Saturday, May 3, 2025

Mexico’s 3 presidential hopefuls publish first campaign ads

By
MND Staff
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Sheinbaum Garcia Galvez
The three presidential hopefuls: Claudia Sheinbaum (left), Samuel Garcia (center) and Xóchitl Gálvez (right). (Photos from social media and Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s presidential election “pre-campaign” period officially began Monday, 195 days before citizens go to the polls to elect a successor to Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).

While they have plenty of time to sell themselves to voters ahead of the June 2, 2024 election, the three confirmed presidential hopefuls all got off to a running start, holding “pre-campaign” launch events in different cities around the country.

Xochitl Chihuahua
Candidates have been holding rallies across Mexico as the election season begins to ramp up. Here, Xóchitl Gálvez speaks to supporters in Chihuahua. (Xóchitl Gálvez/X)

Claudia Sheinbaum, Xóchitl Gálvez and Samuel García also promptly released their first promotional commercials, known in Mexico as “spots.”

Let’s take a look at how the presidential aspirants – presented here in alphabetical order by surname – are attempting to connect with voters and position themselves as the best choice for the nation next June.

Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz – Broad Front for Mexico (PAN, PRI, PRD)

The candidate for the Broad Front for Mexico (FAM), an opposition bloc made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), gives an overview of her life story in a 71-second commercial posted to social media on Monday.

Xóchitl Gálvez at a forum
Xóchitl Gálvez is the opposition for the Broad Front for Mexico, comprised of the nations traditional ruling powers. (Jorge Ortega/Cuartoscuro)

“I was born here in Tepatepec, Hidalgo, 60 years ago,” begins Gálvez, who has Indigenous Otomí ancestry.

“At the age of eight, I sold the famous Jell-Os here to help my family,” she says, emphasizing her humble beginnings in life as she stands outside the Tepatepec market.

Gálvez, a PAN senator currently on leave from that position, goes on to recount her departure from Hidalgo to “try her luck” in Mexico City.

“No manches [holy crap], arriving at the age of 17 to live here in [the sprawling borough of] Iztapalapa was a great challenge,” says the FAM candidate, who is well known for her use of colloquial language.

Continuing a tour of her past, Gálvez appears in front of the National Autonomous University Faculty of Engineering where she studied computer engineering and a building where the smart buildings entrepreneur began her “dream to be a businesswoman.”

“My life’s cause has been Indigenous peoples,” adds the presidential aspirant, who headed up Mexico’s Indigenous affairs agency during the presidency of Vicente Fox (2000-06).

Gálvez subsequently acknowledges that her 2010 tilt at the governorship of her home state of Hidalgo was unsuccessful, but notes that she did win the mayoral election in the Mexico City of Miguel Hidalgo in 2015.

Toward the end of the “spot,” she reminds voters that as a senator she voted in favor of enshrining the old-age pension and government social programs in the constitution, seeking to debunk claims from President López Obrador and others that she is anti-welfare.

“This is the door that I knocked on and wasn’t opened for me,” Gálvez says, referring to her attempt to confront López Obrador at one of his morning press conferences at the National Palace earlier this year.

“But millions of Mexicans opened their doors to me. Thanks to them, today I want to be your candidate and together we’re going to open the doors of the [National] Palace for everyone,” she says before the commercial ends with a voice-over of the slogan “Xóchitl, strong like you!”

Samuel García Sepúlveda – Citizens Movement

“I’m Samuel García,” the Nuevo León governor proclaims confidently in his maiden pre-campaign commercial as he walks through a public park.

Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia
Popular Nuevo León Governor Samuel García is an outlier in the presidential race, having made a late entrance to proceedings. (Samuel Garcia/Twitter)

“There are those who say I’m a meme,” the Citizens Movement (MC) party “pre-candidate” continues, acknowledging that some Mexicans don’t take him seriously.

“What they don’t tell you is that I defeated the old politics of Nuevo León,” García says, referring to rule of the PRI and the PAN in the northern border state.

“There are those who say I’m a Whitexican, the one [who spoke about] the low salary of 50,000 pesos [per month],” he adds, mentioning his remark in 2020 that there are people who are “happy” despite earning what he considered to be a miserly wage.

“What they don’t tell you is that we reduced extreme poverty by half.”

García, who was a federal senator before he became governor, also acknowledges that he is known for scolding his wife, influencer Mariana Rodríguez, for “showing too much leg” in a 2020 Instagram live conversation between the pair.

“Yes, I made a mistake and I’m still learning,” he says, adding that “what they don’t tell you” is that he is the first governor in the history of Nuevo León to have a cabinet with more women than men.

“There are those who say that I’m always traveling. What they don’t tell you is that in just two years we brought US $42 billion in foreign investment [to Nuevo León],” says the 35-year-old who has made several trips abroad to court companies such as Tesla and Kawasaki.

“… There are those who say that I’m very new, and yes, in that, they’re right. I’m the one with new ideas, the one [attracting] new investment and the one with new ways of doing politics,” asserts García, who is set to take a six-month leave of absence of governor from early December to focus on his presidential dream.

“The new thing is to make the impossible possible. And if you don’t believe me, ask Nuevo León,” he concludes.

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo – Morena, PT, PVEM

“Mexico is being reborn with shared prosperity, with democracy, rights and freedoms, with investment for well-being,” the 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor and presidential frontrunner declares in her first pre-campaign “spot.”

Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and Morena candidate for president in 2024. (Cuartoscuro)

With that opening, Sheinbaum, who will represent the ruling Morena party as well as the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM), effectively says that López Obrador – her political mentor – already has Mexico on the right track.

“Security is provided with justice. We don’t want to make peace with corruption and privileges. Returning to the past is not an option,” she continues, implying that she will perpetuate the process of “transformation” the current president and his government claim to be undertaking.

