The cost of fruits and vegetables showed a 5.59% annual increase in November. (Sebastian Martinez Dominguez/Unsplash)
After declining every month between February and October, Mexico’s headline inflation rate increased in November, official data showed.
However, the closely-watched core inflation rate, which excludes some volatile food and energy prices, continued to fall to reach its lowest level since October 2021.
Energy prices were slightly higher in November compared to the same month last year. (VICTORIA VALTIERRA/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The national statistics agency INEGI reported Thursday that annual headline inflation was 4.32% in November, up slightly from 4.26% in October. The rate was 7.8% in November 2022.
Annual core inflation was 5.3% last month, down from 5.5% in October. That rate has now declined for 10 consecutive months.
Despite rising slightly, the headline rate was below the 4.4% consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Citibanamex.
Month-over-month inflation was 0.64%, the highest level since January.
Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, head of the Bank of Mexico, which meets next week for the last monetary policy meeting of the year. (Presidencia)
The publication of the November inflation data comes a week before the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) holds its final monetary policy meeting of 2023.
The central bank’s board has maintained Banxico’s key interest rate at a record high of 11.25% since increasing it to that level in March. Its members are expected to once again vote in favor of the status quo next Thursday.
Inflation has now been above the bank’s 3% target for 33 months, but an initial cut to the record high interest rate is considered likely in early 2024.
Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Mexican bank Banco Base, said on the X social media platform on Thursday that an annual headline rate of between 4.5% and 4.6% is expected at the end of the year.
“With this [forecast], it is expected that the Bank of Mexico will begin with interest rate cuts in the first quarter of 2024” and reduce its key rate by a total of 100 basis points during the course of next year, she wrote.
Annual inflation data in detail
INEGI data showed that goods in general were 5.33% more expensive in November than in the same month of 2022. Within that category, annual inflation was 6.78% for processed food, beverages and tobacco and 3.62% for non-food goods.
Inflation was 6.6% for school fees, 5.59% for fruit and vegetables, 5.28% for services, 3.74% for housing and 0.62% for meat.
Energy prices, including those for gasoline and electricity, were 0.24% higher than in November 2022.
What got more or less expensive in November?
Eggs went up 9.65% in price month-over-month. (GALO CAÑAS/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
INEGI also reported month-over-month increases and decreases for a range of individual products and services.
Price increases
Prices for green tomatoes rose 24.91% compared to October.
Electricity +22.26% (mainly due to the conclusion of discounted summer rates in various cities including Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Chihuahua and Hermosillo.)
Professional services +10.08%
Eggs +9.65%
Air travel +8.11%
Sugar +4.38%
Beans +3.52%
Price decreases
Prices for limes decreased 26.95% compared to October.
Avocados -6.36%
Onions -5.4%
Oranges -3.46%
Televisions -3.3%
Computers -3.23%
Tomatoes -2.09%
Which states had the highest and lowest inflation in November?
The common denominator of the states with the highest month-over-month inflation in November was that they were affected by the conclusion of discounted summer electricity rates.
Sonora had the highest rate at 4.25%, followed by Sinaloa (3.35%), Baja California Sur (2.88%), Baja California (2.73%) and Chihuahua (1.6%).
The states with the lowest month-over month inflation rates in November were:
Guerrero -0.81% (Parts of the southern state including Acapulco are still recovering from Hurricane Otis)
2023 has proved a record year for asylum requests in Mexico, as migrants fleeing instability in other parts of the continent converge on the country. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico has received a record number of refugee applications this year, registering 136,934 requests for asylum from January through November.
The first 11 months of 2023 have already broken the one-year record of asylum applications received in Mexico, set in 2021 with 129,658 applications, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) reported Tuesday. Last year’s total was 119,300.
More than 136,000 applications have been made to Mexican authorities so far this year. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
Andrés Ramírez Silva, the general coordinator of COMAR, highlighted the new milestone, noting a 5.6% increase over 2021’s record number. The number of requests for asylum has been growing steadily since 2017, when total requests were only 14,619. The next year it jumped to 29,471, then soared to 70,300 in 2019.
