Home Blog Page 40

How Jorge Campos won over the fans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

By
Alan Chazaro
-
0
Jorge Campos and Tom Cruise share a moment
The stars came out for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and in Mexico, none were bigger than Jorge Campos. (Jorge Campos/Instagram)

You don’t have to be a futbolero to know the national icon that is Jorge “El Inmortal” Campos.

The former Mexican national team goalkeeper, who stood a mere 5-foot-6, dominated throughout the 1990s as a stalwart between the goalposts, supplying acrobatic dives and theatrical saves that have been compiled into countless highlight reels by a zealous fanbase. On the field, he helped popularize the role of an attacking goalie — the rare archetype of a goalkeeper who would leave his own goal to become an offensive weapon against opposing defenses (Campos famously played striker at times, netting over 35 goals in his career).

Mexico soccer player Jorge Campos at a game in the 1994 World Cup. He is caught in the middle of a joyful jump with one fist in the air, wearing a kit of neon green, neon pink, yellow, and blue. and white blue and yellow socks
Jorge Campos’ unforgettable self-designed 1994 World Cup kit, one of over 100 custom efforts he created during his “immortal” career. (Soccer Bible)

In fact, Campos developed such a prolific and unprecedented style as an offensive-minded goalie that FIFA was prompted to investigate its own rules about a player who switches positions mid-game.

‘A cult hero for his flamboyant apparel’

From 1988 to 2004, Campos — who grew up near Acapulco, Guerrero — transformed into a larger-than-life force during his prime, playing in Mexico and the United States for teams like UNAM, Atlante, LA Galaxy, Cruz Azul, Chicago Fire, Tigres and Puebla.

But perhaps more than the game itself, Campos became a cult hero for his flamboyant apparel. Bright neon shades and quirky geometric designs highlighted his loud sense of fashion on the pitch and, decades later, he remains one of soccer’s most iconic global personalities. At his zenith, Campos designed his own kit (inspired by Acapulco’s culture) that he wore in the 1994 World Cup. Campos’ creativity inspired other goalkeepers of the decade to follow suit, as a few of his contemporaries would also go on to create their own flamboyant style modeled after his example.

In total, Campos is credited with 130 national appearances for Mexico and over 100 custom uniform designs. In his own words, “I’m not sure if I played that well, but everyone remembers me.” Indeed, they do.

This summer, Campos recaptured the hearts of soccer fans worldwide with his playful personality, generous spirit and the announcement of a new soccer endorsement deal with Nike — a rare feat for a long-retired veteran. Here’s how the immortal Campos further embellished his colorful legacy at the 2026 World Cup.

Nike’s ‘Campos x Jorge’ collection

In his biggest splash, Campos revealed his collaboration with Nike for the “Campos x Jorge” release. Though the exact dates of the drop haven’t been confirmed yet, the sportswear giant teased the clothing line throughout the World Cup. (A few months ago, Campos joined forces with Nike and the Houston rapper Travis Scott, who is a frequent Nike collaborator himself, to release a custom jersey under the BadFriend skate apparel brand, perhaps foreshadowing Campos’ own line.)

Travis Scott and Jorge Campos admiring the jersey design on which they collaborated
Recent Campos collaborators include not only Nike, but also Houston rapper Travis Scott. (elceo/Instagram)

The clothing will utilize Campos’ legendary patterns, designs and colors. Best of all, Nike unveiled a Michael Jordan-esque silhouette for the brand, in which the outline of a diving Campos punching a ball away from the goalpost serves as a makeshift “Jumpman” logo.

Images of conceptual sketches have emerged online, generating tons of fan excitement around the clothing line. References to palm trees, Acapulco, beaches, surfing (a hobby that Campos acquired while growing up on Mexico’s Pacific coast) and, of course, soccer are at the forefront.

The collection will honor Campos’ ongoing tradition of converting the soccer field into a fashion runway.

Campos’ role as a cultural ambassador for Mexico

Nowadays, Campos is a versatile diplomat for the game’s universal appeal, a goalkeeper who transcended the sport to become an avatar of Mexico’s vibrancy and warmth beyond the penalty box.

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted in his native Mexico, Campos was in a uniquely opportune position to represent the sport as an official FIFA World Cup ambassador — along with other soccer notables like David Beckham, Mia Hamm, Ronaldo Nazário and Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Throughout the Cup, Campos was seen inside VIP boxes and attending high-profile events in various host cities, rubbing shoulders with the biggest stars in the sport. He was even given a seat in the presidential box with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

In addition, Campos served as a World Cup television commentator for Mexico’s Azteca Deportes, providing analysis of in-game action, which he has done for over 20 years since his retirement in the mid-2000s. He is known for being goofy, off the cuff and rather unserious — albeit sincere and endearing — in a way that brings levity to the commentator’s booth.

His face was seen everywhere, especially in Mexico: on limited-edition children’s juice boxes on Boing!, in Visa advertisements and in television commercials alongside other Mexican celebrities like El Hijo del Santo, Julio César Chávez and Pedro Infante.

‘A meeting of legends’

Beyond the gimmicky commercialism of it all, which admittedly has become an increasingly diluted part of the sporting industry at large in the modern age, Campos helped bring unity across cultures and generations in genuine, organic ways.

Most memorably, Campos brought René “El Loco” Higuita — a famous Colombian goalie from the 1990s known for his daredevil saves and infamous “scorpion kick” — together with Vozinha, who became Cape Verde’s unlikely goalkeeping hero and was considered the fan-favorite goalkeeper of this 2026 tournament. (Vozinha blocked all of Spain’s shot attempts and shut down the eventual World Cup champions with a 0-0 draw in their group stage duel.)

Jorge Campos and the 2026 FIFA World Cup

In a now-viral video, Campos asks Higuita, “Who is the best keeper?” to which Higuita responds, “Jorge Campos.” Campos immediately corrects him with a smile and says, “No, Vozinha,” and calls Vozinha over from across the room, whom Higuita hadn’t yet seen. The trio takes a photo together in a cross-generational meeting of legends. Later, Campos and Vozinha exchanged jerseys, a tradition that represents a sign of mutual respect and admiration between high-caliber players. Campos ends the interaction by telling them all to say “hello to Mexico.”