In contrast to her rivals, Sheinbaum doesn’t dominate screen time in her first pre-campaign commercial. Instead, numerous “everyday” Mexicans appear as the Morena presidential hopeful speaks.

The apparent aim? To show that she – as AMLO frequently claims to be – is a champion of the ordinary people of Mexico (rather than an advocate for the rich and powerful) and thus their logical choice next June.

“The greatness of Mexico is in our people, culture and history,” says Sheinbaum, a physicist and environmental scientist who was environment minister in Mexico City when López Obrador was mayor in the early 2000s.

“I’m proud to be part of the transformation, proud to be Mexican! Let’s keep building the best Mexico possible,” she concludes.

Polls show that Sheinbaum, who has already released a number of other “spots,” is a clear favorite to win the election next June and become Mexico’s first female president.

A recent poll conducted by the El Financiero newspaper found that she had 46% support, ahead of Gálvez on 28% and García on 8%.

The pre-campaign period concludes in January, while the official campaign period – during which the candidates will go head to head in debates – starts March 1 and runs through May 29.

In addition to choosing a new president on June 2, Mexicans will renew both houses of federal Congress and elect thousands of people to state and municipal positions.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])

Puerto Escondido: From sleepy backwater to the new hip destination

By
Leigh Thelmadatter
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One of the bungalows of Ocean Oasis in Agua Blanca. (Courtesy: Curtis and Tracy Goure)

With over 10,000 km of oceanfront, Mexico is still blessed with beaches that are (relatively) untouched. But more and more are being “discovered” by Mexicans and foreigners, bringing the perennial challenge of balancing conservation and economic development.

One area experiencing this quite acutely is the Oaxaca coast from Puerto Escondido southwest towards the already-developed Huatulco. As local newsletter publisher Tony Richards says, “The world has discovered Puerto Escondido and the world has been coming.”

Sea turtles remain economically important to Mazunte, just down the coast. But instead of slaughtering them as in the past, the town depends on them for tourism. The animals are the basis for Mazunte’s status a Pueblo Mágico. (Alejandro Linares García)

Puerto Escondido has a strong reputation for being a hidden getaway known only to the adventurous. In the colonial period, it hid pirate ships from authorities. Through the 20th century, development was spotty at best, overlooked by other areas on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The boom

It was always known. Puerto Escondido has long attracted those looking for a quiet getaway, and Zipolite Beach is internationally famous among professional surfers.

The main attraction has always been long stretches of (nearly) undeveloped beach. My first visit 20 years ago took me to La Ventanilla. Looking down a beach with no human structures in sight was terrific.

Nearly unspoiled beaches like La Boquilla and El Venado exist, but no one expects them to last forever.

Puerto Escondido (simply called “Puerto” by locals) is the cultural and economic center of the region, now a bustling small city with plenty of bars, restaurants and all kinds of lodging. It and Huatulco attract about 65% of the visitors to Oaxaca’s coast. These visitors are mostly Mexicans from central and northern Mexico (thanks to the airport). Foreign visitors that make it here are overwhelmingly from North America, but it is becoming more popular with Europeans. 

The recent growth of Puerto has pushed some locals and others to explore the coast for more quiet, but the city is still different from Puerto Vallarta. Many elements of a small town remain. Walking the old city and waterfront esplanade (malecón) remains popular, especially during cooler temperatures. But traffic and the growing presence of English underscores how Puerto is changing.

These changes prompt development along nearby beaches, but it needs to be more balanced. For example, Mazunte is developing rapidly partly because of its turtle fame and status as a Pueblo Mágico. But places like Agua Blanca are still pretty quiet due to the need for more reliable electricity, potable water, and cell phone service.

Playa Carrizalillo. (Flickr)

Why now?

Development of the Puerto stretch of coast has proceeded slowly until recently as several factors come together.

First, a 20-year effort to build a modern highway connecting Oaxaca city with Puerto Escondido may finally open “soon” as progress is made on a tiny stretch left. While the new and large airport has been significant, the highway means cutting travel time from 6 hours on winding roads to 2, meaning that visitors to Oaxaca no longer “need to choose” between the two regions.

The next was the pandemic, says Richards. Ironically, it brought many people to the area looking to escape, assembling them in Puerto. He says it and the Starlink have been “game-changers,” as digital nomads are now flocking to the area. 

Effect on the local economy and culture

Overview of Ocean Oasis in Agua Blanca, a still relatively isolated beach community. (Courtesy: Curtis and Tracy Goure)

As expected, the boom in tourism and the arrival of short and long-term new residents produced mixed results. Almost everyone in the region is involved in tourism in some way, at least part of the year, so more tourists means more opportunities. Those opportunities are not equally “shared” as those with outside investment money or connections to government tourism agencies (often the same) tend to benefit more. Farmers and fishermen struggle to maintain access to land, water, and fishing rights they need to maintain traditional livelihoods, even well inland from the beach. 

There are complaints that the influx of outsiders (foreigners and Mexicans) is gentrifying the area, driving land prices beyond the reach of locals. Richards notes that land prices have gone up as much as fourfold only in the past few years, but beachfront property has not been within reach of most locals for a long time. He adds that local reaction to new outsiders is mixed, with some even stating “…if [foreigners] respect us and our laws they have a “right to come here.”

The most important is developing the region without spoiling the laid-back feel that brings people here and, more importantly, the environment. Richards notes, “You can maintain an attraction if you plan for the growth and act accordingly.” Unfortunately, Mexico’s political class does not have a very good track record here. 

Tourism development in Mexico has long been plagued by insufficient planning, even for basics like water and sewerage, and uncontrolled growth that ignores federal laws related to ejido (communal) land rights and environmental protection.

The main challenges ahead

Slawomir and Barbara Grunberg established the Beachfront Paradise Boutique Hotel after their successful pierogi restaurant in Puerto Escondido.

