The peso was trading at 17.44 to the US dollar on Tuesday afternoon. (Shutterstock)
The Mexican peso depreciated to its weakest level against the US dollar in three months on Tuesday after losing ground against the greenback on four consecutive trading days.
Data from Bloomberg showed that the USD:MXN spot rate was 17.44 just after 1 p.m. Mexico City time.
A Bloomberg graph shows that the last time the dollar closed in a stronger position than that level was on June 5, when a greenback was worth 17.47 pesos.
The peso weakened by almost 2% last Friday after Mexico’s Exchange Commission (Comisión de Cambios) took the decision to reduce a six-year-old hedge program aimed at reducing currency volatility.
Janneth Quiroz, chief economist at Monex, said Tuesday that the peso has also been affected by an increase in investors’ aversion to risk due to signs that point to a cooling of the global economy.
Despite depreciating 70 centavos since last Wednesday, the peso remains in a much stronger position than it was at the start of the year, when the USD:MXN exchange rate was about 19.5.
Among the factors that have helped the peso appreciate this year are strong inflows of foreign investment and remittances, and the large gap between the Bank of Mexico’s key interest rate (currently 11.25%) and that of the U.S. Federal Reserve (5.25%-5.5%).
The electric vehicle (EV) plant construction investment, of at least US $5 billion, was announced in March this year. (Tesla)
Tesla has not yet obtained any of the permits it needs to build and operate its proposed electric vehicle (EV) gigafactory in Nuevo León, according to Forbes México.
The multi-billion-dollar project, announced by CEO Elon Musk in March, is expected to take 36 months to build, according to a Tesla document seen by Forbes, meaning that the earliest it could be finished – if the company obtains the required permits in the final months of this year – is late 2026.
The land where Tesla will build its gigafactory in Nuevo León. (Cuartoscuro)
Forbes reported Monday that Tesla Manufacturing Mexico, a subsidiary of the Austin-based EV company, has so far only applied for permission to change the land use classification of the site on which the gigafactory is slated to be built in Santa Catarina, a municipality just west of Monterrey that borders Coahuila.
Tesla has asked the federal Environment Ministry (Semarnat) to allow industrial activity on a 260-hectare site that is currently classified as forested land. The company has not yet received a response.
According to the confidential document seen by Forbes – specifically the application to Semarnat to change the land use designation – Tesla will seek authorization for the construction and operation phases of the project after it has been given the green light to use the site for the production of EVs.
In the document, Tesla says it will carry out “activities” to prevent, mitigate and compensate for “environmental impacts” on the site. It notes that the Santa Catarina site is not within a natural protected area (ANP), and asserts that the change of the land use classification to industrial won’t have a negative impact on nearby ANPs.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk with Nuevo León Governor Samuel García after the investment announcement. (Samuel García/X)
In its application to Semarnat, Tesla also notes that it plans to build an EV plant on the site as well as “associated infrastructure” such as roads, a parking lot and warehouses.
When he announced the new gigafactory in March, Musk didn’t offer specific details about the project, but Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Martha Delgado said at the time that Tesla would invest more than US $5 billion in the plant and employ up to 6,000 people.
Once the factory starts operations, Tesla will manufacture about 1 million EVs per year in Mexico for domestic and international markets, Delgado said.
An unnamed Reuters source with knowledge of Tesla’s plans said that total spending could reach $10 billion, a figure that was also cited by Santa Catarina Mayor Jesús Nava.
President López Obrador in a meeting with government officials and executives from Tesla in March. (Andrés Manuel López Obrador/X)
President López Obrador, who suggested Mexico’s southeast was a better location for a Tesla plant given the abundance of water there, said in March that the company had agreed to “a series of commitments to address the problem of water scarcity” in Nuevo León, including the use of recycled water at its factory.
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García, who is determined to capitalize on companies’ growing interest in nearshoring to Mexico, has lauded Tesla’s decision to set up near Monterrey.
“The richest man on earth trusted Nuevo León, Mexico, for his new gigafactory and his next generation vehicle. The future is bright,” García said in a social media post shortly after Tesla’s announcement in March.
The governor said earlier this year that the gigafactory – a manufacturing facility name popularized by Tesla – could be built in just nine months, a prediction that now appears to have been wildly optimistic.
How is the school experience different for foreign parents and kids in Mexico? (JOSÉ VARGAS/ CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Schooling can be a hot button issue these days. In many places, there is so much polarization that the topic seems to have been added to the “best not to discuss” list, like religion and politics. Here in Mexico, there has been a recent flurry of controversy about new public school textbooks, though it doesn’t seem to have taken over the national conversation as much as up north.
Last night my wife and I had dinner with our friends who recently moved to Mexico. They have twins who started the sixth grade and just finished their first week.
Our friends’ kids have experienced a change in schools before, having moved from the Chicago area to Denver three years ago, so this wasn’t their first time adjusting to a new school in a new place. Do you remember when you were in middle school? Imagine a new school year not only in a new school, but in a new country – that would not have been an easy change!
My first question to the kids was “on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your first week in school?” Both kids enthusiastically shouted “10 out of 10!”
I was taken aback by their answer. As my wife and I do not have children, we are always curious about parenting in general, and love to ask both the kids and their parents about the journey. The kids seemed genuinely excited and enthusiastic about their new school, their teachers, their friends, and the curriculum.
I then asked the parents about their first impressions. Understandably, they also began the week with anxiety and feeling stressed – were they being “bad parents” by moving their kids from highly-ranked suburban schools in the United States, to the relatively unknown experience of schools in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico?
