The Bank of México (Banxico) headquarters in Mexico City. (Shutterstock)
The Bank of Mexico’s key interest rate remains at 11.25% after the governing board unanimously decided to maintain the record high rate at a monetary policy meeting on Thursday.
It was the fourth consecutive meeting at which the central bank’s board members decided to leave rates unchanged due to ongoing inflationary pressures.
The bank said Mexico’s labor market has remained resilient, keeping the economy strong and inflation low. (Jezael Melgoza/Unsplash)
Banxico, as the bank is known, noted in a statement that annual headline and core inflation rates have continued to decrease since its last monetary policy meeting in early August.
“However, they are still high, as they registered 4.44% and 5.78%, respectively, in the first fortnight of September,” the bank said.
Those factors could contribute to inflationary pressures as could elevated public spending on infrastructure projects in 2024.
A “very complex” inflation outlook — particularly around the cost of agricultural exports on the international market — has led regulators to keep interest prices fixed. (Depositphotos)
Banxico described the inflation outlook as “very complex,” noting that there are a range of upside risks to its projection that inflation will converge to its 3% target in the second quarter of 2025.
They include “foreign exchange depreciation due to volatility in international financial markets” and “pressures on energy prices or on agricultural and livestock product prices.”
The central bank anticipates that inflation will be higher than it previously forecast at the end of this year and in 2024. It sees headline inflation at 4.7% in the final quarter of 2023, up from a 4.6% projection in early August, and anticipates rates of 4.4% and 4% in the first and second quarters of 2024.
Banxico’s previous forecast had headline inflation at 3.7% in Q2 of 2024 and 3.1% in the final quarter of next year. It now anticipates a 3.4% rate at the end of 2024.
The peso reached 17.57 against the U.S. dollar after the announcement, later reaching 17.38. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
“In order to achieve an orderly and sustained convergence of headline inflation to the 3% target, [the board] considers that it will be necessary to maintain the reference rate at its current level for an extended period,” the bank said, repeating a message it conveyed in previous statements after board members decided to maintain the 11.25% rate.
The latest decision to keep rates on hold was widely expected, with all 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting it.
Some analysts have predicted an initial cut to the 11.25% rate at Banxico’s final monetary policy meeting of 2023 on Dec. 14. But Marco Oviedo, a senior strategist at XP Investimentos, said that the new inflation forecasts will mean that “the central bank will be very patient.”
“I do not discard any changes in the rate until elections take place — after June,” he said, referring to the presidential and congressional elections that will take place in Mexico on June 2, 2024.
Some analysts believe rates will remain consistent until after the upcoming presidential election in June 2024. (CNM/X)
The Bank of Mexico raised its benchmark rate by 725 basis points during a hiking cycle that began in June 2021 and didn’t end until its decision in May to maintain the 11.25% level.
Its decision to hold the rate at a record high through four monetary policy meetings differs from those of some other central banks in Latin America that have begun cutting rates as inflation eases. The central banks of Brazil, Chile and Peru are among those that have lowered borrowing costs.
Bloomberg reported that the Mexican peso strengthened to a session high of 17.57 to the US dollar on Thursday “after the central bank’s comments reinforced the view that it won’t begin its easing cycle until next year.”
Shortly after 9 a.m. Mexico City time on Friday, the peso had strengthened to 17.38 to the greenback. The significant difference between Banxico’s benchmark interest rate and that of the United States Federal Reserve (currently 5.25-5.5%) is cited as one factor that has contributed to the peso’s appreciation of over 10% against the US dollar this year.
Together with The Clark Group brokered by Agave Sotheby's International Realty: Ezra and Sheryl Clark and their family in San Miguel de Allende.
Leaving the Grind of Los Angeles For a Fresh Start
For several years, Sheryl and Ezra Clark had been searching for the perfect new spot. They were ‘on that hamster wheel’ in Los Angeles, with Sheryl working in economic litigation consulting and Ezra in real estate, and were ready to take the plunge.
In 2017, they visited San Miguel de Allende with close friends for July 4th weekend, and on the flight home to California, they were convinced they had found their place to call home – in the vibrant colonial town nestled in the heart of Mexico, which has become a magnet for young entrepreneurs and families.
Ezra had been working at the Beverly Hills branch of Sotheby’s International Realty and on their last day in Mexico, they had visited the San Miguel office.
