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Into the great outdoors in Nayarit, an adventure lover’s paradise

By
John Pint
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Sanganguey looms over Aguamilpa
Sangangüey Volcano, 2,340 meters high, looms over Aguamilpa dam, famed for trophy large-mouth bass fishing. (John Pint)

If you love nature and outdoor adventure, you’re going to find the state of Nayarit irresistible.

Located in western Mexico, just northwest of Jalisco, Nayarit has a wide range of geographical attractions. Along the Pacific Coast, you have the popular Riviera Nayarit, a budget-friendly stretch of relaxed fishing villages and laid-back beaches. At its northern end, you’ll find Playa Novillero, Mexico’s longest beach, where you can stretch your legs over 90 kilometers of shimmering sand, while at its southern end lies Mexico’s biggest bay, La Bahía de Banderas, one of the best places in the world for whale watching.

Ceboruco Volcano
A bird’s-eye view of one of the seven craters of Ceboruco Volcano. (John Pint)

In contrast, you have the eastern side of Nayarit, intersected by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Here you’ll find massive volcanoes like Sangangüey and Ceboruco, covered with pines and oaks dripping with Spanish moss.

This rugged area is cut, in turn, by the dramatic Santiago River Canyon, which winds its way through Nayarit for over 200 kilometers. The canyon can get as deep as 600 meters, featuring a semi-tropical environment at the bottom and offering hikers exciting challenges.

Along the river’s route lies the huge Aguamilpa Dam, one of the best places in the world for bass fishing.

Isabel: home of the blue-footed boobies

Nayarit’s geodiversity and biodiversity are greatly expanded by the inclusion of the Marieta and Isabel islands, off its west coast.

Isabel has been called “Mexico’s answer to the Galapagos.” If that sounds like an exaggeration, note that Jacques Cousteau spent weeks there filming a documentary on the island, after which he urged Mexico to turn it into a national park (which it did in 1980).

Just getting to Isabel is an adventure, during which you may make friends with humpback whales and dolphins. On the island, you will discover that the frigate birds and boobies nest on the ground and in low trees, unafraid of visitors. While camping on the island, your hosts will treat you to delicious homegrown oysters and smoked fish. Isabel is an island you will never forget!

Blue-footed boobies
A blue-footed booby with its baby on Isla Isabel, Nayarit, a 90-minute boat ride from the mainland. (John Pint)

Fumaroles and pumas

Ceboruco Volcano is conveniently located along the toll road leading from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. It is 2,280 meters high and you can easily get to the top via an excellent antenna-maintenance road. The volcano last erupted in 1875 and has at least seven craters, all of which are great fun to explore. Among Ceboruco’s many attractions are picturesque green meadows that abruptly butt up against high walls of chunky black basalt. Trees on this mountain top are festooned with lichen, orchids, bromeliads and Spanish moss.

Camp up at the top near a blowing fumarole and the next morning you may discover that you were visited by a puma in the dead of night. 

Magic River

El Manto is a one-of-a-kind water park located on the eastern edge of Nayarit, 115 kilometers from Guadalajara in Jalisco.

Here is born a stream of crystal clear, room-temperature water which then flows through a narrow, gorgeously colored canyon, past three small waterfalls.

As a boy, Don Salvador Quintero, owner of El Manto, would blissfully float down this river on an inner tube, dreaming that someday he would transform it into the best water park in the world.

One day, as an adult, he shared his dream with the owner of the land, who then and there sold it to him for 300 pesos.

El Manto, Nayarit
Crystal-clear, room-temperature spring water flows through a narrow canyon at El Manto, Nayarit, a two-hour drive from the west end of Guadalajara. (John Pint)

Don Salvador immediately began constructing the sturdy stairway that now takes visitors from the surface down to the canyon floor.

Everyone who comes to El Manto falls in love with it and they arrive by the busload.

In time, villas and a camping area were built for those who would like to spend the night at this charming hideaway. And today it has two restaurants.

You can have this unique water park all to yourself if you come on a weekday when kids are in school. 

Santa María del Oro

A 40-minute drive from Tepic, this crater lake, whose water transitions from deep blue to emerald green, deserves to rank among the most picturesque and serene crater lakes in the world, but only a lucky few have even heard of it.