After week one here in a school in Mexico, they both had very positive first impressions as well, with their expectations exceeded. I would describe the discussion with them as almost “in shock”. They talked about how “normal and drama free” the school environment felt. They talked about how strict – in a good way – the school culture was. They commented on the use of uniforms in the school. They talked about the diversity of the teachers. They reflected on how it seemed to be like the “type of school environment that they went to when they were kids” and how different it was from the suburban schools of Chicago and Denver that their kids had attended in recent years.
These responses and reactions from both the parents and the kids could not be more of a contrast from similar conversations with friends in the United States. We have seen such an increasing level of stress in many of our friends and their children regarding schooling in the past years. There seems to be a perpetual drama about the curriculum, mental health issues, violence, drug and alcohol abuse. We always hear about how school is so different now, and so stressful for the kids. The answer to these issues has seemingly become an increased obsession with sports, on the part of both the kids and parents. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked my friends and their kids about school in the U.S., only to get a response about the sports they play.
What we found most interesting about our discussion with our friends and their kids was how often we have heard similar responses here in Mexico. No matter what school, public or private, foreigners or Mexicans, upper, middle, or lower class, we almost always hear the same type of response: they love their school.
Perhaps it was similar to the way our parents likely didn’t experience much drama or as many complaints when we went to school. They just sent us off to learn, have fun, and engage in some extracurricular activities.
I understand that what I am describing here might not resonate with many readers situations, but its what I have observed on both sides of the border. I don’t know what to make of all of this other than I find it intriguing and fascinating. What could be going on here? Are we measuring the right outcomes? Does this point to broader issues in our society?
I don’t have the answers to these questions here but think they are well worth pondering.
According to Milenio newspaper, around 300 rental cars were stolen in the state last year. (Jason Leung/Unsplash)
When is a rental car no longer a rental car? When it has been stolen and sold on the black market.
According to a Milenio newspaper report, some 300 rental cars were stolen last year in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, where hiring a vehicle is a popular way to get to attractions across the Yucatán Peninsula.
Rental vehicles are a popular method to travel through Quintana Roo. The state is home to a number of Mexico’s most popular tourist attractions. (Tom Robak/Unsplash)
Citing information from the president of the Quintana Roo branch of a leading business group, Milenio reported Sunday that a “network of swindlers” has stolen cars from agencies in Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres, which is the name of a small Caribbean Sea island and a mainland municipality.
Eduardo Martínez, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) of the Caribbean, told the newspaper that the modus operandi of the fraudsters was outlined at a recent CCE meeting.
Criminals hire cars at rental agencies, but instead of taking off on a trip or using them for another legitimate purpose, they put them up for sale online the very same day.
Martínez said the vehicles are advertised on social media and the swindlers organize meetings with potential buyers at co-working spaces. At the meetings, the thieves show the potential buyers fake documents that supposedly support the legitimacy of the sale, the CCE chief said.
Stolen vehicles are often quickly sold to unknowing buyers. (Obi/Pixel7propix/Unsplash)
Buyers pay in cash or electronically transfer funds that are promptly withdrawn by the illegal vendors, Martínez said.
Even though the vehicles are stolen and sold, the crime is not in fact classified as theft due to a legal loophole, he said. As the thieves enter into a rental contract before taking possession of the car, the crime is classified as a breach of trust rather than theft, Martínez explained.
The loophole “complicates legal actions against the fraudsters,” Milenio reported. It was unclear how many of them, if any, had been arrested, or whether rental agencies had sought to recover losses by making additional charges to criminal customers’ credit cards.
The recovery of some cars has taken as long as two years, Martínez said.
It can take up to two years for authorities to recover stolen rental cars. (Genaro Natera/Cuartoscuro)
Statistics presented at the recent CCE meeting and reviewed by Milenio show that the rental agencies have incurred losses totaling 150 million pesos (US $8.7 million) or 500,000 pesos per car.
“The situation really is concerning,” Martínez said. “We’re facing a phenomenon in which criminals are exploiting a gap in legislation to carry out these thefts.”
Alma Reynoso, a councilor in Benito Juárez, the municipality that includes Cancún, said that the crime has a direct impact on the “booming” car rental industry in Quintana Roo, which also includes popular destinations such as Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
“Quintana Roo is an important actor in the national rental vehicle market,” she said, explaining that the state has market share of 19%.
Scammers exploit a loophole meaning that stealing rental cars is not technically theft. (Tripadvisor)
The theft problem hasn’t escaped the attention of lawmakers such as Quintana Roo Deputy Julián Ricalde Magaña, head of the tourism committee in the state Congress. He put forward a bill in April that proposes reclassifying the theft of rental cars as exactly that – theft.
“We’re seeking to prevent any kind of abuse of fraud related to rental cars in our state. The aim is to ensure that that these vehicles are used exclusively for legal purposes,” Ricalde said.
His bill, which proposes prison terms of four to six years for people convicted of the theft of rental cars, is currently being analyzed by the justice committee of the state Congress.
Tourism companies in Guanajuato are partnering to help reforest the state and restore natural water supplies. (Turismo Alternativo en Guanajuato)
Like most of central and northern Mexico, one of Guanajuato state’s major issues looking ahead to the future is water.
According to a 2021 article in El Sol de Irapuato, 19 of the state’s 20 aquifers are currently over-exploited and lack the water necessary to supply Guanajuato’s cities and local agriculture. According to the nonprofit Reforestamos México, the forests of Guanajuato, which filter 72% of all water consumed in the state, have been reduced by 12% in the last 20 years. That’s why, one year ago this month, Reforestamos México teamed up with Guanajuato’s Environment and Land Management Ministry (SMAOT) as well as the Guanajuato Tourism Ministry (Sectur) and the German sustainable development company GIZ to develop Proyecto Emblema.
