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False friends: Spanish and English words that look similar, but have different meanings

By
Sandra Gancz Kahan
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Two friends embracing
You will make real friends living in Mexico, but beware "false" ones while learning Spanish. (RDNE Stock project/Pexels)

For English speakers, Spanish can feel deceptively familiar. So many words are similar that it’s tempting to trust them. The danger isn’t in the words you don’t know, but in the ones that you think you do.

In linguistics, words that look and behave similarly across languages are called cognates; they share both form and meaning. On the other hand, false cognates, also known as false friends, look similar but behave differently. These are words that have drifted apart in meaning through a process known as semantic shift, the way languages evolve in response to their own geographical and historical contexts.

Shared origins, different journeys

Women speaking Spanish
Learning Spanish is important if you’re living in Mexico, but it’s not always as easy as “¿Hablas español?”  (LinkedIn Sales Solutions/Unsplash)

False friends offer a fascinating window into linguistic history. For those of us inclined to nerd out, they read like an archaeological dig through etymology, revealing how common roots evolved in different directions.

Spanish grew directly out of Latin, while English began as a Germanic language and later absorbed large amounts of Latin-based vocabulary through French, religion, law and science. The result is a shared pool of familiar-looking words, some of which shifted gently in meaning, while others wandered off entirely.

False friends can get you in trouble because the listener may still understand you, just not in the way you intended. The resemblance gives you confidence, until it sabotages your intentions. Let’s look at a few of these traitors in action.

A toast to accidental motherhood

Imagine you’re at a social gathering and spill your drink. Wanting to recover gracefully, you smile and announce, “Estoy embarazada.” Heads turn. Someone places a hand on your shoulder in far more solidarity than seems necessary. An awkward way to learn that embarazada doesn’t mean embarrassed, it means pregnant.

Drama by pretense

Pretender is frequently misused by learners because it looks so familiar. In Spanish, pretender means to intend or to plan to do something. It has nothing to do with acting fake or putting on a show; that sense of pretending would be fingir. However, you could certainly say, “No pretendas fingir que me amas,” which means “don’t intend to pretend that you love me,” if you’re ready to raise the drama to telenovela levels.

Authority lost in translation

You’re in the middle of a heated debate and jump in with a confident “Actualmente,” fully expecting it to carry the force of a sharp actually. What you’ve actually said, though, is currently. Your firm intervention suddenly sounds less like a fact-check and more like a calendar update.

Better than trusting your memory

You might ask someone to “recordar” a meeting, thinking you’re requesting a recording you can replay later. In Spanish, recordar doesn’t mean to record audio or video; it means to remember. If you want the meeting captured and saved, you’ll need grabar.

Don’t commit when you want to compromise

You might think you’re being polite by saying you are open to a compromiso, imagining you can all reach a fair agreement. In Spanish, however, compromiso means a commitment, and very often, an appointment. So instead of signaling flexibility, you just announced that you have somewhere else to be. Not exactly the spirit of a good conversation.

Thanks for tolerating

You might warmly tell someone that you soportar their decision. In Spanish, however, soportar doesn’t mean to support or encourage. It means to tolerate or put up with, often with effort. So, instead of sounding loyal and uplifting, you may have just implied that you’re bravely enduring their choice.

You don’t need an epiphany to carry out a task

Realizar is another word that often tricks English speakers. It looks like the English word realize, so it’s tempting to use it when you’ve had an insight. But in Spanish, realizar means to carry out or perform a task. For sudden clarity, you’ll want darse cuenta. Realizar is about execution, not enlightenment.

Not level-headed, just tender-hearted

Sensible is another word that feels like a safe compliment, until it isn’t. In English, calling someone sensible suggests they’re practical, level-headed and calm. In Spanish, sensible means sensitive, emotionally fragile. So, if you describe a colleague as “muy sensible,” you are not praising their sound judgment but rather implying that you’ve had to keep them company more than once while they cried.

Not that kind of introduction

And then there’s a false friend that deserves a big warning label. If you’re one of the many who says, “Voy a introducir a mis amigos,” this is your cue to pause. Introducir is not used for introducing people; that would be presentar. Introducir means to insert. The problem is that it sounds fine until the mental image lands.

The bilingual brain

With more Hispanic Americans than ever switching to English as a primary language, perhaps it’s time to remember the benefits of bilingualism. (Pew Research)

Juggling two languages means constantly choosing one while suppressing the other, a mental training that strengthens attention and task-switching. The benefits show up throughout life: bilingual babies adapt more quickly to their environment, and bilingual seniors often experience slower cognitive decline. In other words, learning another language gives your brain a healthy workout.