Here you can camp or rent a cabin cheaply and then kayak around the lake, which is two kilometers long. 

Crater lake of Santa Maria del Oro, Nayarit.
The beautiful crater lake of Santa María del Oro. Warm currents from below keep its waters at the perfect temperature for swimming. (John Pint)

Once said to be bottomless, Santa Maria Del Oro is now known to be 60 meters deep, with warm currents continuously rising to the surface. After touring the lake, enjoy the crater’s famous chicharrón de pescado, small bits of mojarra fried in batter, to be munched, of course, under a thatched roof at the water’s edge.

Visit Santa Maria Del Oro and you may cry out like French documentary maker Christophe Delestre: “Mon Dieu! Here I am floating in a crater lake in Mexico, surrounded by a volcano’s walls … incroyable!”

Other outdoor attractions in Nayarit

There are plenty of other attractive sites in Nayarit. For example, you can take an early-morning panga (small boat) ride through the mangroves of San Blas and see huge numbers of water birds while hobnobbing with crocodiles. South of San Blas, there is the wild and still natural Turtle Beach, where you can camp for free and help release turtles in the evening. 

Looking for petroglyphs? There’s a trail at Altavista, near Chacala, that functions as a unique rock-art gallery, ending at an exotic pool called La Pila del Rey, surrounded by hexagonal columns of basalt.

And, of course, Nayarit is famous for its many Wixárika (Huichol) villages. Yes, some of them do accept visitors, especially those alongside Aguamilpa Dam.

To see everything in Nayarit, be prepared to dedicate several lifetimes!

John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.

Sheinbaum pledges 350 billion pesos for school construction by 2030

By
MND Staff
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school infrastructure
The president's planned allocation of 350 billion pesos on school construction over the course of her term of office is an ambitious demonstration of her government's focus on education. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Monday that 350 billion pesos (US $19.7 billion) will be allocated to school construction and improvement over all grade levels by the time her six-year term ends in 2030.

She pointed out that, when combined with her predecessor’s spending on education infrastructure ($12.8 billion), the investment will surpass the total allocated during the Fox, Calderón and Peña Nieto administrations combined (2000-2018).

Sheinbaum emphasized that this reflects the Morena political party’s focus on improving education in Mexico. 

Backing her up was Education Minister Mario Delgado, who shared the podium with the president at Monday’s mañanera and said that the incumbent administration views education as a fundamental right and a central pillar of the so-called Fourth Transformation (4T).

Delgado said that significant funds will be dedicated to the expansion of the “La Escuela es Nuestra” (Our School) program, as well as to strengthening educational institutions, such as the Rosario Castellanos University in Mexico City.

In the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the government plans to invest 113 billion pesos in Our School, which has provided 404,588 grants to over 187,000 public schools since its creation in 2019, according to Education Ministry data.

Education MInister Delgado
Education Minister Mario Delgado emphasized on Monday that Morena-led governments will have spent more on education infrastructure in 12 years than previous administrations spent over 18 years. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

“This is an incentive that goes directly to the institution, without intermediaries,” Delgado said.

How much did previous administrations spend on education infrastructure?

In the previous four six-year terms, spending on education construction and building improvement was as follows: 

  • 2000-2006: 38 billion pesos ($2.1 billion at today’s exchange rate)
  • 2006-2012: 84 billion pesos ($4.7 billion) 
  • 2012-2018: 183 billion pesos ($10.3 billion) 
  • 2018-2024: 228 billion pesos ($12.8 billion)

These figures show that education infrastructure spending began to increase significantly during the Peña Nieto administration, before the López Obrador government accelerated the spending.

According to an October report by the Research Center for Public Policy (IMCO), the budget for educational infrastructure in upper secondary and higher education will face a 0.5% reduction in real terms from Sheinbaum’s first full year in office in 2025 to what is predicted for 2026, thus moving that 350 billion-peso figure a little farther away.  