Two issues right now have provoked the ire of residents of all types. One is that insufficiently treated sewage is polluting beaches. The other is the development of Punta Colorada, still mostly pristine beach and lagoon but very close to the new airport. The federal government expropriated it in the 1970s for development, but only recently has its interest in it returned.

Local concerns are often ignored, both because of the attitudes of Mexico’s elites and because locals often feel that they cannot do anything about what is happening.

This may not be the case in Puerto Escondido. Richards states that younger Mexicans, in particular, are “furious” about these two cases and more, and they make up a larger percentage of tourists and new residents than in other oceanside communities. Complaints and protests are far stronger than what was seen in the past, including one just last September in Puerto. 

New property owners, aware of the development down the road, are not waiting for the government to protect their investment. Slawomir and Barbara Grunberg of Beach Front Paradise and Curtis and Tracy Goure of Ocean Oasis in Agua Blanca organize with neighbors to educate themselves on local law and custom, not only to get basic services (like electricity) but also to protect the environment of “their little piece of paradise.”

With any luck, such grassroots organizations can mitigate some of the effects of chaotic development, keeping the beaches from Puerto to Huatulco a quiet getaway for the next generation.

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.

First winter storm of the season brings snow to northern Mexico

By
MND Staff
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It was a cold, snowy Wednesday morning in Chihuahua as the season's first winter storm swept through. (meteoredmx / X)

Cold front number 11 has brought low temperatures and precipitation, resulting in some snowy landscapes in various regions of Mexico, particularly in the north.

Residents of these regions took to social media and shared photos of snow-covered areas in their communities. 

The mountainous northern states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Durango all saw snow as a result of the weather. (MxPerspectiva/X)

On Wednesday morning, the National Meteorological System (SNM) reported that the first winter storm in the northern plateau would bring rain or snowfall to the mountainous regions of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Durango. 

Frigid temperatures in high-altitude areas of the northwest, north, northeast, east and center of Mexico are also expected due to the polar air mass associated with the cold front.  

In the mountains of Chihuahua, Durango and Sonora, the SNM has forecast frost and temperatures oscillating between -10  and -5 degrees Celsius. 

High altitude areas of Baja California, Coahuila, México state, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas can expect temperatures between -5 to 0 degrees Celsius, while some regions of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Veracruz will see minimum temperatures ranging between to 0 to 5 degrees Celsius.

CDMX cold front
Residents in the capital covered up as temperatures dropped to single figures. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico City will see minimum temperatures of 6 to 8 degrees Celsius and maximums of 20 to 22 degrees, while México state can expect minimum temperatures of 5 to 7 degrees Celsius and maximums of 18 to 20. 

Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán can expect normal temperatures ranging from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius; Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca will feel slightly cooler at 30 to 35 degrees.

The low-pressure system will extend from the northeast of the Gulf of Mexico to the country’s southeast, interacting with other low-pressure channels in Mexico. Torrential rains are predicted in Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz and Oaxaca, while heavy rains are forecast for Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero and Campeche. 

Likewise, high humidity levels will increase the likelihood of snow or sleet in mountainous areas with elevations above 4,200 meters. Some of the possibly affected areas are: Nevado de Toluca, Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, Sierra Negra, La Malinche, Cofre de Perote and Pico de Orizaba.

With reports from El Universal, Milenio and Conagua

How the Mexican Revolution inspired the Cuban Revolution

By
Sheryl Losser
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Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution. (Britannica)

Almost everyone in the world knows that Fidel Castro – assisted by his brother Raúl and Argentine doctor Ernesto “Che” Guevara – led the movement that overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba in 1959.  What many people don’t know is that the Cuban Revolution was hatched in Mexico and inspired by the Mexican Revolution.

On July 26, 1953, trying to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, Castro led a group of 150 revolutionaries in an attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba.  The assault was defeated and Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but due to public pressure, he and his brother Raúl along with a large number of other Cuban revolutionaries were released from prison in 1955 as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners.

Raúl and the other exiles fled to Mexico and Fidel followed shortly afterward, flying into Mérida on July 7th and making his way to Mexico City. He met up with Raúl at the apartment of Cuban exile María Antonia Gonzaléz in the Tabacalera neighborhood, where he met Che Guevara for the first time. The apartment became the command post and one of a network of clandestine houses in Mexico City that became safe locations for the revolutionaries.

Meanwhile, the safe houses began training exiles for the return to Cuba.  Castro imposed strict and rigorous regulations for the soldiers. The revolutionaries practiced their rowing at the lake in Chapultepec Park, received physical and self-defense training from Mexican professional wrestler Arsacio Vanegas and held target practice at the Los Gamitos range in the borough of Alvaro Obregón.

In March 1956, Guevara headed up a guerilla camp at the Santa Rosa ranch, close to the small town of Santa Catarina Ayotzingo in the state of México. Raúl was responsible for rounding up the Cuban exiles who had fled to Mexico. For assistance in acquiring weapons and transportation to Cuba, Fidel relied on Mexican gunsmith and weapons smuggler Antonio del Conde Pontones, alias “El Cuate.”

The  Cuban exiles – known as the July 26 Movement, or M-26-7 –  had left Cuba without anything, including resources. Castro and his troops lived on beans and rice, frequenting taco stands. Revolutions need money, however, and Castro developed a bold plan to obtain funding. In “Guerrillero del tiempo,” a memoir that brings together hours of interviews between the revolutionary and the Cuban journalist Katiuska Blanco, Fidel recounted a trip to the US-Mexico border at McAllen, Texas, where he swam across the Rio Grande and illegally entered the United States to meet with the disgraced former Cuban President Carlos Prío Socarros, who had been exiled after being deposed by Batista’s 1952 coup – Castro and Prio had a common enemy in Batista.

