Saturday, June 28, 2025

Celebrating mamá: Stuff to stream on Día de Las Madres

By
Carolina Alvarado
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Stock image of a young mother and father at a meal outdoors at a wooden table filled with serving plates of food. They are interacting with their young children. The mother is squinting playfully at her daughter in her partner's arms. The daughter holds her face up close to her mother's while the young son looks on from her other side.
This coming weekend, Mexico honors the beloved bonds of motherhood with the Día de Las Madres holiday on May 10. (Dragen Zigic/Shutterstock)

This Saturday, May 10, is Mother’s Day in Mexico, or Día de las Madres. This Mexican holiday, on a different date than Mother’s Day elsewhere, gives us the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on the admirable role of our beloved mamitas. 

If your family doesn’t have plans to go out, how about celebrating Mother’s Day by streaming a marathon of Mexican movies or series that openly address the importance of motherhood and undoubtedly conquer the heart of your household’s matriarch on her special day? Finding stuff to stream on Día de Las Madres can also be a way to remember and honor the mother who’s no longer with us.

In this selection, we have included great titles to showcase the best of Mom, in a joyful and uplifting way, highlighting her commitment and sacrifices for her family and the protection Moms give their children.

From emotionally mature comedies to family dramas, these Mexican productions offer an insightful look at the positive and challenging aspects of being a mother in Mexico, perfect for streaming on Día de Las Madres. More importantly, these fictional women of the small and big screen prove that one can be a successful mother without being perfect.

Get the family together this Mother’s Day in front of the TV and celebrate your mamá!

Poster for the Mexican film Las Horas Contigo, featuring a vertical split screen photo of three different women
(Netflix)

‘Las Horas Contigo’ (2014)

We begin our Mother’s Day selections with “Las Horas Contigo” (The Hours With You), the debut feature by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta, produced by Roberto Sneider. This film tells the story of three generations of multifaceted women who, faced with a family crisis, try to resolve their complex history. 

The plot revolves around young Ema (Casandra Cianguerotti), her mother, Julieta (María Rojo), and her grandmother, María (Isela Vega), who are forced to manage their intricate unfinished business. At the center of it all is the serious health situation faced by María, the family’s aging matriarch. Ema must reconsider the troubled relationship with her mother, Julieta, who was sadly absent for much of her childhood. 

Both mother and daughter choose to address their past problems and give themselves a new chance. Along the way, and with the renewed support of her mother, Ema begins to reconsider her reluctance towards motherhood.

“Las Horas Contigo” addresses themes of identity, motherhood, family legacy and the complexity of human relationships. Although the script at times approaches the soap opera genre, the director achieves a subtly sentimental tone that avoids falling into the outright cloying. 

A movie poster featuring two photos in a split screen format. Both halves show women holding infants in their arms. One woman is middle-aged and dressed like a high-powered businesswoman, with a sleek, neutral background featuring a desktop computer screen. The other woman is in her early 20s and dressed casually in a calico dress and a jean jacket. The younger women is facing screen right, as if looking at the older woman and in the middle of shouting. The older woman is facing into the camera and holding up her left hand with the palm facing the camera, as if to stay "stop."
(Netflix)

‘Madre Solo Hay Dos’ (2021)

If you’re interested in a Día de Las Madres watch that will simultaneously make you laugh and thrill you, allow us to introduce to you to a new obsession: “Madre Solo Hay Dos” (Daughter from Another Mother), a 2021 Mexican television series about two mothers who join forces when their babies are accidentally switched at birth.

Written by Carolina Rivera and Fernando Sariñana, the first season features two mothers with diametrically opposed philosophies and lives: Ana Servín (Ludwika Paleta), a successful and controlling professional, and Mariana Herrera (Paulina Goto), a carefree college student. 

Problems arise when — four months after their children’s births in the same clinic — the women discover that their newborns were mistakenly switched. Of course, the doctors announce that the next step is a new exchange. 

However, this proves an insurmountable challenge as both mothers have already bonded with the daughter they’ve been raising as their own. So, to avoid more chaos, Ana and Mariana agree to live together and start an atypical family. 

Netflix’s Madre Solo Hay Dos is endless entertainment. Its witty scripts never shy away from tackling tough questions about the everyday challenges of motherhood and unexpected family structures. With three lighthearted seasons, Madre Solo Hay Dos is perfect to introduce to your mother on her day. 

Poster for Valiendo Madres series on Amazon. Shows the series name in yellow chalk-like font, superimposed over a photo of four women in their 20s, all lying on their backs staring up at the camera. They are dressed in a variety of fashions, some looking more like professional business women and others dressed in casual tank tops and artsy zebra prints. Each woman is doing something different, one looking dreamy, one on her phone talking to someone, another looking at her phone.
(Amazon)

‘Valiendo Madres’ (2025)

Recently premiered on Prime Video, the series Valiendo Madres is filled with countless perfect moments of complicated and poignant motherhood for a Mother’s Day watch. Inspired by the hit Argentine novel What’s Up, Mamis, by author Erika Halvorsen (El Hilo Rojo), it tells the story of a group of young mothers who become embroiled in unexpected entanglements following the appearance of a sex toy, a possible infidelity and a family camping trip. 