The payoff isn’t only neurological. Knowing different languages expands your reality. When a familiar word reveals a different meaning, it challenges your assumptions. You begin to sense that language is not just a tool for describing the world, but a lens through which the world is interpreted. As that lens widens, so does your perspective. What once felt universal becomes circumstantial, and you become more flexible. Occasional stumbles aren’t a failure, but evidence that you’re growing toward a more compassionate understanding of your place in the world.

Sandra is a Mexican writer and translator based in San Miguel de Allende who specializes in mental health and humanitarian aid. She believes in the power of language to foster compassion and understanding across cultures. She can be reached at: sandragancz@gmail.com.

Flex is making a billion-dollar bet on AI manufacturing in Mexico

By
MND Staff
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0
Flex logo on building
The billion-dollar investment is coming from a company that has been manufacturing in Mexico for four decades and accumulated a workforce of 40,000. (Flex)

Flex, a diversified manufacturing partner with a growing focus on AI infrastructure, cloud computing and power solutions, has announced a US $1 billion investment in Mexico.

The investment — to be spread out over the next two years — seeks to boost the Austin, Texas-based company’s advanced manufacturing capacity in Mexico and will focus on creating equipment for data centers and artificial intelligence.

Guillermo del Río Ochoa of Flex stands with President Sheinbaum and Economy Minister Ebrard at a press conference
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Flex’s senior director of business development and governmental relations Guillermo del Río (right) elaborated on the new investment during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

With eight plants and 40,000 employees already in Mexico, Flex provides design, engineering, manufacturing and supply chain services, while operating as a key hub for advanced manufacturing.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Flex’s senior director of business development and governmental relations Guillermo del Río elaborated on the new investment during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference.

Ebrard said the investment is linked to the development of infrastructure for data centers and artificial intelligence, while Del Río confirmed that Flex already manufactures all the equipment needed to operate data centers at its plant in Guadalajara.

“The goal is to manufacture, assemble and test this equipment — this high-tech manufacturing — in Mexico,” Ebrard said, adding that only six countries in the world are capable of doing this.

The new funds — Flex’s largest investment in Mexico since it began operating here 40 years ago — will create 5,000 new jobs and will also serve to grow the company’s supply chain in Mexico, Del Río said.

“The metals we use … are already made in Mexico, the plastics are made here, too,” Del Río said, “[but] we’re still very dependent on external sources for electronics.”

Del Río said the investment is a response to the growth in telecommunications and the demand for technological infrastructure, explaining that production, which requires high energy consumption for equipment testing, will be concentrated in Guadalajara.

“To give you a sense of scale, we’re going to consume seven times the energy consumed by the port of Manzanillo,” he said. “That’s the energy required for testing this highly complex equipment.”

Flex — which also designs sophisticated products in Mexico such as hospital beds that can detect osteoporosis with a high degree of accuracy simply from the patient lying in the bed — has invested US $2.3 billion in Mexico over the past 10 years.

With reports from Reforma, El Universal and Quadratín México

US border wall construction damages sacred Cuchumá Hill on Mexico–US border

By
MND Staff
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4
A previously built section of wall along the Mexico-U.S. border near Tecate, Baja California.
A previously built section of wall along the Mexico-U.S. border near Tecate, Baja California. (Shutterstock)

To facilitate the construction of a section of wall on the border between the United States and Mexico, the U.S. government has been using explosives on a sacred hill, angering the Kumeyaay Indigenous people.

The explosions on the rock-covered Cuchumá Hill (also known as Tecate Peak) began in early April and have continued during the past week, according to residents of Tecate, a municipality in Baja California that borders California.

Explosiones en el Cerro del Cuchumá: montaña sagrada amenazada por el Muro Fronterizo.

Authorities in Mexico and Kumeyaay people say that the blasts are causing major damage to the hill, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border just west of the Baja California city of Tecate. A 35-meter-high carved monolith that is considered sacred was reportedly damaged by one detonation.

“They’re destroying it,” Indigenous rights advocate Norma Meza Calles said of the hill, which is considered intangible cultural heritage in Mexico and has been on the United States’ National Register of Historic Places since 1992.

“It’s very sad because that mountain is very important to us,” Meza told the news agency EFE.

“We’re taught to respect the mountain because for us there are no churches, so we used to go there to sing and concentrate. … For you, it’s just a mountain; for us, it’s our church,” she said.

Another Tecate resident, Juan Saldaña, described Cuchumá Hill as the “faithful guardian of Tecate.” The Kumeyaay people have carried out rituals and ceremonies there for as long as anyone can remember, practices that are now under threat from the border wall construction. Tecate residents reportedly received no prior warning that the U.S. government would use explosives on the hill.