The surge is marked by caravans – largely composed of Central Americans – aiming to reach the United States. These migrants are generally fleeing violence in their nations, or economic, social and political crises. Despite pandemic challenges and regional restrictions, migration into Mexico has persisted.
Silva noted that the latest surge primarily involves applicants from Haiti, Honduras and Cuba. Together, migrants from those countries have accounted for 101,287 applications this year, nearly 74% of the total. Approximately 54% of the applications submitted this year have been received by COMAR in the Chiapas city of Tapachula, which lies on the border with Guatemala. The Mexico City office reports having received 22% of applications, with 6% going to the COMAR office in Palenque, Chiapas.
A significant number of migrants – primarily those from crime-stricken Haiti – set up makeshift camps in Mexico City. (Daniel Augosto/Cuartoscuro)
“At the rate we’re going, we will easily reach 140,000 asylum seekers [this year] in COMAR,” Ramírez told the newspaper Milenio in May. “It would be a historic record.”
Mexico’s upswing in refugee applications coincides with record migration into the United States. For fiscal year 2023, which ended on Sept. 30, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a record 2.48 million enforcement actions along the Southwest Land Border, breaking the record of 2.38 million set in FY 2022.
Mexico remains the main transit route for Central American migrants heading to the United States, which has led to increased vigilance and control on the U.S. southern border, including the installation of barricades by the Texas government, later deemed illegal by a federal judge.
Amidst what CBP has deemed “the largest displacement of individuals globally since World War II,” COMAR continues to grapple with managing the influx of applicants. According to its data, more than 550,000 refugee applications have been submitted in Mexico since 2013.
Silva noted that an overwhelming number of 2023 asylum applicants have been from Haiti (43,459), Honduras (40,142) and Cuba (17,686). He also shared data on applicants from other countries: 5,900 Salvadorans have applied for asylum, as have 5,896 Guatemalans, 5,388 Venezuelans, 3,675 Brazilians, 3,476 Chileans, 2,468 Colombians, 1,723 Afghans and 7,121 nationals of other countries.
Mexican employment law now requires businesses to pay work costs for employees who are remote for more than 40% of the working week. (Ian Harber/Unsplash)
Mexican employers now have to cover work-related costs incurred by their employees who spend more than 40% of their workweek working from home or another remote location.
They are also required to comply with a range of other work-from-home regulations, which were issued by the Labor Ministry in June and took effect on Tuesday.
Those working from home must also be allowed time to support young children. (Omar Lopez/Unsplash)
To avoid falling foul of the so-called “home office law,” employers are required to:
Pay a portion of their employees’ internet and electricity costs.
Provide or pay for things that their workers need to work effectively at home, such as ergonomic chairs, desks and printers.
Verify that the places their employees are working from are safe and adequately lit and ventilated.
Respect the rights of people who work from home to join a union, participate in collective bargaining and have contact with colleagues based at the primary workplace.
Establish adequate means of communication with employees.
Respect standard work hours in compliance with employees’ “right to disconnect.”
Establish special protections for employees who may be at risk of becoming victims of domestic violence.
Respect nursing mothers’ right to take a break to feed their children or express milk.
Employers who fail to comply with the regulations face fines ranging from 25,935 pesos (US $1,500) to 518,700 pesos (US $30,000).
The new rules were developed last year by a team of government and business experts and members of labor unions before being sent to the government for evaluation and approval.
Employees will also be protected from having to work outside of contracted hours, with a “right to disconnect” at the end of the day. (Major Tom Agency/Unsplash)
The Labor Ministry estimates that remote positions could save companies more than 86,000 pesos (almost US $5,000) per employee per year while also increasing quality of life for those working from home.
As occurred in much of the world, working from home in Mexico became more common during the coronavirus pandemic, and many companies continued to allow the practice for at least part of the workweek even after COVID-restrictions were eased.
Musk said in the interview that the low-cost EV will be manufactured first at the Austin, Texas plant and later in the Nuevo León gigafactory. (Tesla/X)
Tesla will make a new “low-cost” electric vehicle (EV) at its as yet unbuilt plant in Nuevo León, the company’s CEO Elon Musk said in an interview.
