cali who is currently in Mexico City, told The Los Angeles Times that tacos al pastor and quesadillas are the foods he has liked the most during his visit. He also said he likes “el chile que pica” — chilis (or salsa) with a spicy kick.

“We’ve found ourselves in an incredible country,” Ortiz said. “Wherever we go, we feel the love from Mexicans to Colombians and we feel at home.”

Silvia López, a visitor from Baranquilla, expressed a similar sentiment.

“[Mexico] is a marvelous place,” she told the L.A. Times.

“I came to the World Cup thinking we would be rivals, but Mexicans surprised me making me feel part of their lives,” López said. “I’m extremely grateful for the expressions of affection.”

Arístides Guzmán, who traveled to Mexico with his wife and 14-year-old son from the Colombian city of Neiva, told El País that the cost of the trip was completely worth it. He also said that the World Cup in Mexico has been well organized.

“We know that there are some [protest] rallies, but nothing that hinders the World Cup environment,” Guzmán said.

Needless to say, the Colombian football team will have plenty of support at Mexico City Stadium on Thursday night when it takes on Uzbekistan, which is playing in the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

It remains to be seen how much support the Central Asian country will have at “El Azteca,” as the stadium is colloquially known, but whatever number of Uzbek fans are present, it appears certain they will be outnumbered by cheering, singing and dancing colombianos, who may well head back to El Ángel to celebrate should their team prevail tonight.

With reports from El País, Los Angeles Times, El Financiero and ESPN

Mexico and South Korea partnering on plan to build space launch pads

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MND Staff
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Rocket flying into space
The two space agencies have together conducted "preliminary studies" focused on the development of launch pads in Mexico, according to information provided to Expansión magazine by Mexico's Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT). (Unsplash)

Mexico and South Korea are collaborating on a plan aimed at the eventual construction of launch pads in Mexico, from which satellites and other spacecraft could be launched into orbit.

In June 2024, the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) signed an agreement that Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) said would allow the formalization of “collaboration actions to develop space infrastructure in Mexico.”

“Based on [the agreement], a joint feasibility study will be carried out about launch pads, seeking to initiate, with this infrastructure, Mexico’s entry into the global satellite launch market,” the SICT said in a statement after the agreement was signed.

Two years later, the collaboration between the AEM and the KARI is part of the 2026-2030 Mexican Space Plan, according to the news outlet Expansión, which cited a Mexican Space Program document published earlier this month in the federal government’s official gazette.

Via a freedom of information request, Expansión also obtained documents from the federal government that provide additional information about the AEM-KARI collaboration.

The news outlet reported that the two space agencies have together conducted “preliminary studies” focused on the development of launch pads in Mexico, but the 2026-2030 Mexican Space Plan proposes that a more detailed technical and financial feasibility study be carried out.

Expansión wrote that documents it obtained show that the cooperation agreement between the AEM and the KARI include details on the intent to draw up a “work plan to select the location of a future [launch] pad, calculate the construction costs, determine the permits [required] and safety regulations, and develop a business model that allows the operation to be profitable.”

The news outlet said that documents show that “there will be no technological transfer” from Korea to Mexico, adding that the “absence” of such transfer “represents one of the main challenges of the project” whose ultimate aim is to build launch pads in Mexico.

Mexico building its own satellites to monitor climate, security threats

“These types of mechanisms are often considered essential for a nation not only to acquire technology developed abroad, but also to learn how to adapt and perfect it and eventually develop its own scientific and industrial capabilities,” Expansión wrote.

Korea has its own orbital launch pads, whereas Mexico does not.

Expansión didn’t cite any specific date when a first launch pad could be built in Mexico as the result of the collaboration with Korea.

“In the documents consulted, the Mexican Space Agency didn’t provide details on the progress and reach of the collaboration [with the KARI], as said information is still of a confidential nature,” Expansión said.

However, if the collaboration with Korea eventually does lead to the construction of one or more launch pads in Mexico, the Mexican government and Mexican companies could send satellites into space from Mexico, ending, or at least easing, the current dependence on foreign launch pads such as those provided by SpaceX in the United States.

With reports from Expansión

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