GIZ has worked on reforestation projects across the world, including in water-stressed areas of Africa and South-East Asia. (GIZ)
The Emblema project is asking local tourism companies to support the restoration and rejuvenation of 20 hectares in the center of the state, called the Cuenca de la Soledad. This land, which SMAOT describes as a sub-basin of the Guanajuato River, is just a tiny part of a more expansive natural corridor that Reforestamos México has identified as environmentally critical for fighting the effects of climate change in this part of Mexico.
For the past 21 years, Reforestamos México has worked to protect and restore Mexico’s forests, with projects in Chiapas, Coahuila, Puebla and other states across the country.
“In the end, lack of water will greatly affect tourism,” says Mariel Mogul of Reforestamos México in regard to teaming up with Sectur’s sustainability arm, which works to promote projects to make the tourist industry more resilient to climate change.
“The main benefit of the program is for their businesses, so that tourism [in the state] won’t be negatively affected by climate change. Through this program we can combat some of those effects and in this way reduce the future risk.”
Deforestation has affected the ability of the ground to absorb rainwater. By reforesting the state, it is hoped that natural acquifers will refill. (Reforestamos México/X)
The Cuenca de la Soledad is located on communally owned land, the Mesa Cuata ejido, and is one of the key reservoirs that supply water to the state. The area was selected after an on-the-ground assessment and talks with the community to get their buy-in in developing the project. Emblema’s main goal is soil conservation to allow rain to more efficiently filter in the ground, refilling the many mini-reservoirs that in turn feed the Cuenca de la Soledad. That work includes planting native trees, terracing land, building rock retention walls and implementing other techniques to reduce erosion and improve the filtration of rainwater into the soil.
The project as a whole will cost 500,000 pesos and the nonprofit says that it will provide jobs for local communities, who will be hired for the majority of the work. The alliance of Reforestamos México, the state government and GIZ is asking the private sector — specifically the tourism sector — to donate to the project fund in order to reach its operational goal of 500,000 pesos. Restaurants, tour agencies and even party planning companies have all already made small donations towards the project since it began in August of 2022.
“Why would I send one, ten, or 20,000 pesos to the Sierra Gorda, South Korea, or China when my own natural areas are disappearing?” asks Raul Jaramillo, owner of a bike tour company in Guanajuato. Jaramillo has donated to the project as the president of the organization Nature and Adventure Tourism of Guanajuato A.C. (ATNAG).
By donating funds towards the project companies are supporting ongoing efforts by the state Tourism Ministry to encourage sustainable tourism in Guanajuato. Companies also receive a tax-deductible receipt for their donation and official recognition from both the state government and Reforestamos Mexico for their participation.
Tourism companies also hope that greener, sustainable environments will lead to improved experiences for visitors to the state. (Turismo Alternativo en Guanajuato)
The fact that Reforestamos México is working alongside community members to involve them in these projects and hiring community members to perform the work, means the project will have a two-fold benefit, says Mogul. In addition to improving the local ecosystem, the project is as well as providing jobs in a low-income rural area.
“With our work we hope that we can keep people in communities from having to migrate into cities for work,” she says.
So far 100,000 pesos of the 500,000-peso goal have been raised. Preliminary steps like soil preparation have started, with five community members currently employed on this phase of the project. As temperatures rise across the Americas, many are facing the threat of water scarcity. With projects like these, tourism companies in Guanajuato state hope to fend off some of the more dramatic effects of climate change in their region and ensure tourism for years to come.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at www.mexicocitystreets.com
Non-residential construction is booming, as the sector invests heavily in factories, hospitals and other commercial projects. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s non-residential construction sector is booming and companies are spending big in a bid to boost their productivity and profitability.
Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) – investment in construction projects and machinery and equipment – rose 28.6% in annual seasonally adjusted terms in June to reach its highest level on record, according to data published Monday by the national statistics agency INEGI.
Government statistics agency INEGI recorded a 3.1% rise in the GFCF index between May and June this year. (Google)
The GFCF index reached a new high of 116.8 in June, up 3.1% from 113.3 in May. The monthly figure is calculated in accordance with a base level of 100 that was established based on GFCF data for 2018.
The 28.6% annual increase followed double-digit improvements in each of the eight previous months. The year-over-year rise was the highest since May 2021, a year after the GFCF index hit its lowest level on record during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The index has risen on a month-over-month basis without interruption since July 2022. That’s the best winning streak since 1993 when comparable records were first kept, the newspaper El Financiero reported.
The index plunged to just above 60 at the start of the pandemic in April 2020, but began to recover after Mexico’s national social distancing campaign concluded at the end of the following month.
The construction sector is recovering strong from record lows caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Ashkan Forouzani/Unsplash)
INEGI said that construction sector GFCF increased 36.9% in June compared to the same month of 2022. Investment in residential projects increased by just 0.8%, but spending on non-residential buildings such as factories, hospitals and commercial facilities soared 70.3%.
Mario Campa, an economist and political scientist, said on social platform X that restrictive monetary policy – the Bank of Mexico’s benchmark rate is currently set at a record high 11.25% – has “frozen” investment in residential projects.
Spending on machinery and equipment (including vehicles) rose 20.1% annually in June.
Spending within Mexico on those assets – many of which are used in large exporting sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture – was up 7.7%, while the outlay on imports increased 28%. Expenditure on imported “transport equipment” – cars, buses, trains, planes and the like – surged 88.4%.
The spending on machinery and transport equipment, both on national and imported products, has surged. (Elizabeth Ruíz/Cuartoscuro)
The increase in GFCF could help spur stronger GDP growth in the future as investment in things such as new machinery can help companies increase their productivity and overall output.
GFCF in the first six months of the year was up 18.8% compared to the first half of 2022, with investment increases of 17.9% in construction and 19.9% in machinery and equipment.
INEGI reported in late August that the Mexican economy grew 3.6% annually in the first half of 2023.