This story begins when Paloma (Marcela Guirado) discovers a dildo in her house and, shortly afterward, receives a series of messages that hint at a possible infidelity by her husband, Federico (José María de Tavira). From that moment on, and in the middle of the parent-child camping trip, Paloma sets out to investigate possible adultery while lovingly caring for her son. A group of mamitas joins Paloma in a gesture of feminine solidarity to help her in her crusade. 

Beyond the romantic entanglements, Valiendo Madres delves into the challenges and expectations associated with motherhood, the complexities of life as a couple and the importance of female friendship in adulthood. Over the course of seven episodes, this comedy will make you laugh out loud and think at the same time. 

Poster for the Mexican film Mama Reinventada. Features three women in a classic triangle photography pose. The woman in front holds a half naked male sex doll in her arms and the two younger women behind her have differing expressions. One is sticking her tongue out and looks amused, while the other is holding her hand to her head and looks worried or embarrassed.
(Spectrum Films)

‘Mamá Reinventada’ (2025)

“Mamá Reinventada,” directed by Bonnie Cartas and Joaquin Russek, tells the story of a widow who, after experiencing a prolonged period of sadness and isolation, decides to face a new chapter in her life. This family comedy is fresh out of the oven and making its theatrical debut, so it makes for a brand-new stream for this Mother’s Day. 

After the death of her father, Marina (Michelle Renaud), a talented content creator, decides to move her mother, Patricia (Erika Buenfil), into her home, along with her mom’s crazy roomie (Nicolasa Ortiz Monasterio). 

What begins as an attempt at family reconnection leads to a significant change in their lives: Mother and daughter revamp their relationship and their individual longings. After drawing up a bucket list of goals, Patricia, accompanied by her daughter, decides to venture fully into the world and its challenges. 

“Mamá Reinventada” underscores the power of resilience, the importance of second chances and the value of motherhood, making it a great viewing for this Día de Las Madres. 

Carolina Alvarado is a Venezuelan journalist and has devoted much of her career to creative writing, university teaching and social work. She has been published in Lady Science, Latina Media, Global Comment, Psiquide, Cinetopic, Get me Giddy and Reader’s Digest, among others.

Mother’s Day boosts May remittances as Mexicans send money home to mom

By
MND Staff
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A mother and daughter enjoy a Mother's Day event in Mexico City in 2023.
A mother and daughter enjoy a Mother's Day event in Mexico City in 2023. In Mexico, Mother's Day is celebrated May 10. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

By the end of the month, Mexicans will send millions of remittance payments home from the U.S., likely more than any other month this year. May is usually the month with the highest volume of remittances, even beating out December and the Christmas holidays, possibly due to the “Mother’s Day effect.”

A recent survey of 58 users of Zapp, a platform to send money via WhatsApp particularly targeting Mexican immigrants in the United States, revealed that about 67% of respondents make a special transfer to their mother on May 10, the day when Mother’s Day is celebrated in Mexico.

Zapp reported that, on average, users send $360 USD to their mothers on this day.

According to BBVA Research’s Migration and Remittances Observatory, remittances are often used for savings, everyday expenses, or for a celebration honoring mothers, aunts, sisters or grandmothers.

Meanwhile, Zapp’s survey found that 79% of respondents send money directly to their mothers, while the rest do so through other relatives including sisters (30%), children (30%), or deliver it in person (10%). About 31% said they send money so that they can spend it however they wish. Others say it’s for medicine (19%), food (13%), or simply to buy something nice (15%).

Between 2019 and 2023, the month of May saw 6.5% more remittances than the adjacent months of April and June, possibly explained by the Mother’s Day effect.

A chart showing reasons people send remittances from the US to Mexico on Mothers Day
Survey participants cited a variety of reasons for sending money home to mom on Mother’s Day. (Zepp)

In May 2024, Mexico recorded 14.8 million remittance transactions, representing a 1.4% annual increase — its highest level ever. BBVA’s report suggests that the reduction in remittance costs observed in recent decades and a gradual increase in digital remittances through financial applications may be some of the factors driving this growth in transaction volume. Yet, the average remittance amount in 2024 was US $381, down 2.3% compared to the same month of 2023.

BBVA remittance specialists have also found that over the past 20 years, remittance transfers received during May have increased by an average of 14% compared to the rest of the year. In May 2020, remittances peaked by 18% attributed to concerns about Mexico’s health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another survey by Visa showed that 42% of Mexican migrants who send remittances to the country do so electronically. The report dubbed “The Money Journey: Adopting Digital Remittances in 2024,” noted that seven out of 10 users of these digital money transfer platforms consider them to be a faster and more efficient payment method than traditional channels.