Education infrastructure spending under López Obrador’s last two years in office and Sheinbaum’s first two:

  • 2023: 892 million pesos ($50.19 million) 
  • 2024: 893 million pesos ($50.2 million)
  • 2025: 862 million pesos ($48.5 million)
  • 2026: 858 million pesos ($48.3 billion projected)

 With reports from Diario de México, Quadratin México and SN Digital

Mexico’s exports to US up 4.2% even as auto sector revenue plunges

By
MND Staff
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Cars ready to be exported
General Motors, Ford and Nissan suffered the biggest declines in exports to the United States in early 2026. (Unsplash)

The value of Mexico’s auto sector exports to the United States declined 13.4% annually in the first two months of 2026, according to U.S. government data, additional evidence that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexican-made vehicles are having a significant impact.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday that Mexico’s exports of motor vehicles and parts to the U.S. in January and February were worth US $23.15 billion, down from $26.74 billion in the same period of last year. Despite the decline, Mexico was the top exporter of auto sector products to the United States in the first two months of the year.

The decline in the value of Mexico’s auto sector exports to the U.S. in early 2026 came after Trump last year imposed 25% tariffs on light, medium and heavy vehicles made south of the U.S. border, although U.S. content in those vehicles is exempt from the duty. The U.S. president also imposed tariffs on non-USMCA compliant auto parts, although the vast majority of Mexican-made parts do comply with the three-way trade pact.

The publication of the U.S. data on Mexico’s auto exports to its northern neighbor came six days after the Mexican statistics agency INEGI released its own data on exports during the first two months of the year. INEGI’s data shows that Mexico’s auto exports to all countries around the world were worth $24.98 billion in January and February, down 6.1% compared to the same period of last year.

Manufacturing drives Mexico’s export surge in February, even as production stalls

In 2025, Mexico’s overall auto sector exports fell 4.2% annually to $185.79 billion. Close to 80% of Mexico’s auto exports go to the United States. The Mexican auto sector has been able to partially offset the decline in exports to the United States by increasing the shipment of vehicles and parts to other markets, such as Canada and Germany.

Revenue from export of cars to US falls 27% 

U.S. data shows that Mexico’s exports of passenger cars to the United States were worth $5.14 billion in the first two months of 2026, down 27.5% from $7.1 billion in the same period of 2025.

Auto sector analyst Cesar Roy told the newspaper El Sol de México that General Motors, Ford and Nissan suffered the biggest declines in exports to the United States in early 2026.

Mexico’s exports of trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles to the U.S. generated revenue of $5.47 billion in January and February, down 18.9% from $6.75 billion in the first two months of last year.

The value of Mexico’s auto part exports to the U.S. declined to $12.53 billion in January and February from $12.89 billion a year earlier. In percentage terms, the drop was 2.7%.

U.S. data also shows that the United States’ auto sector exports to Mexico declined 10% annually to $5.96 billion in the first two months of 2026.

Two-way auto-sector trade was worth $29.12 billion in January and February, down 12.7% from $33.37 billion a year earlier.

Mexico’s overall exports to US increase 4.2% in first 2 months of 2026

Despite the 13.4% annual decrease in the value of auto sector exports to the U.S., Mexico’s overall revenue from goods shipped to its northern neighbor in January and February increased 4.2% annually to $86.82 billion, according to U.S. data.

Meanwhile, the United States’ exports to Mexico were worth $60.49 billion in the first two months of the year, a 10.6% increase compared to the same period of 2025.

Two-way trade between the North American neighbors grew 6.2% annually to $147.32 billion in the period.

In the first two months of the year, Mexico maintained its position as the United States’ top trade partner. Its share of the U.S. market for imports increased to 16.9% from 13.8% a year earlier. Mexico’s outlay on imports from the U.S. accounted for 15.9% of the United States’ total export revenue in the first two months of 2026, down from 16.5% a year earlier.

With reports from El Sol de México and El Economista

Activists hope hair donations will ease Gulf oil damage

By
MND Staff
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Hair for the gulf
Environmental groups and citizen activists have taken the lead in efforts to clean up the oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico starting in February. Those efforts include drives for donated human hair. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal/Cuartoscuro)

Citizens and environmental activists from Veracruz to Oaxaca are turning to an unusual tool to confront a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: donated human and animal hair.