Street in La Habana Vieja. (Unsplash)

Castro recounts in his memoir – “Guerrillero del Tiempo” written by biographer Katiuska Blanco based on hours of interviews – that he was “humiliated” to ask Prio for money that he knew had been stolen from the Cuban Treasury but took the cash anyway.

Aware of the Castro brothers’ plan to overthrow Batista, the Federal Security Directorate (DFS), the Mexican political police, had been monitoring the movements and actions of the July 26 Movement. A report authored by DFS Captain Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios, dated June 24, 1956, and kept hidden for decades in the confidential files of the Ministry of the Interior, outlined their plans.

Barrios was a feared agent of the DFS and for years was responsible for the persecution of peasant, union, student and guerilla movements of the last century. In July 1956, Castro and Guevara were detained. After several weeks of detention, former President Lázaro Cárdenas intervened to have them released. A Constitutionalist general in the Mexican Revolution, Cárdenas had been a very popular left-leaning reformer in office and continued to support Castro after the victory of the Cuban Revolution.

In an odd twist, Castro and Barrios formed a relationship based on friendship and mutual respect. Castro told biographer Blanco that he considered Barrios a “friend” and a “gentleman and honorable man.” 

After Castro and Guevara were released, they began implementing their plan.  After 18 months of planning, their soldiers had been trained, they had acquired the necessary weapons and Antonio del Conde had found them a ride: a small, second-hand yacht named the “Granma,”  moored in Tuxpan, Veracruz.  They planned on meeting with the remainder of the insurgents at the Mi Ranchito hotel in Xicotepec de Juárez in the state of Puebla to finalize their last-minute preparations.

Before leaving Mexico City, Castro went to meet with his friend Barrios one last time where he outlined their plans. In a 1999 interview with BBC, Barrios admitted that he knew all the details of their plans and intentionally delayed an investigation to give them time to embark for Cuba.

On November 25, 1956, the 82 insurgents arrived in Tuxpan and squeezed themselves onto the Granma, a boat that would normally accommodate 10 to 12 people, and left on their treacherous trip to Cuba.

When they reached Cuba’s shores, they shipwrecked on the southern coast and were spotted and ambushed by Cuban authorities, who killed all but eight men. Fidel, Raúl, Guevara and a few of their men – with only seven guns between them – fled to the Sierra Maestra mountains.  

The members of the July 26 Movement spent the next two years recruiting and training more insurgents and fighting Batista’s military. On New Year’s Eve, Batista fled Cuba for the Dominican Republic, and Fidel’s 9,000-strong guerilla army marched into Havana in triumph. Castro became Prime Minister of Cuba and remained in power for 49 years, dying in 2015 at the age of 90.

Castro admitted that Cuba’s revolution probably would not have been possible without the Mexican Revolution that preceded it 50 years earlier.  It provided the blueprint for the Cuban Revolution.  “Mexico was a country that had carried out a great revolution in the second decade of the 20th century, a revolution that had a lot of prestige and left behind a lot of progressive thinking and a stable government,” he recalls in “Guerrillero del tiempo.”

Reminders of Castro’s 18-month exile in Mexico are still visible today in Mexico City. The building at 49 José de Emporan where María Antonia González had an apartment is marked with a plaque commemorating the location where Castro and Guevara first met. Café La Habana, which claims to have been the site of meetings between the Cuban revolutionaries, still stands in the Juárez neighborhood.

Fernando Barrios went on to become the director of the DFS from 1964 to 1970, during the height of state terror in Mexico. The controversial agency, which committed a litany of human rights violations and suffered from pervasive corruption, was disbanded in 1985.  The building that served as the DFS headquarters, where Castro and Guevara were detained, is now the Sitio de Memoria Circular de Morelia in Roma Norte. It stands as witness to the human rights violations that occurred during the 1960s and ‘70s and is dedicated to preventing those practices in the future. 

Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive, researcher, writer, and editor. She has been writing professionally for 35 years.  She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing. She can be reached at [email protected]

Mexico in Numbers: 30 years of trade and investment growth

By
MND Staff
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Manzanillo port
As the 30th anniversary of the signature of the historic NAFTA trade agreement approaches, we look at how Mexico's trade has exploded and foreign direct investment has flowed into the country. (Shutterstock)

Jan. 1, 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the commencement of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Superseded by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, on July 1, 2020, the three-way pact had a profound impact on the Mexican economy during its 26-year lifespan – both good and bad, depending on who you ask.

Signing of NAFTA
President Bill Clinton signs supplemental agreements to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. (Wikimedia Commons)

One thing that cannot be disputed is the enormous boost NAFTA gave to Mexico’s trade relationship with its northern neighbor, which just happens to be the world’s largest economy.

A decade after it took effect, the International Monetary Fund said in a 2004 paper that the result of the free trade agreement “has been to spur a dramatic increase in trade and financial flows among the NAFTA partners and to contribute to making North America one of the most economically integrated regions in the world.”

Almost 20 years later, North America remains a highly-integrated economic area, and the value of Mexico’s exports to the United States hit a new record high in the first nine months of 2023.

As Mexico’s exports to North America – and the world – increased over the past 30 years or so, so too did foreign direct investment (FDI) to Mexico.

signing of USMCA agreement in 2018
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement was signed in 2018 by all three nations’ leaders. Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto (left), signed the free trade agreement that succeeded NAFTA shortly before leaving office. (Ron Przysucha/U.S. Department of State)

This edition of “Mexico in Numbers” examines a range of data related to Mexican exports and FDI inflows, with special emphasis on how export revenue and investment have increased in recent decades.

Unless indicated otherwise, the data in this article comes from official Mexican sources, including the Economy Ministry and the national statistics agency INEGI.

The path to (what should soon be) US $600 billion 

Mexico’s exports in 1993 – the year before NAFTA took effect – were worth $51.88 billion, with almost 83% of that total coming from shipments to the United States.

