"Icon of the Seas," the world's largest cruise liner, boasts an on-board theme park and waterfall.(Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
The Icon of the Seas, recently named the world’s biggest cruise ship, has made its maiden voyage from Miami, Florida to Mahahual, Quintana Roo.
The ship, operated by Royal Caribbean Group, reached its first stop of three on Tuesday morning, carrying approximately 8,000 passengers — double the population of beach town Mahahual.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama met with Royal Caribbean executives on board the massive cruise liner. (Mara Lezama/X)
On Jan. 28, the Icon of the Seas departed from Miami for the Caribbean, after receiving the blessing of international soccer star Lionel Messi, who attended the megaship’s naming ceremony.
Upon its arrival in Quintana Roo, the ship was welcomed by Governor Mara Lezama and several Royal Caribbean representatives.”The arrival of the Icon of the Seas is a testament to Quintana Roo’s commitment to the recovery of cruise tourism, which was tested by the challenges of recent years, and today shows significant growth and development,” Lezama said during the welcome ceremony on Tuesday.
The ship’s Western Caribbean cruises stop at two locations on the Mexican coast: Mahahual, where it docks at the Puerto Costa Maya cruise port, and Cozumel. At both stops, passengers are free to disembark and enjoy the beach towns.
The cruise ship can carry about 8,000 passengers — double the population of Mahahual. (ELIZABETH RUIZ/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
In the words of Governor Lezama, the Icon of the Seas represents a “new era in tourism” for Quintana Roo, which is the result of “50 years” of work to elevate the profile of Quintana Roo as a top travel destination.
In 2023, 1,618 cruise ships arrived in Quintana Roo and 462 of them stopped in Mahahual, where more than two million cruise passengers and crew arrived. The new route serviced by Icon of the Seas is expected to consolidate Quintana Roo’s status as the leader in cruise ship tourism to Mexico.
Urban II is an exquisite residential development nestled in the highly sought-after Zona Romántica. (The Agency Vallarta)
Have you ever gone on a vacation so good that you never wanted to go home? It’s certainly happened to me. That’s how I ended up living in Puerto Vallarta. A first visit in 2013 sparked a gnawing desire to pack up my New York life and relocate. While it took a few years to turn that wish into reality, moving to Puerto Vallarta has been the best life choice — and a transition that was quite easy to make.
It may be a beach town, but over the past decade, Puerto Vallarta has seen enormous growth and is now an extremely convenient city to live in. From great restaurants and nightlife to spectacular beaches, dozens of grocery stores and markets, strong connectivity with the U.S. and the rest of Mexico, and even great healthcare, living in Puerto Vallarta has never been easier than it is right now.
The only problem is how much everyone else also loves it. The Puerto Vallarta real estate market is one of the hottest real estate markets in Mexico — long gone are the days of the incredible Puerto Vallarta real estate deal. I got lucky because my husband already owned real estate here when we first met, but for those of you who are looking to buy a home in Puerto Vallarta, there can be quite a bit to consider, especially for the price you are inevitably going to pay. Still, the investment is worth it for the ROI, which can be up to 8 percent these days.
So where to begin when looking for real estate in Puerto Vallarta? We’ve broken it all down right here in our guide to buying a house in Mexico’s best oceanside city.
What are the best neighborhoods for Puerto Vallarta real estate?
“The difference in price points all comes down to location,” said Christian Bernardino, a realtor with The Agency in Puerto Vallarta. “You can break it down further than that, but mostly it’s location.”
He added, “The newest trendy area is Fluvial and Versalles. The younger crowd is buying there because it’s a newer area and considerably less expensive. It’s very up and coming.”
Even in Puerto Vallarta, where the cost of real estate has skyrocketed, you can still be surprised by great deals in even the trendiest neighborhoods, especially if you’re comfortable buying a fixer-upper or one without luxury amenities. Puerto Vallarta is still a relatively small city so even if your budget does not allow for your first-choice area, you’re never more than 10 to 15 minutes away from most neighborhoods in the city.