“We both had immediate synergy with the brokers, Larry Stebbins and Adrian Toscano there,” Sheryl says. Having lived in Querétaro and Mexico City as a younger man, Ezra spoke decent Spanish.
“It was not my field, but they offered us both a place to start our real estate business!” Sheryl continues. “It felt like divine intervention when we found San Miguel. Everything lined up.”
From the moment they arrived in San Miguel, they felt as though their senses had been revived. They walked the beautiful cobblestone streets and soaked up the slower rhythms of life, having felt depleted by the big city living. “I remember the bread store on Hernandez Macias,” Sheryl says. “When was the last time we smelled freshly baked bread wafting on the breeze?”
Becoming Entrepreneurs: Creating The Clark Group
Living in a new country is an educational experience like none other, where every day brings new discoveries: food, culture, people, and places. Setting up a business means finding the right legal help and financial advice and getting acquainted with Mexican customs, ideologies, and etiquette.
The Clarks were serious professionals in their fields, so it was somewhat of a risk to change the blueprint of their daily lives. “We had a wedding in Cabo on October 15th, so we pinned our move date to San Miguel, rented a place for a few months and rented our house in Los Angeles for a year.” They immediately found their rhythm of life was different.
In 2020 they found they had the luxury of time to restructure their business, discovering what they wanted as a partnership and joint CEOs. (San Miguel de Allende / Unsplash)
“Starting this new venture, we needed to build our business from the ground up,” says Sheryl. “But,” she continues, “it was exhilarating, challenging, fun – burning the midnight oil, diving into the eclectic and vibrant small town social scene and working round the clock. It was a great ride for us!” In the tight-knit community of young professionals and retirees, they garnered their business clients and forged firm new friendships.
In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, they found they had the luxury of time to restructure their business, discovering what they wanted as a partnership and joint CEOs. They had arrived right before San Miguel really took off on a global scale. After that first pandemic year, they noticed a whole different level of service, a raising of the bar, which The Clark Group very much represents. Their incessant dedication to fine-tuning every aspect of their chosen business would pay off.
The Clark Group, consisting of 4 principal agents and 3 supporting staff, is a highly reputable real estate team known for their dedication to hard work, addressing challenging questions, and delivering top-notch service.
Navigating Parenthood and Mexican Healthcare
By their second year, they had expanded their business team, acquired two puppies, and enjoyed the freedom to explore different neighborhoods. They had been living in Centro, but with the arrival of their son, they needed green grass and more space.
Sheryl had been with her company for 15 years in Los Angeles. “I left a firm that felt like family with ALL the medical benefits,” she says. But she found the prenatal healthcare in San Miguel impeccable, working out a robust birth plan and opting for Star Medica Hospital, Querétaro for the birth. However, due to COVID-19, she wanted to stay close to home and switched to MAC Hospital, San Miguel. “We also have doctors who do house calls!” she says. “In Los Angeles, the doctors had you on the clock!”
The support systems post-birth also proved to be exceptional. “We have always had the best nannies. Mexican women are maternal and love being around children. It is part of their culture.”
Sheryl reflected on the staff they had hired over the years. “They become part of your family, and that is part of the culture too. It does not feel transactional, but more like an extension of family.”
Sheryl agrees that life was more stressful in the U.S. and that San Miguel has enriched their lives. (@javierblanco.photo)
They reiterate that the level of care and cost-effectiveness of raising a young child alone would prevent them from moving back to the U.S. Through their network, they have also found their ideal family dentist, where it’s easy to get an appointment and even easier on the wallet.
San Miguel’s Community: “We Figure it Out Together”
Sheryl and Ezra, as part of The Clark Group, are seeing a whole different caliber of people moving to San Miguel with the means to invest. “Some clients are even buying US $3 million homes for their young family!” With the weakening of the dollar, many are moving their money out of the U.S. to diversify their investments and might even choose to spend only 3-6 months of the year in Mexico.
Moreover, a large number of new residents are taking the plunge to move permanently, either working remotely or setting up their own enterprises like the Clarks.
Their son, now 3 years old, has been attending one of San Miguel’s finest schools and Sheryl is truly excited to be raising him to be bilingual. He is set to go to Querétaro, Mexico City or abroad for high school. Even though there are many unknowns about his further education, they both feel confident they will figure it out.
“Sometimes I worry I am making the wrong decisions. But the community here is strong. We figure things out together.”