Claudia Cota, a Kumeyaay woman and a councilor with the Tecate municipal government, told KSDY Channel 50 that the detonations by U.S. authorities “have altered the natural environment of the hill.”

“We know that there are a lot of small animals that live there. There is flora, there is subterranean water that circulates and maintains the aquifers,” she said.

Explosives are reportedly being used to help clear the way for a new section of border wall between Tecate and San Diego County. The Trump administration overrode laws that protect the environment, archaeological sites, water, flora and fauna to forge ahead with construction of the wall in the area, the newspaper El Universal reported.

Tecate Mayor Román Cota Muñoz told EFE that he has chosen not to not to “interfere” with the work U.S. authorities are doing as it is taking place within U.S. territory. However, he noted that “the hill’s location means any modification on one side has visible effects on the entire environment,” according to EFE.

For their part, state authorities in Baja California have arranged a meeting with the U.S. consul in Tijuana to speak about the situation. The meeting — at which Kumeyaay representatives from both sides of the border and Mexico’s consul in San Diego will also be present — is scheduled for this Friday.

Alma Delia Abrego Ceballos, Baja California’s culture minister, said that Cuchumá Hill represents “resistance and spirituality” for the Kumeyaay people. Isaul Adams Cuero, a Kumeyaay man, told El Universal that the hill is considered sacred because it was formerly a place where “wise” members of the Indigenous group passed on life lessons to their students.

Gilberto Herrera Solórzano, a deputy who represents Tijuana in federal Congress, has called on the federal Culture Ministry to investigate and disclose the damage that has occurred on the hill. He has also urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to push for the suspension of the use of explosives in the area.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that the ministries of Culture and Foreign Relations were already looking at the issue.

The US has also blasted a border site near El Paso 

On March 16, the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol posted a video to social media showing a series of detonations on Mount Cristo Rey, located just west of El Paso in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

“Conducting another controlled blast to clear the way for vital infrastructure and strengthen homeland security,” the El Paso Sector said in the post. “El Paso’s Mt. Cristo Rey area is known for unexpected crossings — we’re on the ground to keep everyone safe. Border security is national security.”

Mount Cristo Rey straddles the U.S.-Mexico border near the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez.

The Puente News Collaborative reported that last June, “then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived more than two dozen laws … to expedite construction of the wall across the mountain.”

There are significant concerns about the impact the construction of a border wall will have on Mount Cristo Rey, which is home to a statue of Christ and dinosaur footprints — which are reportedly not threatened — and frequented by animals such as coyotes and lizards.

In public comments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection “more than 80 people expressed concern for Mount Cristo Rey’s prized environment,” Puente News Collaborative reported.

“The agency’s summary statement, in response, explained that a biological survey yielded no federally listed threatened or endangered species,” the news outlet said.

The CBP also said it has “determined there is minimal impact to vegetation and behavioral patterns of wildlife since the project area is flanked by existing barriers and an active patrol road.”

Puente News Collaborative summed up the situation this way: “Blast by blast, border wall construction is coming for Mount Cristo Rey.”

The same thing could be said for Cuchumá Hill.

With reports from La Jornada, EFE, El Universal and El País

Setback for Mexico: Canadian court reopens US $270 million NAFTA case against Pemex

By
MND Staff
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1
An oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico
A private oil services company's lease of five platforms to Pemex led to a legal dispute that was quashed by an arbitration panel on technical grounds. But a new court ruling has opened up the case again, putting Mexico at risk for a US $270 million penalty. (Shutterstock)

Mexico could be on the hook for US $270 million after a Canadian court overturned a 2024 arbitration award that had seemed to terminate the case in Mexico’s favor.

The court ordered that proceedings be reopened in a lawsuit filed by Mexican oilfield services provider Oro Negro against Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex, claiming violation of the rules of NAFTA, the trilateral trade agreement that preceded the current USMCA.

PEMEX INSTALLATION
Although it does not imply a conviction against Mexico, the new procedural twist prolongs a high-profile litigation that keeps the relationship between private investors and Mexico’s state-run energy sector under scrutiny. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)

The new court decision reverses the previous status of the case, which had been closed in August 2024 after an arbitration tribunal favored Mexico by declaring itself incompetent to hear the case based on the claimants’ Mexican nationality and their close connection to it. 

According to reports from Global Arbitration Review, the Canadian court found that “the [arbitration] tribunal wrongly declined jurisdiction and Chilean arbitrator Andrés Jana failed to disclose a potential conflict from his counsel work.”

Additionally, the Canadian court ordered Mexico to cover US $100,000 in legal costs within 30 days.