The president waves to onlookers while he supervises test runs aboard the Maya Train. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
President López Obrador rode the Maya Train while it completed test runs over the weekend, proclaiming afterward that “very soon, many Mexicans and foreigners will be able to enjoy and share this experience.”
The controversial and technically challenging project remains unfinished, but the four sections running from Palenque to Campeche are on track to be finished in time for a December 2023 inauguration. All seven sections of the train are expected to be operational by September 2024 — shortly before the next presidential administration begins on Oct. 1.
Following the four-city tour, a joyful AMLO celebrated the pace at which the train is progressing, reaffirming that it will be inaugurated in December 2023. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
López Obrador was in high spirits during and after the test runs, which spanned several sections of the 1,525 km (947 miles) of tracks through the southeastern states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche.
The passenger train will serve tourists seeking out the ancient and natural wonders of the Yucatán peninsula, as well as locals who travel between cities for leisure or to commute to work.
“Not to brag, but nowhere in the world are so many good elements combined: nature, humanism, beauty and mysticism. Or to put it another way: beaches, archaeological areas, tropical jungles, native animals, rich food and exceptional people,” the president said in a three-minute video that he released on social media.
On Friday, AMLO traveled from the city of Campeche to Teya station in Mérida, Yucatán. On Saturday, the president took the Maya Train to the archaeological area of Chichen Itzá and then to Tulum, where he supervised the construction of the new Tulum airport, which will have its own Maya Train station. He concluded his tour on Sunday by riding the rails to Cancún.
Family, cabinet members and business people – including the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim – also boarded the Maya Train during this past weekend’s test runs. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Like many travelers, AMLO was accompanied by family — his wife, Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, and son, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán — and friends including 83-year-old tycoon Carlos Slim, real estate magnate Daniel Chávez and Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval. Many other businesspeople, federal and local government officials and heads of ministries were on board for various segments, as well.
However, also like many travelers, AMLO and his guests did have to endure a delay. On Saturday, the train made an unexpected stop of more than one hour in the area of Yaxcabá, near Chichén Itzá. Though there was no official reason given for the stop, soldiers told reporters they were giving “maintenance to the carriage.”
In a media session afterward, AMLO reminded everyone that the train, which will charge higher ticket prices to international tourists, is still in its testing phase. “It is not clear for those who do not want to see that clearly,” he said. “They were doing a technical review.”
As part of his tour, AMLO checked in on the construction of the new Tulum airport and station, before inaugurating the renovated Luis Donaldo Colosio Boulevard in Cancún. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Overall, he assured listeners that the test runs went “very well” and that the prospects for the project are “very good.” Although the Maya Train will open to the public in about two months, it will be operating within an inaugural “test window” through next September to guarantee its proper functioning.
“We are applying ourselves day and night, Saturday, Sunday, 24/7, all with the support of many public servants,” he said.
The Piper Pawnee light aircraft appeared to suffer a spar collapse moments after releasing the pink smoke. (X)
A gender reveal party ended in tragedy in the western state of Sinaloa on Saturday when a small plane releasing pink powder crashed, killing the pilot.
The accident, captured on video, occurred at a hacienda in the rural area of Laguna de San Pedro, about 10 miles west of the Sinaloan capital of Culiacán.In the video, the expectant parents can be seen standing happily in front of huge, 1-meter-tall letters reading “OH BABY,” surrounded by masses of pink, blue and gold balloons.
After the low-flying Piper Pawnee released a pink substance, confirming the couple were expecting a girl, one of the wings “succumbed to the friction of the wind and twisted upwards,” causing the aircraft to spiral and crash, according to Infobae. The Pawnee has been subject to a series of mandatory inspections and repairs over wing spars, which hold the wings in place and can be subject to cracks and metal fatigue.
The pilot, identified as a 38-year-old resident of the nearby town of Navolato, Luis Ángel López Heras, was treated on-site but died shortly after either at a nearby hospital, or en route.
López Heras frequently posted and shared photographs on his Facebook account indicating his passion for aviation.
Gender-reveal parties were conceived as a fun way for parents to tell family and friends whether they’d be welcoming a baby girl or baby boy into the world. They were originally simple affairs involving activities such as cutting into a cake to reveal either pink or blue inside.
The 2020 El Dorado fire in California was caused by a gender reveal gone awry. (San Bernardino National Forest, Zach Behrens/Wikimedia)
However, some of these parties have become extravagant productions in recent years, with the fetus’ sex revealed through pyrotechnics, cars that emit billowing clouds of blue or pink smoke, explosive devices and fly-overs.
In 2021, two people were killed off the coast of Mexico when the plane they were piloting crashed into the water near Cancún while towing an “It’s a girl!” sign.
At one of the most infamous of these events, in 2017 in Arizona, guests were asked to shoot at a target labeled “Boy” and “Girl.” Packed with a highly explosive substance, the target exploded, and as blue smoke poofed upward, the surrounding brush was ignited — causing a 47,000-acre wildfire that caused US $8 million in damages.
In Iowa in 2019, another family unintentionally built a pipe bomb for their reveal. When the device went off, shrapnel from the device killed a grandmother standing nearby.
Xóchitl Gálvez has been confirmed as the Broad Front for Mexico candidate in the upcoming 2024 Presidential election and held an event to celebrate the nomination in Mexico City on Sunday. (Carolina Jiménez/Cuartoscuro)
Xóchitl Gálvez on Sunday was officially designated as the coordinator of the Broad Front for Mexico (FAM) opposition bloc after winning the contest to represent the three-party coalition at next year’s presidential election.
Gálvez, a 60-year-old senator who has quickly become one of Mexico’s best known politicians, was anointed as the head of the alliance made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) at an event at the Angel of Independence monument on Paseo de la Reforma, a tree-lined boulevard leading into the historic center of Mexico City.