In Mexico, you can’t mention the 2026 World Cup without mentioning Jorge Campos. And you can’t mention Campos without mentioning Mexico.

Alan Chazaro is the author of “These Spaceships Weren’t Built For Us” (Tia Chucha Press, 2026), “Notes from the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021), “Piñata Theory” (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), and “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album” (Black Lawrence Press, 2019). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and was selected as a Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poetry Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His work can be found in NPR, The Guardian, SLAM, GQ, L.A. Times, and more. He is currently based in Veracruz.

When Mexico colonized California

By
Bob Pateman
-
10
1650 map showing California as an island
For nearly two centuries California was thought to be an island, until Jesuit padre Eusebio Kino finally proved the contrary circa 1702. (Public Domain)

Mexico covers 1.96 million square kilometers (about 757,000 square miles), making it the 13th-largest country in the world. It once stretched over a far greater area and included six modern U.S. states, including the vast forests, mountains and deserts of California. To understand how Mexico occupied the West Coast of North America, we need to understand the geography of the continent.

The Atlantic coastline of what is now the United States was colonized by Britain and seemed to offer little other than farmland. In the southern half of the continent, the Amazon restricted colonization to the coast. European expansion, led by the Spanish, therefore funneled through the Caribbean Islands, where the climate was suited for plantations, and into Central America, where there was the promise of gold and other riches. Mexico — or “New Spain” as it was known for three centuries — was not only a vast country, but the center of a great Spanish empire that at its height stretched for some 11,000 kilometers (about 6,800 miles) from the tip of Argentina almost to the edge of Alaska.

Spanish shipbuilding in Mexico

Illustration of Acapulco circa 1628
The Mexican terminus of the Manila galleon trade was in Acapulco (illustrated here circa 1628), but because of the Kuroshio Current, ships were obliged to sail down the California coast. (Public Domain)

Cortés brought down the Mexica empire in 1521, and although Spanish exploration did not stop, it slowed down. One problem was the lack of ships on the Pacific coast, for rounding Cape Horn was a dangerous venture for any captain. However, once the Spanish were established in Central America, ships could be dismantled, hauled across the isthmus, and reassembled. The establishment of the shipyards required for such work first centered on the Gulf of San Miguel in modern Panama, where it was just 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The initial driving force for such activity was not the old dream of exploration, but the need to transport enslaved peoples from Central America to the new mines opening up in Peru.

Such ships were generally caravels, 40 to 75 feet in length and weighing between 50 and 160 tons. Their small size and frame-first design meant a ship could be assembled in three to nine months, and within a decade, modest shipbuilding enterprises had sprung up in numerous places along the coast. These included Acapulco, where Hernán Cortés encouraged the industry with the building of a wharf and the marking out of a rough road to Mexico City.

Explorations of California

Not that exploration stopped altogether, and as early as 1533, Hernán Cortés sent a small party to investigate California, whose name came from a 1510 Spanish romance novel by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, “Las Sergas de Esplandián.” They did not find that elusive route to China, nor the rumored “seven cities of gold,” but Fortún Jiménez became the first European to set foot on Baja California.

Cortés himself arrived in what is now La Paz in May 1535. He believed Baja to be an island, which he claimed for Spain. There was no gold, but there were pearl beds, and a small colony was founded. However, the terrain and climate proved too harsh, and this first settlement was abandoned. In 1539, Francisco de Ulloa sailed north on a new mission of exploration, and he discovered that Baja was not an island but a peninsula. The letter he sent back to Acapulco did not encourage others to follow. The land, he declared, was “ugly and barren, as poor here as it was in parts seen earlier.”

The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade

Shipbuilding was making great strides on the Pacific coast, and by 1542, two expeditions could be dispatched. Ruy López de Villalobos sailed with six Guatemalan-built ships to head for the Philippines, while Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed with three ships to explore the “uncharted waters of the north.” The Cabrillo fleet sailed past Baja to California proper, perhaps reaching as far as the mouth of the Russian River that lies well north of modern San Francisco. Cabrillo did not survive the journey. He slipped on some rocks and shattered his shin, a wound that became infected with gangrene. He died on Jan. 3, 1543.

A few concessions were handed out for the exploitation of the pearl beds within the Gulf of California, and there were souls to be saved, which motivated the opening of a handful of small missions in the southern half of the peninsula. However, little interest was shown in the lands beyond the peninsula. What drew the Spanish back to these waters was the opening of the trade route with the Philippines.

Woodes Rogers taking of the Manila galleon in 1709
The Manila galleons proved a powerful attraction to English pirates and privateers, from Thomas Cavendish, who sacked the Santa Ana in 1587, to Woodes Rogers, who captured a similarly lucrative prize in 1709, after the battle pictured here. (Public Domain)

Why the galleons sailed down the California Coast

This had taken time to establish, for while sailing to the Philippines was a harsh journey, it was also relatively straightforward. Winds and currents made the return journey far more complex, and it was 1565 before the Spanish discovered that by sailing north to around 40 degrees of latitude, a ship could pick up the westerly trade winds and benefit from the powerful Kuroshio Current. Even if all went well, reaching the American coast could take months, and ships would strike land far to the north. Returning galleons now sailed down the California coast each year, and no doubt knowledge of this unexplored world was passed on by word of mouth, but we have no record of such conversations.

Pirates and explorers

Another wanderer along the Pacific coast was not Spanish but the English hero — or pirate, depending on your point of view — Francis Drake. He left Plymouth in 1577 and reached the Strait of Magellan in September 1578. He headed into this strait with six ships, but only the Golden Hind survived the notorious storms that ravaged these waters. After terrorizing the Spanish coast, he sailed north beyond Spanish reach, where he stopped to repair his ship and claim the land for England. His precise landing point is uncertain, but it would have been north of modern San Francisco. From here, Drake headed out into the Pacific to complete the first circumnavigation of the globe in 58 years.