As a result of this week’s ruling, international investors linked to Oro Negro revived their legal offensive against Mexico and the case returns to the substantive analysis stage presumably leading to an eventual ruling on its merits, rather than on jurisdictional issues. 

Although it does not imply a conviction against Mexico, this new procedural twist prolongs a high-profile litigation that keeps the relationship between private investors and Mexico’s state-run energy sector under scrutiny, particularly in disputes related to contracts with Pemex. 

Should the final ruling be unfavorable to Mexico, its treasury could face a potential payment of US $270 million.

The dispute dates back to the 2013-2017 contractual relationship between Oro Negro and Pemex when Oro Negro leased five oil platforms.

The plaintiffs initiated their lawsuit in 2017, alleging that Pemex manipulated agreed-upon tariffs in 2015, induced Oro Negro to accept reduced lease rates and prematurely terminated existing contracts. The accusations included breach of contract and preferential treatment of competitors.

The conflict triggered the bankruptcy of Oro Negro and gave rise to one of the most significant energy disputes under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).

Pemex bribery mechanism revealed at meeting with Israeli investigators

The case eventually became a NAFTA investor versus state dispute under Chapter 11 as investors claimed Mexico breached NAFTA obligations regarding fair and equitable treatment and expropriation.

In 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Israeli private investigation company Black Cube secretly recorded senior officials at Pemex describing widespread bribery and corruption at the state-run oil company in 2017.

The investigators were hired by Oro Negro and the oilfield services company submitted the recordings as evidence while claiming that Pemex intentionally drove it into bankruptcy because it refused to pay bribes.

Mexico maintained the recordings lacked probative value and were obtained illegally.

With reports from El Universal, Milenio and Aristegui Noticias

Which Mexican states have the most popular governors?

By
MND Staff
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2
Querétaro Gov. Mauricio Kuri
With an approval rating just over 60%, Mauricio Kuri of Querétaro was Mexico's most popular governor in March. (Presidencia via Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s most popular state governor is Mauricio Kuri of Querétaro, while the least popular is David Monreal of Zacatecas.

They are among the findings of the latest popularity poll of governors of Mexico conducted by Mitofsky for the newspaper El Economista.

Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama standing in a row of seated Mexican government officials.
Quintana Roo Gov. Mara Lezama, who oversees the tourist meccas of Cancún and the Riviera Maya, was Mexico’s second-most popular governor in March. (Mara Lezama/X)

Mitofsky, a Mexico City-based polling company, surveyed 59,548 people across Mexico in March, asking them whether they approved or disapproved of the performance of the governor of the state in which they live.

The poll found that three governors had approval ratings of 60% or higher, two of whom represent the conservative National Action Party (PAN). Those governors are:

  • (1) Mauricio Kuri of Querétaro (PAN): Approval rating of 60.7% in March, up 3 points compared to February.
  • (2) Mara Lezama of Quintana Roo (Morena): 60.4% (+1.4 points).
  • (3) Tere Jiménez of Aguascalientes (PAN): 60% (+2.8 points).

Mitofsky’s February poll also found that Kuri, Lezama and Jimémez were Mexico’s three most popular governors. However, in March, Kuri — who has been in office since October 2021 — supplanted Lezama in the top position. It is the first time a Mitofsky poll has detected that the PAN politician is the country’s most popular governor. Querétaro has lower levels of violent crime than many other states and currently has one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates (1.4% in February).

The three least popular governors all had approval ratings in the 30s last month. They are:

  • (30) Javier May of Tabasco (Morena): 8%
  • (31) Rocío Nahle of Veracruz (Morena): 4%
  • (32) David Monreal of Zacatecas (Morena): 1%

Just over half of respondents approve of their governor 

On average, the approval rating of a state leader in Mexico in March was 50.6%. That percentage — up 0.7 points from February — was the highest average since last September.

Nineteen leaders had approval ratings above the average in March, while 13 had approval ratings below the average.

Twenty-three leaders improved their approval ratings compared to February, while nine went backwards.

Among those whose approval rating improved, Hidalgo Governor Julio Menchaca recorded the largest gain, improving his standing by 4.2 points in the space of a month. He jumped three positions in the rankings to become Mexico’s fourth most popular governor.

Morelos Governor Margarita González recorded the biggest approval rating decline, sliding 2.8 points to 48.1%. She fell one position in the rankings to 21st.

Gov. David Monreal of Zacatecas at a military event
Zacatecas Gov. David Monreal remains Mexico’s least popular governor, followed by Rocío Nahle of Veracruz. (Adolfo Vladimir / Cuartoscuro.com)

David Monreal remains Mexico’s most unpopular governor, even though homicides declined by a larger percentage in Zacatecas last year than in any other state. Mitofsky attributed the decline in Veracruz Governor Rocío Nahle’s approval rating in March to the recent oil spill off the state’s coast. Nahle, a former federal energy minister, slid three spots in the rankings and is now Mexico’s second most unpopular governor.