Gálvez held an event at Mexico City’s Angel of Independence, celebrating her nomination with thousands of supporters. (Xóchitl Gálvez/X)
She will become the FAM’s candidate for the June 2, 2024 presidential election when electoral rules allow her to officially assume that title. The PAN senator, an Indigenous Otomí woman from Hidalgo who was mayor of the Mexico City borough of Miguel Hidalgo between 2015 and 2018, defeated PRI Senator Beatriz Paredes in the final stage of a contest for the alliance’s candidacy that began in July with 13 aspirants.
“Just a few months ago the opposition was destroyed. The question wasn’t whether we were going to win but by how much we were going to lose,” Gálvez said in an acceptance speech in front of just 4,000 supporters – if the Mexico City government’s count is to be believed – or ten times that number, according to the FAM.
“But now there is an opposition. In a very short time we turned things around, and today I, Xóchitl Gálvez, accept happily and with great pride the honor of coordinating the efforts of the Broad Front for Mexico,” she said.
Gálvez said that the FAM “has to win” the 2024 presidential and congressional elections in order to “correct the path” Mexico is currently on under the leadership of President López Obrador and with a Congress controlled by the ruling Morena party, which will announce its presumptive 2024 nominee this Wednesday.
Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and former Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard are the frontrunners to secure the Morena candidacy. (Andrea Murcia Monsivais and Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)
Supported on stage by the national leaders of the PAN, the PRI and the PRD, she declared that “the good news is that today, with the Broad Front for Mexico, achieving victory is possible.”
The senator, who represents the PAN but is not a member of that party, said that she is “politically color-blind” and, as a champion of the nation rather than a particular political force, sees just one color – “the color of Mexico,” which is usually represented by green, red and white.
As president, Gálvez said she would lead a government for all Mexicans and pledged to not divide citizens along political lines, as López Obrador frequently does by referring to many of those who criticize his administration as “conservatives” and/or “corrupt.”
“We’re not going to continue dividing Mexico. Mexico needs unity,” she said.
Gálvez, who is of Indigenous Otomí descent, called for “unity” amongst Mexicans and said she would establish a government for the people. (Xòchitl Gálvez)
The presidential aspirant said she would form “a government of the people, by the people and for the people,” employing the same words that the current president has used to describe his administration.
“Our platform is simple. If something works, we’ll leave it [in place], if something could work better, we’ll improve it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll change it,” said Gálvez, who noted that she is a (computer) engineer who seeks to fix problems with “solutions” rather than ideology.
“And remember my golden rule. No huevones [lazy people], no rateros [thieves] and no pendejos [idiots],” said the blunt-speaking senator, using colloquial terms to describe the kind of people she doesn’t want running the country.
“I demand 100% hard work from my teams, 100% honesty and 100% ability. … And the message is clear, this front is broad, we all fit in this front,” she said.
The final round of polling saw Gálvez beat out both Beatriz Paredes (right) and Santiago Creel. (Beatriz Paredes/X)
Gálvez, whose message was broadcast to supporters gathered in public squares in cities across the country, also spoke of a “new independence without hate and polarization” in which the president speaks less and listens more and the “heroes” are people such as teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, soldiers and marines.
“I want a new independence without words of hate from the National Palace,” she said, referring to the seat of executive power at which López Obrador holds his lengthy morning press conferences.
The senator also pledged to create a Mexico “free from fear of crime” in which officials don’t take bribes and women find themselves on a level playing field.
In addition, “we’re going to open the doors of the National Palace,” said Gálvez, who was denied entry herself earlier this year when she sought to direct respond to remarks the president had made against her at one of his press conferences.
The Senator also aimed President López Obrador, saying she wants to create “a new independence without words of hate from the National Palace.” The President has been highly critical of political rivals for years. (Xóchitl Gálvez/Cuartoscuro)
“The door has been closed for five years – they closed it with lies, they closed it with insults, they closed it with hate, they closed it for all those who don’t think like them,” she said.
“The citizens are going to reopen that door. We’ll open it with the truth and we’ll open it with hope, because hope already changed hands, hope is now ours.”
Héctor Chávez, who was decked out in Mexico’s patriotic colors at the rally, told the Reuters news agency that the FAM candidate-elect “would get us all out of the hole” he claimed they are currently in.
That includes “the Indigenous people, the poorest [and] the middle class,” Chávez said, referring to people that López Obrador asserts that his administration has benefited, especially in the cases of the first two groups he mentioned. “And she is going to boost the economy,” he added.
There was a strong show of support for Gálvez at the Mexico City event – beamed to supporters across the country. Despite this, the Broad Front candidate is expected to be an electoral underdog in the fight to unseat Morena from power. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Gálvez is seeking to become Mexico’s first female president, but polls show that another woman, former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, is more likely to prevail at next year’s election. Polls also show that Sheinbaum is the frontrunner in the six-person contest to represent Morena and its allies next June.
Former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard is her main rival in the quest to become Morena’s new standard-bearer and thus head up the “defense” of the “transformation” that López Obrador and his government say they have brought to Mexico and the country’s public life since taking office in late 2018.
President López Obrador discussed everything from the selection of opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez to the U.S. Republican primary to "handing over the baton" at the daily press conferences this week. (DANIEL AUGUSTO /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
President López Obrador on Thursday made much of his ultimately correct prediction that Senator Xóchitl Gálvez would become the presidential candidate for the Broad Front for Mexico (FAM) opposition alliance, but didn’t substantiate his claim that she was chosen months ago by an “oligarchy” led by a prominent businessman.
The contest to succeed the president is heating up, with Gálvez’s designation as the FAM’s presumptive nominee to be followed next week by the ruling Morena party’s designation of its new standard-bearer.