In 1994, the total value of exports shot up 17% to $60.88 billion as the value of goods sent to the U.S. increased by $8.7 billion, or 20%, in the space of a year.

In 2000 – the seventh full year with NAFTA in effect – the total value of Mexico’s exports reached $166.12 billion, an increase of 220% compared to 1993.

Apart from a couple of hiccups, the value of Mexico’s exports continued to grow through the first decade of the new century to reach $298.47 billion in 2010, an impressive 475% increase compared to the pre-NAFTA level.

In 2014 – as the three-way trade pact celebrated 20 years of existence – the value of exports hit $396.91 billion before declining 4% to $380.55 billion in 2015 after NAFTA turned 21 on Jan. 1 of that year.

There was another decline in 2016, but the value of exports Mexican exports hit a new milestone the following year, exceeding $400 billion for the first time ever. The $409.43 billion value of exports in 2017 was almost 700% higher than the 1993 pre-NAFTA level.

In that year, exports to the U.S. accounted for 80% of the total, with shipments to Canada, Mexico’s other NAFTA partner, representing just under 3%.

The value of Mexico’s exports continued to increase in 2018 and 2019 before hitting a roadblock in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when production at many factories shut down for part of the year.

Despite the decline, export revenue remained above $400 billion, and the sector came roaring back in 2021 – the first full year of USMCA – to hit a new record high of $494.76 billion, an increase of almost 19% compared to 2020.

The value of exports rose again in 2022, increasing 17% to hit $578.19 billion. That monetary figure is a whopping 1,014% higher than the $51.88 billion in export revenue generated in 1993.

In the first nine months of this year, exports were worth $441.53 billion, a 2.7% increase compared to the same period of 2022.

If the 2.7% increase is maintained until the end of the year, Mexico’s exports will be worth just under $594 billion in 2023. Will 2024 be the year they hit and go beyond $600 billion?

Where do Mexico’s exports go? 

Given that the world’s largest economy is on its doorstep, it’s no surprise that Mexico sends the lion’s share of its exports to the United States.

In the first nine months of 2023, about 83% of Mexico’s export revenue came from goods sent to the United States, with shipments to other trade partners around the world generating the remaining 17%.

Data for 2021 provides a more detailed breakdown of the destination of Mexican exports.

In that year, 80.8% of Mexico’s export revenue came from shipments to the U.S., while 2.6% came from goods sent to Canada, meaning that 83.4% of total export income came from USMCA partners.

The following were Mexico’s top 10 export destinations in terms of revenue in 2021:

  1. United States, $399.97 billion, 80.8% of the total.
  2. Canada, $13.06 billion, 2.6%.
  3. China, $9.25 billion, 1.9%.
  4. Germany, $7.54 billion, 1.5%.
  5. South Korea, $6.91 billion, 1.4%.
  6. Spain, $4.91 billion, 1%.
  7. India, $4.26 billion, 0.9%.
  8. Japan, $4.18 billion, 0.8%.
  9. Brazil, $3.65 billion, 0.7%.
  10. Colombia, $3.43 billion, 0.7%.

Which sectors are Mexico’s largest exporters?

The manufacturing sector brought in 89% of Mexico’s export revenue in the first nine months of 2023. Just over 35% of the $393.06 billion in manufacturing sector export revenue came from shipments of vehicles and auto parts, while almost 65% came from non-auto manufactured goods.

Automotive manufacturing plant in Puebla
Revenue from the export of vehicles and automotive parts accounted for just over 35% of total manufacturing sector exports. (MIREYA NOVO/ CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Oil shipments brought in 5.6% of export revenue in the first nine months of the year, while agricultural products accounted for 3.7% of the total.

The mining sector generated 1.6% of Mexico’s export revenue between January and September.

Mexico’s growing share of the market for exports to the U.S. 

Mexico was the United States’ largest trade partner in the first nine months of 2023, with two-way trade totaling $599.79 billion, according to U.S. government data.

Mexico had a 15.5% share of the export market to the U.S., ahead of Canada and China, which both had a 13.7% share in the first nine months of 2023.

In 2023, Mexico has displaced China as the biggest exporter to the United States after the Asian economic powerhouse had a 16.5% share of the market in 2022, ahead of Mexico, which had a 14.2% share.

Data shows that Mexico’s share of the export market to the U.S. has gradually increased over the past 15 years or so. It had an 11.1% share in 2009, a 13.1% share in 2015 and a 13.7% share in 2020.

Meanwhile, China’s share of the same market has declined in recent years amid its trade war with the U.S.

China had a 21.2% share of the market in 2015, but that figure dropped to 17.9% in 2020 and continued to fall in subsequent years to reach 13.7% in the first nine months of 2023.

Exports as a percentage of GDP

Mexico’s exports contributed to 43.4% of national gross domestic product in 2022, according to the World Bank. That figure has trended upwards over the past 50 years or so.

Exports made up 25.4% of GDP in 2000, 29.7% in 2010 and 34.5% in 2015.

Imports to Mexico

Imports to Mexico have also increased significantly over the past 30 years.

Mexico imported goods worth $65.36 billion in 1993, but that figure shot up 21.4% to $79.34 billion in 1994 after NAFTA took effect.

(Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

In 2000, the value of imports to Mexico was $174.45 billion, while in 2010 imported goods were worth $301.48 billion, a 361% increase compared to the pre-NAFTA level.

The value of imports went above $400 billion for the first time in 2017 and exceeded $500 billion in 2021.

Imports increased again in 2022, hitting a record high of $604.61 billion. Mexico thus recorded a trade deficit of $26.42 billion last year.

Imports were worth $451.62 billion in the first nine months of 2023, a 0.9% decline compared to the same period of last year.

How many free trade agreements does Mexico have?

The levels of growth in exports and imports seen in recent decades quite simply wouldn’t have occurred without the existence of free trade agreements between Mexico and various nations/economic blocs around the world.