Elon Musk says that Tesla plans to manufacture its lower cost EV model at the gigafactory in Mexico, which is supposed to break ground in 2024. (Screen capture)
“The first production will be here in the gigafactory in [Austin], Texas,” said the 52-year-old magnate, adding that the plant in Nuevo León will be “the second place” to manufacture the new EV.
“It would take too long to complete the factory in Mexico,” Musk added, apparently explaining why the planned Santa Catarina plant won’t be the first facility to make the vehicle.
The Tesla CEO said earlier in the interview that the low-cost electric vehicle – often referred to generically as the “Model 2” – “will be made at very high volume.”
“We’re quite far advanced. … I review the production line plans for that every week,” Musk said.
“The revolution in manufacturing that will be represented by that car will blow people’s minds. It’s not like any car production line that anyone’s ever seen. … It’s a level of production technology that is far in advance of any automotive plant on earth. It’s going to be cool,” he said.
Musk said in October that Tesla is “laying the groundwork” in Mexico to begin construction on its new gigafactory, adding that the initial phase of the plant will begin in early 2024.
Tesla hasn’t revealed how much it intends to invest in the plant, but estimates are in the US $5-10 billion range.
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García said in September that Tesla and its suppliers will invest US $15 billion in the northern state.
ZKW manufactures lighting systems for a variety of luxury car brands. (Gerardo Trujillo/X)
Austrian lighting systems specialist ZKW Group announced the expansion of its plant in Guanajuato by a further 100 million euros, or US $107.6 million.
The move comes as part of the group’s strategic orientation towards the United States vehicle market. In a press release, ZKW announced the opening of the third phase of expanding its Mexican plant in Silao, near Guanajuato city. The expansion will cover an additional 15,700 square meters and was inaugurated with a ceremonial opening on Nov. 29.
The Austrian manufacturer is hoping to expand operations in North America, and will nearshore in Mexico as a result. (ZKW)
In the same statement, the group announced that groundbreaking had already taken place on its next expansion phase: an additional 7,000 square meters of production space intended to generate 1,100 new jobs by 2025. ZKW’s current and upcoming plant expansions through 2025 represent an investment of over 100 million euros.
“With the expansion, we are increasing production capacities and creating around 2,000 new jobs to manufacture innovative lighting systems for customers in the strategically important NAFTA economic region,” said Dr. Wilhelm Steger, CEO of ZKW Group.
ZKW currently employs 1,658 people in Mexico. Since 2016, its Silao plant has produced lighting systems for automakers such as BMW, General Motors, Mercedes Benz and Volvo. Starting in 2025, it will produce headlights and center lamps for Volkswagen and General Motors in Silao.
The group considers North America to be a strategically important market which has the potential to become the second-largest market for the company by 2028, accounting for around 30 percent of its sales.
According to Dominique Boulegue, General Plant Manager for ZKW México, the company’s long-term goal is to strengthen its growth strategy in the North American market and employ up to 4,000 people by 2026.
The U.S. accused Mexico of providing a "safe haven" for traffickers who manufacture and transport narcotics like fentanyl. (US CBP)
Has the notorious Sinaloa Cartel reduced the amount of fentanyl it is shipping to the United States?
U.S. data suggests it might have, while a prominent security analyst believes the sons of convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera – who lead a Sinaloa Cartel faction – are seeking to appease the U.S. government by sending less of the deadly synthetic opioid across Mexico’s northern border.
Targeting the Sinaloa Cartel and fentanyl trafficking in particular have been a major focus of United States policy in recent years. (DEA)
The quantity of fentanyl seized at the Mexico-United States border fell almost 60% between April and October, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP data shows that just over 1,445 kilograms of the synthetic opioid was confiscated at the United States’ southwest border in April, while the figure in October was 58.6% lower at 598 kilograms. There were month-over-month declines in May, June, July, September and October, while the only month in the period in which there was an increase in the quantity of fentanyl seized – and a slight one at that – was August.
The decline in seizures came after the United States Department of Justice unsealed drug trafficking and other charges against more than 20 Sinaloa Cartel members and associates, including Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar – all sons of Guzmán Loera.
“Los Chapitos,” as El Chapo’s sons and a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel they lead are known, “pioneered the manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl – the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced – flooded it into the United States for the past eight years and killed hundreds of thousands of Americans,” Anne Milgram, administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said when the charges were unsealed on April 14.
