Amazon Web Services launches a tech education hub in Querétaro
Amazon Web Services (AWS) this week inaugurated its Think Big Space offices in BLOQUE, the tech company’s Center for Innovation and Creative Technology in Querétaro city.
The new facilities are the first space in Latin America designed to promote creativity, innovative thinking and the development of technological skills among students and entrepreneurs.
In a statement, Amazon said that “closing the digital divide in Latin America does not start with fiber optics or data centers. Instead, it starts with a 16-year-old having access to the right tools.”
Now, more than 1,200 high school students a year will be able to train free of charge in skills such as cloud computing, robotics and other emerging technologies in this new educational space.
In a social media post, Mayor Felipe Fernando Macías said “the future has arrived in Querétaro,” acknowledging that students will be able to prepare for the careers that will define the next decade.
Speaking at the May 26 inauguration, Macías said the opening of these new facilities also strengthens the state capital’s position as a national and international benchmark.
“We are incubating dreams, projects and opportunities for thousands of young people, but also for all sectors of society who will find the path toward which the world is heading: innovation, technology, automation, digitalization, artificial intelligence and robotics,” he said.
The new services also include a partnership with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Starting in June, high school students can enroll for free in six 20-hour STEM courses through the BLOQUE website.
“Those who complete the six modules and 120 hours of face-to-face training will receive an official certificate from UNAM validating their STEM skills and facilitating access to job opportunities in the technology sector,” the Amazon statement says.
Ana Paola Barbosa, AWS director of public policy in Mexico, said that investing in STEM education is an investment in the economic future of Querétaro and Mexico.
“It’s not just about technology, but about empowering the next generation of innovators and leaders who will build the future of their communities,” she said.
The initial trial run of the Think Big Space in Querétaro took place last year and featured more than 1,000 female students from 10 local high schools who participated in Amazon Girls Tech Day, a global AWS initiative designed to inspire young women to explore careers in technology through hands-on workshops in programming, artificial intelligence, digital design and robotics.
The opening of the new space adds to the more than US $5 billion investment represented by the company’s data centers in Mexico.
With reports from El Economista and Expansión
Congress passes reform allowing elections to be voided for foreign interference
Congress concluded a marathon 32-hour special session after approving a controversial reform allowing the nullification of elections tainted by foreign interference, a surprise addition to the legislative calendar.
The bill, sponsored by Morena Deputy Ricardo Monreal, was heavily amended in an effort to more narrowly define the discretionary powers granted to election authorities.
Critics have voiced concern that the reform could make it easier for losers to overturn results.
It eventually passed the Chamber of Deputies 307-128, before winning passage in the Senate on an 85-42 vote. As a constitutional reform, it will next be sent to the states where at least 17 of the 32 state legislatures must vote to approve it.
Earlier, both houses of Congress had approved an equally controversial judicial reform bill that was also not on the original agenda. This reform authorizes the re-election of judges on the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal — the very court body that would determine the legitimacy of any foreign intervention accusations.
Congress also approved a bill postponing judicial elections from 2027 to 2028 and another reforming the Electoral Law to bar candidates with proven ties to organized crime from competing in elections.
The contentious session in the Chamber of Deputies was marked by voting irregularities, near-brawls, recess requests and accusations of narco-politics displayed on banners placed in the galleries of the San Lázaro Legislative Palace by the opposition.
The last-minute inclusion of the foreign intervention bill caught the deputies by surprise as the various party leaders had not been advised that it would be on the agenda of the special session.
President Claudia Sheinbaum defended the bill earlier this week, warning about the risk of foreign actors interfering in Mexico’s politics through financing, digital campaigns or indirect support for organizations linked to electoral issues.
While the ruling party Morena and its allies said the reform would serve as a measure to safeguard Mexican democracy, opposition lawmakers warned of potentially ambiguous interpretations that could be exploited for political purposes due to the lack of clarity in the definition of what qualified as interference.
Some Morena legislators also voiced objections. Deputy Olga Sánchez Cordero, a former Supreme Court minister, asked that greater specificity be included.
“As a judge, I can assure you that we are facing an open-ended rule that could allow any number of normative assumptions,” stated the Morena party legislator.