With reports from El Economista

Habemus papam: Mexico hails the election of Leo XIV, the first US pope

By
MND Staff
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Pope Leo XIV in full regalia waves from a balcony
Mexican leaders and Catholics from all walks of life hailed the election of the next leader of the Catholic Church. (Vatican)

President Claudia Sheinbaum has extended her congratulations to Pope Leo XIV, who on  Thursday became the global leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

“We congratulate his holiness Leo XIV, elected by the College of Cardinals as the head of state of Vatican City and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. I confirm our humanist alignment in favor of peace and prosperity in the world,” she wrote on social media.

Pope Leo XIV, or Papa León XIV as he is known in Spanish, was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in September 1955.

He is the first pope from the United States and the second from the Americas after Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), an Argentine who passed away on April 21 after a 12-year papacy.

Prevost became a cardinal in 2023, and first served as a bishop between 2015 and 2023 in Chiclayo, Peru, a country in which he lived and served the Catholic Church for more than two decades. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 while retaining his U.S. citizenship, and is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Prevost was elected Pope on the second day of the papal conclave in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. A group of 133 cardinals voted, including two cardinals from Mexico: Archbishop of Mexico City Carlos Aguiar Retes and Archbishop of Guadalajara Francisco Robles Ortega.

Mexico has the second largest population of Catholics in the world after Brazil. Mexico’s 2020 census found that almost 78% of Mexicans identified as Catholics.

Mexican church bells ring in recognition of election of new pope

The bells of the Metropolitan Cathedral in the historic center of Mexico City and the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe in the north of the capital were among those that rang after the election of Pope Leo XIV.

“We hope he has a great papacy, that the Holy Spirit guides him and accompanies him during his entire pontificate,” Orlando Pureco, a seminarian, told Telemundo at the Basilica in Mexico City.

Odilia García, a Catholic who was at the Basilica in Mexico City on Thursday, told UNO TV that she hoped that the new pope would “identify” with young people and encourage them to attend church.

A woman identified as María de Jesús spoke to Monterrey television station Info7 before going into the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe to pray for Pope Leo XIV.

“I found out that he’s from Chicago, we don’t know him, but we hope that God … enlightens him in order to do things well,” she said.

Catholic cardinals in red and white gather on a balcony
Archbishop of Mexico City Carlos Aguiar Retes, center right, was among the cardinals present at the conclave to select the new pope. (María Langarica/Archdiocese of Mexico City)

“We just heard his message and he speaks Spanish very well,” said Jorge, another Mexican Catholic.

“I believes he knows the Latin American mentality and the problem of migration, which I believe will be one of the issues to deal with,” he told Info7.

Mexican Episcopal Conference and Archdiocese of Mexico celebrate election of the new pope 

The Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), the official leadership body of the Catholic Church in Mexico, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico, both released statements celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV.

“With great happiness we have received the news that after the fourth session of voting of the elector cardinals, the Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, has been elected Pope and will take the name Leo XIV, becoming the 267th successor of [St.] Peter,” the CEM said.

“… We invite all the pilgrim people of God in Mexico to offer prayers for the Holy Father and to be happy for the commencement of his papacy,” it said.

In its statement, the Archdiocese of Mexico said it received the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV with “profound happiness.”

“… In the name of our Archbishop, his eminence Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, and of this particular church, we express our profound communion with the new Bishop of Rome,” the Mexico City-based archdiocese said.

“Pope Leo XIV, you are not alone, count on us,” it added.

Prominent Mexicans react to the election of the new pope

In addition to President Sheinbaum, a number of other well-known Mexicans reacted to the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez 

“From Mexico we salute with respect the appointment of the Cardinal Robert Prevost as leader of the Catholic Church in the world. Your message of peace, your missionary history and your assumption as Leo XIV gives us hope.” 

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada

“With great happiness I greet and congratulate Pope Leo XIV on the commencement of your papacy! From Mexico City we celebrate the beginning of a new papacy with hope and profound respect for your spiritual and political character. May your leadership be guided by compassion, dialogue and the commitment to social justice that so inspired your predecessor.”  

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega

“We rejoice with the whole Church, in the hope that the election of Pope Leo XIV brings us. He will confirm us in the faith as the Vicar of Christ and the successor of the Apostle Peter. We commend him to God so that He may enlighten him with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so that he may be a faithful witness in the delicate task the Lord has entrusted to him.”

Nuevo León Governor Samuel García

The governor of Nuevo León pointed out that the new pope shares his name with the northern border state he governs.