Zona Romántica: The first place most people visit (and fall in love with) in Puerto Vallarta is Zona Romántica. It’s hard not to fall in love with the cobblestone streets, charming historic homes, and brilliant purple blossoms from the bougainvillea trees. The oldest and most historic part of the city, Zona (as the locals call it) is chock-full of restaurants, and bars, and has one of the prime sections of beachfront. It can also be the loudest neighborhood depending on the time of year, since it sees the most tourists.
Luxury penthouse in Puerto Vallarta’s Romantic Zone. (Berkshire Hathaway)
Seeing as it’s the most famous neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta, real estate can be quite expensive. This Zona Romántica condo, for example, is listed at US $ 2.5 million. The luxury penthouse has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a wraparound terrace, and a private pool.
Neither is cheap, but you can see there is quite a range of what is on offer.
Conchas Chinas: Just around the mountain ridge from Zona Romántica is another hot neighborhood for real estate in Puerto Vallarta. Conchas Chinas is less walkable than Zona Romantica thanks to the hilly terrain, but the beachfront location, ocean views, and spacious villas and condos are what make it one of the most expensive and desirable in the city.
This four-bedroom, four-bathroom villa in Conchas Chinas is listed for US $2.19 million. It features a private pool and ocean views.
Casa TALISMAN is located in Conchas Chinas. (MLS Vallarta)
This three-bedroom, three-bathroom house is listed at US $1.2 million. It also has a private pool, as well as an elevator, vaulted ceilings, and multiple fireplaces.
Centro: Just over the Rio Cuale from Zona Romántica is Centro. This bustling neighborhood boasts the Malecón as one of its main features and all of its restaurants and nightlife entertainment. Scruffy historic homes with terracotta-tiled roofs creep up the jungle mountains, while the crown of the Nuestra Señora Guadalupe Church creates quite the skyline view. Prices tend to be high in Centro, as well, given its location and access to the water. Still, you’ll start to see a bit more bang for your buck here, as well as a broader price range.
Condominium in El Centro. (Point2 Puerto Vallarta)
This five-bedroom, five-bathroom villa has wraparound terraces and views over the Bay of Banderas and the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church. It is listed for US $1.3 million.
Centro is where you’ll start to find a higher inventory of smaller homes, usually at relatively more affordable prices. This one-bedroom condo is a block from the Malecón and is listed for US 295,000. It features an outdoor terrace and a rooftop pool for the building.
5 de Diciembre: Moving north from Centro is Cinco de Diciembre, another historic neighborhood with cobblestone streets and beachfront access. For such a centrally located neighborhood that is still walking distance to Zona Romántica, you’ll find some great deals here.
This two-bedroom, two-bathroom has a private balcony and is within walking distance of the beach. The rooftop terrace has a pool and lounge area. The condo is listed at US $375,000.
Casa Maitreya in 5 de Diciembre. (Mexhome)
Versalles/Fluvial: The most up-and-coming neighborhoods in Puerto Vallarta are Versalles and Fluvial. These quiet, predominantly residential neighborhoods are seeing an influx of condo development and renovations of the older homes. A burgeoning restaurant scene and proximity to mega supermarkets like La Comer and Costco, as well as a quick trip to both downtown and the airport, continue to make these neighborhoods attractive. While these neighborhoods are not on the beach, the influx of amenity-rich new constructions is what drives the prices up.
After you’ve decided on the neighborhood you want to live in and have found the perfect place, there are a few crucial steps. The first is to understand the laws of buying real estate as a foreigner in Mexico. You’re free and clear to buy real estate in Mexico as a foreigner but with a few caveats.
It is written in the Mexican constitution that foreigners cannot own property within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the border and 50 kilometers (30 miles) of the coastline. Still, it is possible to get around this through the use of a trust.
Three parties are required for a trust:
The original owner
The trustee (the bank)
The beneficiary
The trust does not give direct ownership to the foreign beneficiary (you). What it does is establish that the bank has the legal title to the property and can act on your behalf. The trust gives you all the rights and privileges of ownership, with the trust established for 50 years, renewable at any time, forever.