“Sure,” she says, “realistically there are some disadvantages. When it comes to activities for children, Mexico is lacking in comparison to what they were used to in Los Angeles. We have to forego American football and other sports. We have other options for children, such as soccer, tennis and swimming, as well as some outdoor family activities” – her son’s favorite being the pool and multiple slides at Xote, a water park.
Despite the unknowns, they love the feeling of being creative, more spontaneous, and adventurous; part of a group of young trailblazing families.
Together with The Clark Group brokered by Agave Sotheby’s International Realty.
For the last year, the family has been living in a beautiful countryside residential community just outside of town, which boasts golf, paddle tennis, a pool and a gym. “Now we have our son, safety is even more important,” says Sheryl. They are happy living among Mexican and expat families, walking their dogs, and taking life at a more relaxed pace than their frenetic beginning years. On balance, she agrees that life was just more stressful in the U.S. and that San Miguel has enriched their lives.
It has never felt easier to pack up and try living somewhere new. With the world at our fingertips, the question is not so much if one should try living in another country but where to live abroad. The Clarks epitomize the spirit of adventure and what is possible if you choose Mexico as your new home. Sheryl remarks, “Our life has become our adventure. Nothing compares to what’s next!”
Separation ponds at a lithium mine in Chile's Atacama Desert. Mexico has yet to mine any lithium. (Shutterstock)
Canceling lithium mining concessions held by a Chinese company is against the law, the president of the Mexican Mining Chamber (Camimex) said Wednesday.
In a document sent to investors in late August but which wasn’t reported on until this week, Ganfeng Lithium – which holds concessions to mine lithium at a large reserve in Sonora – said it had been advised by Mexico’s General Directorate of Mines that it had failed to meet minimum investment requirements between 2017 and 2021.
Jaime Gutiérrez, president of the Mining Chamber of Mexico. (Camimex)
According to a Reuters report, Ganfeng said in a filing that Mexico’s mining authorities had issued a notice to its local subsidiaries indicating nine of its concessions had been canceled.
However, President López Obrador indicated that wasn’t the case on Thursday, telling reporters at his morning press conference that the cancellation was still under consideration.
The concessions – which were awarded before the 2022 nationalization of lithium – are being reviewed “legally,” he said.
“But we’ve taken the decision that lithium belongs to the nation because it’s a strategic mineral,” López Obrador said.
According to mining industry representatives, the nationalization of lithium should not retroactively affect concessions. (Alfonso Durazo Twitter)
Camimex president Jaime Gutiérrez said that canceling Ganfeng’s concessions – a process the Economy Ministry reportedly began in August – cannot be done because a reform to the federal Mining Law that nationalized lithium in April 2022 isn’t retroactive.
“The validity of the possible cancellation will have to be looked at,” he said during the presentation of a Camimex report.
“It’s not yet done, it’s still in development because the law can’t be considered retroactive. I don’t believe it’s possible to cancel the concessions,” Gutiérrez said.
He said that Mexico needs to issue concessions to exploit lithium reserves because the state, via the Mexican Geological Service, “doesn’t have the sufficient capacity or budget” to mine the alkali metal.
Most of Mexico’s potential reserves are in clay deposits that are technically difficult and expensive to mine. No lithium has yet been mined in Mexico, but the government – which has created a state-owned lithium company and established its own lithium reserve in Sonora – has high hopes for the industry.
The Finance Ministry has estimated that lithium reserves in Sonora – where the countries largest potential deposits are located – could be worth as much as US $600 billion. There are smaller deposits in other states including Baja California, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
Lithium is highly sought after because it is a key component of lithium-ion batteries used for green energy storage and can thus play an important role in the transition to clean energy.
Export revenues at the state-owned firm rose almost 10% last month, thanks to increased oil prices. (Pemex/X)
State-owned oil producer Pemex exported US $2.6 billion of crude oil in August, up 10% from the US $2.3 billion reported in July – Mexico’s highest value of monthly crude exports since July 2022.
The increase was mostly due to higher international prices for crude oil. Average export prices in August were at their highest since last November at US $76.10 per barrel, up 7.5% from the US $70.77 reported in July.
Overall oil production remains lower than in 2018, when President López Obrador first assumed office, despite energy independence being a key policy goal of his administration. (Woodside)
The volume of crude exports also increased by 2.2%, from 1.52 million barrels per day (bpd) in July to 1.76 million bpd in August. Pemex reported that 72% of exports went to the Americas, 13% to Europe, and the remainder to other continents.