The grassroots response comes amid mounting anger over what’s perceived as slow official action, disputes about a cover-up, and growing ecological and economic damage along more than 630 kilometers of coastline.

oil spill protest
Many environmental groups and Indigenous community members have maintained that the government responded late and insufficiently to the oil spill. Federal authorities have vehemently denied the charge. (Victoria Razo/Cuartoscuro)

In Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, local groups opened two hair collection centers, asking people to bring clean, dry hair that can later be processed into absorbent barriers.

Organizers say a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of hair can help clean up to 8 liters of oil; the hair becomes a tool to trap hydrocarbons while repelling water.

Meanwhile, on Sunday next to the cathedral in Oaxaca City, activists and environmental groups held their own drive, cutting and collecting human and animal hair to weave into nets destined for contaminated beaches, especially in southern Veracruz.

Eugenia Islas of the Poposteando Ando Collective told the newspaper La Jornada that the effort stems from concern about the situation “not only in Veracruz, but also in Campeche, Tabasco and Tamaulipas.”

She said the damage has come from a spill that was first reported in early March, but purportedly had occurred a month earlier, and that “authorities have not addressed [it] as the emergency it is.”

Residents in the southern Veracruz Indigenous municipalities of Pajapan, Tatahuicapan and Mecayapan protested over the weekend, demanding compensation, medical care, ecosystem restoration and punishment for those responsible.

Although Mexico’s Environment Ministry (Semarnat) claimed that containment and cleanup were roughly 88% complete as of March 19, locals said that tar has continued to wash ashore in April, killing turtles and fish and threatening fishermen, seafood vendors and small tourism businesses.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, however, said the spill is under control and insisted there was “not really a big impact” on tourism.

She announced she will meet on Tuesday with an interdisciplinary group to launch a permanent observatory of the Gulf of Mexico to detect and track oil spills and other hydrocarbon pollution.

She also said there will be a “detailed report” issued on the possible causes of the current spill and the ongoing cleanup efforts.

For now, authorities and environmental groups sharply disagree on what caused the spill.

Navy officials and Sheinbaum have said preliminary findings point to multiple sources, including illegal discharges from a still-unidentified petroleum tanker and at least two “natural seeps” on the seabed in the Bay of Campeche, long known for leaking hydrocarbons. 

In the meantime, a coalition of at least 17 environmental organizations has stated — based on satellite data and other information — that the primary leak began on Feb. 6 from a 36-inch Pemex subsea pipeline that carries crude oil from a nearby platform to the Dos Bocas maritime terminal.

The groups say images show two things: a large slick growing around the pipeline and a repair vessel stationed over that area for eight days. Pemex has denied those allegations as inaccurate.

With reports from López Dóriga Digital, La Silla Rota, El Universal and La Jornada

Now trending: A viral song about Mexico City from the heights of a Cablebús

By
MND Staff
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still from TIK TOK of CDMX
This still from Saxboy Billy18's ode to Mexico City displays his approach, which goes beyond the tourist brochures yet still respects the capital's beauty. (Saxboy Billy18/TikTok)

Mexico City has become a trend on TikTok after a foreign user created a viral song about Mexico’s capital, generating thousands of views in just a few days.

Known as Saxboy Billy18, the user surprised his followers with a song inspired by his first trip to the city, highlighting features of private life and public transport. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by saxboy (@saxboybilly18)

With a catchy pop melody, the song takes users to places such as the Arena México, the José Vasconcelos Library, the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. 

But the singer is more intrigued by what can be seen from the sky cables that traverse parts of Mexico City and the adjacent México state. His TikTok reel showcases daily-life scenes recorded from the Mexicable in México state and the Cablebús in Mexico City, including people doing their laundry from their rooftops. 

In contrast with much of the Mexico City content found on social media, Saxboy Billy18 sings of the capital in all its contrasts, moving beyond better-off neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa to less-glamorous areas where the average capitalino lives. 

Teenagers playing basketball, a juggler performing for cars on the street, skate parks and even Dr. Simi dancing on the sidewalk are some examples of the scenes captured by Saxboy Billy18.

“Your video made me want to know Mexico City. And I’m from Mexico City,” a user commented on the video. 

“Why am I so obsessed with this? Can’t stop listening,” someone else posted. 