PAN Senator Xóchitl Gálvez was confirmed as the opposition bloc presidential candidate on Thursday. (JORGE ORTEGA/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
At his Thursday morning press conference, or mañanera, AMLO also made it known that he is also keeping an eye on the aspirants to the Republican Party’s nomination in the United States, telling reporters that he will be watching out for any untoward remarks they might make about Mexico.
On Friday, he took a break from his daybreak dueling with the press corps to deliver his fifth annual report in an 80-minute address in Campeche city before boarding the Maya Train for Mérida.
“Congratulations to girls, boys, students, teachers and parents because [returning to school] is quite an event, starting the day before,” he said, adding that he had trouble getting back to the National Palace from his weekend tour of southern Mexico on Sunday because the streets of downtown Mexico City were filled with parents buying school supplies.
The mayor of Mexico City and several governors joined the presser virtually from schools around the country.
“Here in Mexico City almost four million free text books are being distributed,” said Mayor Marti Batres.
“[Having] these books is a right of girls and boys and they are a factor of social cohesion, of cultural cohesion, of cohesion of national identity and also a great support for families, for parents,” he said of the controversial texts.
The president congratulated Mexico’s students and teachers who returned to school on Monday. (Gob MX)
“We’re very happy to begin this new school year, which will be historic because the Nueva Escuela Mexicana [New Mexican School] is starting,” said Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado, referring to the federal government’s new curriculum model.
“In Guerrero we’re convinced that the Nueva Escuela Mexicana will allow the consolidation of the progress our country has made and deepen the processes of peace, wellbeing and justice,” she said.
Early in his engagement with reporters, López Obrador was asked about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s assertion that he would send the United States military to Mexico to combat drug cartels if elected U.S. president.
“Unfortunately we’ll have to get used to these acts of bravado because elections in the United States are coming up,” AMLO said.
“… This man DeSantis wants to overtake Trump on the right and seems more anti-immigrant than Trump. It’s pure publicity, politicking, very ordinary, cheap, lame, but it’s what’s happening,” he said.
Probed about an outbreak of cartel violence in the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán and the city of Uruapan, López Obrador said that peace had been restored.
“More than anything else, [the violence] was also an act of publicity and propaganda. [There were] takeovers [of roads], vehicles were burned, [there were] fires in two Oxxo convenience stores and that was it basically,” he said.
AMLO said that no lives were lost and that “some” arrests were made. “The National Guard intervened with the support of the Defense Ministry and state police,” he said.
“This happened basically in three municipalities – in Buenavista, in Apatzingán and in Uruapan, I believe. Peace and tranquility have already been restored,” López Obrador said.
The six Morena hopefuls have been touring the country since June. (Morena/X)
“It already ended and we just have to wait now [and see who the candidate will be], as we also have to wait and see what they’re going to decide on the right flank,” López Obrador said, making reference to the (now-concluded) contest between the senators Xóchitl Gálvez and Beatriz Paredes to secure the nomination for the Broad Front for Mexico opposition bloc.
“… In this entire process … there hasn’t been violence, no disorder, nothing, not even a lack of respect. [The aspirants] have acted with great political civility, everyone has behaved very well,” said AMLO, who perhaps couldn’t say the same of himself given his repeated lambasting of Gálvez.
Late in his first mañanera of the week, the president reiterated that he will hand over the “baton of command” of the “movement of transformation” – i.e. the Morena party – to the winner of Morena’s candidate selection process.
López Obrador wasn’t speaking figuratively, noting that he will actually relinquish a baton adorned with multicolored ribbons.
“From the time that I hand over the baton of command, the leadership of the transformation movement will be the responsibility of he or she who receives the baton,” he said.
“I’ll continue governing until I hand over the presidential sash, but the movement from which we emerged, which is a movement of transformation” will be led by Morena’s presidential candidate, López Obrador said.
“I’ve been leading it, heading it up, not directly but by example,” AMLO said. “But now the time has arrived for me to hand over the leadership of the movement.”
Tuesday
As is the case every second Tuesday, health care was a central focus of López Obrador and other government officials at the second mañanera of the week.
“What we’re seeking is to guarantee the right to health care for all Mexicans” regardless of whether they have health insurance through their employer or not, AMLO said,
He said that establishing a high-quality universal health scheme in which patients can access specialized care and free medications is a “challenge,” but pledged that it would be in place because his term as president ends.
“We’re going to have the best public health system in the world in terms of the number of Mexicans who will be looked after. … Sixty million Mexicans will be looked after, which is a lot. There’s no system like that in Europe … [or] America. That’s our challenge and we’re making progress,” López Obrador said.
Zoé Robledo, director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), said that IMSS-Bienestar, as the universal scheme is called, will be operating in 24 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities by the end of the year with 692 hospitals and almost 14,000 health care centers.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez later said that the State Workers Social Security Institute (Issste), which provides health care services to government employees, was reduced to a “shell” of its former self by previous governments.
“In July 2022, the president tasked us … with the mission of rescuing Issste and cleansing it of the corruption carried over from neoliberal governments,” she said.
Issste was “devastated,” but authorities are now working to restore it is as “the great institution it was in days gone by” when it was an “example” for other Latin American countries, Rodríguez said.
“We’re working hand in hand in with doctors, nurses, administrative staff, unions, the institute’s board and we’re going to achieve [the rehabilitation of Issste],” she said.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez at the Tuesday press conference. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/X)
Issste chief Pedro Zenteno said that the institute currently provides services including health care to 14 million people. He offered an example of one kind of corruption that has plagued the institute, telling reporters that the payment of “irregular” Issste pensions had been detected. One former government employee was getting 273,000 pesos (about US $16,000) per month, when the maximum established pension is 31,000 pesos, Zenteno said.