Seizure figures between April and October was 58.6% lower, suggesting the Sinaloa cartel is trafficking less of the deadly drug into the United States. (US CBP)
While the Guzmán brothers’ claim that they were cracking down on the illicit fentanyl business was met with significant skepticism, security expert David Saucedo believes that Los Chapitos are at least making an attempt to withdraw from the fentanyl market.
“The Sinaloa Cartel forced its franchises to stop selling, transporting and marketing fentanyl. I’m not sure that [the Chapitos] have completely eliminated the trafficking of this drug, but we do perceive that there is a deliberate reduction of shipments of fentanyl to the United States,” Saucedo told the newspaper Milenio.
The Chapitos “understood that they had to make some concessions to the United States government,” he said.
Mexico has reported increased seizures of fentanyl throughout López Obrador’s administration. (Semar/Cuartoscuro)
Ovidio Guzmán – who was arrested in Culiacán in January – was extradited to the United States in September, a development that Milenio described as “the biggest blow” authorities have landed in the fight against fentanyl. However, there isn’t any conclusive evidence that his extradition was a factor in the month-over-month declines in the amount of fentanyl seized at the border in September and October.
Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the DEA, said at the time that the capture and extradition of Guzmán López to the U.S. was “a symbolic victory,” but won’t “have any impact whatsoever on the Sinaloa cartel.”
The cartel will “continue to function” and “continue to send drugs into the United States,” he said.
In the remarks he made to Milenio, Saucedo reiterated his view that the Guzmán brothers have taken a considered decision to reduce their shipments of fentanyl to the U.S.
“It appears that the Chapitos have several strategies: a public narrative that they are not responsible for the production of fentanyl, the concession of not fighting against the capture of Ovidio, the abandonment of [their security chief] El Nini so that he was [able to be] captured and finally a reduction in shipments of fentanyl [to the U.S.]. I’m not sure it’s an elimination, but I am certain that it’s a unilateral reduction on the part of the Chapitos,” he said.
There is, of course, the possibility that the reduction in the quantity of fentanyl seized at the Mexico-U.S. border is not indicative of a reduction in the amount of the drug being shipped north. There are other suppliers of fentanyl to the U.S., including the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which doesn’t appear to have taken any decision to reduce its involvement in the lucrative market.
The head of security for Los Chapitos, Néstor Isidro Pérez or “El Nini”, was detained last month by Mexican security forces. (SEDENA/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, head of research at the University of California, San Diego’s Center for US-Mexican Studies, told InSight Crime, a media organization and think tank, that drug “seizures do not reflect supply, they reflect enforcement.”
“Still,” InSight Crime reported, “they are one of the few empirical indicators illicit drug watchers can use to measure supply and demand.”
While the quantity of fentanyl being seized by the CBP has declined since April, the amount confiscated at the Mexico-U.S. border in U.S. fiscal year 2023, which concluded Sept. 30, was a record high 12,119 kilograms, an increase of almost 90% compared with FY22.
Insight Crime, which specializes in organized crime in Latin America, reported in late November that “it’s not yet clear how the [Chapitos’] ban [on fentanyl production and sales] is impacting cross-border fentanyl flows, if at all.”
It also said that some consumer markets in the United States “appear to have an oversupply of illicit fentanyl, which could be driving prices down.”
“Along the border in Nogales, Arizona, for example, city police told InSight Crime that a single counterfeit fentanyl pill is being sold for between just $0.35-$0.60. Similar price points were also seen in northwest cities like Portland and Seattle, where fentanyl has been readily available for years,” the media organization reported.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena (center) with other Mexican cabinet members at a trilateral fentanyl meeting in July. (Alicia Bárcena/Twitter)
In Mexico, authorities seized 2,145 kilograms of fentanyl between Jan 1. and Nov. 13, according to information presented by Navy Minister Rafael Ojeda on Nov. 14. That amount is slightly higher than the quantity confiscated in all of 2022.