“Bro created the perfect tourist ad for tourists to visit the Mexicable. And a fantastic jingle,” another one said. 

The song became so popular that it is now the background song for dozens of videos on TikTok about Mexico City. Furthermore, it is one of the most viewed videos of Saxboy Billy18’s TikTok account with over 350,000 views in less than a week. 

With a handle that reads “comedy videos exploring the world,” Saxboy Billy18 creates jingles for each place or attraction he visits. Puerto Rico, Montréal and Niagara Falls are just a few of the dozens of destinations he’s written and sung songs about.

A second CDMX video might be on the horizon, as the video is titled  “The Mexico City song Pt. 1.” There are also songs about Campeche in the Yucatán Peninsula. 

Mexico News Daily

Walmart wants to reach 99% of Mexican households by 2029 with US $2.4B investment

By
MND Staff
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Store fronts owned by Walmart in Mexico
Bodega Aurrera, Walmart Supercenter, Sam's Club and Walmart Express are the four supermarket brands operated by Walmart in Mexico. (Walmart Mexico)

Walmart de México y Centroamérica announced it will invest 43 billion pesos — roughly $2.4 billion — across Mexico and Central America in 2026, a 10% increase over the previous year, as part of an ambitious push to reach 99% of Mexican households within three years.

The announcement, made March 25 at the company’s annual Walmex Day investor event, outlined plans to open more than 1,500 new stores between 2025 and 2029, expand into 135 new cities across Latin America and attract more than 33 million new customers. The company currently reaches about 75% of Mexican households.

“The opening of 1,500 new stores through 2029 and the modernization of branches toward omnichannel models will be key to achieving this goal,” said CEO Cristian Barrientos Pozo at the event.

The investment is divided across four areas: 42% will go toward remodeling and maintaining existing stores, including omnichannel upgrades; 26% toward new store construction, with Bodega Aurrera serving as the primary vehicle for growth; 24% toward supply chain expansion and automation — including two new automated distribution centers planned for Guanajuato and Tlaxcala by 2027 — and 8% toward technology improvements.

New store openings are expected to contribute between 1.5% and 1.7% to total sales growth in 2026, according to the company’s official investment program filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Walmart is Latin America’s largest retailer and operates more than 2,900 stores in Mexico across four formats: Bodega Aurrera, Walmart Supercenter, Sam’s Club and Walmart Express.

Earlier this year, the company began recruiting software developers through Fortnite — marking what it described as the first time a Latin American employer had used the gaming platform for hiring — after relocating its IT hub from India to Mexico in 2025.

Mexico News Daily

Authorities arrest leaders of ‘Cuban-American Mafia’ in Cancún

By
MND Staff
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Remigio Valdez, known as "Milo" in handcuffs
Remigio Valdez, known as "Milo," was a "priority target" in Quintana Roo and subject to "an extradition order to the United States for human trafficking and organized crime." (FGR)

Federal security authorities announced on Monday the arrest in Quintana Roo of two alleged members of a “transnational criminal group” that was identified in media reports as the “Cuban-American Mafia.”

One of the men detained by federal and state forces in a residential estate in the Caribbean coast resort city of Cancún was identified as Remigio Valdez Lao, an alleged operational and financial coordinator of the Cuban-American Mafia.

Security authorities, including the Security, Defense and Navy ministries, said in a joint statement that Valdez, known as “Milo,” was a “priority target” in Quintana Roo and subject to “an extradition order to the United States for human trafficking and organized crime.”

He was flown to Mexico City “to continue the extradition process,” the authorities said.

The other man arrested in Cancún was identified in media reports as Joseline García Biscaino, who also allegedly belongs to the Cuban-American Mafia.

In a social media post, the federal government’s Security Cabinet said that the arrest of Valdez “represents a direct blow to the operational capacity of the criminal group and is the result of international cooperation mechanisms based on respect for sovereignty.” That was an apparent reference to cooperation between Mexican and U.S. security authorities.

The Mexican security authorities said in their statement that the two suspects were arrested in the Residencial Arbolada estate in Cancún. They said that security forces also seized “38 doses of marijuana” and a gray SUV in an operation that followed “intelligence and investigation work” that succeeded in locating Valdez. The authorities didn’t mention the nationality of either suspect.

The Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo 

Mexican and U.S. media reports said that Valdez and García belong to the Cuban-American Mafia (Mafia Cubano-Americano). Cuban-American Mafia appears to be another name for what U.S. authorities have called “the Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo.”

In October 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida noted in a statement that “an extensive multi-national operation, led by American and Mexican law enforcement authorities,” had been “formed to combat the activities of a violent transnational organized crime group known collectively in Mexico as La Mafia Cubana en Quintana Roo, or the Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo.”

It said that through the operation, law enforcement officials learned that six Cuban citizens residing in Mexico and two Mexican nationals were “part of an organized crime group that profited from various schemes, including the smuggling and extortion of Cuban migrants held hostage in Mexico for the payment of smuggling fees.”

Neither Valdez nor García were among those mentioned.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida said that “the members of the migrant extortion racket required the victims to provide contact information of a family member from whom they would later demand a $10,000 USD ransom fee.”

“The men contacted the victims’ relatives, some of whom were in Miami, and threatened to torture, starve, and kill the victims if the relatives refused to pay,” the statement said.

“If a victim’s relative was able to pay the ransom, the organization released the victim and sent them by bus to the United States-Mexico border with instructions to seek political asylum. The victims whose relatives were unable to pay the fee were beaten, threatened with knives and guns, and shocked with stun guns until they were finally rescued by Mexican authorities. Members of the organization also sought to profit from drug trafficking and fraud schemes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

With reports from EFE, La Jornada and N+

Truckers begin blockading highways in 9 Mexican states

By
MND Staff
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a highway in Mexico
Motorists are advised to consult official information provided by authorities such as Capufe (Mexico’s federal highway agency) and avoid traveling on the indicated roads. (Camila Ayala Benabib/Cuartoscuro)

Truckers and producers, demanding more security on the highways, declared a national transport strike on Monday with plans to establish highway blockades in 20 states after negotiations with the federal government failed to find common ground.

The National Association of Truckers (ANTAC) and the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside (FNRCM) confirmed the strike, saying the following highways would be affected:
  • Mexico City-Queretaro
  • Mexico City-Cuernavaca (Morelos)
  • Mexico City-Pachuca (Hidalgo)
  • Mexico-Puebla
  • The Northern Arc beltway around Mexico City
  • Mexicali (Baja California)-San Luis Potosí
  • Mexiquense Outer Circuit 
  • Mexico City-Toluca 
  • Naucalpan–Ecatepec (México state) 
  • Federal Highway 45 (Querétaro, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí)
  • Federal Highway 49 (Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí)
  • Via Corte a Chihuahua (Chihuahua-Parral highway)
  • Salamanca–Celaya Highway (Guanajuato)
  • Federal Highway 15D (Mexico City through the Bajío to Guadalajara)
  • Culiacán–Mazatlán Highway (Sinaloa)
  • Morelia–Pátzcuaro Highway (Michoacán)

Motorists were advised to consult official information provided by the authorities such as Capufe (Mexico’s federal highway agency) and avoid traveling on the indicated roads.

Early Monday, the federal government acknowledged that 11 of the highways had been blockaded, impacting at least nine states.

The government also managed to convince protesters blocking the Mexico City-Toluca highway to withdraw.

By mid-day, media were describing chaos and severe delays along many of the roadways specified, though Mexiquense Noticias reported that there was no evident strike action along the Mexico City-Puebla highway.

Previous ANTAC-FNRCM blockades lasted about five hours, although partial blockades lasted several hours longer in some areas.

Truckers have been demanding that the federal government provide greater security on the highways and reduce the number of unregulated checkpoints.

ANTAC claims that there are an average of 40 cargo truck robberies each day with truckers also suffering extortion and threats of murder. They are asking that the National Guard be permanently deployed on specified highways. 

The truckers have also complained about massive corruption at the “official” checkpoints. 

The protesters also decry what they describe as “unfair and disloyal” agricultural import rules that cause market distortions.

At the same time, truckers are asking that the IEPS tax on diesel fuel be eliminated.

The government’s stance that dialogue is the only acceptable solution is supported by business organizations such as Concamin, Conacar and Canapat). But the truckers say negotiations have failed to gain traction and the violence on the roads continues unabated.