There was another motivation for exploring along the California coast: the search for the Strait of Anian. This northern passage to the Atlantic started to appear on maps from around 1560, but its existence had never been confirmed. In 1584, Franciscus Gaill continued the exploration of the Pacific coast, describing California in promising terms and noting the abundance of seals. The record of his journey might have been lost to us except that an account somehow found its way into the travel journals of the Dutch explorer Jan Huygen.

Cavendish and the taking of the Manila galleon

The English had not gone away, and in 1587 the privateer Thomas Cavendish lurked off the coast of Baja California, where he seized and burned the Manila galleon Santa Ana. The crew was put ashore with supplies and survived, with two of the officers, Vizcaíno and Cermeño, going on to become important explorers of this coast. In 1595, Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño commanded the Manila galleon San Agustín with orders to explore the California coastline on the return journey. He was anchored in a small bay when they were hit by a storm that sank his great ship. Cermeño and his crew struggled home in a small boat, but the loss of the Manila galleon must have been a devastating blow to the Spanish economy that year.

A search for a safe harbor

This loss demonstrated the need for a safe harbor along the Northern coast, and in 1601, the search was entrusted to Sebastián Vizcaíno. He was well acquainted with these waters, having sailed on the Manila galleons himself and having also operated pearl concessions from La Paz. Vizcaíno mapped the California coastline as far north as Monterey without finding a suitable harbor. He felt Monterey Bay was unsuitable as it was exposed to rough currents and winds, and he missed San Francisco Bay completely, most likely passing when it was shrouded in mist.

There was no obvious harbor, little promise from the land and the British threat seemed to have passed. Spanish interest faded with the world beyond the Baja California peninsula, and ships returning from the Philippines were left to find shelter and take on water where they could. This period of apathy would last a century and a half.

José de Gálvez and the founding of new missions in California

José de Gálvez portrait
José de Gálvez, the powerful visitador general, whose vision for California would forever alter the history of the region. (Public Domain)

In 1765, José de Gálvez arrived in New Spain as the king’s special deputy. The Spanish government was bankrupt after the Seven Years’ War, and New Spain would have to refill the royal coffers. The ambitious Gálvez imposed state monopolies and introduced new taxes. Playing on fears that the British, Dutch or even the Russians had ambitions for the northern Pacific coast, he prepared a grand expedition that would not just explore, but would colonize the north.

Don Gaspar de Portolá, a Spanish Army officer from minor Catalan nobility, was given command of the land expedition, and with him would be the remarkable Father Junípero Serra. He was a member of the Franciscan Order and, on arriving in New Spain in 1749, had refused the offer of a horse and walked to Mexico City. He arrived with his left foot swollen and infected, a painful condition that remained with him the rest of his life.

The journey of Serra and Portolá

Gaspar de Portolá’s overland party reached the site of present-day San Diego in July 1769 to find that the two galleons carrying their supplies had only just arrived. They had missed the bay and sailed lost for several weeks, during which time the crews were devastated by scurvy. The initial force of 300 men was down to half that number, but Portolá continued northward with 63 soldiers and 100 mules. Moving painfully slowly, they arrived in what is now Los Angeles in early August. Early November saw them cross a low coastal mountain range and look down on San Francisco Bay, the perfect harbor that the Spanish had been seeking for so long.

Back in San Diego, Father Serra built a small hut to act as a church, and this would grow into the Mission San Diego. During the early years, this and the other missions that followed would be dependent on supply ships arriving from Mexico, but a local economy was slowly established, based around raising cattle.

California (California and Baja California weren’t formally recognized as separate territories until 1804), however, remained a neglected outpost of a faltering Spanish empire, with the Spanish population never rising above 14,000. Within three decades, Lewis and Clark would complete the first east-to-west crossing of the northern half of the continent, bringing the Pacific Coast within the sights of the small but ambitious and rapidly expanding United States of America.

Bob Pateman lived in Mexico for six years. He is a librarian and teacher with a Master’s Degree in History.

El Jalapeño: Conjoined twins dominate synchronized swimming event in Mexico

By
El Jalapeno
-
1
Conjoined twins Sofia and Valentina Gómez triumphed in synchronized swimming at the World Watersports Championships, albeit not without some controversy regarding their inherent advantages. (This image was generated using AI tools)

All stories in El Jalapeño are satire and not real news. Check out the original article here.

Following a dominant gold-medal performance at the World Watersports Championships, international sports officials confirmed Tuesday that Mexico’s premier synchronized diving team has officially cleared all regulations for competitive fairness, provided they continue using the same shared torso.

Fourteen-year-old prodigies Sofia and Valentina Gómez secured the top spot during the synchronized final over the world-ranked team from China. The victory marked the first time a Mexican team defeated the top-seeded international pair, a feat sports analysts attribute to flawless execution, rigorous daily preparation and an absolute physical inability to desynchronize mid-air.

Sofia and Valentina Gómez credited their victory to a shared torso and nervous system. (This image was generated using AI tools)

World Watersports adjudicators spent three hours reviewing high-speed footage of the final dive to determine whether the pair’s shared center of gravity provided an unfair mechanical advantage. The panel ultimately ruled that while perfect temporal alignment is guaranteed, the pair faces unique structural handicaps, including a single assigned locker and the logistical challenge of fitting two regulation warm-up robes over one set of shoulders.

“The rules state that synchronized partners must initiate rotation at the exact same millisecond,” said World Watersports technical delegate Jean-Luc Moreau. “Normally, achieving that level of timing requires a decade of joint training and agonizing repetition. The Gómez twins have achieved it through cellular-level integration. It is unusual, but entirely within the parameters of the rulebook.”