López Obrador reported later in the presser that the distribution of the government’s new textbooks had begun in 30 of the 32 federal entities.
Students in Chihuahua and Coahuila aren’t receiving the new texts because the governors of those states filed challenges against their distribution and a Supreme Court justice who is “associated with magnates” ruled in their favor, he said, referring to Justice Luis María Aguilar.
AMLO subsequently continued his denunciation of Aguilar for not issuing a ruling in a tax debt case involving the corporation Grupo Elektra.
The president questioned why the justice hasn’t handed down a ruling eight months after he was assigned the case when he has a large legal team at his disposal.
“They say [he has] about 40 or 50 [lawyers working under him]. How can they not rule on a case in eight months? It’s strange, right?” López Obrador said.
Some are up in arms about the new government-issued textbooks that will replace the current public school curriculum. (SEP)
Among other remarks, he defended the inclusion of information abut sexual diversity in the new school textbooks.
As government critics “couldn’t prove that [the books] were injecting the virus of communism, they started questioning … [the inclusion] of sexual diversity [information],” AMLO said.
“… We’re talking about secondary school books that contain … information that young men and women need to have. How could they not have that information? These are fundamental things,” he said.
Wednesday
AMLO started his mañanera by once again denouncing the Mexican press, a ritual he goes through every Wednesday before the government’s purported fake news exposé sessions.
“The entire press is against the transformation, with honorable exceptions. … In general, the press in our country doesn’t inform but manipulates,” said López Obrador, who also frequently attacks foreign newspapers.
The president shared a favorite quote from late Polish journalist and writer Ryszard Kapuściński. (Gob MX)
The president expressed his admiration for Ryszard Kapuściński (1932-2007), describing the deceased Pole as “one of the best journalists in the world,” a title he has also bestowed upon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
He quoted Kapuściński, agreeing that “when it was discovered that information was a business, the truth stopped being important.”
During his engagement with representatives of what he sees as biased and manipulative Mexican media, López Obrador offered an anecdote from his travels in Guerrero last weekend. He told reporters that he and colleagues stopped to have lunch in a family-owned fonda (modest restaurant) in a town near Ometepec and word soon got around that he was eating there.
A short time later, AMLO said that two ladies “grabbed” him and hauled him away to the local school, where they showed him how federal funding had been used to put a roof over the schoolyard, an asset that is especially useful during the rainy season.
Arriving at the moral of the story, López Obrador – who is especially popular in rural southern Mexico – said that government adversaries and “intellectuals” should follow his lead and get out and talk to “the people.”
They should go to the “towns [and] neighborhoods” and get out out of their “comfort bubbles” in order to understand that Mexico isn’t a country of a select few but a nation for “everyone,” he said.
The president visited Guerrero last week and advised his critics in the media to get out and talk to “the people”, as he does. (Gob MX)
Asked about recurring blackouts in recent weeks in Sonora, AMLO said he hadn’t heard about the problem and expressed doubt that they actually occurred given that he is generally informed about “everything.”
The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will provide a report, he said, before warning reporters to be careful because there is “a lot of politicking” on the issue of electricity, just “like with the [text]books.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is attending to this,” he said, adding that additional information would be provided later in the day.
After a reporter mentioned the murder of a man in Yanga, Veracruz, who was allegedly killed by his best friend and a femicide allegedly perpetrated by a young man who was renting a room in the Mexico City home of his 22-year-old victim, AMLO declared that he remained confident that the country’s security situation will improve.
“Look, I’m very optimistic because the causes [of violence] are being addressed and fortunately we didn’t waste time. From the beginning of our government we started attending to young people,” said López Obrador, referring to initiatives such as employment programs and education scholarships.
“I’ve always insisted that peace is the fruit of justice, that violence can’t be confronted with violence, that evil can’t be fought with evil. Evil has to be combated by doing good, fire can’t be put out with fire,” he said.
“… A human being is not bad by nature, it is [certain] circumstances that lead some people to take the path of anti-social behavior. If we change the circumstances we change everything. I always maintained that the causes of violence had to be attended to and that’s what we’re doing and it’s yielding results,” López Obrador said.
Thursday
Following up on a question from his Wednesday presser, AMLO said that the occurrence of blackouts in Sonora is not a “widespread” problem and told reporters that CFE officials would explain the electricity situation in the northern state at a press conference later the same morning.
“To the people of Sonora, I would say in advance that there were two blackouts: one due to an act of vandalism, which was corrected in less than 24 hours and affected very few people and another [caused by] a transformer failure that was also attended to promptly,” López Obrador said.
Later in his mañanera, he once again stressed the importing of addressing the root causes of migration with initiatives such as employment programs, which the Mexican government has sponsored in Northern Triangle countries of Central America.
The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) officials at the Thursday morning press conference. (CFE Mx/X)
“It’s proven that if these programs are applied, migration flows can be moderated, reduced,” AMLO said.
“So we proposing to the United States government that they invest in these programs because if they don’t we’re not going to be able to resolve the problem definitively or structurally,” he said.
“… We already know that migration doesn’t occur for pleasure but out of necessity, so we have to attend to the causes. … Sometimes [this] isn’t understood in the United States. President Biden and his close team understand it well, but there a lot of obstacles,” López Obrador said.
“For example, in the United States Congress they’re very efficient and quick to approve the shipment of arms and the delivery of money for the war in Ukraine, 30 or 40 billion dollars, but [to get lawmakers] to attend to the root of the migration problem it takes a lot of work,” he said.
“… It’s not expenditure, it’s investment, it’s attending to the causes,” AMLO said.
“… The United States just told us that they’re going to allocate direct support of $40 million for Central America. That’s good, but it’s not enough, more is needed,” he said.