Additionally, the protesters are demanding direct talks with President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has consistently said that the Interior Ministry is the sole interlocutor for the federal government.

With reports from N+, La Silla Rota and El Universal

Investment and consumption both declined in January, per INEGI

By
MND Staff
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Mexican construction worker on a wall
Construction managed to stay in positive annual territory (3.8%), although it also registered a monthly drop of 0.8%, indicating that the observed slowdown in this sector is ongoing. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

The Mexican economy is showing signs of cooling as gross fixed investment and private consumption registered monthly declines in January.

Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Monday indicated a slowdown in the two main drivers of growth even as public investment rose slightly.

After a promising end to 2025, fixed investment started 2026 with renewed caution, according to INEGI’s Monthly Indicator of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (IMFBCF) which showed a month-on-month decrease of 1.1% in the first month of the year, thus cutting a three-month streak of recovery.

The IMFBCF figures are in line with those of the Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE) for the month of January (published on March 24), which revealed a monthly decrease of 0.9% in the Mexican economy.

It must be noted that the IGAE figures indicate the behavior of economic activity on the supply side, while fixed investment data examine the aggregate demand side.

January’s IMFBCF performance represented the sixth month-on-month decline in the last 12 months, while the year-on-year comparison showed a decrease of 2.2%, marking 17 consecutive months of negative figures in this metric.

The main drag on investment came from the machinery and equipment sector, which fell 8% annually, reflecting fewer acquisitions of productive assets by companies.

In contrast, construction managed to stay in positive annual territory (3.8%), although it also registered a monthly drop of 0.8%, indicating that the observed slowdown in this sector is ongoing.

Private investment fell 4.5% year-on-year, while public investment rose 3.8%. However, overall investment declined 2.2% in January compared to the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted data.

To put the figures in context, Mexico’s gross fixed investment grew 3.4% in 2024 and soared 19.7% in 2023 amid the boom in the nearshoring phenomenon.

INEGI reported that seasonally adjusted private consumption fell 1.6% month-on-month in real terms, its largest recent decline, although it still showed year-on-year growth of 2.7%.

The decline in consumption was concentrated in reduced spending on imported goods, which plummeted 6.8% month-on-month. On the other hand, consumption of national goods and services fell 0.7%, with declines in both goods (-0.9%) and services (-0.5%).

Purchase of imported goods actually increased year-on year by 12.2%, but the monthly decline suggests a loss of dynamism as 2026 begins.

Private consumption is the main driver of economic growth in Mexico, with a share of close to 65% of GDP, so even mild deterioration in its dynamics directly impacts economic activity.

With reports from Expansión, El Economista, La Jornada and El Sol de México

Sheinbaum defends loan of artwork to Spain, confirming its return in 2028: Monday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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Sheinbaum 6 April, 2026
Sheinbaum said that while artworks designated as cultural heritage of Mexico — as is the case with works in the Gelman Collection — cannot be sold abroad, they can be exhibited in foreign countries. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🖼️ Gelman Collection: Sheinbaum pushed back on critics worried that a trove of Mexican artworks, including several highly valued Frida Kahlo pieces, that are heading to Spain’s new Santander cultural center won’t come back. She insisted the collection returns in 2028 after a two-year loan, and accused opponents of bad faith: “They don’t want to listen.”

  • 🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦 El Mencho & USMCA: Asked whether February’s military operation that killed Jalisco cartel boss “El Mencho” could benefit Mexico in USMCA renegotiations, Sheinbaum distanced herself from Economy Minister Ebrard’s framing, saying security and trade talks “take their own course,” while reaffirming Mexico wants Trump’s tariffs reduced or scrapped.

  • 🚛 Trucker/farmer protests: A threatened nationwide highway blockade by truckers and farmers — over highway insecurity and lack of agricultural support — had yet to materialize by mid-morning Monday, with Sheinbaum arguing there was no reason to protest given the government’s “open door” to dialogue.

Why today’s mañanera matters

At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum took the opportunity to address concerns about the planned departure from Mexico later this year of the renowned Gelman Collection of artworks. In effect, she used her mañanera — as she has done before— to push back on a narrative that diverts from the official government line.