The victory has sparked intense interest among international coaching staff, who have traditionally relied on verbal cues and mirrored drill repetitions to build symmetry. Team officials confirmed that while rival nations have already inquired about training techniques, the pair’s success relies on a highly specialized regimen consisting primarily of mutual agreement on which direction to turn when leaving the locker room.

“We felt very happy with the result,” said Sofia Gómez during the post-event press conference, speaking simultaneously with her sister without looking in her direction. “It gives us a lot of motivation for the upcoming Olympics, where we hope to show that perfect harmony is not just about communication, but about literally sharing a circulatory system.”

Sports bioengineers noted that the pair’s springboard entry achieved an entry angle deviation of 0.00 degrees, a statistic never before recorded in international competition. Analysts added that while traditional synchronized pairs spend years managing interpersonal friction, the Gómez twins have effectively eliminated all miscommunication by operating off a single central nervous system.

The pair is slated to represent Mexico at the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where event organizers confirmed they will be issued two gold medals, but only a single set of accreditation credentials.

Check out our Jalapeño archive here.

Got an idea for a Jalapeño article? Email us with your suggestions!

The MND News Quiz of the Week: August 2nd

By
MND Plus
-
0
News quiz
(Mexico News Daily)

What's been going on in the news this week? Our weekly quiz is here to keep you on top of what’s happening in Mexico.

Get informed, stay smart.

Are you ready?  Let’s see where you rank vs. our expert community!

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard has threatened to impose tariffs on other countries based on the ones being levied against what iconic product from Mexico?

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, Chinese President Xi Jinping is viewed more favorably in Mexico than U.S. President Donald Trump. Which of the following countries agreed with that assessment?
President Donald Trump Speaks During Mexican Border Defense Medal Presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC on December 15, 2025

Baja California-born cyclist Isaac del Toro performed notably well in the recent Tour de France. In what place did he finish?
Isaac del Toro Stage 2 Tour de France

This year’s Miss Universe Mexico pageant will take place on Aug. 29 in what Mexican beach destination?
Colomitos

South Korean automaker Kia has announced a significant investment of US $649 million in Mexico to produce electric vehicles. In what state will this production take place?

Thanks to significant investment and modernization, Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has reduced power outages by what percentage since 2024?
CFE technician working on an electric pole

Which Mexican amphibian is critically endangered domestically, but is found in hundreds of thousands of pet owner aquariums around the globe?
The axolotl's habitat is limited to the canals running through the chinampas (artificial islands) of Xochimilco, one of Mexico City’s southernmost boroughs.

Mexico is on a record pace for exports in 2026, logging US $389.72 billion through the first six months of this year. What percentage increase is that over the same period in 2025?
Truck carrying cargo

Comando, a mixed-breed dog often dressed in military clothing, has been adopted by the National Guard in what Mexican border state?
National Guard dog

During what decade did the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency infiltrate the literary magazine Diálogos as part of its ongoing attempt to shape Mexican art and culture?
CIA seal

Mexico’s week in review: Authorities capture CJNG leader, Navy backs US $115M sargassum strategy and Kia commits $649M to EVs

By
MND Staff
-
0
This week, South Korean automaker Kia announced a US $649 million investment to begin producing its EV3 electric SUV at its Pesquería, Nuevo León plant starting Aug. 4.
This week, South Korean automaker Kia announced a US $649 million investment to begin producing its EV3 electric SUV at its Pesquería, Nuevo León plant starting Aug. 4. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)

The week of July 27th in Mexico ended with a major security win as agents captured the alleged intellectual author of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo’s assassination, a case that rattled Michoacán, a state burdened by organized crime, in late 2025.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, spent much of the week swatting away rhetorical grenades lobbed from abroad: she rejected Argentine President Javier Milei’s claim that Mexico was funding an “anti-Argentina campaign,” and brushed off White House adviser Stephen Miller’s assertion that cartels control Mexico’s political system, telling reporters the United States “must look at itself” on drug consumption. Closer to home, a cheating scandal consumed Mexico’s largest and most prestigious university, which confronted suspicions that AI and old-fashioned cheat sheets had corrupted its admissions exam. In a lighter moment, chefs in the capital’s Venustiano Carranza borough assembled a 100-meter, 1.5-tonne torta at the International Torta Fair, a Guinness-certified spectacle that drew hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.

Mastermind of Manzo murder captured in Jalisco

Federal authorities on Thursday arrested Ramón Ángel “R1” Álvarez Ayala, the alleged mastermind behind the November 2025 assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Álvarez Ayala, leader of a CJNG-linked cell known as “Los R’s,” was apprehended in Atotonilco, Jalisco, in an operation involving a high-speed chase and a shootout that left one of his bodyguards dead. García Harfuch later detailed R1’s criminal history, noting he was first jailed in 2012 for orchestrating a wave of violence in Guadalajara, was released in 2022, and resumed criminal activity soon after — allegedly ordering several killings, including that of influencer Valeria Márquez. His capture marks the 31st arrest connected to Manzo’s murder, a killing that shocked Mexico’s political and business classes and turned the independent mayor into a national symbol of local officials’ vulnerability to organized crime.

‘R1’ ordered Manzo’s murder for defying cartel, says security minister: Friday’s mañanera recapped

Mexicans now view China more favorably than the US, Pew finds

A new Pew Research Center survey found that Mexicans view China more favorably than the United States for the first time in nearly two decades of polling. Some 59% of Mexican respondents said they had a favorable opinion of China, compared to 40% for the U.S., and Mexicans were roughly three times more likely to express confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping than in Donald Trump. Canada showed a similar reversal, and Pew noted the trend held across most of the 36 countries it surveyed. Analysts attribute the shift largely to worsening views of Washington rather than improving perceptions of Beijing, with younger Mexican adults especially likely to favor China over the U.S.

Chemical spill near Arizona border triggers emergency response

Two separate freight train derailments prompted emergency responses over the weekend. In Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, authorities declared a Code Red and evacuated more than 200 residents after a Pemex-owned tank car carrying 70,000 liters of gasoline tipped over in a rail yard.