Pemex’s total crude production also showed a slight monthly increase of 1.8%, reaching 1.6 million bpd, a figure 5.2% lower than August 2022, and lower than production in April, May and June this year.
Despite President López Obrador’s efforts to increase Pemex’s productivity, crude production has trended downward from the 1.8 million bpd reported when he began his presidency in 2018.
Pemex has also struggled with several incidents in recent months, including adeadly fire on an offshore platform and a leak at amajor export terminal in July.
Pemex has been affected by a number of accidents this year, which have affected production. (Ángel Hérnandez/Cuartoscuro)
However, Pemex’s overall hydrocarbon production was up 5.6% annually in August to 1.88 million bpd thanks to greater production of condensates – a lower-density form of oil. Pemex’s condensate production in August was 277,000 bpd in August, the lowest so far this year, although still 214% higher than August last year.
“It should be noted that so far this year the production of liquid hydrocarbons has remained above the barrier of 1.8 billion bpd, despite the incidents that were registered,” Pemex said.
In total, Pemex exported US $2.88 billion of oil, natural gas and petrochemical products in August and imported US $2.71 billion, leaving a trade surplus of US $171 million.
Mexico’s overall exports also performed well in August, according to the national statistics agency (INEGI), increasing3.8% year-on-year.
Border closures and increased checks have caused significant delays, affecting an estimated US $1 billion in trade. (Shutterstock)
Border shutdowns between Mexico and the United States are entering their eleventh day, leaving an estimated US $1 billion in trade stuck in Mexico.
The cargo processing at the Bridge of the Americas between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas, has beenclosed since Sep. 18 following a surge in irregular migration. The crossing between Piedras Negras and Eagle Passresumed some operations on Saturday after a three-day closure, but extra security checks have caused major delays.
The heightened security measures have been triggered by a significant rise in migrant crossings in recent weeks. (Cuartoscuro)
Enhanced security operations are also in place at two other bridges between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso.
Manuel Sotelo, president of the Ciudad Juárez transport association, told Reuters the measures have left about 8,000 trailers stranded in the city, forcing many companies to reroute merchandise through New Mexico and Arizona to avoid the backlog. An estimated 2,400 rail cars have also been affected.
The delays also caused Canadian manufacturer Bombardier to suspend production at three factories in Ciudad Juárez. Jesús Salayandía, a spokesman for Mexican trade body Canacintra, told Reuters that more work stoppages could be expected if the delays continue.
“The long lines of trailers continues on the Zaragoza Ysleta bridge, the Córdova Americas bridge has been closed to exports for 9 days and there is no mood from the federal government to negotiate a solution,” Nora Yu, of Ciudad Juárez’s Business Coordinating Council, told El Heraldo de Juárez newspaper on Tuesday.
Webcam footage of the Ysleta-Zaragoza bridge shows significant tailbacks of cargo traffic. (Screen Capture)
“We are victims of a political situation which is becoming tense because of the 2024 elections in both countries, and worst of all is that no one is offering a real solution to this problem,” Yu said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) imposed extra security measures at the El Paso border posts after attempted migrant crossings reached afour-month high in mid-September. Days later, the CBP closed theEagle Pass bridge “in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.”
CBP told Reuters that they had targeted the measures to cause the minimum possible disruption to trade. On Friday, senior CBP official Troy A. Millermet with Mexican officials and transport representatives to discuss the operations.
“We are continuing to work closely with our partners in Mexico to increase security and address irregular migration along our shared border,” Miller said. “The United States and Mexico remain committed to stemming the flow of irregular migration driven by unscrupulous smugglers while maintaining access to lawful pathways.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is well-known for hishardline stance on irregular immigration. In April 2022, the Texas border wassnarled for a week after Abbott ordered additional inspections on trucks crossing from Mexico. The resulting backlogs had an estimated cost of US $996.3 million per day.
Many of western Mexico's churches serve dual masters, with hidden Indigenous symbolism hiding in every carving. The Chapel of Santa Cruz, shown here, has the shape of a hawk, which represents the water god Tlaloc. (All photos by John Pint)
Some Mexican churches built by Indigenous artisans hide secrets of pre-Columbian mythology in their architecture and design.
South of Guadalajara and north of Lake Chapala stand a string of venerable old churches which bear witness to the naïveté of the Franciscans who had them built and the cleverness of their Indigenous builders and decorators.