All of the governors whose approval rating fell in March represent Morena, the party founded by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Morena is currently in office in 23 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities, and at a federal level.

With reports from El Economista

Meet Yuji, the abandoned baby monkey stealing hearts at the Guadalajara Zoo

By
MND Staff
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baby monkey at Guadalajara Zoo
Zoo personnel saved the abandoned infant monkey's life by providing it with a controlled temperature, liquid nutrients and a substitute mother in the form of a stuffed animal toy. (Guadalajara Zoo)

Rejected by his mother and now clinging to a stuffed dog for comfort, a tiny Mexican monkey at the Guadalajara Zoo has become Mexico’s latest internet star.

The story of frail, lovable Yuji — who weighed just 443 grams, slightly less than a pound, at birth on March 3 — lands in the middle of a global wave of sympathy for rejected zoo babies.

In Japan, Punch, a baby macaque whose mother rejected him shortly after birth, went viral this year after he was photographed clinging to a stuffed orangutan — an image recreated by a Mexico City baker in the form of a concha.

Now in Washington, D.C., there is a frenzy over Linh Mai, a 10-week-old bottle-fed Asian elephant calf at the National Zoo whose own mother refused to care for her.

Meanwhile, Yuji, a six weeks old patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), is being hand-raised at the Guadalajara Zoo’s Integral Center of Animal Medicine and Wellbeing (CIMBA) after his mother, Kamaria, a first-time parent, failed to hold or nurse him properly in the hours after birth.

Weighing just 15.6 ounces at delivery, he was moved almost immediately into an incubator kept near 35 degrees Celsius to stabilize his temperature. A team of more than a dozen veterinarians and biologists are giving him 24/7 care, including four bottles a day of fortified formula. Yuju now weighs about 673 grams (23.7 ounces).

“His mother was a first-time mother and did not have the experience needed to care for him,” said Iván Reynoso, veterinarian and manager of the zoo’s primates department. “Therefore, we decided to provide assisted rearing by doctors, veterinarians and caretakers from the primates area here at CIMBA.”

Like Punch, Yuji now rarely lets go of his plush toy, a stuffed dog that functions as a surrogate mom.

“They cling, and at that age, all the security they have comes from their mother,” Reynoso said. “So, in the absence of his mother, what we do is substitute her with a stuffed toy … This is completely natural behavior for him.”

Staff rotate the stuffed dog with a bear and a monkey to keep the toys clean, but Yuji’s routine is the same: he naps and drinks from a bottle while clinging to the plush toy inside a crate with a small hammock and ropes to encourage climbing.

He has not yet had physical contact with other patas monkeys and no date has been set for his move into the exhibit with 12 adults and three other infants. The transition will depend on weaning him off milk and getting him onto fruits and vegetables.

A zookeeper prepares formula as Yuji looks on from the comfort of a stuffed dog plushie. (Guadalajara Zoo)

As he approaches six months, officials will slowly take away the plush toys in preparation for his move into the main habitat.

Social media users have dubbed him “Mexican Punch” and “Punch tapatío.”

As for his given name, veterinarian Sandra Arely Franco said she chose “Yuji” because it’s a character from the Japanese manga-anime series “Jujutsu Kaisen” known for having “unbreakable strength.”

As with Punch and the baby elephant in Washington, Yuji’s story has stirred debate.

Some animal-rights advocates argue that no incubator or plush toy can replace a natural habitat and social group, and that animals have the right to live and die where they belong.

Guadalajara Zoo officials counter that intervention was a matter of survival. They even tried to get other patas mothers to “adopt” him.

“If he was not fed and comforted, it could have had negative consequences for his life,” Reynoso said.

With reports from Associated Press, TV Azteca Laguna, Dexerto and Reuters

Mexico in Numbers: Mexico’s biggest and smallest states

By
MND Staff
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A highway sign says "Termina Chihuahua, El estado grande"
At 247,455 square kilometers, Chihuahua — Mexico's largest state by area — is bigger than the entire United Kingdom. (Asociación de Estudiantes de Chihuahua)

You likely know that Mexico has 32 federal entities — 31 states and the national capital, Mexico City, which has state-like status.

But do you know how many municipalities Mexico has?

At the end of 2024, the number was 2,478, including Mexico City’s 16 alcaldías (mayoral districts or boroughs), according to national statistics agency INEGI.

So which state has the most municipalities and which has the least? Read on to become a Mexico municipality master!