Farther north, a Ferromex freight train derailed in Naco, Sonora, spilling roughly 59,000 liters of sodium hydrosulfide, a corrosive chemical used in copper mining, just south of the U.S. border. Heavy rain then hampered cleanup efforts in Sonora, forcing families near the Cuauhtémoc ejido to temporarily leave their homes due to fumes. Sonora’s Civil Protection Agency said emergency measures were deployed immediately, while the National Water Commission is testing water and soil to determine whether the chemical reached waterways near Cananea. The Federal Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the derailment, which occurred on a Grupo México-linked rail line and raised fresh concerns about industrial safety in a state that is already home to some of Mexico’s largest copper mining operations.

Del Toro caps historic Tour de France

Cyclist Isaac del Toro delivered Mexico’s best-ever Tour de France result, finishing third overall and taking the white jersey as the race’s best young rider — a result celebrated by President Sheinbaum. The 22-year-old from Ensenada, Baja California, made history early in the three-week race too, winning Stage 2 in Barcelona after teammate and four-time champion Tadej Pogačar eased up in the final meters to let the young rider take the victory, a gesture that left Del Toro visibly stunned. It was the first Tour stage win by a Mexican rider in 36 years, since Raúl Alcalá’s back-to-back victories in 1989 and 1990. Del Toro’s final-week performance in the Alps, where Pogačar again worked to protect his young teammate’s position, sealed a podium finish that surpassed Alcalá’s previous best of eighth place, cementing Del Toro’s status as Mexico’s greatest cyclist and a genuine contender for future Grand Tours.

Acapulco hydroelectric dam project scrapped

Sheinbaum canceled the long-controversial La Parota dam project near Acapulco, citing unresolved land expropriation issues and a lack of community agreements. In its place, the government will build radial wells along the Papagayo River, rehabilitate aqueducts and replace drinking water lines serving the city’s upper neighborhoods.

northern rural Acapulco
The hydroelectric dam project, which saw fierce opposition throughout Guerrero state since it was announced in 2003, would have displaced upwards of 25,000 inhabitants of northern Acapulco. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)

Foreign investment keeps flowing

Several new investment announcements underscored continued foreign interest in Mexico.

Houston-based Talos Energy agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Repsol’s offshore Block 29 in the Gulf of Mexico, home to the Polok and Chinwol oil discoveries.

South Korean automaker Kia announced a US $649 million investment to begin producing its EV3 electric SUV at its Pesquería, Nuevo León plant starting Aug. 4 — the model’s first production site outside South Korea, expected to create 500 jobs this year and 1,500 more by 2030.

On the consumer side, U.S. cookie chain Crumbl opened its first Mexico store in Roma Norte, CDMX, to 800-person lines, while gourmet hot dog chain Dog Haus debuted in Mérida, part of a broader wave of American food brands expanding south.

Mexican economy shows signs of life

The MND Economy Index™, a 10-pillar composite gauge of Mexico’s economic health, rose to 68.61 in its latest edition — its highest reading yet, driven by improving inflation and monetary policy scores even as economic growth remains the weakest-performing pillar. The improving picture was reinforced by other data this week:

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard also weighed in on the trade relationship with Washington, downplaying Trump’s latest remark that he “doesn’t care” about the USMCA. “Obviously there are warnings every week, there are a lot of things,” Ebrard told reporters, adding that “as of today we’re doing well.” Sheinbaum echoed the sentiment, noting the two countries’ economies remain deeply integrated after decades of free trade.

The MND Economy Index™ from March 2025 through May 2026, the latest reading. (Mexico News Daily)

Navy presents US $115M sargassum plan

With Quintana Roo facing its worst sargassum season on record, the Mexican Navy announced a 2-billion-peso plan to combat the seaweed influx choking Caribbean coast beaches. The strategy includes roughly 50 kilometers of new anti-sargassum sea barriers near Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Tulum, Puerto Morelos and Mahahual, along with new collection vessels aimed at eventually processing 4,000 tonnes of sargassum per day. Quintana Roo has already collected more than 92,000 tonnes of the macroalgae this year, with officials projecting the total could exceed 119,000 tonnes before year’s end.

World Bank aligns support with Plan México

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga made his first visit to Mexico in five years, meeting with Sheinbaum to align a new five-year Country Partnership Framework with the government’s Plan México industrial strategy. The framework will prioritize infrastructure, energy, water management and human capital development.

Banga also toured Grupo Naturasol, a family-owned agribusiness in México state that previously received International Finance Corporation financing, calling it a model for how smaller firms can plug into North American supply chains.

Mexico News Daily

This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Claude, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.

MND Tutor | Isaac del Toro

By
MND Plus
-
1

Welcome to MND Tutor! This interactive learning tool is designed to help you improve your Spanish by exploring real news articles from Mexico News Daily. Instead of just memorizing vocabulary lists or grammar rules, you’ll dive into authentic stories about Mexican culture, current events and daily news.

Only 22 years of age, Ensenada native Isaac del Toro recently made history by securing Mexico’s highest finish ever in the Tour de France. In his debut Tour with UAE Team Emirates, del Toro claimed third overall alongside winner Tadej Pogačar and captured the white jersey as the race’s best young rider. Along the way, he became only the second Mexican ever to win a Tour stage — and the first since Raúl Alcalá in 1990 — while cementing his status as the No. 3-ranked cyclist in the world and inspiring a massive wave of national pride across Mexico.

Discover more about Isaac del Toro’s historic achievement, and why it matters, in our latest MND Tutor.

To learn more, read the full article here.



Let us know how you did!

Check out our complete MND Tutor archive here!