AMLO and Ursula von der Leyen
AMLO hosted European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen at the National Palace in June to discuss trade, security and energy policy. (AMLO/Twitter)

Mexico has 15 FTAs covering trade relationships with more than 50 countries, according to Tetakawi, a company that helps foreign firms establish a presence in Mexico.

They include the USMCA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Mexico-European Union Agreement and the Pacific Alliance.

Foreign direct investment in Mexico over the past 40+ years

FDI in Mexico could exceed $40 billion in 2023. Forty years ago it totaled just $683.7 million.

Data shows that foreign investment in Mexico has generally trended upward since 1980, although there have been years when FDI has decreased significantly from the previous year, including in 1995 in the wake of the Mexican peso crisis, and in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

Let’s first take a look at how FDI inflows changed in 10 year intervals between 1980 and 2010.

Just over $1.6 billion in foreign investment came into Mexico in the first years of the 80s, but that figure more than doubled to reach $3.72 billion in 1990, when former president Carlos Salinas de Gortaria held office for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

In 2000 – the final year of more than seven decades of uninterrupted PRI rule – FDI totaled $18.24 billion, representing a remarkable 1,025% increase compared to 20 years prior.

In 2010, with ex-president Felipe Calderón in office, FDI was $27.18 billion, an increase of 49% compared to 2000.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico was up 2.4% in Q3 2023 over Q3 2022. (SE)

FDI hit a record high of $48.35 billion in 2013, a figure that was boosted significantly by the sale of brewer Grupo Modelo to Anheuser Busch InBev, a Belgian multinational.

While FDI hasn’t exceeded $40 billion since 2013, it has remained above $30 billion every year with the exception of COVID-plagued 2020, when foreign investment was $28.21 billion.

FDI was $31.82 billion in 2021 and $36.3 billion in 2022. In the first nine months of this year, FDI was $32.92 billion, according to preliminary data.

Which countries are the biggest investors in Mexico?

Just over two-fifths of the total FDI in Mexico in the first nine months of the year — 41% or $13.5 billion — came from the United States.

Spain ranked second, investing $3.7 billion or 11% of the FDI total in Mexico between January and September.

The top 10 countries of origin for FDI in Mexico in 2023. (SE)

Ranking third to tenth for FDI in Mexico in the first three quarters of 2023 were:

  • Germany, $2.8 billion, 9% of the FDI total.
  • Argentina, $2.5 billion, 7%
  • Japan, $2.4 billion, 7%
  • Canada, $2.2 billion, 7%
  • United Kingdom, $1 billion, 3%
  • Netherlands, $600 million, 2%
  • France, $500 million, 1.5%
  • Switzerland, $500 million, 1.5%

Which industries currently receive the most FDI?

Over half of the FDI in the first nine months of 2023 — $17.5 billion or 53% — went to the manufacturing sector. Within that broad industry, 44% of investment went to the transport equipment sector, which includes automakers.

The remaining 56% of the $17.5 billion investment in manufacturing went to the following sectors: metal (14%); beverages and tobacco (13%); chemicals (8%); computer equipment (5%); energy generation equipment (5%); plastic and rubber (3%); food (3%); machinery (1%); other manufacturing industries (4%).

The financial services industry was the second largest recipient of FDI, attracting $7.2 billion or 22% of the total between January and September.

The mining industry ranked third, receiving $2.9 billion or 9% of total FDI, followed by the following sectors:

  • Temporary accommodation (hotels, Airbnb, etc.), $2.2 billion, or 7% of the total
  • Transport, $1.3 billion, 4%
  • Construction, $759 million, 2%
  • Wholesale retail, $582 million, 2%

The correlation between FDI and export data

As a significant portion of FDI goes to Mexico’s manufacturing sector, it makes sense that exports would increase as more investment flows into the country.

The value of exports increased 220% between 1993 and 2000, while FDI rose by a not overly dissimilar 272%. The data suggests that the increase in FDI – in addition to NAFTA –was a factor in Mexico’s improved export performance.

Between 2000 and 2022, the value of exports rose 248% while FDI increased by just under 100%.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])

López Obrador says state ‘mega pharmacy’ will open in December

By
MND Staff
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López Obrador at a press conference
President López Obrador had previously mentioned his ambitious plan to create a state-run pharmacy with "all the medicines of the world". Today an opening date was announced. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)

A state-owned “mega pharmacy” tasked with supplying medications to public hospitals across Mexico will open next month, President López Obrador said Tuesday.

His announcement comes three months after he first proposed the creation of a “kind of pharmacy, … a warehouse with all the medicines of the world in reasonable quantities” as a “definitive way out” of the medication shortages that have plagued his government.

Jorge Alcocer, Health Minister
Health Minister Jorge Alcocer discussed the plans for the pharmacy at the Tuesday morning presser. (GALO CAÑAS/CUARTOSCURO.COM)

At his morning press conference on Tuesday, López Obrador told reporters that the “great medications warehouse” will open in the México state municipality of Huehuetoca in December.

Health Minister Jorge Alcocer said that the inauguration is slated for Dec. 30, but noted that the date could change.

The mega pharmacy – made up of two warehouses previously used for another purpose – “will have all the medicines that are needed” for “all illnesses,” López Obrador said, adding that a “communication and transport system” will allow drugs to be transported from the facility to clinics and hospitals across Mexico within 24 hours.

He noted that the warehouse’s proximity to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) will allow medications to be promptly transported to different parts of the country. Huehuetoca borders Zumpango, the municipality where AIFA is located.

Cargo plane at AIFA
A cargo plane at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Mexico City, near where the president says the medication warehouses will be located. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)

López Obrador said that state-owned medical company Birmex will operate the warehouse and manage the distribution of medications. The company already operates five smaller medication warehouses.