“EL NUEVO LEÓN XIV, [The new Leo XIV],” he wrote on social media above a video of the pope speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Mexico News Daily 

A surge in cartel infighting shuts downs highways around Sinaloa

By
MND Staff
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A burnt out bus as part of a narcoblocade
Security forces worked overnight Wednesday to clear cartel blockades and restore order on Sinaloa’s main highways. (José Betanzos Zárete/Cuartoscuro)

The Pacific coast state of Sinaloa experienced another outburst of violence overnight Wednesday as an eight-month long civil war between rival cartel factions spilled onto the highways around the state capital, Culiacán.

Police and National Guard units responded to reports of highway blockades and shoot-outs between civilians that left the region on edge through Thursday morning. 

The focus of the narco-blockades was Highway 15, which connects Culiacán with Los Mochis to the north and Mazatlán to the south.

The Sinaloa Security Ministry (SSP) said that federal, state and local authorities had removed seven separate roadblocks consisting of vehicles, several of which had been set ablaze. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

Blockades were initially reported north of Culiacán within a four-kilometer stretch of Highway 15 near a cluster of motels. A tractor-trailer, a cargo truck and a pick-up truck were set on fire in a high-traffic area on the northern outskirts of the capital.

National Guard units responded, working from 1 a.m. through 5 a.m. to restore order and clear the roads.

Local residents reported hearing gunfire and videos circulating on social media appeared to show armed men departing the scene in pick-up trucks. State officials also confirmed that drones were sighted near at least one of the blockades, though it was not clear if they belonged to security personnel or the crime gangs involved.

The blockades were preceded by violent confrontations late Wednesday in nine municipalities, including in Novolato, west of Culiacán. There were also shootouts reported in Pericos — 49 km north of Culiacán on Highway 15 — and Mocorito, 65 km further north.

On Tuesday morning, a blockade near Elota — about halfway between Culiacán and Mazatlán — snarled traffic on Highway 15 for several hours.

Saturday night saw multiple blockades in and around Mazatlán. Armed men forced truckers to abandon their vehicles, used them to block several highways and then set them on fire. Dozens of vehicles were also used to block the highway to Culiacán.

The recent surge in violence comes amid ongoing efforts by authorities to combat crime and restore order in the region.

Sinaloa has been wracked by violence since early September, when clashes between armed civilians and the Army occurred in the La Campiña neighborhood of Culiacán.

The infighting was stirred up by a long-running feud that intensified after the arrest in the U.S. of two rival drug kingpins, one of whom claimed he was kidnapped and flown to New Mexico by the other, who turned himself in to U.S. authorities. 

With reports from El Sol de Sinaloa, El Sol de Mazatlán and Infobae

Tourism Ministry reports a bump in foreign visitors

By
MND Staff
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Foreign tourists party in Mexico
Over 6 million foreign tourist visited Mexico in the first quarter of the year, a significant increase over 2024. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico registered a 3.5% increase in foreign visitors arriving by air during the first three months of the year, with U.S. arrivals leading the way.

The Tourism Ministry reported that more than 6.1 million foreign tourists arrived at Mexican airports during the first quarter, with more than 3.9 million holding U.S. passports. Canadians were next, with just over 1.2 million visitors. Argentinians were third on the list with 114,719.

A man rests in the sand on a Cancún beach
Among the millions of foreign visitors to Mexico, some find time to relax on Cancún’s famous beaches. (Elizbeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez said the Q1 data demonstrates the importance of the economic relationship among the three North American countries, adding that it is critical that Mexico “broadens, maintains and strengthens” ties with the U.S. and Canada.

In that vein, Rodríguez touted Mexico’s first tourism office in the country’s consulate in San Diego. The current exhibit there features tourist attractions in the state of Oaxaca.

Compared to Q1 2024 when 5.25 million U.S. tourists flew into Mexico, air arrivals by U.S. visitors during the first three months this year increased by 5.1%. At the same time, 13% more Canadians flew to Mexico during Q1 2025 than in the same period last year. Argentine arrivals increased by 32.5% over Q1 2024.

These figures represent a significant improvement over 2019, the last full year before the Covid pandemic. 

Air arrivals by U.S. citizens in Q1 2025 were nearly 35% higher than in Q1 2019, while combined U.S., Canadian and Argentine arrivals this year were 28.6% better than during Q1 2019, Rodríguez said.

With reports from Forbes México and Infobae

Officials report a significant decline in homicides: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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President Sheinbaum at her morning press conference
President Sheinbaum's Thursday presser focused on all things security. (Presidencia)

High-ranking security officials attended President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference to present the latest data on homicides, arrests and seizures of drugs and firearms.

Sheinbaum herself declared that the decline in homicides since she took office is the result of the new security strategy her government has implemented.

Homicides down almost 25% in April compared to last month of AMLO’s presidency

Marcela Figueroa Franco, head of the National Public Security System (SNSP), reported that there was an average of 65.3 homicides per day in April, according to preliminary data.

The figure represents a decline of 24.9% compared to September 2024, the last month of the six-year term of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Figueroa highlighted that last month was the least violent April since 2016 in terms of homicides.