López Obrador subsequently noted that Mexico has not yet received $246 million that U.S. authorities seized from a former finance minister in the state of Coahuila.
“We are waiting for the money to arrive, it’s already been four months and they haven’t sent anything. They make the announcements, but they take a long time,” he said.
Continuing his focus on events north of the border, AMLO said that the government will respond to aspirants to the Republican Party’s presidential election nomination if they speak ill of Mexico.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is vying for the Republican nomination to run in 2024, but is polling behind former president Donald Trump. (Shutterstock)
“The other day I was watching a debate of the potential candidates and they were speaking about fentanyl, about drugs and Mexico. We’re going to be attentive here – every time that there is an unfounded questioning of our country there will be a response because we’re not anyone’s piñata,” he said.
“The airport is saturated, … there are a lot of operations, there are risks and we want to prevent [mishaps],” he said.
AMLO said that the government consulted with Mexican airlines before taking the decision to reduce the numbers of flights permitted per hour, an adjustment that will take effect in late October.
He repeated his claim that Gálvez – who this week was confirmed as the FAM candidate – was selected by a small group of people led by businessman Claudio X. González.
AMLO described what he sees as an undemocratic installation of the opposition bloc candidate as “shameless,” and noted that the FAM “didn’t even finish their [selection] process” because Gálvez was declared the winner before a vote scheduled for this Sunday that was ultimately canceled due to Senator Beatriz Paredes’ effective withdrawal from the contest.
“Who decided [who the FAM candidate would be]? Those at the top … of the conservative bloc,” he said.
Friday
With AMLO gearing up to present his fifth annual informe (report) – his final one before elections next June – there was no 7 a.m. press conference on Friday. Dressed in a guayabera for a second consecutive Friday, the president began his address in Campeche city at the more relaxed time of 10.
“Dear people of Campeche, I’m very happy to be here with you,” he said before noting that the state has “a lot of history and a lot of culture” and is among the federal entities that have contributed the most to the development of Mexico because it was the country’s main oil producer for decades.
The president gave his fifth annual report on Friday in Campeche. (Gob MX)
“That’s why I decided to give my report here,” López Obrador said at the beginning of a self-congratulatory speech of the kind he has delivered many times before.
“… In the almost five years of my government, it has been shown that our model of development called Mexican humanism – summed up in the phrase ‘for the good of all, the poor come first’ – is effective and works exceptionally. In this fifth informe, I present facts that prove it,” he said.
He also cited the current strength of the peso and the record level of remittances sent to Mexico by Mexicans working abroad, even though many impartial observers wouldn’t describe those things as government achievements.
“What has been the key to achieving these results? … The key is in not allowing corruption,” López Obrador said.
“It seems something basic, simple and even easy, but that’s what progress with justice in our country depends on. Nothing has damaged Mexico more than the dishonesty of its rulers,” he said.
The president with members of his cabinet, ready to board the Maya Train on Friday. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/X)
Continuing his report, AMLO touted a range of government programs, including welfare ones, employment ones and schemes to help farmers. He also spoke about the government’s new universal health care scheme, the designation of new natural reserves, the government’s response to natural disasters and support for victims, and – of course – his cherished infrastructure projects.
“The policy of zero corruption and republican austerity has allowed us to carry out a lot of projects without resorting to debt or the so-called public-private partnerships that allowed private companies [to get] juicy deals at the expense of the treasury,” he said.
“It’s a badge of pride to be able to say that passenger trains will return [to Mexico],” he said.
AMLO also said that the new Pemex refinery on the Tabasco coast would begin refining oil later the same day.
“And at the end of the year it will be producing an average of 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline,” he said of the Olmeca refinery.
After noting that Pemex’s six other refineries in Mexico have been upgraded and that the state oil company’s Texas refinery is producing 340,000 bpd, López Obrador told officials, business representatives and reporters gathered in Campeche that “the plan is that next year we won’t buy gasoline or diesel abroad.”
“All [of Mexico’s] crude oil will be processed here in order to give added value to our raw material and maintain low fuel prices to benefit consumers,” he said.
With regard to security, AMLO said that the government’s strategy of “attending to the causes of violence” is “working well,” even though his term in government will go down as the most violent in living memory in terms of homicides. He cited recent reductions in the incidence of a range of crimes including homicides, robberies, vehicle theft and kidnapping.
The Dos Bocas refinery in Paraíso, Tabasco is one of the president’s key infrastructure projects. (Gob MX)
López Obrador said that the National Guard now has 128,000 officers and thanked the military – on which he has relied heavily for a range of non-traditional tasks – for its contribution to public security efforts.
“The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Navy have been great support for us, not just in public security,” he said before going through a long list of jobs they have been assigned, including infrastructure construction, the management of customs offices, ports and airports, the removal of sargassum from the Caribbean Sea and the creation and operation of a new-state owned airline.
“Instead of militarizing the country as our opponents maintain, we’re making it clear that the marines and soldiers are common people in uniform, exemplary public servants, loyal and patriotic workers,” López Obrador said.
“… In this fifth government report and 13 months before I conclude my term, I can demonstrate that with decent and hard-working people, and with an honest and austere government, it is possible to live in a better, fairer, freer, more fraternal and more egalitarian society,” the president said.
“… We will continue walking toward the sublime ideals of democracy – true democracy – justice, equality, freedom, fraternity and sovereignty. No corruption, no extravagances, none, zero, no authoritarianism, no classism, no racism, no discrimination,” he said.
“Democracy, yes! Oligarchy, no! Honesty, yes! Corruption, no! Justice and fraternity, yes! Poverty and Inequality, no! Long Live Campeche! Viva México! Viva México! Viva México!”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