After your offer is accepted, the closing process starts. A deposit of 10 percent of the purchase price is typically required and is placed in escrow. The balance is payable after the trust deed is signed at the notary office. Closing costs are paid by you, the buyer, and include a transfer tax, notary fees, registration fees, fees for the tax certificate, title search fees, and property appraisal. There may be other miscellaneous expenses, as well. The seller pays the capital gains tax and real estate fees.
As a buyer, you will be eligible for a one-time exemption from capital gains tax if you establish residency for two years after your purchase. If you do not establish residency and wish to sell your property in the future, you could pay up to 35 percent of the profit in capital gains tax — so if you’re going to invest in property in Mexico, make sure you love the place you’re buying.
You’ll also be responsible for paying property tax every year, which is the same for everyone in Puerto Vallarta regardless of the size or value of your property.
“The most important part about buying real estate in Puerto Vallarta is to consult a professional,” says Bernardino. “If the deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
Meagan Drillinger is a New York native who has spent the past 15 years traveling around and writing about Mexico. While she’s on the road for assignments most of the time, Puerto Vallarta is her home base. Follow her travels on Instagram at @drillinjourneys or through her blog at drillinjourneys.com.
Mexico exported goods worth over US $475 billion to the United States in 2023. (Cuartoscuro)
“The eagle dethrones the dragon,” screamed a headline in the El Financiero newspaper on Wednesday after the publication of data that showed that Mexico surpassed China to become the top exporter of goods to the United States in 2023.
Last year was the first year in two decades that the United States purchased more goods from Mexico than from China, a situation that largely came about due to the “decoupling” of the world’s two largest economies amid the ongoing China-United States trade war.
Chinese companies are investing in Mexico to get closer to the U.S. market. Here is Nuevo León Governor Samuel García at the ribbon-cutting for the US $80 million Yinlun automotive parts plant that opened in his state in 2023. (Samuel García/X)
However, Mexico’s export industry also got a boost from the growing nearshoring phenomenon as more and more foreign companies — including Chinese ones — establish a presence here, or expand their existing one, in order to take advantage of the country’s proximity to the United States, competitive labor costs and other factors.
In addition to being the top exporter of goods to the United States last year, Mexico was its northern neighbor’s largest overall trade partner, with two-way trade totaling almost US $800 billion.
Mexico gains ground, China goes backwards
Data published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday showed that Mexico exported goods worth $475.6 billion to the U.S. in 2023.
Statistics from the United States’ government show that Mexico exported US $475.6 billion of goods in 2023. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)
Mexican exports increased 4.6% compared to 2022, while Chinese exports declined by more than 20% to $427.2 billion.
Considering the total value of exports of both countries to the U.S., Mexico has gone from trailing China by over $80 billion in 2022 to beating it by close to $50 billion last year, a turnaround of some $130 billion in the space of just 12 months.
Quoted in a New York Times report, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, said that the United States and China — the top exporter to the U.S. for the past 15 years — “are decoupling, and that’s weighing heavily on trade flows.”
“Economists say the relative decrease in trade with China is clearly linked to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and then maintained by the Biden administration,” the Times reported.
Mexico’s share of the $3.1 trillion market for imports in the United States was 15.4% last year, ahead of China on 13.9% and Canada on 13.7%.
El Financiero reported that the increase in Mexican exports to the U.S. is due in large part to nearshoring.
“With growing labor costs in China and geopolitical tensions with this country, Mexico has consolidated itself as an attractive alternative for United States supply chains,” the newspaper said.
Companies from numerous countries have established a presence in Mexico in recent years or announced their intention to do so. They include Chinese companies, although China is not yet among the top foreign investors in Mexico, at least not officially.
The nearshoring trend has led to significant foreign investment in Mexico’s industrial hubs, including from Chinese companies. (Prologis/Twitter)
Mexico gives China “a back door” into the United States because along with the U.S. and Canada it is party to the USMCA free trade pact, The Economist said in a report last November.