When legacy media’s hypocrisy gets called out: A perspective from our CEO

By
Travis Bembenek
-
52
Elon Musk
Mexico News Daily CEO Travis Bembenek argues that Elon Musk's clash with The Economist's editor exposed the magazine's hypocrisy — something that has been especially evident its Mexico coverage. (Shutterstock)

I am increasingly finding myself analyzing the Mexico narrative as it’s told by different media outlets. Just this past week brought us another ludicrous example with The Atlantic magazine publishing an article titled “A Planeload of Informants” with the subtitle: “The United States is intensifying its hunt for narcos within the Mexican government. Is this all prelude to an attack?”

I guess The Atlantic was feeling left out of the party by other large media outlets writing breathtakingly sensationalist articles about Mexico. If you remember, leading up to the World Cup, The Economist magazine informed its readers that: “The World Cup will test Mexico’s control over its territory.” The Wall Street Journal told us that the “World Cup puts Mexico’s Cartel Crisis on the Global Stage.” And the New York Times has written at length of experts confidently predicting Mexico would enter a period of increasing violence after the February government operation against CJNG leader Mencho.

But they have all been wrong. Totally wrong. The post-Mencho spiral of violence? It didn’t happen. In fact, Mexico has seen its homicide rates hitting lows not seen in over a decade. The “World Cup test” of Mexico against the cartels? There was no test. The world watched with envy as foreigners partied alongside Mexicans across the country. Not a single article has been written acknowledging getting things so wrong. And so now we have the media moving on to the next big story: A potential attack by the United States on Mexico.

Let’s be clear about the history here: Mexico has, for decades, genuinely struggled with cartel violence, and I am not arguing otherwise. But what these outlets consistently omit is the context of the last year. Cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico against cartels is, in the words of officials on both sides, at unprecedented levels — a shift I’ve tracked in real time (see my columns on the World Cup coverage and Mexico’s business community). The result of that cooperation isn’t more violence; it’s homicides down by almost 50% this year. Apparently good news doesn’t sell subscriptions.

Leading media outlets should be ashamed at their World Cup coverage of Mexico: A perspective from our CEO

Which brings me to two personal anecdotes from this past week that I want to share:

Cancelling a 30-year subscription

The first took place at a friend’s dinner party in Mexico City. A few hours into some good conversation, he (quite randomly) asked me: “Do you still read The Economist magazine?” To which I responded that I do. He then said: “I have been a loyal subscriber for over 30 years, but I am about to cancel it. I am done with them.” His reasoning was enlightening: “I am tired of the narrative of their coverage. By cancelling my subscription with them, I am choosing to not pay attention to the reality that they are presenting.” He went on: “The predictive power of their writers and editors has changed … and as a result they are just flat out wrong on many topics.”

The words stuck with me as I have been increasingly feeling the same about The Economist. In just the past few months, I have actually written twice about how intellectually lazy, disingenuous and downright wrong their coverage has been regarding Mexico. Increasingly, as I read their coverage on the country, I have found myself wondering, “Why am I reading this? It’s not accurate. It’s sensationalist. And it doesn’t represent reality. Why am I paying to read something that I think is just plain wrong?”

As my friend’s cancellation shows, his decision reflects a broader pattern I’m seeing: As irresponsible coverage piles up, readers simply stop trusting — and stop paying for — outlets they once considered essential.

The conversation went further with others at the party explaining that, in contrast, they read Mexico News Daily precisely because it “provides optimism by showing me the Mexico that I want to believe exists today and believe can exist in the future.” The comment wasn’t made out of ignorance or a lack of information, but rather in a way that reinforced the optimism they have for Mexico. Said differently, they are choosing to align with a narrative of informed optimism versus colonialist click-bait pessimism. It’s unfortunate to increasingly see people tuning out of legacy media, but it’s easy to understand why they are doing it. As many outlets increasingly present a pessimistic, dystopian, doom-and-gloom view of much of the world — one that increasingly is out of touch with reality — many people are choosing to tune out.

The Economist’s Elon Musk interview

The second anecdote came earlier this week when I watched The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, interview Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The nearly 90-minute-long interview went on fine for the first hour, but then turned decidedly testy. Ms. Beddoes at one point begins to take issue with Musk’s assessment of the current state of the U.K. (where The Economist is based and where she lives). She questioned his motives, repeatedly said he was incorrect, accused him of supporting “fringe” and “far right” parties and questioned when he had last visited the U.K. To be clear, the point here is not whether Musk’s take on the U.K. is right or wrong, that’s a separate debate entirely.

Here you have the head of The Economist, the British publication that has increasingly misconstrued, misrepresented and irresponsibly presented other countries around the world, getting extremely defensive about someone questioning the U.K. She repeatedly took offense to any of Musk’s critiques of her own country, claiming “People say that you’re racist,” “people loathe you,” “What is the motivation for [participating in tribalism]?” It was quite shocking to see the head of a publication that for decades has portrayed much of the rest of the world as dangerous, backwards and corrupt take so much offense to someone questioning the current state and future direction of her own country.

As she waged increasingly personal attacks against Musk, he finally had enough and responded with a dagger: “A lot more people hate you, the media — more than you realize. Do you realize the media is despised? Do you realize … the favorable view of journalists is like 15%? … They hate you.” It was a striking moment. Her defensiveness made her and her publication feel small, out of touch, aloof. It was a moment where I found myself even further questioning the true motives of The Economist.

Musk’s jab about journalism’s approval rating isn’t just a soundbite — it’s the direct consequence of the pattern I described above. When outlets choose sensationalism over accuracy, they erode trust in journalism broadly, pushing people toward sources — credible or not — that at least feel honest to them.

Is The Economist really trying to live by its founding mission from 179 years ago of taking part “in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress”? Or are they more likely contributing to the obstruction of progress with increasingly ignorant and biased journalism? If the latter is in fact the case, as I sadly suspect it is, they will likely experience more people like my friend moving on.

I strongly believe that the role of the media is more important than ever. But we in the media also needs to work harder than ever to earn your trust and respect — and many outlets seem to have forgotten that.

Thank you for reading and supporting MND.

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.