Decorations at the top of the Church of San Juan Evangelista suggest the goggle eyes of Tlaloc. (Jorge Monroy)
In the 16th century, the Spaniards settled remnants of Indigenous peoples from all over Mexico in a corridor stretching from Santa Anita at the southwest corner of today’s greater Guadalajara to Lake Cajititlán, 12 kilometers north of Lake Chapala.
Native peoples displaced by Spaniards
Living in this corridor were Purépechas and Cocas, who were previously accustomed to fighting with each other; there were Náhuas, transported from the center of Mexico and Caxcanes from Zacatecas; and then there were the Tlaxcaltecas who had been allied to the Spaniards and were considered conquerors rather than conquered. They were allowed to ride horses and carry weapons and enjoyed benefits the other Indigenous did not.
A Republic of Indigenous Peoples
On the facade of the Santa Cruz chapel, what should be a crown looks suspiciously like the head of Tlaloc.
“So, what happened,” says archaeologist Francisco Sánchez, who has been studying the area and the period for years, “was that they formed a kind of Republic of Indigenous Peoples, consisting of “pueblitos,” each of which was known as an “altepetl.” This concept had already existed in pre-Columbian Mexico and was resurrected in what I call ‘The Tlajomulco Corridor’ around the end of the 17th century.”
Secret messages from native church builders
Sánchez discovered that the churches and chapels in this area were being used not only as places of Christian worship but also displayed what he calls “ideographic information,” visible in their facades and sometimes in the very architecture of the buildings.
“When those Indigenous people looked at a church,” says Sánchez, “they didn’t just see what the priests were presenting. Instead, they were getting secret messages. They were seeing concepts that went back to pre-Hispanic times.”
The portrayal of three drinking gourds suggests: “This place is dedicated to Tlaloc, god of water.”
An example of this, Sánchez added, is the Chapel of Santa Anita’s facade, built between 1740 and 1795.
This church is named after Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus, but locally, it is best known for an image of the Virgen de la Candelaria (the Virgin Holding a Candle), a friar brought to the church from Spain around 1782. The image, it was claimed, could cure the infirm and gained great popularity.
The grandmother of Jesus or the goddess Toci?
All of this was noted by the Indigenous artisans who were sculpting the facade of the Santa Anita Chapel. These artisans knew very well that the pre-Columbian goddess famed for curing the sick was Toci, whose name means “nuestra abuela,” our grandmother.
A disguised snake’s head is hidden above this window. The small angel’s truncated legs represent fangs.
Toci, says Sánchez, is represented by snakes in pre-Columbian mythology, “and here, on the facade of Santa Anita chapel, we see snakes all over the place.”
For example, Sánchez points to the projections beneath two statues on either side of the door. “Each is the head of a Mexican horned pit viper, much venerated in ancient times. The eyes of the snake are disguised as the heads of cherubs, and spirals on both sides represent its horns. At the bottom, a double spiral represents its forked tongue.”
So, at this chapel, a Spaniard sees the grandmother of Jesus and a virgin who cures illnesses, but, comments Sánchez, “any Indigenous person who looks at this facade says: ‘This is the house of Toci,’ and when they walk into this building they are not walking into the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Candelaria, they are entering the house of Toci.”
Tlaloc, the rain god
Archaeologist Francisco Sánchez with a decoration meant to recall the head of a Mexican pit viper.
Another example Sánchez brought up was the nearby church of Santa Cruz de las Flores: “The silhouette of this building is in the shape of a hawk, a pre-Hispanic symbol of water, and among the decorations on the wall, you may find one that looks a lot like Tlaloc, the rain god.”
This church is also well decorated with symbols of flowers because the town was initially called Xochitlán, the Place of the Flowers. On one of the oldest sections of the church’s often repaired facade, three bules (gourds), traditional vessels for carrying water, can be seen.
“If you find this interesting,” commented Sánchez, “you should also look at the church in San Juan Evangelista, located on the shore of Lake Cajititlán: the entire building is shaped like Tlaloc!”
Anything goes “out in the boonies”
The chapel of Santa Anita is dedicated to Jesus’ grandmother, but to the indigenous people of the 17th century, it was the house of the goddess Toci.
I asked Francisco Sánchez whether the priests of these churches had an inkling of what their parishioners saw in them.