In late 2023, Mexico and the United States struck an agreement to cooperate on foreign investment screening as a measure to better protect the national security of both countries. The plan appeared to be motivated to a large degree by a desire to stop Chinese investment in Mexico that is considered problematic.
For the first time in four years, Mexico was the United States’ top trade partner
Two-way trade between Mexico and the United States was worth $798.8 billion in 2023, an increase of 2.5% compared to the previous year.
Mexico dislodged Canada as the United States’ largest trade partner after Canada claimed the top spot in 2022.
China was a distant third after Mexico and Canada last year. United States exports to the East Asian powerhouse were worth a relatively low $147.8 billion in 2023, a figure equivalent to just one-third of the value of Chinese exports to the U.S.
The United States is easily Mexico’s largest export market
Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI last month showed that just over 83% of Mexico’s non-oil export revenue in 2023 came from shipments sent to the United States. Most of Mexico’s export income comes from manufactured goods including cars, computers and machinery, but it is also a significant exporter of oil and agricultural products.
More than 80% of Mexico’s non-oil export revenue comes from the United States, according to official sources. (Wikimedia Commons)
With regard to imports, the latest U.S. data showed that Mexico purchased U.S products worth $323.2 billion last year, a 0.3% decline compared to 2022.
Mexico thus had a trade surplus of almost $152.4 billion with the United States in 2023, up from $130.4 billion in 2022.
Trade between the two countries is facilitated by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which superseded NAFTA in 2020.
In addition to visiting Art Week at Zona Maco, there are plenty of activities to do in Mexico City. (toursenbici/Instagram)
Mexico City is hosting its 20th Annual Zona Maco Art Week and there is a lot going on. From Feb. 7 to 11 CDMX will host Latin America’s biggest art fair showcasing contemporary artists, designers, and photographers from all over the world. But, what else is there to do in Mexico City during Zona Maco?
Outside the walls of the Citibanamex Convention Center, where the show is held, are numerous galleries exhibiting works from the likes of Gabriel Orozco at Kurimanzutto and Adrián S. Bará at Fundación Casa Wabi. The sheer size of the show means you could spend days staring at the eclectic array of works saturating the city.
If you find you need a break for some deep artistic contemplation or you’re simply poking around for a few artsy things to do, here are five interesting experiences that you won’t want to miss.
Tours en Bici
Get to know Mexico City from a different perspective. (CDMX Tours)
If you want to deep dive into Mexico City’s art scene but also want to see some sights, register for a special Art Week bike tour with Tours en Bici. The popular travel operator is run by a group of CDMX-loving architects who have been taking tourists all over town since 2021. Themes include tacos, mansions, markets, and, during Art Week, local galleries.
There are two guided Gallery Tour routes to choose from: Roma and San Miguel Chapultepec or San Rafael and Santa Maria la Ribera. A bike, safety equipment, water and tacos, and entrance to eight of each area’s trendiest galleries are included.
Sign up through Instagram or contact them through their website.
Cost: 550 pesos per person
Date and time: Feb. 7 — 11, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
Location: Contact Tours en Bici for meeting points.
Cardenxe Sotol takeover at Lounge Fernando
Creating the perfect cocktail is an art form, and there’s no better place to witness the craft than in Hotel San Fernando’s intimate lounge. To kick off Art Week, Cardenxe Sotol is hosting a vinyl listening session by Esquivel and whipping up exquisite drinks starring Sotol as the main character.
Haven’t yet tasted the traditional spirit from northern Mexico? This is the time to do it, as its recent resurgence in the bar scene means you will likely be seeing it around more often.
Cost: Free to enter, drinks for purchase
Date and time: Feb. 7 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Location: Iztaccihuatl 54, Hipodromo Condesa
Bazar Artesanas Urbanas
Mexico City artist Claudia Niermann and Artesanas Urbanas are collaborating to present the first-ever Bazar Lagrange 123 on Sunday, February 11. The exposition will showcase the original work of 25 local artists, all women, whose talents include textiles, photography, ceramics, and jewelry. It’s a great way to support the community and get your Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day) gifts in order.