According to a Birmex document, creating the mega pharmacy – which will officially be called the Federal Center for the Storage and Distribution of Health Supplies – will cost just under 3.45 billion pesos (US $200.8 million) and take two years to complete.

López Obrador said Tuesday that the government has already paid 10% of the purchase price for the two warehouses, adding that he will provide more details about the acquisition at a later date.

He said in August that the government would source medications for the facility from various countries including India, China, South Korea and France.

Birmex warehouse in Mexico
A Birmex warehouse where COVID-19 vaccines were stored in 2021. (DANIEL AUGUSTO /CUARTOSCURO.COM)

Birmex’s timeframe, outlined in a “socioeconomic evaluation” of the mega pharmacy project, suggests that the government could inaugurate the facility before it is fully operational, as occurred with the Olmeca Refinery on the Tabasco coast.

López Obrador is anxious to complete – or at least inaugurate – as many government projects as possible before his term as president concludes on Oct. 1, 2024.

December is shaping up as a busy month of ribbon cutting for the president, as the Tulum airport, the Maya Train railroad and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec railroad are also scheduled to begin operations.

With reports from Publimetro, La Jornada, Reforma, Milenio and Eme Equis

What to do at the Guadalajara International Book Fair

By
MND Staff
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0
GDL book festival
Book lovers from across Mexico will visit the fair, which boasts thousands of stalls, lectures and events. (Adrián Montiel González/Universidad de Guadalajara/Cuartoscuro)

Lovers of literature are gearing up for the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), an annual nine-day event of author talks, colloquiums, activities for children, book sales and more.

The 37th edition of the world’s “largest fair of its kind in the Spanish language” will run from Saturday through Dec. 3, with 800,000 people expected to attend.

The FIL is the world’s largest Spanish-language literature event. It runs through Dec. 3. (Universidad de Guadalajara/Flickr)

The event is the biggest book fair in the Americas and the second largest in the world trailing only the Frankfurt Book Fair, according to a ranking by U.S.-based TCK Publishing.

The FIL’s program will include the participation of some 600 writers from 45 countries, including figures like Pascal Quignard and Andrés Neuman, along with more than 40 publishers. More than 3,000 activities, including 630 book talks, are on the schedule, many involving book industry professionals.

This year’s guest of honor is the European Union, following Arab Culture and the emirate of Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates last year and Peru in 2021. The fair went on hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In addition to book talks that will include Q&A sessions with each author, there will be storytelling and recreational activities for children and workshops for both fans of books and those who want to write. Other programs will be dedicated to literature from different regions of the world.

Patricio Jeretic
Visitors to the fair will be able to attend speeches from authors and industry professionals, such as Patricio Jeretic, the EU representative for culture in Mexico. (Gustavo Alfonzo/FIL Guadalajara/X)

In addition, there will be theater events, music, dance, puppets and artistic exhibitions, plus the festival will be handing out awards to authors, journalists, publishers and a bibliophile and librarian. The 2023 FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages will be presented to Mexican poet Coral Bracho, who was announced as winner of the prize in September. And, of course, thousands upon thousands of books will be available for sale.

All of it will be happening at Expo Guadalajara, a convention center with 40,000 square meters (10 acres) of space. Most days, it will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., but on Nov. 27, 28 and 29 the starting time will be 3 p.m. On Dec. 1, the hours will be extended to 11 p.m. for a night sale.

Admission for adults is 25 pesos (US $1.45), while children, seniors, people with disabilities and students will get in for 20 pesos (US $1.16). Tickets can be bought in person or purchased in advance online. 

Created in 1987, the FIL generally starts on the last Saturday in November. In 2020, the fair won Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. The award goes to individuals and entities from around the world who make notable achievements in various fields.

With reports from El Universal Generación Universitaria and FIL

Ship hijacked in the Red Sea reportedly has at least 1 Mexican citizen aboard

By
MND Staff
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0
Galaxy Leader
The Galaxy Leader was hijacked by Houthi rebels. One or two Mexican sailors were reported to be among the crew. (Vesselfinder)

At least one Mexican is believed to be on board a ship hijacked by Yemen’s Houthi militia in the Red Sea.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Sunday that they had seized the ship Galaxy Leader due to its connection with Israel and to demonstrate support for “the oppressed Palestinian people.”

Galaxy leader hijacking
Footage uploaded to social media showed the pirates landing on the deck before seizing the ship. (Screen capture)

“All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets,” said the Houthis, whose militia members jumped onto the ship from a military helicopter.

Registered as a vehicle carrier, Galaxy Leader is British-owned and operated by a Japanese company, The New York Times reported Monday.

“The company’s beneficial owner — meaning the person who exercises control over it, owns more than a quarter of it or receives substantial economic benefit from it — appears to have at some point been an Israeli billionaire, Rami Ungar,” the Times said, citing information in the Paradise Papers, a trove of documents leaked to German journalists in 2017.

The Israeli military said that Galaxy Leader was traveling to India from Turkey and had an “international crew,” without Israelis.

Arturo Zacarías Meza
Engineer Arturo Zacarías Meza is on board the Galaxy Leader, according to family members. (Arturo Zacarías Meza/Facebook)

The ship’s Japanese operator, NYK Line, said that crew members are from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) said in a statement on Monday that it had received information that two of 25 crew members are Mexican.

However, one Mexican crew member – chief engineer Manuel Rolán Hernández of Veracruz – said on Facebook that he disembarked the ship shortly before the “critical situation” it faced and was on vacation, apparently in Turkey.

Another Veracruz man, Arturo Zacarías Meza, was on the ship when the hijacking occurred, according to family members of the 31-year-old engineer. According to the El Universal newspaper, the two crew members referred to by the SRE are Rolán and Zacarías.

Houthi
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been engaged in a long-running war against neighboring Saudi Arabia. (Disclose)

In an interview with Milenio Televisión, the mother of the latter called for all crew members to be “released as soon as possible.”