In this “Mexico in Numbers” article we also take a look at the size of Mexico’s states by area and compare some of them to different countries around the world. Did you know that Chihuahua is slightly bigger than the entire United Kingdom?

Oaxaca has 570 municipalities, Baja Sur has just 5 

As you can see in the map below, the southern state of Oaxaca easily has the most municipalities among Mexico’s 32 federal entities. Why so many? In a nutshell, the provision of Indigenous autonomy at a hyper-local level — more than 400 of the 570 municipalities are self-governing Indigenous communities where leaders govern in accordance with a traditional system known as usos y costumbres.

Among the other quirks of the distribution of municipalities in Mexico is that the country’s largest state by area, Chihuahua, only has seven more municipalities than the nation’s smallest state, Tlaxcala. Needless to say, municipalities in Chihuahua are generally much larger than those in Tlaxcala. In fact, Chihuahua’s largest municipality, Ahumada, is more than four times larger than the entire state of Tlaxcala.

The number of municipalities in Mexico is subject to change. Among those that have been created this century are San Quintín in Baja California and Puerto Morelos in Quintana Roo. México state is currently analyzing a proposal to create four additional municipalities.

Chihuahua is more than 60 times larger than Tlaxcala 

As you can see in the graphic below, Chihuahua is Mexico’s largest state by area, covering 247,455 square kilometers. Chihuahua is thus slightly bigger than the West African nation of Guinea (245,857 km²). The state’s area also exceeds the combined area of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom (244,376 km²).

Chihuahua is around 61 times larger than Tlaxcala — Mexico’s smallest state — and some 165 times bigger than Mexico City. The northern state covers around 12.5% of Mexico’s total territory of around 1.97 million square kilometers.

A graphic shows the outlines Mexico's largest and smallest states and municipalities

Here is a list of five other Mexican states and the countries that most closely match them in size.

  • Sonora, Mexico’s second largest state, is slightly smaller than Cambodia (181,035 km²) and slightly bigger than Uruguay (176,215 km²).
  • Oaxaca, Mexico’s fifth largest state, is slightly bigger than Hungary (93,025 km²).
  • Nuevo León, Mexico’s 15th largest state, is slightly smaller than Latvia (64,594 km²).
  • Hidalgo, Mexico’s 26th largest state, is slightly larger than Slovenia (20,273 km²) and slightly smaller than El Salvador (21,041 km²).
  • Mexico City, Mexico’s smallest federal entity, is almost three-quarters the size of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius (2,096 km²).

Click here to see a social media post with more comparisons between Mexican states and countries that closely match them in size.

Mexico News Daily 

US trade chief to visit Mexico City for second round of USMCA talks: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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President Sheinbaum at her April 16 morning press conference
USMCA trade talks on Monday, Sheinbaum's attendance at a progressive meeting deemed "anti-Trump" and the resignation of a cabinet minister were topics of note at Thursday's presidential presser.(Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🇲🇽🇺🇸 USMCA round two incoming: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arrives in Mexico this Sunday for a full day of bilateral trade talks on Monday, April 20. Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said discussions will cover tariffed goods — including aluminum, steel and vehicles — as well as rules of origin, coordinated trade policy, and import substitution to reduce North America’s dependence on non-regional goods.

  • 👩🏽 Women’s minister resigns: Citlalli Hernández stepped down as minister for women to return to Morena, the ruling party, where party president Luisa María Alcalde has asked her to help manage the ruling coalition’s increasingly strained alliance with the Labor Party and Green Party. Sheinbaum praised her effusively — “a brilliant, hardworking young woman” — and said a female replacement will be named soon.

  • 🕊️ Barcelona trip is “a meeting for peace,” not anti-Trump: Sheinbaum pushed back on characterizations of her upcoming Barcelona summit as an anti-Trump gathering. She clarified she will only attend a heads-of-state meeting with the presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay, Spain’s prime minister, and the EU president — not a separate progressive movements forum. She acknowledged disagreements with Trump while stressing her administration’s respect for and coordination with Washington.

Why today’s mañanera matters

President Sheinbaum revealed at her Thursday morning press conference that she is losing another cabinet minister, the second this month.

Juan Ramón de la Fuente resigned as foreign affairs minister in early April, and now Citlalli Hernández is leaving her role as minister for women.

While some cabinet-level attrition is natural for an 18-month-old government, it’s a blow for Sheinbaum to lose two ministers in quick succession. Given her steadfast commitment to improving the lives of Mexican women, the president will want to appoint a successor to Hernández as soon as possible.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was the announcement that the United States’ top trade official will visit Mexico next week, and Sheinbaum’s rejection of an “anti-Trump” characterization of a meeting she will attend in Barcelona this Saturday.