Also of note at the first mañanera of the week were Sheinbaum’s response to a question about whether the death of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera would benefit Mexico in trade talks with the United States and Canada, and her defense of the Interior Ministry’s position regarding highway blockades that disgruntled truckers and farmers planned to set up this Monday.

Sheinbaum: Gelman Collection will return to Mexico after 2 years 

Sheinbaum displayed an article published by The Guardian under the headline “Mexican art world protests over plan to send Frida Kahlo masterpieces to Spain.”

Gelman Collection of Mexican art on exhibit in Mexico for first time in 2 decades

The Guardian reported that under a deal with the Spanish bank Santander, the privately-owned Gelman Collection of artworks, “currently on public display in Mexico for the first time in nearly 20 years, will return to Spain this summer where it will become a cornerstone of the bank’s new cultural center, the Faro Santander.”

“In announcing the agreement in January, Santander said it would be ‘responsible for the conservation, research and exhibition’ of the collection. But the ambiguity of the announcement, which did not say how long the works would remain in Spain, sparked concern,” The Guardian reported.

“The concern turned to indignation when Faro Santander’s director, Daniel Vega Pérez de Arlucea, told El País that legislation governing the works was ‘flexible’ and that the collection would have a ‘permanent presence’ at the new cultural center,” the newspaper wrote.

Sheinbaum said that while artworks designated as cultural heritage of Mexico — as is the case with works in the Gelman Collection — cannot be sold abroad, they can be exhibited in foreign countries.

She stressed that the Gelman Collection will be exhibited abroad for two years before returning to Mexico. She said that Culture Minister Claudia Curel de Icaza has highlighted that the collection will return to Mexico after two years on “innumerable occasions.”

“Despite this being explained several times, these people insist that the collection will no longer be in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said of people who have signed an open letter raising concerns about the exhibition of the Gelman Collection in Spain.

She asserted that those people “don’t want to listen,” and declared that “the majority are against our government.”

“They can’t understand that the collection will go [abroad] for two years … and will [subsequently] return to Mexico because it is heritage of Mexico even though it is a private collection,” Sheinbaum said.

She highlighted that Santander said in an April 3 statement that the collection is slated to return to Mexico in 2028.

Sheinbaum: Operation against El Mencho ‘not necessarily linked to USMCA negotiation’ 

A reporter highlighted that on Feb. 24, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera in a Feb. 22 military operation would benefit Mexico in USMCA review talks with the United States and Canada. He asked the president whether she believed that would be the case.

“I don’t know the context in which Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard made this declaration, [but] let’s say that [the operation against ‘El Mencho’] helps the good relationship we have with the United States on security issues,” Sheinbaum said.

She went on to say that the Feb. 22 operation in Jalisco that resulted in the death of Oseguera is “not necessarily linked to the USMCA negotiation.”

“… The security issue takes its own course and the trade issue takes it own course,” Sheinbaum said.

In February, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said, “[The U.S.] has seen what the Mexican government has done in the area of security … this will work in our favor in the coming weeks and months as far as our trade relationship is concerned.” (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
She subsequently reiterated that Mexico favors the continuation of the USMCA and wants the tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed in 2025 on a range of Mexican products reduced or removed.

Mexico began formal USMCA review talks with the United States last month. Sheinbaum is confident that Mexico will achieve a good outcome, even though there are a range of points of contention between the three North American trade partners, including in the area of energy.

Sheinbaum: Government is addressing concerns of truckers and farmers 

Sheinbaum highlighted that the Interior Ministry said on Sunday that there is no reason for truckers and farmers to protest this Monday because “the door is open to dialogue, and at the same time” the government has been “addressing the demands they have.”

“So for what reason are they going to protest if there is permanent dialogue?” she asked.

The National Truckers Association and the National Front for the Rescue of the Countryside said last week that a nationwide protest against insecurity on highways, an alleged lack of support for farmers and other problems would take place on Monday, April 6. It was anticipated that the protesters would block highways across Mexico starting early Monday.

However, at 10 a.m. on Monday, blockades hadn’t been set up, according to media reports. Still, it appeared that disgruntled truckers and farmers would block at least some highways on Monday.

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

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