27% decline in murders between 2018 and 2025

The SNSP chief also presented data that showed that the daily average of homicides this year is 27.3% lower than the daily average in 2018, during which Enrique Peña Nieto was president for the first 11 months.

Sheinbaum looks at a graph showing a decrease in homicides
Homicides are down 27% since six years ago, officials said. (Presidencia)

There was an average of 73.1 homicides per day between Jan. 1 and April 30, 27 fewer than the average of 100.5 murders per day throughout 2018.

Compared to 2024, homicides are down 11% so far this year.

Guanajuato leads Mexico for homicides 

Figueroa reported that Guanajuato recorded 1,260 homicides between Jan. 1 and April 30, a figure that accounts for 14.4% of all murders in Mexico in the first four months of the year.

According to the data she presented, 8,770 people were murdered between January and April. A strong majority of homicides in Mexico are related to organized crime.

The number of murders in Guanajuato in the first four months of the year is more than double the number in Baja California, Mexico’s second most violent state so far in 2025.

Baja California, which includes the border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali, recorded 610 murders between January and April, accounting for 7% of the national total.

Police officer in black tactical gear and balaclava covering his face standing behind yellow police tape guarding a crime scene. In the background are police pickup trucks and a forensic services truck.
Police guard a crime scene in Celaya, Guanajuato, the state with the highest total number of homicides in the first four months of the year. (Diego Costa/Cuartoscuro)

The next five most violent states in terms of total homicides were:

  • México state: 601 homicides or 6.9% of the national total.
  • Chihuahua: 589 homicides or 6.7% of the national total.
  • Sinaloa: 521 homicides or 5.9% of the national total.
  • Jalisco: 495 homicides or 5.6% of the national total.
  • Guerrero: 493 homicides or 5.6% of the national total.

Just over 52% of all murders in Mexico in the first four months of the year occurred in the seven most violent states.

Thirteen states recorded fewer than 100 homicides between January and April, of which Yucatán was the least violent with just five murders.

More than 20,000 people arrested for high-impact crimes since Sheinbaum took office 

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported on the “advances of the national security strategy during the first seven months of this administration.”

He said that more than 20,000 people have been detained for “high-impact crimes” such as murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and extortion since the federal government took office on Oct. 1.

García Harfuch said that 154 tonnes of illegal drugs and more than 10,000 firearms have been seized in the same period.

Security Minister Garcia Harfuch speaks at a podium
More than 20,000 people have been detained for serious crimes since the current administration took office, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch. (Presidencia)

Among those arrested during the past seven months are “operators for criminal organizations … who generated high levels of violence,” he said.

“… We’re sure that these arrests will have an impact in the reduction of the crime rate in their [former] areas of operation, as is already seen in various federal entities of the country,” García Harfuch said.

He also highlighted that the Army and Navy have dismantled 896 clandestine drug laboratories across 19 states since Sheinbaum was sworn in as president last October.

The destruction of the labs means “less violence in the streets, fewer criminals affecting the tranquility of families, less harmful substances that place the health of our young people at risk and fewer resources for criminal organizations,” García Harfuch said.

Sheinbaum: Reduction in homicides due to new security strategy

Sheinbaum, whose government has demonstrated a greater willingness to proactively combat organized crime groups than the López Obrador administration, praised the Army, Navy and National Guard for the work they do every day to protect Mexican citizens.

She attributed the decline in homicides since she became president to the implementation of the new national security strategy.

National Guardsperson in full uniform and carrying an automatic gun stands at duty on a street in Tapachula, Chiapas, filled with state police and national guard trucks
Sheinbaum attributed the reported decrease in crime to policies that have strengthened the National Guard, among other factors. (Damián Sánchez Jesús/Cuartoscuro)

“Attention to the causes [of crime], strengthening of the National Guard, strengthening of intelligence and investigation, and the coordination of all areas [of law enforcement]” have contributed to the decline in murder numbers, Sheinbaum said.

“Who carries out the [security] tasks everyday? Of course municipal and state police but in terms of federal forces it’s the National Guard, the soldiers — female soldiers as well — … and marines,” she said, adding that the security force members “are willing to give their lives to defend the lives of other Mexicans.”

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

Chiapas midwives denounce laws limiting access to birth certificates

By
MND Staff
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Indigenous midwives in Chiapas
Indigenous midwives in Chiapas say new rules make it difficult for mothers who use midwives to get birth certificates for their babies, violating the right to birth registration. (IMSS/Cuartoscuro)

The Chiapas Midwives Movement Nich Ixim (Corn Flower) has denounced the National Midwifery Registry, saying it complicates the process of registering newborns attended by midwives.

The claim follows recently published regulations for health facilities and midwifery recognition, which the movement calls “a threat” to the existence of traditional midwifery.