US trade representative to visit Mexico 

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will arrive in Mexico on Sunday for trade talks on Monday, April 20.

Ebrard said that the second round of USMCA review talks between Mexico and the U.S. will take place during Greer’s visit. He noted that the first round of talks took place in Washington, D.C., last month.

“We’ll be working the whole day on Monday,” Ebrard said.

He said that Mexican and U.S. officials will review the USMCA “sector by sector” across various work sessions.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard
Topics on the agenda for Monday’s bilateral USMCA talks include the auto and agricultural trade, as well as rules of origin, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

Ebrard highlighted that the trade of aluminum, steel, vehicles and agricultural goods will be discussed. Mexican aluminum, steel and vehicles are currently subject to tariffs that were imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump last year.

Ebrard said that officials will also discuss USMCA rules of origin, “coordination of trade policies,” and import substitution strategies aimed at making North America less dependent on goods from outside the region.

Minister for women resigns 

Sheinbaum told reporters that Citlalli Hernández tendered her resignation as minister for women on Wednesday.

She said that Hernández advised her that she wanted to “help Morena,” the ruling party founded by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The 35-year-old previously served as the party’s general secretary.

Sheinbaum said that she understood that Morena party President Luisa María Alcalde asked Hernández to return to the party to assist its executive committee in the management of Morena’s alliance with the Labor Party (PT) and the Green Party (PVEM).

The alliance between the three parties has been somewhat strained in recent times after the PT and PVEM declined to support Sheinbaum’s original electoral reform proposal.

Women's Minister Citlalli Hernandez speaks into a microphone
Citlalli Hernández resigned her post as Women’s Minister this week to return to work for the Morena party. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

Sheinbaum appeared disappointed that Hernández decided to leave the Women’s Ministry, which came into being when the president took office in October 2024.

She described the outgoing minister as “exceptional,” and said she has a very high opinion of her.

“She’s a brilliant, hardworking young woman,” Sheinbaum said, adding that as minister for women she oversaw the distribution of 25 million women’s rights pamphlets as well as constitutional changes for the benefit of women.

The president said that she will soon announce a replacement for Hernández as minister for women.

“It has to be a woman because it’s the Women’s Ministry,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum: Gathering of progressive leaders in Spain is not an ‘anti-Trump’ meeting

A reporter told Sheinbaum that the meeting she will attend in Barcelona this Saturday has been described as an “anti-Trump meeting” and asked the president her opinion on the matter.

“There are two meetings in Barcelona,” Sheinbaum responded.

“One is a meeting of progressive movements, to which representatives of different countries around the world will go. And some heads of state are going as well [but] I’m not going to participate in that meeting. [Environment Minister] Alicia Bárcena will participate,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that she will only attend a meeting with other heads of state, including the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay and the prime minister of Spain.

“The president of the European Union will be there,” she added.

Sheinbaum went on to highlight “the respect and coordination” between her administration and the U.S. government.

“We respect President Trump as the president of the United States,” she said.

“There are decisions he takes that we consider incorrect, but that’s another thing,” Sheinbaum added.

“So it’s not an anti-Trump meeting at all,” she said. “I consider it a meeting for peace, a meeting for peace in the world, which is different.”

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

Viva to connect Mexico City and Monterrey with JFK’s New Terminal One

By
MND Staff
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A rendering shows the planned New Terminal One at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
A rendering shows the planned New Terminal One at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. (PANYNJ)

Mexican low-cost airline Viva (formerly Viva Aerobús) will be the first Latin American airline to operate from the massive New Terminal One (NTO) at New York’s Kennedy International Airport (JFK), consolidating its strategic role in the connectivity between the two countries.

The Mexican airline has confirmed it will offer non-stop flights between JFK’s new terminal and two of Mexico’s largest metropolitan areas: Mexico City and Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Viva Aerobus planes at the Mexico City airport with Volaris planes visible in the background
Viva is the first Latin American airline to snag a slot at JFK’s new terminal. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)

In Mexico City, the route will operate from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), located some 35 kilometers north of the capital. In the northern city of Monterrey, it will operate from Monterrey International Airport.

With this move, Viva joins other international airlines with confirmed operations from the brand-new terminal, including Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air China and Ethiopian Airlines, among others.

Currently, Viva operates non-stop flights between JFK’s current Terminal 1 and Mexico City  International Airport, Monterrey, Guadalajara and AIFA. So far, the flights planned for the NTO only include AIFA and Monterrey.

CEO of Viva Juan Carlos Zuazua celebrated the new partnership, as it will offer Viva’s low fares and passenger-centric service to more travelers.