After a young girl’s death, Mexico shuts down all militarized grade schools

By
MND Staff
-
0
Students march at a militarized grade school in Puebla.
There are 31 militarized academies in Mexico and all of them must be shuttered by Aug. 31, with all advance payments reimbursed and the appropriate documents needed to enroll in other schools delivered. (Facebook via La Jornada)

Following the death of a female student, the Education Ministry (SEP) ordered all so-called “military schools” shuttered by Aug. 31.

Furthermore, Education Minister Mario Delgado said such schools must immediately reimburse payments made for outstanding educational services, such as re-enrollment fees, school supplies and uniforms.

President Claudia Sheinbaum praised Delgado’s decision, while lamenting the 13-year-old girl’s death. “What happened in Tamaulipas is very sad,” she said. “Abuses occurring under the pretext of discipline cannot be allowed.”

The SEP resolution comes after the July 16 death of Dafne Zapata, who died during a summer camp at Marina Doenitz Military Academy in the state of Tamaulipas.

Dafne’s death prompted immediate demands for justice from family and friends, eventually leading to the arrest of three alleged perpetrators. 

That day, Dafne’s mother was informed that her daughter was suffering from a cough and dehydration, only to be told minutes later that she had died.

An autopsy refuted the academy’s conflicting claims about Dafne’s death — sudden circulatory failure and accidental death were cited — indicating that she died from drowning.

Medical examiners also found bruises and signs of recent physical abuse, prompting the authorities to rule out natural causes and classify the case as femicide.

Soon thereafter, prosecutors arrested Jorge Luis Ponce Ortega, the school’s director, Estrellita Mora Díaz, a supervisor, and 18-year-old Danna Yanina, a teaching assistant.

Former students of the academy criticized the arrest of Yanina, staging a protest while proclaiming that she was another victim who was forced to carry out “disciplinary measures.”

The SEP has ordered a comprehensive review of all 31 military-style academies in the country, with Delgado saying, “There can be no true educational transformation if expressions of violence are permitted.”

The edict requires all 32 state education ministries to thoroughly review the authorizations, permits and Official Recognition of Studies they’ve granted and shutter all military-style schools and institutions.

Additionally, Delgado instructed local education authorities to order the immediate delivery of school documentation to students affected by this measure, including full or partial certificates of studies to guarantee the continuity of their education and to facilitate their incorporation into other educational institutions.

Dafne’s mother, Alejandra Quintos, this week proposed legislation to address security and safety issues at military-style institutions. The so-called Dafne Law would establish controls, security protocols and oversight mechanisms for military academies, summer camps and other such organizations, whether public or private.

With reports from El País, El Economista, La Jornada and Animal Político

Cookie craze hits CDMX: Crumbl opens first Mexico location

By
MND Staff
-
5
Crumbl co-founders (and cousins) Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley outside a Crumbl bakery
Crumbl co-founders and cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley at Crumbl's new Mexico City location. (Crumbl/LinkedIn)

The viral global cookie phenomenon known as Crumbl has arrived in Mexico.

Famous for its large gourmet cookies, weekly rotating menu and signature pink boxes, the U.S. bakery chain opened a store in the chic Mexico City neighborhood of Roma Norte on Tuesday.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Crumbl Mexico (@crumbl.mx)

It did not go unnoticed.

El Universal newspaper described Tuesday’s opening day as a “frenzy,” reporting that dozens of people arrived early in hopes of “being among the first to try the famous viral cookies” and “a line of approximately 800 people snaked around the block.” 

The event attracted content creators and influencers to the shop at Calle Durango 225. They busily documented the atmosphere and shared images of the event on various digital platforms.

Crumbl’s approach breaks with traditional baking. Its menu isn’t fixed; it has over 270 recipes in its catalogue, but offers 3 or 4 new flavors each week. 

The brand — founded in Logan, Utah, in 2017 — produces weekly Sunday night flavor reveals across platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to drive hype. The strategy has attracted long customer lines at its outlets in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

The limited edition cookies available in Mexico City through Saturday — the shop is closed on Sundays — are Tres Leches Cake, Confetti Cake and a S’mores Cookie.

Crumbl typically offers several other items on a Classic Cookies list. This week, there were four on the menu: Cookies and Cream, Pink Sugar, Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Thins.

The cookies come with a hefty price tag, however: One cookie costs 89 pesos; a pack of 4 costs 315 pesos; a pack of 6 costs 450 pesos; a package of 12 costs 885 pesos; and a monthly subscription (5 cookies shipped to your house) is available for 990 pesos.

Chipotle, the US fast food chain, opens its first restaurant in Mexico this week

Award-winning fast-casual restaurant enjoys solid first two months in Yucatán

Though not matching the ballyhoo produced by the Crumbl opening, Dog Haus opened its first restaurant in Mérida in June, its first permanent international restaurant.

The fast-casual gourmet restaurant — also known as Dog Haus Biergarten — is a hot dog, sausage and burger chain headquartered in Pasadena, California. It is known for its use of Black Angus beef and King’s Hawaiian rolls, earning recognition as a Menu Trendsetter by Nation’s Restaurant News.

The Mérida location is the first of three Dog Haus locations planned for Mexico in 2026, with openings planned for Mexico City and Tijuana.

With reports from El Universal, Animal Gourmet, Food and Travel México and Expansión

Opinion: Is China Claudia Sheinbaum’s surveillance model for Mexico?

By
Carole H. Browner and Richard M. Rosenthal
-
12
President Claudia Sheinbaum
President Claudia Sheinbaum (Galo Cañas Rodríguez / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, elected in 2024 with nearly 60% of the vote, has continued many of her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s policies while placing emphasis on clean energy, public-private investment, and aggressive mass digitalization. Her flagship Llave MX platform, run by the new Digital Transformation and Telecoms Agency, aims to unify citizen data for easier access to government services and health records.

Central to this effort is República Sana (Healthy Nation) program, which seeks to integrate Mexico’s major public health institutions and advance toward universal healthcare. Enrollment will require a biometric digital identity card under the Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) system, including photos, fingerprints and possibly iris scans, with ambitious goals for broad coverage by 2030. The president argues that centralized biometrics will reduce bureaucracy and petty corruption.