Cost: Free to enter
Date and time: Feb. 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: José Luís Lagrange 123, Polanco
Pug Seal Art and Cocktail Party
Pug Seal Anatole France, Polanco. (pugseal.com)
There are three Pug Seal boutique hotels in Mexico, two in Polanco and one in Oaxaca City, and each of them is an art gallery in itself. Everything about the intentional design and approach to hospitality screams chic. It’s no wonder the group throws one of the coolest Zona Maco parties in CDMX.
On February 8, Pug Seal Anatole France will host its annual bash for VIP Zona Maco ticket holders with an art performance starting at 9:00 p.m., live music, and lots of drinks.
Part DJ, part Creative Director of the Habitas hotel chain, Eduardo Castillo is known for his atmospheric music sets that interweave jazz, funk, electronic, and global sounds. His shows are a transcendental experience meant to connect listeners to each other and the world.
Castillo is closing Zona Maco 2024 at the historic Antiguo Hotel Reforma with his show The Overview Effect, inspired by a particular phenomenon known to astronauts as “a transformative realization of Earth’s fragility and the interconnectedness of its inhabitants”. Dance the night away without turning into a pumpkin, as the event is set to wrap up by midnight.
Date and time: Feb. 11 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Location: París 32, Tabacalera
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.
Inga Clendinnen (left) and Peter Norman were two Australians whose lives were connected in interesting ways to Mexican history. (Wikimedia Commons)
Did you know that the third man on the podium when Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was Australian?
Did you know that one of Australia’s most distinguished historians was an authority on the Mexica and Maya people?
Peter Norman and Inga Clendinnen will forever be inextricably linked to Mexico, the former due to one memorable day in the Mexican capital, the latter because she dedicated years of her professional life to researching and writing about the country’s pre-Columbian peoples.
Both are deceased, but their legacy — forged in large part in and by Mexico — will live on.
Australian sprinter makes a stand against racism in Mexico City
The first Olympic Games to have ever been hosted in Latin America began on Oct. 12, 1968 in Mexico City, 10 days after the Tlatelolco massacre and six months after Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis.
Four days after the opening ceremony, the final of the men’s 200-meter race was held in the Olympic University Stadium, where United States athlete Tommie Smith won the gold medal, Peter Norman of Australia snatched the silver and John Carlos of the U.S. claimed the bronze.
Australia’s Peter Norman was the third man on the podium during the iconic “Black Power” salute in 1968. (Wikimedia Commons)
Better remembered than the race is the medal ceremony, at which Smith and Carlos each raised a black-gloved fist as the Star-Spangled Banner played in what CNN described as “an act of defiance aimed at highlighting the segregation and racism burning back in their homeland.”
While he didn’t raise his fist, the then 26-year-old Australian demonstrated his support for the Black Power salute – and his opposition to racism and discrimination more broadly – by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on his tracksuit jacket, as did both Smith and Carlos.
“My attitude was they’d earned the right to do what they thought they had to do with their one square meter of Olympic dais, and I was glad they were doing it, and glad I was with them,” Norman said in an interview.
All three athletes paid a heavy price for their protest in Mexico City on that autumn day in Mexico City more than 55 years ago.
“Smith and Carlos were sent home in disgrace and banned from the Olympics for life,” CNN reported, while Norman wasn’t selected in the Australian team for the 1972 Munich Olympics despite running times that qualified him to compete in both the 100 and 200-meter races.
“As soon as he got home he was hated,” said Matthew Norman, the athlete’s nephew.
Norman remained friends with Smith and Carlos for the rest of his life, and the two Americans were pallbearers at Norman’s funeral. (Zinn Education Project)
Peter Norman died of a heart attack in 2006, and Smith and Carlos — who greatly appreciated his solidarity in Mexico City — served as pallbearers at his funeral and gave eulogies.