Combating the illicit fentanyl trade is a key priority in the bilateral security partnership between Mexico and the United States, and Mexican officials have repeatedly emphasized their commitment to the cause. The presidents of both countries recently discussed the issue with the president of China, which is a major supplier of the precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
President López Obrador in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last month emphasized “the importance of reaching an agreement to exchange information on [fentanyl and precursor chemical] shipments leaving Asia,” according to a Mexican government statement.
After his meeting with Xi on Nov. 15, United States President Joe Biden said that the Chinese president had agreed to take steps to curtail the supply of chemicals being used to make fentanyl, which is largely responsible for the overdose crisis in the U.S.
Here are some options for residential developments that offer a sustainable experience. (Courtesy Periférico 2008)
In recent decades, an increasing number of residential developments in Mexico have adopted sustainability practices. This arises as part of a trend that opts for a more sustainable development model aiming to meet “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” the definition of sustainability according to the United Nations Brundtland Commission in 1987.
Proof of this is that in September 2020, Mexico issued the first Sustainable Bond linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by the UN. Among the criteria considered as part of a sustainable model are the following:
Efficient land use
Energy efficiency
Renewable energy
Sustainable mobility
Preservation of the natural environment
Today we want to share with you some options for residential developments that offer a sustainable experience that respects both the environment and future societies.
Brasilia Sustentable, Guadalajara
This is a project with eight homes in a community; a sustainable microclimate is generated in the area. Some of its attributes include a hydraulic network for the treatment of rainwater, wastewater, and soapy water in the subsoil of the 1,600 square meter property. The water undergoes filtration, separation, and oxygenation for reuse.
Brasilia. (Courtesy Brasilia Sustentable)
“Sustainable construction materials were used, such as handmade compressed earth blocks. There were 160,000 blocks for this complex. In Brasilia Sustentable, soapy, black, and rainwater are separated; each type of water has its special treatment,” said architect Eliseo Van Aartsen Palomera, leader of the project.
“Also, the buildings have an orientation that optimizes sunlight throughout the day and year. The windows are designed for cross ventilation to maintain good temperatures inside the houses,” he added.
Regarding waste separation, organic waste is separated, composted, and turned into fertile soil for planting. Plastic, cardboard, glass, aluminum, and batteries are also separated; a truck from a collection center takes all the waste for recycling. On the rooftops, there are green gardens where the soil obtained from composting is used to grow vegetables, aromatic plants, and greens,” Van Aartsen explained.
Garden Village, five minutes from Amealco
Garden Village. (Courtesy Garden Village)
Garden Village is a regenerative project surrounded by 120 hectares of forest, lakes and an organic farm. The homes have renewable energy systems, wastewater treatment and spaces designed to promote a lifestyle connected to nature.
In the development, food is grown organically and sustainably. Through an aquaponics system, fish, fruits and vegetables are produced monthly. In addition, residents will have access to specialized workshops such as permaculture, carpentry, blacksmithing and agriculture.
Periférico 2008, Mexico City
Periférico 2008 is a residential building located in one of the oldest, greenest and most beautiful neighborhoods in Mexico City: San Ángel, in the southern part of the city.
Periférico 2008. (Courtesy Periférico 2008)
In total, 50% of the development is green areas, with 200 trees, and its facade features a strategically distributed vertical garden to promote ideal temperatures that counteract the use of energy. Its main attributes include being a barrier to noise and air pollution. The building consists of 184 apartments spread over 30 floors. It also provides natural light and ventilation. Besides, 2000 square meters of its surface are designed for rainwater collection; Periférico 2008 can store up to 5,000 liters of water per day during the rainy season.
This community living project includes 93,000 square meters of green areas and four parks. It consists of 12 buildings with over 1,800 apartments and a cultural center in the central park. In this development, plastics have been eliminated in the provision of drinking water through a purification and distribution system that also provides ultra-purified water. Additionally, electricity is generated through a cogeneration plant that supplies the entire complex. This project has LEED v4 BD+C and WELL Core certifications.
Sustainability certifications that can help you decide where to live
If you are thinking of living or buying in sustainable development in Mexico, keep in mind that certifications such as the following can be a guide to ensure that your home or apartment is eco-friendly and socially responsible:
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
PCES (Sustainable Building Certification Program)
WELL Building Standard
EarthCheck
EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies)
Living Building Challenge
NZEB (Net Zero Energy Building)
BREEAM
Parksmart
Passivhaus
Another benefit of living in sustainable homes is that they often generate significant savings in your finances, as they ensure the functioning of spaces in a more self-sufficient manner in the long term.