“Our alliance reflects a shared commitment to customer service and efficiency,” Zauzua said.

Operating from NTO gives Viva access to a terminal with better infrastructure and operational reliability, which can translate into fewer delays and a better passenger experience. Furthermore, it positions the Mexican carrier as a gateway to Latin America from JFK.

Encompassing 2.6 million square feet of passenger check-in zones, security checkpoints, baggage-claim areas, restaurants, duty-free shops, and boarding gates, NTO will sit at the existing site of JFK’s current Terminal 1 and the demolished Terminals 2 and 3. The project will be inaugurated in phases starting this year and will be the largest terminal at JFK once completed in 2030.

With reports from Recommend and A21

MND Local: A new pier, flood preparations and worrying tourism data from Puerto Vallarta

By
Charlotte Smith
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The new Mismaloya pier and boardwalk (Government of Puerto Vallarta

There are some exciting new attractions in Puerto Vallarta this week, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t also some concerning news for the tourist industry.

Mismaloya pier opens to the public

A major infrastructure project has been completed in southern Puerto Vallarta with the opening of the Mismaloya Pier. The inauguration was led by Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro and Puerto Vallarta Mayor Luis Ernesto Munguía González, marking an important step forward for regional tourism and transportation.

The new pier forms part of the broader Bay of Banderas “nautical ladder,” an initiative designed to improve sea-based connections between the area’s southern beaches. By enhancing accessibility, the project is expected to create fresh opportunities for local businesses, including tour operators, boat services and hospitality providers that depend on visitor flow.

Puerto Vallarta mayor Luis Ernesto Munguía González (front left) and Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro (front right) inspector the site of the new pier. (Government of Puerto Vallarta)

In addition to its transportation function, the development includes a scenic linear park along the waterfront. This public space offers both residents and visitors a place to walk, relax, and enjoy the coastal setting. The combination of improved infrastructure and recreational space reflects a broader effort to balance tourism growth with community well-being.

ACTIVALL 2026 to promote healthy living

Puerto Vallarta is once again hosting ACTIVALL 2026, a citywide initiative encouraging people to embrace a more active lifestyle. Running through April 18, the program offers a variety of free physical activities designed to get participants moving and engaged.

Events are being held across multiple locations, including schools, government buildings and open public spaces, making it easy for people of all ages to join in.

The initiative focuses on promoting health and wellness through accessible exercise options like group workouts, guided routines, or recreational activities. ACTIVALL provides opportunities for individuals and families to incorporate movement into their daily lives. By bringing these activities directly into the community, organizers hope to remove common barriers to exercise, such as cost or limited access to facilities.

Puerto Vallarta prepares for rainy season

Puerto Vallarta is preparing for the upcoming rainy season by cleaning and improving its drainage systems across the city. Under the direction of Mayor Munguía, crews are working to clear storm drains, canals, and waterways so rainwater can move freely and reduce the risk of flooding in streets and neighborhoods when heavy rains arrive.

Led by the Public Works and Infrastructure office, with support from SEAPAL Vallarta, work is focused on areas that often have drainage problems, including Ixtapa, Las Juntas, and Portales. Crews are also improving key canals and routes like the Luis Donaldo Colosio bypass and parts of the Calvario district, where large amounts of water pass during storms.

The city is also taking steps to keep transportation running smoothly during the rainy season. Crews are maintaining and leveling secondary roads which are often used when main routes are affected by weather. Officials are meeting with residents across the city to identify problem areas.

Sharp drop in air travel raises concerns

PV airport
Puerto Vallarta’s usually busy airport saw an almost 25% drop in passengers in March. (@diariovallarta/on X)

Recent figures from Puerto Vallarta airport operators Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico reveal a significant downturn in air travel to Puerto Vallarta in March, highlighting a challenging period for the destination’s tourism sector. Across the company’s network, passenger traffic decreased by 8.9%, but Puerto Vallarta saw a much larger drop of 24.4%.

The most notable factor behind this decline was a substantial reduction in international arrivals, which are crucial to the area’s tourism-driven economy. International passenger numbers fell by over 30%, representing a major loss in visitor volume. Domestic travel also dipped, though at a more moderate rate.

In total, the airport handled roughly 576,600 tourists March, a significant decrease from the previous year’s figures. This represents a loss of more than 186,000 tourists in just one month. The sharp decline raises concerns about shifting travel patterns and potential economic impacts, as Puerto Vallarta relies heavily on consistent visitor inflows to support local businesses and employment.

Charlotte Smith is a writer and journalist based in Mexico. Her work focuses on travel, politics, and community. You can follow along with her travel stories at www.salsaandserendipity.com.

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