The BBC reported that “the Australian parliament made an official apology to Norman in 2012 for the treatment he received in the wake of the 1968 Olympics and recognized “‘the powerful role [he] played in furthering racial equality,'” while The Sydney Morning Herald said in October 2018 that Norman was “finally being recognized as the hero he deserves – and always wanted – to be.”
“About time, too. It’s only taken half a century,” the newspaper added.
The silent protest of the three Olympians was one of many demonstrations in Mexico City in 1968, a time when the Mexican student movement was fighting for greater political freedoms and for an end to the authoritarianism of the Institutional Revolutionary Party government, which, at the time, had already been in power for decades.
An “outstanding historian” inspired by the Mexica and Maya civilizations
Inga Clendinnen was a highly-decorated Australian author, historian and anthropologist who wrote books about the Maya and Mexica civilizations in addition to works on other topics.
Born in the Australian state of Victoria in 1934, Clendinnen was an “outstanding historian” whose “studies on the oppression of the Maya, on the Aztecs, and on the Holocaust, have used the craft of the anthropologist to describe violence’s cultural origin, conduct, and consequences,” according to the Dan David Prize.
Inga Clendinnen was a world-renowned expert on Mexica history. (NFSA)
Clendinnen was one of the winners of the prestigious and lucrative prize in 2016, the year of her death.
She is best known for her book “Aztecs: An Interpretation,” published in 1991, four years after an earlier work “Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517–1570″ was released.
While her better-known book has “Aztecs” in its title, Clendinnen acknowledged that it is “more properly” about the “Culhua Mexica” people.
“I want to discover something of the distinctive tonalities of life as it was lived in the city of Tenochtitlán in the early sixteenth century on the eve of the Spanish conquest,” she wrote in its introduction.
Clendinnen researched the life of everyday Mexica people, and what life was like in pre-Columbian Mexico. (Thomas Kolle)
“My interest is not primarily with the doings of the great and powerful or with the wisdom and aspirations of the elite, who unsurprisingly have generated most of the sources, but with some of the multiple ways in which ordinary Mexica men and women … made sense of their world,” Clendinnen continued.
“… There is one activity for which the ‘Aztecs’ were notorious: the large scale killing of humans in ritual sacrifices,” she added.
According to an obituary in The Sydney Morning Herald, Clendinnen “said she had found herself tossing down drinks early in the day” when writing “Aztecs” due to “the sheer horror of the material.”
“I mean there was blood everywhere. There were hearts everywhere,” she said.
The obituary also noted that “throughout her life-threatening illness” — Clendinnen suffered from autoimmune hepatitis for years — “she held onto the image of the Aztec warrior.”
“When I thought through the labyrinth of possibilities and memory and so on, I found at the very heart of the labyrinth a little Aztec warrior as the vision of how one ought to be in conditions of challenge,” she said.
“Stoical, self-possessed, consenting if it comes to death, as the only way to sustain your autonomy and your dignity.”
This article is the third in Mexico News Daily’s “Australia in Focus” series. Read about the history of relations between Australia and Mexico here and an interview with Australia’s ambassador to Mexico here.
The new store will be IKEA's biggest location in Mexico. (Octavio Hoyos/Shutterstock)
Global furniture retailer IKEA is set to open its third location in Mexico, following the success of its two existing stores in Mexico City and Puebla. The new store will be in Guadalajara and is expected to open this year.
“Our expansion plans are very ambitious,” Sales Manager Ricardo Pinheiro said in a press conference. “We arrived in the country three and a half years ago and … 2024 will see the opening of a new store in Guadalajara.”
New IKEA stores will share space with French sports retailer Decathlon as part of a dual marketing campaign. (Photo: Archive)
IKEA’s venture in Mexico started with an online store in October 2020, paving the way for its first physical store in Oceania, Mexico City in 2021 and a second one in Puebla in 2022.
According to the company, the new premises will require an investment of some US $100 million. At 23,500 square meters, the Guadalajara store will surpass the size of the Oceania store, which is currently the company’s largest in Mexico.
In an interview with the newspaper Milenio, the director of IKEA Mexico Jaap Doornbos said they will partner with furniture manufacturers in Jalisco — the country’s largest furniture producer — as the brand seeks to increase their local production.