What other sustainable housing options in Mexico would you recommend?
Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator of various media such as Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.
Almost two years after opening, Nice Day Coffee is buzzing with customers from near and far. (Nice Day Café)
At least twice a week, I head around the corner to Nice Day Coffee in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc borough, where I spend the day clicking away at my laptop, sipping almond milk cappuccinos and chatting with the friendly staff. Over time, I got to know the owners Nery and Shirley. After spending the previous 12 years in Mérida, Nery teamed up with Shirley from San Francisco to open Nice Day Coffee in early 2022.
Curious about what it’s like to open a cafe in Mexico City as an expat, I sat down with Shirley to hear about the challenges and opportunities of opening in a metropolis as trendy as Mexico City. With an established background in the Bay Area tech scene, despite over a decade of experience from family restaurants growing up, owning a food and beverage establishment was never in her own plans.
Until Mexico.
“It all came from an eye-opening conversation about job and career opportunities in Mexico. In California, I had been afforded an abundance of opportunity and protection; the employment culture is vastly different here. The more Nery and I chatted, the more motivated we became to create something impactful. Something that would provide true opportunities for the awesome talent that is here,” she explained. She also mentioned that starting a brick-and-mortar business became a great way to make friends and immerse into a new neighborhood.
“We originally wanted to open in Mérida, since that’s where Nery was living,” Shirley explained. But after careful evaluation, they realized that the city might not be a viable location for their envisioned Mexican-Asian fusion coffee shop and bakery. The heat in Mérida significantly reduced foot traffic during the day. And, given Shirley’s many positive visits to Mexico City, they decided to expand their search radius.
Nery spent two weeks checking out more than 30 locations in Mexico City while Shirley chimed in over FaceTime from San Francisco. On the very last day of Nery’s trip, they found the perfect spot: a former sushi restaurant with sidewalk access on a tree-lined street with signs of consistent pedestrian traffic. “To be honest, we wanted something with some foot traffic, but also not too much. Given the cultural and language barriers for myself at the time, I was terrified of what we were getting ourselves into.”
She needn’t be terrified. Almost two years after opening, Nice Day Coffee is buzzing with customers from near and far.
What makes this coffee shop stand out in a city full of, well…coffee shops?
According to Shirley and Nery, the secret to their success is the people. As owners, they have made it a priority to cultivate a “supportive, honest, and creative environment” for the team to deliver their best work.
As a customer, I couldn’t agree more. Of all the cafes I have to choose from, I regularly find myself here. Here are five reasons why.
The staff: Everyone who works here is friendly, conversational, and bilingual. It makes for a comfortable, light-hearted environment.
The pastries: Fresh, homemade and continuously perfected, the pan dulces often surprise the taste buds by adding an Asian spin to Mexican classics. Think matcha conchas, strawberry shortcakes with hojicha cream (an iteration of the common Mexican dessert fresas con crema, strawberries with cream), and braided croissants with figs, goat cheese, dill honey, and soy sauce. My personal favorite? The fresh-out-the-oven plain croissant.
The community: Think of it as your cozy watering hole without the booze. Patrons visit for their daily coffee fix and greet each other with a smile or handshake. I myself have made several friends at Nice Day Coffee that I wouldn’t have met otherwise!
The beverages: Aside from the expected cappuccinos and espressos, there is always something novel to try. The owners serve drinks like miso caramel lattes, strawberry and lychee raspados or icees, and then there’s the ever-popular Nice Day latte, made with homemade vanilla syrup and beans from Veracruz. An unexpected touch of color sparks “a smile or show of delight when we deliver it to the table” and it’s been a hit with the customers. There is also a selection of Asian-inspired teas, like jasmine and genmaicha. Mexico City is brimming with cafes, and unique twists on the usual menu items attract the attention of both locals and tourists.