A Chiapas midwife listens for the heartbeat of a baby near its due date.
A Chiapas midwife listens for the heartbeat of a baby near its due date. (Movimiento Nich Ixim/Facebook)

“Midwives have existed since the beginning of humanity,” Nich Ixim said. “Receiving and caring for life has always been necessary and will continue to be necessary.”

The group has argued that the regulation is based on a biomedical model that imposes control, regulation and conditioning requirements on traditional midwifery. The group said one such requirement is the National Midwifery Registry, which does not consider midwives’ knowledge or methods of care and makes it difficult for those born and cared for by midwives to access their birth certificates.

The movement, which includes 600 midwives from 45 municipalities in the southern state of Chiapas, demanded compliance with Article 389B of the General Health Law, which stipulates that midwives may issue birth certificates.

The group said that not granting birth certificates is a violation of the human right to birth registration.

Nich Ixim said that since the movement’s creation, traditional midwives have experienced historical discrimination. Thus, the group requested that healthcare providers, including managers and security guards, receive training to ensure they can provide intercultural and respectful care to guarantee access to health care without discrimination.

According to Nich Ixim, Chiapas has more midwives than any other state in Mexico, with estimates suggesting there are over 5,000 in the state. The group says that one in three births in the state is attended by a midwife, and in Indigenous communities, midwives attend the majority of births.

Although the Mexican government has legally recognized midwifery in Chiapas, midwives still lack full recognition that respects and protects their work without imposing barriers alien to their tradition.

“Midwifery in Mexico is an ancestral practice that is part of the cultural identity of our Indigenous peoples and rural communities,” Nich Ixim said in a statement. “Midwives are guardians of ancestral knowledge, bearers of wisdom that has enabled generations to be born in conditions of respect and dignity.”

With reports from El Universal and La Jornada

Inflation on the rise as Mexico anticipates another interest rate cut

By
MND Staff
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A hand picks an egg out of a carton
Both headline and core inflation — which excludes food and energy prices — rose to 3.93% in April. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s annual inflation rate increased for a third consecutive month in April, official data showed on Thursday, but it remains within the Bank of Mexico’s target range, leaving the door open to an interest rate cut next week.

The national statistics agency INEGI reported that annual headline inflation hit 3.93% last month, up from 3.80% in March. Month-over-month inflation was 0.33%.

The annual reading was just above the 3.90% consensus forecast of analysts and economists surveyed by both Reuters and Bloomberg.

The annual core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also came in at 3.93%, up from 3.64% in March.

The increases in annual inflation in February, March and April came after the headline rate hit a four-year low of 3.59% in January.

In 2022, the annual headline rate peaked at a two-decade high of 8.7% in August and September. The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) began a 21-month monetary policy tightening cycle in June 2022 that included 15 interest rate hikes totaling 725 basis points.

Bank of Mexico building in Mexico City
The Bank of Mexico raised interest rates to over 11% before beginning to loosen monetary policy last year. (Wikimedia Commons)

The central bank’s key interest rate peaked at a record-high 11.25% and remained at that level for a year before an easing cycle began in March 2024. Banxico’s benchmark rate is now set at 9% after 50-basis-point cuts in both February and March.

The governing board of the central bank will hold its next monetary policy meeting next Thursday, May 15.

Bloomberg reported that the headline inflation reading in April — just within the Bank of Mexico’s 2%-4% target range — likely keeps another 50-basis-point cut “on the table.”

Reuters reported that the latest data “should allow the Bank of Mexico to keep lowering borrowing costs in Latin America’s second-largest economy.”

“… Although economic growth is not part of Banxico’s mandate, analysts believe a weak outlook stemming from trade tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs adds to the argument for it to keep easing monetary policy,” the news agency said.

Mexico’s economy avoided a technical recession in the first quarter of the year, growing 0.2% compared to the previous three months, according to preliminary INEGI data.

Market prices
Early this year, prices for fruits and veggies went down while meat prices went up. (Cuartoscuro)

Deputy Bank of Mexico Governor Jonathan Heath said Wednesday that the current economic situation in Mexico makes it “highly likely” that the central bank will continue to lower its key interest rate.

He said in a Banorte podcast that the prevailing interest rate of the Federal Reserve in the United States, and the difference between that rate and that of Banxico, won’t have much of an impact on monetary policy decision making in Mexico until the second half of the year.

The Fed on Wednesday held its interest rate range unchanged at 4.25%-4.50%.

The significant difference between the Bank of Mexico’s key interest rate and that of the Fed helped boost the Mexican peso against the US dollar for an extended period, but the peso weakened last year due to a range of factors, including the ruling Morena party’s comprehensive win in the elections last June, Congress’ approval of a controversial judicial reform and Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election last November.

The peso has performed better this year, appreciating from about 20.6 to the dollar on Dec. 31 to 19.57 to the greenback at 11 a.m. Mexico City time on Thursday.