“Our spirit is one of cooperation. We recognize that Jalisco has the most knowledge of the furniture and home decor market in the country. Therefore, we are highly motivated to increase [our] production of IKEA furniture in Mexico,” Doornbos said.
Moreover, he explained that the Guadalajara store will improve the customer experience because it will have enough stock for customers to take home their selected furniture the same day.
IKEA’s expansion plans don’t stop in Guadalajara, Doornbos also said. The company’s goal is to have a presence across the country. However, “Mexico is a big country,” therefore, they will first focus on expanding the reach of their online store.
“We are now present [online] in 15 states, but by this summer, we want to expand to all of Mexico,” Doornbos said.
As part of their expansion strategy, IKEA signed a partnership with French sports retail store Decathlon to reach new customers. Both companies will have shared space in their stores for customers to learn about and buy new products.
Miguel Ángel Sánchez, CEO of Decathlon in Mexico, said that this is the first time the two companies have partnered in this way, and if successful, he hopes to replicate this model in other countries.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said to reporters on Tuesday that in both the U.S. and Mexico, the allegations against López Obrador are considered a "closed case." (Cuartsocuro)
A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into allegations that Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2006 presidential campaign received millions of dollars in drug money is a “closed case” for the United States government, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena.
Three media outlets reported last week on allegations that people working on the current president’s unsuccessful 2006 campaign accepted between US $2 million and $4 million from drug traffickers affiliated with the Beltrán-Leyva Organization and the Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena chaired a bilateral security meeting at the National Palace on Tuesday to discuss border issues and illegal arms and drug trafficking. (Gobierno de México)
López Obrador described the reports as “completely false” and suggested that U.S. government agencies were behind the leaking of information from the DEA probe, which reportedly concluded in 2011.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bárcena said that U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall told the president at a meeting at the National Palace that the investigation is “a closed case for them.”
“This is an issue that occurred in 2006 and all the investigations they did in the United States were closed without finding any kind of crime,” she said.
“… It’s an investigation that in reality is old, right? A journalist gathers old reports from the DEA, but for [the U.S. government] this is a closed case,” the foreign minister said.
AMLO, pictured here in 2006 after losing that year’s presidential election, has referred to Tim Golden’s ProPublica report as “libel.” (Archive)
Bárcena was presumably referring to Tim Golden, who reported in ProPublica that “years before Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected as Mexico’s leader in 2018, U.S. drug-enforcement agents uncovered what they believed was substantial evidence that major cocaine traffickers had funneled some $2 million to his first presidential campaign.”
Although López Obrador accused the United States government of “allowing these immoral practices ” — i.e. facilitating what he called “libel” — Bárcena said the Mexican government wasn’t seeking an apology from its U.S. counterpart.
“It doesn’t come from the office of President Biden, or the Department of State or the White House,” she said.
“This is an issue that comes more from the DEA … but what I want to say is that this really is a closed case,” Bárcena said, emphasizing that was the situation in both the United States and Mexico.
She asserted that there was electoral and political motivation for the publication of the allegations last week, given that both Mexico and the United States will hold elections this year.
Bárcena, a former high-ranking UN official, has played a key role in managing the relationship with the United States since replacing Marcelo Ebrard as foreign minister in the middle of last year.
Sherwood-Randall has been a frequent visitor to Mexico as the U.S. and Mexican governments seek to address a range of shared challenges including migration and drug trafficking.
In a statement released after Tuesday’s meeting, the Mexican government said that López Obrador had “reaffirmed” Mexico’s commitment to “working together with the United States to manage migration in an orderly and secure manner.”
Tulum is hoping to market itself as a wedding, startup and even a Bollywood destination as tourist chiefs head to India. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Tulum will be participating in a leading Asian travel trade show held in Mumbai, India from Feb. 8 to 10, as it aims to attract new investors and foreign markets to the city and surrounding region.