The design: The coffee shop is bright and sunny, simple and clean. The store front is open to the sidewalk and framed by potted mandarin trees. Colors are soft shades of beige, white, peach, and wood. There is a small bar and both in and outdoor seating. Pastries are displayed in a glass case in full view from the sidewalk, and the happy chatter amongst locals is inviting to even the most insecure of visitors.
Pastries. (Nice Day Coffee)
Since my personal opinion isn’t enough, I decided to enlist some patrons. I asked the question to four regulars, “Why do you choose to frequent Nice Day Coffee?”
Paco (a local): The community. Carlos (an expat): Convenience, but if it wasn’t good coffee, I would go somewhere else!
Daniela (an expat): Well, we first went because it was close to home, but we kept coming back for the coffee, the service, and the oatmeal cookie!
Leo (a local): The conchas and the cortados.
Despite the coffee shop’s evident triumph, there is really only one way to truly know if the tenacity required to open up shop in Mexico City was all worth it. So I asked Shirley the almighty question. Would you do it again? Her answer? “Yes. The experience has been absolutely fulfilling and I don’t regret it at all.”
This must be true, as Shirley and Nery are set to open their second location in late 2024! Stay tuned by following Nice Day Coffee on Instagram and coming by to try what just might be the very best coffee and pastries in all of Mexico City.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
Student achievement has declined across Mexico, shows a new study from the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development.
(Carolina Jiménez/Cuartoscuro)
An academic study of 15-year-olds in 81 nations around the world ranks Mexico 51st overall for its combined scores in math, reading and science.
The conclusion is that Mexican students are falling behind their global counterparts in those subjects, according to the report released Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
While school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic are considered partially to blame for the decline, they are not the only factor, say researchers. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tested approximately 700,000 students from OECD member countries and partner economies throughout 2022.
Approximately one-third of Mexican students ranked at Level 1 or 2, the lowest level, while only seven out of every 1,000 Mexican students scored in the highest ranks (Levels 5 and 6).
In math, for example, only 34% of Mexico’s students achieved basic proficiency or better (Level 2 or higher), significantly less than the OECD average of 69%.
The report noted that while some falling results can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is inaccurate to blame prolonged school closures and social isolation as the sole causes of the drop in scores.
Many schools in Mexico are not properly built and lack basic facilities, including electricity or running water. This school in Zihuatanejo is a makeshift structure at a municipal dump. (Nuevo Manitoba/Facebook)
The country achieved 395 points in mathematics, 14 points below its 2018 score and 77 points below the 2022 OECD average of 472.
In reading, Mexico scored 415, only five points lower than 2018 and 61 points below the OECD average; and in science, Mexico scored 410, nine points lower than 2018 and 75 points below the OECD average.
Mexico isn’t the only nation with waning numbers. The report shows a general decline in the results overall. “From PISA 2018 to PISA 2022, the evaluation fell 15 points in mathematics, 10 points in reading and two in science,” the report noted.
“PISA provides the evidence and public policy findings that countries need to address these issues,” noted Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills and an adviser on education policy at the Paris-based OECD. “There is an urgent need to take action. The task for governments is to help education systems rise to this challenge.”
Not all socioeconomically disadvantaged students have low scores however – 12% finished in the top quarter of Mexican math pupils. (UNICEF)
Mexican students achieved PISA gains between 2003 and 2009, but the new data shows a backslide over the past 10 years.
In math, Mexico’s number of low-performing students was 11 percentage points higher in 2022 than it was in 2012. In reading it was 5 percentage points higher and in science it didn’t change significantly.
The study also showed that 25% of students in Mexico reported feeling alone at school and 26% felt marginalized or excluded, higher than the OECD averages.
Additionally, 69% of students in Mexico reported that they made friends easily at school, close to the OECD average of 76%. Also, about 9% of students in Mexico reported that they had repeated at least one grade, which is the same as the OECD average.
One overall trend in Mexico is that the top 25% of students in terms of socioeconomic advantages outperformed disadvantaged students (the bottom 25%) by significant margins, with a 58 point spread in mathematics.
However, some economically disadvantaged students have thrived, with 12% of them finishing in the top 25% in math.
The countries that stood out in the results were Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Estonia, all surpassing 500 points in each of the three subjects. Canada was No. 5 while the United States raised some alarm bells with a No. 31 ranking.