He replied that in the Tlajomulco Corridor, they may not have suspected what was going on. Near Mexico City, he explained, “priests were armed with detailed descriptions of everything the native people held sacred. They made efforts to prevent ‘pagan’ symbolism or practices creeping into Catholic rites. Out in the ‘boonies’ (read western Mexico), the Spaniards thought the natives were disorganized and bereft of culture, so the Franciscans were allowed to develop their own style of evangelization. St. John, for example, was accepted by the Indians as a sort of new, improved Tlaloc, and ancient rites related to rain were incorporated into Catholic ceremonies.
“In this multi-ethnic republic,” said Sánchez, “the Indigenous people are not passive at all; they are actively involved in constructing their own reality. Here, we have something beyond a ‘conquista.’ These people still have a cosmovision of their own… and they are transforming it into something new.”
A thousand-year-old pyramid
A visitor heads for the top of La Pirámide de la Loma, which has been around for 1000 years.
If you visit some of the churches and chapels mentioned above, you may also want to climb to the top of a thousand-year-old pyramid in San Agustín, just 2.5 kilometers southwest of the Chapel of Santa Anita.
La Pirámide de la Loma (the pyramid of the hill), warns Francisco Sánchez, was “restored” by local people who didn’t bother to consult an archaeologist. Nevertheless, what you experience at the top of the pyramid is impressive because you have a 360-degree view from this point, allowing you to discover that you are standing smack in the middle of a great circle of mountains.
“This is truly a special place,” you say to yourself, and even if the pyramid was restored all wrong, that message from its original builders still comes through loud and strong.
To visit the duplicitous churches and the incorrectly restored pyramid mentioned above, ask Google Maps to take you to:
Santa Anita Chapel: “GHX5+GC Santa Anita, Jalisco”
Santa Cruz Chapel: “FFJR+CC Santa Cruz de las Flores, Jalisco”
San Juan Evangelista Church: “CM3P+MC San Juan Evangelista, Jalisco”
Pyramid of La Loma: “GGPQ+PF San Agustin, Jalisco”
You don’t need to be an archaeologist to discover the hidden messages in these 17th-century churches and chapels.
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.
The state's security minister, Gerardo Palacios, says a "purge" of a criminal group is the cause of the outbreak of violence. (GOBIERNO NUEVO LEÓN / CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Twelve bodies dumped across multiple locations. Eleven alleged criminals arrested. Three presumed cartel members killed in shootouts with police. Twenty-four military-grade weapons seized. At least five highway blockades.
All that happened in the northern border state of Nuevo León in the past two days.
Police found bodies at seven points around Monterrey on Tuesday. (Cuartoscuro)
State authorities reported that heads and other body parts of at least 12 male victims were found at seven locations in the metropolitan area of Monterrey on Tuesday. The grisly discoveries were reminiscent of the 2010s when cartel violence plagued the state capital.
Messages left alongside the human remains were signed by the Northeast Cartel, which is based in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas.
“A purge within an organized crime group … due to disloyalty” is believed to be the most likely motive for the murders, according to Nuevo León Security Minister Gerardo Palacios Pámanes.
He said that authorities believed that members of a rival criminal group had infiltrated the Northeast Cartel and were found out.
Police have arrested 11 suspects in relation to the outbreak of violence in the state. (Fuerza Civil/X)
The general secretary of the Nuevo León government, Javier Navarro, suggested they were members of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is involved in a turf war with the Northeast Cartel in northeastern Mexico.
State Attorney General Pedro Arce said that authorities will review security camera footage to try to identify the people who dumped bags and coolers containing human remains in Monterrey and nearby municipalities that are part of the city’s metropolitan area.
On Wednesday, state authorities carried out operations in the municipalities of General Bravo, Los Aldamas and Doctor Arroyo and arrested 11 presumed criminals, Palacios told a press conference. It was unclear whether the suspects, one of whom was wounded in a shootout with police and admitted to hospital, are members of the Northeast Cartel and linked to the murder of the men whose bodies were dumped on Tuesday.
General Bravo, Los Aldamas and Doctor Arroyo are all on the border with Tamaulipas. The first two are located in eastern Nuevo León while Doctor Arroyo is in the south of the state.
Authorities have had confrontations with armed men in various parts of the state. (Secretaría de Seguridad NL/X)
Palacios also reported that three presumed criminals were killed in clashes with police. One death occurred in Los Aldamas and two in Doctor Arroyo. One of the slain men allegedly planned and may have perpetrated the murder of the director of the Linares municipal police in June, he said.