“I also want to ask all people to say a prayer for me,” María Meza said before expressing hope that all the crew members are safe and sound and will be back home with their loved ones soon.

The SRE said that the Mexican Embassy in Saudi Arabia has used diplomatic channels to “corroborate the situation of the crew,” and that it has communicated “with representatives of embassies of other countries involved to gather information” and taken steps aimed at the release of the crew members on the hijacked vessel.

The New York Times reported that “the whereabouts of the Galaxy Leader has been unknown since Saturday, when its last received location signal showed it in the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and Sudan.”

Two Mexican hostages held by Hamas
The two Mexican hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 are believed to still be held in Gaza. (Social media)

It also said that video evidence “suggests that Houthi fighters took over the vessel when it was within quick and easy striking distance of Yemen’s coast.”

The hijacking occurred six weeks after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostages.

Two Mexicans are among the hostages that are believed to still be in the custody of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has been relentlessly bombed by Israel since the Oct. 7 attack on its citizens.

With reports from Milenio, El Universal, Infobae, The New York Times and AP

Power management company Eaton to invest US $85M in Querétaro

By
MND Staff
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1
Eaton QRO
The U.S. power management firm will expand manufacturing operations in Querétaro as part of US $750 million upgrades. (Eaton)

The U.S. power management company Eaton announced last week that it will expand operations in Querétaro, where it currently manufactures equipment for subway power lines, including connectors and lightning arresters.

With an investment of US $85 million, the company’s plans include upgrading the location’s equipment and expanding the space by 92,500 square feet, to increase manufacturing capacity in Querétaro by 50%. The expansion is expected to begin in 2024.

When complete, the company expects upgrades to increase capacity at their Querétaro plant by 50%. (Eaton/X)

Recent investments by Eaton total $750 million in the North American region alone, including an $80 million investment in its El Paso, Texas plant to increase production of circuit breakers, switchboards, panelboards and other assemblies. 

Components manufactured by Eaton are used in the mining, rail, gas and petroleum and data management industries. 

“We are delighted to expand our operations to meet the growing demand from electric utility companies throughout the Americas,” said Mike Yelton, president of Eaton’s electrical sector in the Americas region. 

Eaton has 22 manufacturing plants in Mexico, in 11 states. The Bajío region, which includes Querétaro, is home to seven Eaton locations, employing more than 5,000 people. The company expects to create an additional 300 jobs. 

Eaton control room
Eaton produces a range of power management solutions for major energy consumers, such as rail and data management firms. (Eaton)

Eaton was certified as a “Top Employer in Mexico 2023” by the Top Employers Institute for the fourth consecutive year. The company employs approximately 92,000 people worldwide.

After Querétaro, Eaton’s Ciudad Juárez plant is next in line for an expansion, according to a company press release.

With reports from El Economista, Expansión and Mexico Now

Newly unearthed complex at Uxmal archaeological site opens to the public

By
Cat Rainsford
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3
Uxmal
The new complex, known as "El Palomar," predates many other areas of the city and has a distinct style of architecture. (INAH)

A new section known as “El Palomar” has opened at the Uxmal archaeological site in Yucatán – a residence complex for the ancient Maya elite that showcases pre-Puuc Maya architecture spanning centuries of pre-Columbian civilization.

At the opening ceremony, Uxmal site director José Huchim Herrera explained that the complex dates from the Preclassic period, between 500 BC and 300 AD. It is significantly older than the main Uxmal complex – whose heyday was between 600 and 900 AD – therefore providing a valuable example of public space from this more remote period of Maya history

Uxmal
The Maya city of Uxmal is among the oldest and largest of the ancient cities. (amazingtours.mx)

“What people can currently see in the Pyramid of the Soothsayer, the Quadrangle of the Nuns and the Governor’s Palace is the purest of the Puuc style of Uxmal, with great detail in the ornamentation; however, underneath those important buildings, there are previous stages,” Huchim said.

The newly-opened complex reveals a more somber style of architecture, best displayed in the vaults and undecorated friezes of the “Sunken Courtyard” – a quadrangle with newly-restored buildings on the south and east sides.

“There you can see changes in architecture, in construction systems,” Herrera said. “We are going to have a different reading of the archaeological zone. Why? Because of the architecture, because of its arrangement, because of its uncommon elements… This is new data for the Puuc route and the Puuc region.”

He explained that one example of this are the round structures found in the later section of El Palomar, which are believed to have emerged due to architectural influences from the north of Campeche. Uxmal also contains evidence that its inhabitants traveled as far as Veracruz and Central America.

The Dovecote structure at Uxmal in Yucatan
Many of Uxmal’s most iconic structures show remnants of older buildings beneath. (Depositphotos)

“In Uxmal, we have obsidian, we have a fragment of pottery from Tikal, we have obsidian from Guatemala, we have obsidian from the Veracruz region, so that gives us an idea of the interactions that Uxmal had with other regions of the Mayan area,” Herrera said.

Besides El Palomar, archaeological rescue work is ongoing throughout Uxmal, as part of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza) linked to the Maya Train. Last year, Herrera’s team uncovered a Maya stela depicting a god and goddess that is believed to represent the duality between life and death.

The National Institute for Archaeology and History (INAH) frequently touts the Maya Train as fulfilling a debt to Mexico’s historically marginalized Maya regions – although some Maya communities have protested the train’s impact on their environment and way of life.

At the El Palomar opening ceremony, Huchim and INAH head Diego Prieto Hernández participated in an event entitled “The Puuc and tourism in times of the Maya Train.” 

The discussion centered on mechanisms to ensure that income from the Maya Train directly benefits Indigenous communities – for instance by providing  opportunities for people to sell their products at train stations, or get jobs promoting local archaeological sites.

With reports from Milenio

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