If you are a cinema enthusiast, you might have seen “The Triangle of Sadness,” nominated for a series of awards last year, including the Oscar for Best Picture.
One of the many people who worked on this wonderfully bizarre production is Julio Chavezmontes, a film producer born and raised in Mexico City.
The producer first got his foot in the door of international cinema in 2013 when his horror film “Halley” was screened at the Sundance Festival. Halley was Julio’s first big project after earning an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and was co-written with Sebastian Hoffman, a colleague he met while working his first job in the film industry.
Julio and Hoffman’s creative bond led them to co-found their production company, PIANO, which aims to produce innovative and risky movies. Since then, the pair have received over 50 international awards and 100 nominations, including for the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Oscars.
Julio has been interested in cinema since he was 19 years old when he began his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago. When he walked into a Virgin Megastore and stood in front of the DVD sales screens and watched the first minutes of Jean Luc Godard’s “Le Mépris” (Contempt). “I understood that cinema could be something that went much further than what I had been exposed to,” he said.
Following the success of Halley, Chavezmontes has worked on big cinematic productions such as “Tiempo Compartido” (2018), starring actor Luis Gerardo Méndez; “Annette” (2020), with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard; “Memoria” (2021) with Tilda Swinton; and most recently “Triangle of Sadness” (2022).
Triangle of Sadness. (Courtesy PIANO)
Having now worked in both Mexico and the United States, he reflects on the differences between the two – and why getting international acclaim for non-U.S. filmmakers is quite an achievement.
“In the U.S., you need a good amount of resources to be able to release a movie in theaters. It’s a country where slots in theaters are highly coveted, and on top of that, any campaign of distribution and publicity is very expensive. So the truth is that getting a movie to U.S. theaters is a huge achievement.” He added: “I think it’s important for movies to reach the U.S. so that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who live there can be connected to the cultural patrimony that belongs to them.”
In Mexico, movie distribution cost is much lower, with incentives like EFICINE that provide aid for financing more independent or artistic films. “This of course helps promote independent cinema, which is always at a disadvantage against studio releases,” he said.
For a producer like Chavezmontes, who has an arthouse background and a “cultural or artistic rationality,” rather than a commercial one, his focus is on finding wide distribution for his work.
This is a shared goal among his Mexican colleagues and fellow filmmakers, he explained. “I think all that we’re interested in, that is a common goal among all of us, is that movies reach the public. Different movies have different audiences, and not every distribution strategy works the same for all movies.”
Unfortunately for independent filmmakers in countries outside of the U.S., as well as for movie aficionados globally, Hollywood’s monopoly on cinematic distribution and consumption makes achieving this goal very difficult.
“Those studios operate, and I don’t say this negatively, but they operate under a market logic where they make movies that will sell. … In the majority of cases, the commercial rationality is incompatible with the artistic or cultural one,” he said. There are exceptions to the rule however, as artists like Iñárritu, Cuarón, and del Toro have found a way to add their personal touch within the Hollywood studio ecosystem, “but it’s not the norm,” said Chavezmontes.
Nevertheless, there has been an undoubtedly positive shift within historically homogeneous award ceremonies like the Oscars in the past few years, with increased representation of international filmmakers. “What would make it even better would be for there to exist a more diverse ecosystem where financing is increased and there are different ways to exhibit and distribute movies that don’t exactly fit commercially,” Chavezmontes added.
Julio is outspoken about public policies that incentivize and strengthen the national film industry. “All of this is fundamental in increasing viewership and widening our audiences. There needs to be a greater investment in that.” He added that cultural and artistic works are “part of the country’s cultural patrimony, and so should be accessible for the majority of Mexicans.”
PIANO is currently finishing a documentary directed by Argentinian Lucrecia Martell and a movie called “El Jockey,” starring Nahuél Pérez, Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Ursula Corberó. Julio’s biggest production this year is a film called “La Desaparición” (“The Disappearance),” which tells the story of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz’s “Angel of Death,” as a fugitive in South America. The film is directed by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov.
Expect to see more of Julio Chavezmontes in the years to come.
Montserrat Castro Gómez is a freelance writer and translator from Querétaro, México.