The security minister said that police on Wednesday seized 24 firearms whose use is restricted to the army as well as two grenades and eight vehicles.
One police officer was shot in the leg during the confrontation in Doctor Arroyo. He was admitted to hospital, but discharged on Wednesday night, Palacios reported on X, formerly Twitter.
In addition to clashing with police on patrol, cartel henchmen attacked two police stations, one in Iturbide and another in the neighboring municipality of Linares. No injuries were reported, Palacios said.
Cartel members also set up fiery blockades on the Carretera Nacional (National Highway), which links Monterrey to locations in the south of Nuevo León. Blockades, including ones created by setting hijacked trucks and buses on fire, were set up at at least five locations in the municipalities of Hualahuises, Montemorelos and Linares.
The newspaper Milenio reported that traffic was blocked in both directions due to the blockades, which were set up in the late afternoon. Security forces and firefighters responded and brought the situation under control.
According to Milenio TV, 15 of Nuevo León’s 51 municipalities reported being “under criminal siege” in the past two days. Eight of the municipalities are in the Monterrey metropolitan area and seven are in the south of the state. Murders, confrontations, blockades and other “violent events” occurred in those municipalities, according to Milenio TV.
Palacios said on Wednesday that municipal, state and federal authorities are working together on security challenges in Nuevo León, an industrial powerhouse and a hub for foreign investment.
“And that’s the way we’ll continue,” the security minister said.
“Nuevo León doesn’t have the option of dropping its guard. Nuevo León will never stop doing what is necessary to built lasting peace,” he said.
The Monterrey International Airport has added a new wing in Terminal A, with another under construction. (CancunIAirport)
With the reinstatement of Mexico’s FAA Category 1 safety rating, Viva Aerobus has announced plans to launch six new routes to the United States from the Monterrey International Airport in Nuevo León, which has recently expanded.
The low-cost carrier also added four new domestic routes from the same airport, representing the airline’s most significant expansion on record.
The new routes mark Viva’s most ambitious expansion plans yet. (Oliver Holzbauer/Flickr)
“This is Viva Aerobus’ largest expansion in its 16 years of history, strengthening itself as the city’s leading and most important airline,” the carrier said in a statement.
The new routes to the U.S. include:
Denver: Starting Jan. 25, 2024, with two weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays.
Austin: Starting March 22, 2024, with four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Orlando: Starting May 9, 2024, with three weekly flights on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Miami: Starting July 1, 2024, with three weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
San Francisco (Oakland): Starting on July 1, 2024, with two weekly flights on Mondays and Fridays.
New York (JFK): No details have been announced yet.
The new domestic routes include:
Tulum: Starting Dec. 1, 2023, one daily flight.
Tapachula: Starting Nov. 2, 2023, three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
La Paz: Starting Dec. 23, 2023, two weekly flights on Saturdays and Tuesdays.
Durango: Starting on April 18, 2024, three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Monterrey is an industrial hub in the northern state of Nuevo León. (
These 10 routes would increase Viva Aerobús’ offer during 2024 to 13 million seats and 49 destinations, including 13 in the U.S. – an increase in capacity of 23% compared to 2023. For this purpose, the Mexican carrier has assigned 28 aircraft to Monterrey.
“We applaud the historic growth of Viva Aerobús in Monterrey, which provides greater alternatives and facilities to all our passengers, whom we will continue to serve with the great service that defines us: safety, reliability, and first-class facilities,” said Ricardo Dueñas Espiru, general director of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA), which operates the Monterrey airport and 12 others in Mexico.
According to OMA, the renovation and expansion works in progress at the airport will increase its capacity to receive 1.4 million passengers per year in addition to its current capacity of 12 million passengers annually. Nuevo León Governor Samuel García wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the expanded and renovated airport will have state of the art facilities to receive “all the tourists and future companies arriving in Nuevo León.”
On Wednesday, the airport opened a new section in addition to the recently added West Ambulatory. Construction work is still underway for the East Ambulatory, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.
Divorce rates in Mexico have jumped in the last decade according to official statistics. (elgrangestor)
Till death – or divorce – do us part.
The number of married couples getting divorced in Mexico on an annual basis has increased by more than 50% over the past decade, according to data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Wednesday.
Two-thirds of divorces in Mexico last year were no-fault divorces, while just over three in 10 occurred by mutual consent. (Andrik Langfield/Unsplash)
There were 166,766 divorces last year, an increase of 53.4% compared to the 108,727 recorded in 2013.