Taking place in India’s largest city, the OTM Mumbai 2024 fair will bring together 1,250 exhibitors from 50 countries, including tour operators, wedding planners, travel agencies, airline representatives and hotels.
OTM Mumbai is one of the world’s largest tourist fairs. (OTM Mumbai)
Jorge Molina Pérez, the head of the Tulum tourist board, said the exhibition will highlight Tulum as an ideal location for digital startups, fashion and film productions. Most of all, however, they will focus on capturing the Indian wedding market, as they believe this will encourage longer stays for wedding guests, and generate greater revenue for the local economy.
“Our aim is to showcase the cultural and natural wonders of our city, with a primary focus on the wedding industry,” Molina told newspaper La Jornada. “We believe that this will help diversify the economy and bring in new sectors and industries.”
Molina said the Indian market has the largest population of upper-middle-class individuals in the world, who often travel in large groups and have high purchasing power. Many reside in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Although there are no direct flights from India to Tulum, travelers from India can fly to Cancún via Istanbul.
According to tourism consultancy IPK International, India became Asia’s largest origin country for international travelers for the first time in 2022.
Over the past three years, Indians made around 1.8 billion trips and the country’s travel industry recorded an 8% growth in both domestic and international travel. Moreover, Mumbai is India’s largest travel source market and acts as the primary exit point for the West and South Indian markets, contributing to 60% of India’s outbound tourist markets.
A drug bust in Sinaloa revealed narcotics hidden inside bee panel boxes. (Wikimedia Commons)
It wasn’t a sting operation, but federal agents did encounter a large number of bees when making a drug bust in Sinaloa on Monday.
After receiving an anonymous tip-off, federal ministerial police traveled to the El Pisal toll plaza on the Culiacán-Los Mochis highway and subsequently stopped a vehicle transporting “wooden boxes with bee panels” (honeycomb panels), according to a statement from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
More than 1.2 million fentanyl pills, four kilograms of fentanyl powder, 70 kilos of methamphetamine and five kilos of cocaine were seized. (FGR)
The boxes and panels — on which presumably innocent bees appeared to be minding their own business — were taken to FGR offices “due to the risk” of the situation, the statement said.
At the offices, “personnel specialized in the management of bees” found a large quantity of illicit narcotics inside some of the boxes,” the FGR said.
All told, more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills, four kilograms of fentanyl powder, 70 kilos of methamphetamine and five kilos of cocaine were found.
The driver of the vehicle — who was possibly making a beeline for the northern border — was detained and placed in the custody of federal authorities. It appeared to be the first time that bees had unwittingly colluded in a drug trafficking operation in Mexico.
Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum will officially launch her 2024 campaign in Mexico City's central Zócalo square on March 1. (Morena/Cuartoscuro)
Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that she will officially launch her campaign for the presidency in Mexico City’s central square or Zócalo on March 1.
Flanked by three of the five people she defeated to win the ruling Morena party’s presidential candidate selection process, the former Mexico City mayor invited citizens to join her in the Zócalo for an address at 4 p.m. on the first day of the official campaign period ahead of the June 2 elections.
The Zócalo often hosts large-scale political rallies. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum, who will represent a Morena-Labor Party-Green Party alliance called Let’s Keep Making History, said she will provide a “clear definition of what our national project represents” at her campaign launch.
The project, she told a press conference on Tuesday, includes the constitutional reform proposals presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday.
Among 20 proposals submitted to Congress is one aimed at ensuring annual minimum wage increases outpace inflation and another that seeks to allow citizens to directly elect Supreme Court justices and other judges.
Sheinbaum said that she and her team — which includes former interior minister Adán Augusto López and Senator Ricardo Monreal — support the proposals.
“From our perspective, they broaden and strengthen the social and human rights in the constitution and strengthen democracy [and] freedoms,” she said.
Sheinbaum is the clear favorite to win the presidential election, at which Xóchitl Gálvez will represent an opposition alliance made up of the National Action Party, the Institutional revolutionary Party and the Democratic Revolution Party and Jorge Álvarez will be the candidate for the Citizens Movement party.