Cheaper fruit and vegetables, more expensive meat 

INEGI’s data showed that fruit and vegetable prices fell 2.45% on a year-over-year basis in February, while meat prices increased 8.25%.

Processed food, beverages and tobacco were 4.42% more expensive in April than in the same month last year, while prices for non-food goods rose 2.4%.

Services were 4.56% dearer compared to April 2024, while energy prices, including those for gasoline and electricity, increased 2.99% on an annual basis.

With reports from El Economista, El Universal, Bloomberg and Reuters 

Pemex confirms reports of oil spill at Olmeca refinery marine terminal

By
MND Staff
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3
Pemex boats tow floating booms to clean up an oil spill
Pemex boats tow floating booms to contain and clean up oil floating on the surface in the Gulf of Mexico. (Luis López/Cuartoscuro)

State oil company Pemex has reportedly repaired two pipeline leaks at its Dos Bocas maritime terminal, after allowing four days to pass before publicly acknowledging an oil spill had occurred.

Pemex officials on Wednesday finally confirmed media reports of the oil spill, explaining in a press release that crude had leaked from an underwater pipe linking one of its offshore platforms to Olmeca refinery in the port of Dos Bocas, located in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

Local residents and fishermen reported that the oil slick had caused extensive damage to aquatic fauna in the Gulf, as well as to mangroves in the municipality of Paraíso, Tabasco. Beaches in the area were blackened and La Jornada newspaper reported that several oyster farms were contaminated.

In a press statement, Pemex said the leak occurred on Saturday when pipes from its Akal-C platform failed. Mapping by the oil company confirmed that spillage had damaged a 7-kilometer stretch of coastline.

Later Wednesday, Pemex said the leaks had been repaired by installing two metal clamps. It was conducting tests to ensure the watertightness of the pipeline. The company said it expected to resume operations at Dos Bocas on Thursday

Pemex said it had already begun addressing the spill. “Pemex personnel and specialized equipment immediately carried out a clean-up,” the company said in a press release. The company also notified the Safety, Energy and Environment Agency (ASEA) as well as the Environment Ministry in order to initiate remedial actions as required by law.

A dead fish spotted with petroleum from an oil spill lies on a beach
The spilled oil has made its way from the Gulf into Mecoacán Lagoon and Seco River, affecting marine animals and mangroves. (Luis López/Cuartoscuro)

The Tabasco Environment Ministry also filed a complaint with ASEA.

The company said that it was working with local communities to establish preventative measures and to facilitate the resumption of fishing and tourism activities. Residents of Playita El Mirador, a tourist reserve and beach just east of Dos Bocas, complained that they were forced to cancel services during the holiday weekend due to the oil slick.

This oil leak comes a little over a week after an incident temporarily halted operations at the Olmeca refinery, adjacent to the Dos Bocas terminal.

A temporary work outage occurred at the refinery, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to deny that sabotage was involved.

Sheinbaum dismissed reporters’ inquiries about the possibility of intentional damage to the refinery’s catalytic cracking unit that uses fluidized catalysts to crack heavy hydrocarbon molecules into gasoline molecules.

A few days later, Pemex blamed a satellite communication failure for the outage.

Operations resume at Olmeca refinery after error causes work outage

Pemex said that shutdown did not put staff, nearby communities, the refinery or the environment at risk.

The controversial Dos Bocas complex was begun in 2019 by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with an estimated cost of US $8 billion. By August 2021, the government admitted construction was likely to cost US $20 billion and last month Pemex confirmed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that construction had cost nearly US $21 billion.

Although it nominally began operations in 2022, the Olmeca refinery remains in the start-up phase, testing and commissioning ahead of full commercial operation. It has yet to meet the production goals set by Sheinbaum’s predecessor, even as Sheinbaum said last month that it was processing 100,000 barrels per day.

Actually, the refinery, which claims a capacity to process 340,000 bpd, processed just 6,797 bpd in February after processing nothing in January due to elevated salt and water content in the crude oil supplied by Pemex.

With reports from La Jornada, Uno TV, Riviera Maya News and Bloomberg News

Aztec Rhapsodies: The first and only epic poem of the Conquista

By
John Pint
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5
A drawing from the Duran Codex depicting a Spaniard with an army regiment behind him meeting with Nahua leaders.
The Aztec Rhapsody is a unique attempt by a modern Mexican to write an epic poem about the Spanish conquest of Mexico, in the style of ancient epic poems like The Iliad or the Song of Roland. (The Duran Codex)

Throughout history, a few gifted souls have managed to turn momentous events into epic poems. We have the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh and now the Aztec Rhapsodies.

The theme of the rhapsodies is the fall of the Mexica empire as seen through Mexican eyes, and it’s a tale even more bizarre than the fall of Troy.

Cannon demons
The Aztec Rhapsodies depict the Spanish conquest of the Mexica.