The number of married couples who officially severed ties last year was up 11.4% compared to 2021 and 79.8% compared to 2020, when getting out of the house to arrange a divorce was not as easy due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two-thirds of divorces last year were no-fault divorces while just over three in 10 occurred by mutual consent, INEGI said. Among the other reasons marriages ended in divorce were “adultery or sexual infidelity” and “separation for two years or more.”
The vast majority of marriages that were officially dissolved in 2022 – 99.6% – were between a man and a woman, while the remainder, 605 in total, were between same-sex couples.
Divorce rates are up 50% from 2013, according to national statistics agency Inegi (Inegi)
Profile of a recent divorcee
The average age of men and women who got divorced last year was 43 and 40.6, respectively.
Just over half of married couples who formally separated last year – 51.9% – didn’t have children at the time of their divorce. Just under a quarter had one child, 17.5% had two kids and 6% had three or more.
The highest level of education for around 20% of divorcees was high school, while around 22% had a tertiary level professional or technical qualification. Around 19% of divorcees only finished secundaria (middle school) while the highest level of completed education of almost 6% was primary school. The education background of almost three in 10 divorcees was unspecified.
One-third of divorces last year came after 20 or more years of marriage. (Inegi)
Almost seven in 10 men who got divorced last year were in paid employment while 52.1% of women had jobs. The remainder were either unemployed or didn’t declare their work status.
Campeche couples call it quits, Veracruz valentines value their vows
Campeche had the highest divorce rate in the country last year with 4.75 divorces per 1,000 adults. Sinaloa ranked second with a rate of 3.75 followed by Nuevo León (3.58); Coahuila (3.32); and Aguascalientes (3.25).
Veracruz had the lowest divorce rate among the 32 federal entities in 2022 with just 0.76 divorces per 1,000 adults. The next lowest rates were recorded in Oaxaca (0.92); Puebla (1.17); Jalisco (1.23); and Chiapas (1.24).
Across Mexico there were 1.86 divorces per 1,000 adults last year, INEGI said.
Many years of marital bliss or just holding on?
One-third of the divorces completed last year came after 20 or more years of marriage. Almost half of the divorces – 46.1% – ended marriages that lasted between six and 20 years, while 18.7% followed one to five years of matrimony.
INEGI said that 1.5% of couples who got divorced last year had been married for less than a year.
Divorce vs marriage
There were 166,766 divorces in Mexico last year and 507,052 marriages, according to INEGI. That means there were about three marriages for each divorce.
Put another way, there were 32.9 divorces for every 100 marriages. That figure is 77% higher than that recorded in 2013, when there were 18.6 divorces for every 100 marriages.
The website, while still in development, will soon offer low-price fares for its first flights in December. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
The government-operated Mexicana de Aviación airline has revealed its new website and first 20 national destinations. It is scheduled to launch operations in December this year.
The new airline will offer travelers the choice of three major destination types – “beach,” “adventure” and “business.” Tickets will be 18 to 20% cheaper than major domestic rivals, including Volaris, VivaAerobus and Aeroméxico, the company announced.
The Mexicana airlines website invites future passengers to explore “beach,” “adventure” and “business” trips. (mexicanavuela.com.mx)
The beach destinations include many of Mexico’s most iconic resort towns; Acapulco, Cancún, Cozumel, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Los Cabos, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.
Meanwhile, “adventure” flights will take travelers to Chetumal, Hermosillo, Mérida and Oaxaca. Business travelers will be able to fly to Bajío International Airport in León, Guanajuato, as well as regional business centers Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Villahermosa.
Mexicana has also announced that it will not charge for checked baggage weighing under 15 kilograms, and will offer free seat selection and complimentary beverages during its launch period. It will operate a modern fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800 series aircraft, with the first three expected to be delivered as early as next week, according to the news website Infobae.
With bases in Tulum and Mexico City, the state-owned airline will offer reduced ticket prices to 20 destinations in Mexico. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
In a statement on its website, the airline said it aims to “provide air transportation services … to everyone, with high standards of safety, trust and quality, while promoting the social and cultural values of Mexico.”
The airline hopes to achieve a 6% share of the domestic travel market and will employ less than 410 employees at launch. The military-run Olmeca-Maya-Mexico group, which owns the airline, will also operate both AIFA and the new Maya Train project, also scheduled to begin service in December.