However, critics such as R3D (Digital Rights Defense Network) caution that linking every government transaction, tax payment, medical visit and benefit to a single biometric identity could enable greater surveillance and data vulnerabilities. In a country where roughly 55% of the workforce operates in the informal economy, the system could also help formalize tax collections but at the potential cost of privacy and potential misuse.

The China precedent

China provides a clear cautionary reference point. By combining centralized digital identities with extensive surveillance cameras, it has developed tools for tracking, behavioral scoring and social control. Although Sheinbaum has pledged that her government will not spy on citizens, the infrastructure being built in Mexico — centralized databases tied to biometrics — has prompted concerns about possible function creep and future authoritarian risks.

The Chinese system developed gradually. It began with a national ID program in the 1980s, expanded to biometric collection in the 2000s, and was later integrated with facial recognition, financial records and other data. In Xinjiang, advanced tracking tools have been used for ethnic targeting. The broader lesson is that systems initially justified for efficiency and public safety can, in combination, expand in unintended ways. Mexico is unlikely to replicate China’s model, but the architecture merits careful scrutiny. Biometric collection is also mandatory for non-citizens at U.S. borders but widely applied on a “voluntary” basis for U.S. citizens, also raising serious concerns of potential function creep.

The surveillance infrastructure

Mexico’s digital agenda already connects with a large camera network. As mayor of Mexico City from 2018 to 2023, Sheinbaum expanded the city’s cameras significantly. Under current Mayor Clara Brugada, the Ojos que te cuidan (Eyes that protect you) program has added another 30,400 high-resolution units, bringing the total above 113,000 — the largest urban video surveillance system in the Americas, with plans to have 150,000 installed by 2030.

A placard reading "Mexico City's eyes protect you 24/7" at the rollout of the Ojos que te cuidan digital surveillance program, next to security cameras
A placard reading “Mexico City’s eyes protect you 24/7” at the rollout of the Ojos que te cuidan program, which expanded video surveillance in Mexico City. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)

When combined with Llave MX’s national biometric registry and the Central Intelligence Platform, this network could support automated facial recognition and real-time tracking. Anthropologist Esteban Salmón’s research points to practical downsides in Mexico City, including false positives, issues with evidence handling and over-reliance on video in some prosecutions.

Similar systems elsewhere have shown higher error rates for darker-skinned individuals and women in facial recognition. In Mexico, this could disproportionately affect Indigenous and mestizo populations. Without strong safeguards, such tools risk unintended consequences for justice and civil liberties.

Oversight, security reforms, and implementation challenges

These issues are compounded by changes to independent institutions. The Sheinbaum administration has moved regulatory authority over telecommunications under the executive following the abolition of the independent Federal Telecommunications Institute.

In June and July 2025, the government passed the Investigation and Intelligence Law and the National Public Security System Law. These measures grant the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and the military-controlled National Guard broader access to biometric, telephone, vehicle, tax and property records. The new Central Intelligence Platform aims to interconnect these databases across government levels to help prevent and investigate violent crimes.

Critics including R3D and Article 19 have expressed concerns about limited judicial oversight and further militarization of security functions. This builds on earlier debates, including the Supreme Court’s 2021-2022 decision striking down a biometric phone registry on privacy grounds. Mexico’s history of data breaches also highlights risks associated with greater centralization.

Significant implementation challenges remain. Large segments of the rural population and many elderly Mexicans face barriers related to Internet access, devices and digital literacy. Without adequate support, digitalization efforts risk creating new forms of exclusion.

Senate grants Security Ministry broad data access powers, sparking ‘police state’ fears

Mexico’s big tech and digital push

The Mexican government’s digital push has fostered significant relationships with global technology companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, and others for investments in data centers, AI infrastructure, manufacturing partnerships and talent development. Although there is no confirmed contract between the Sheinbaum administration and Palantir for core intelligence or biometric systems, the U.S. firm recently expanded its presence in Mexico through a major deal with GNP Seguros, the country’s largest insurer. Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platforms are being used for fraud detection, risk monitoring and data integration.

Because these platforms also excel at mass surveillance, profiling and other operations with human rights implications, the company’s aggressive expansion in Latin America has raised questions about how private-sector AI tools could eventually feed into government surveillance architectures. The Sheinbaum administration also has agreements with Google, Meta and TikTok ostensibly focused on combating digital violence, but critics worry that broad partnerships with global tech giants could accelerate the centralization of citizen data.

What can be done

The system is still under development, which offers an important window for civil society to shape its direction. Mexico’s Supreme Court has previously pushed back against biometric overreach. That precedent, along with input from organizations like R3D and Article 19, can help strengthen oversight of the new Central Intelligence Platform. International standards from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the IACHR offer additional leverage. Immediate attention should focus on implementing regulations for the Investigation and Intelligence Law. Concerned legislators and privacy advocates can seek provisions for judicial oversight, data minimization, independent audits and penalties for misuse.

Broader engagement is also important. Trade unions, Indigenous communities, digital rights groups and others can advocate for greater transparency around Llave MX and the República Sana program, including independent oversight mechanisms particularly in relation to arrangements with global AI powerhouses.

Sheinbaum’s digital agenda is ambitious and officially presented as a way to improve efficiency, reduce corruption and expand access to services. At the same time, it assembles key elements of centralized data systems: biometric identities, integrated intelligence platforms, extensive camera networks and shifts in regulatory oversight. Its long-term character will depend on whether robust transparency safeguards, independent review and legal protections are incorporated from the outset. Getting the balance right between security, efficiency and rights will be essential — not just for Mexico, but for the broader struggle against digital authoritarianism in Latin America.

This article was written by Carole H. Browner and Richard M. Rosenthal. It was originally published by Foreign Policy in Focus.

1...394041...2,275Page 40 of 2,275