As the legend goes, a handful of unwashed Spaniards who didn’t know the local language walked into one of the best-organized cities in the world — a city protected by the most ferocious warriors in the Americas — and captured its leader without a hitch. That, indeed, is a story worth telling.

The tale is told in verse over 132 pages with more than 100 illustrations, taken mainly from 16th-century codices. “Aztec Rhapsodies, Flower and Song of the Mexican Conquest,” was published in 2024. It is now available on Amazon, both in print and Kindle form. And yes, it is in English!

The author of this most unusual work is Gabriel de la Asunción Michel Padilla, curator of a fascinating little museum in the town of El Limón, Jalisco, located halfway between Guadalajara and the Pacific coast.

Michel’s well-illustrated book of 48 rhapsodies begins with the landing of the Spaniards in Cuetlaxtlan (today’s Veracruz) in the year 1519. The book begins with these lines:

In the house of the flowers, of the music,

by the blossomy mansion of Mixcóatl,

where are hatched and sung anthems of battle,

here is woven in words, here is recited,

how ominously landed in Cuetláxtlan,

Castilian men proceeding from the east,

at the coastland governed by Pinotéuctli,

nearby the limits of the godly water,

the threshold of the sea, of twisted tides.

The following chapters relate Moctezuma’s reaction to the presence of those Castilian men, how he sent magicians and sorcerers to do them in — unsuccessfully — and how, fearing they were gods, he welcomed them to his palace.

A book cover for "Aztec Rhapsodies: Flower and Song of the Mexican Conquest." The cover is relatively plain, with black type and showing an sixteenth century drawing of the Spanish meeting Moctezuma in Mexico, probably taken from a codice of the time.
Gabriel Michel Padilla’s epic poem of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, “Aztec Rhapsodies,” is available through Amazon or directly from the author. It is available in Spanish and in English. (Amazon)

We learn how the Spaniards allied themselves with the many tribes that hated the Aztecs, of the fierce battles that ensued, of the scourge of smallpox… and the day that the Spaniards grabbed Moctezuma by the arms and forced him to show them the storehouse of the national treasure.

Of particular interest are the Aztec descriptions of guns and cannon and their impact upon Moctezuma:

Specially did it cause him to faint

when he heard how the guns discharged the shot,

how it resounded and thundered, terrifying.

There was fright, consternation, eardrums burst,

when the Spaniards ordained fire of the shot.

From within, a rock came forth, a round pebble,

It went along sparkling, it rained fire.

The smoke that came from it was fetid, foul.

When it went into the brain, the head was wounded.

When it struck a hill, it made a hole.

It was as if the mountain were demolished.

If the shot reached a tree, it turned into a sliver.

It was something amazing, awe-inspiring.

It was as if someone blew it away.

I asked author Gabriel Michel what inspired him to write an epic poem on the Spanish conquest.

“Many years ago,” he told me, “I was a seminarian, and in my studies of Greek, I came upon Virgil’s Aeneid, the epic poem which tells the story of the fall of Troy and the founding of the Roman Empire. At the age of 13, I told myself: “This is what I should be doing. I should apply this to my own country.”

A middle-aged Mexican man in a red polo shirt and khaki pants stands inside a small museum filled with archeological pottery and sculptures, some on shelves and some in glass cases.
Widely recognized for his extensive research and publications on the history, ethnography and anthropology of the Sierra de Amula region in Jalisco, Michel Padilla is also the founder of the Museo Licho Santana in El Limón, Jalisco. (John Pint)

At that point, Michel began his lifelong study of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, starting with Bernal Diaz de Castillo’s “True History of the Conquest of New Spain.”

“Later on,”  said Michel, “I examined the writings of those who had been conquered, and I was truly astonished by what I found.”

Michel first wrote his own version of the Conquista in prose and then, bit by bit, rewrote it in verse, inspired, he says, by the writings of St. John of the Cross, whom he considered the very best poet of Spanish literature.

English speakers may glean the most from “Aztec Rhapsodies” by simultaneously reading chapters of the book “The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico” (2006) by historian Miguel León-Portilla. Both books tell the same story, but in a very different manner.

Author Gabriel Michel Padilla standing by a small rock garden outside while he holds up his book, "Aztec Rhapsodies: Flower and Song of the Mexican Conquest." He's wearing a beige suit jacket and dark pants and smiling for the camera
Michel Padilla with his book. (John Pint)

Like all epic poems, “Aztec Rhapsodies” is meant to be read aloud. Give it a try!

Should you ever travel through Jalisco, you may want to stop in El Limón to visit Gabriel Michel and his fascinating museum Museo Licho Santana, which offers a fine collection of everything from pre-Hispanic figurines to prehistoric fossils — such as an intact Ice Age gliptodont. 

If you are interested in the Spanish version of “Aztec Rhapsodies,” you can get a copy here — or by contacting Gabriel Michel at Whatsapp 321 100 5138.

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.

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