The debate led to the inclusion of the definition of foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic dissemination of disinformation, digital manipulation and the intervention of foreign governments or agencies.”
The final bill also included “acts of political, economic, diplomatic or media pressure intended to influence public opinion.”
Sheinbaum sees risk of foreign interference in Mexican elections: Thursday’s mañanera recapped
Even so, the opposition resisted the reform, arguing that the breadth of the concept of “foreign intervention” could be applied arbitrarily against civil organizations, media outlets or international actors involved in election observation or the financing of social projects.
Debate on the judicial reform bill also prompted some Morenistas to oppose party leadership, with 22 Morena deputies abstaining from voting on the final bill.
Again, Sánchez Cordero was among the naysayers who pointed out that this reform would effectively give judges who were elected to one term via the Judicial Reform enacted in September 2024 seven extra years (one year due to the postponement of the election plus a new six-year term).
Those who took office in 2016 and whose terms were due to end in 2024 could find themselves serving 18 years.
“This violates the Constitution,” said Deputy Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, considered a political operative for Sheinbaum in the Chamber of Deputies. “We have always fought against the elites who held perpetual control of the courts; and now we are creating elites of our own who ought not to continue to exist.”
The judicial reform bill eventually passed the Chamber of Deputies 322 to 132, despite the 22 abstentions.
With reports from Reuters, Infobae, La Jornada and Reforma
Tijuana welcomes Iran’s World Cup team as it crosses the border after Trump’s threats
Baja California officials are scrambling to coordinate logistics and security ahead of the arrival of the Iranian soccer team after FIFA this week authorized the Persian nation’s federation to move its World Cup headquarters from Arizona to Tijuana.
The move comes amid the war in the Middle East and security concerns exacerbated by comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he suggested he couldn’t guarantee the players’ safety.
Iran will now set up camp at Centro Xoloitzcuintle, the home of Liga MX side Club Tijuana, and is expected to arrive by next weekend.
Albolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, publicly thanked President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday for accepting the installation of the Iranian camp and praised the hospitality of the border city, located just a few kilometers from San Diego.
“True friends are known in difficult situations,” he said, quoting a Persian proverb.
Sheinbaum said a FIFA representative had asked if Mexico were willing to allow Iran to base its World Cup headquarters in Tijuana after U.S. officials insisted it did not want the Iranian team to be based in the U.S.
“We said ‘yes, no problem, we have no problem with that’,” she said on Monday.
Officials from the Mexican and Baja California governments, along with representatives from Mexican and U.S. security agencies, were working on Friday to coordinate the arrival of “Team Melli,” which means “National Team” in Persian.
Around 300 federal agents will arrive in Baja California to reinforce the security strategy, along with specialized FIFA personnel and a team from the Iranian delegation.
Pasandideh, in Tijuana on Thursday to inspect the facilities the team will be using, said Iran faces uncertainty regarding immigration permits and mobility just two weeks before the start of the tournament.
“We are the only team that truly has not received support,” he said.
Club Tijuana officials, however, left no doubt that Iran can expect support from the local community, saying it was proud that Iran will have Tijuana as its base camp.
Comunicado Oficial. pic.twitter.com/eU6qUuk1yz
— Xolos (@Xolos) May 26, 2026
Iran had previously asked permission to have its three group games moved from U.S. stadiums to Mexico, but FIFA refused the request. Team Melli is scheduled to play its first two matches on June 16 and 21 in Los Angeles, while its third match will be played in Seattle on June 26.
Iñárritu becomes first filmmaker to join Mexico’s most prestigious intellectual academy
Mexico City native Alejandro González Iñárritu — director of “Amores Perros,” “Birdman,” “The Revenant” and other major works — has become the first filmmaker inducted into El Colegio Nacional, Mexico’s most prestigious intellectual institution.
The honorary academy, created by presidential decree in 1943, is an invitation-only hall of fame that brings together Mexico’s leading scientists, artists and humanists.
(Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)
At a ceremony Tuesday in Mexico City, the institution’s sitting president, Felipe Leal, said Iñárritu’s admission was “a long-awaited achievement for an artistic discipline that has contributed so much to Mexican and universal culture.”
In receiving the honor, the 62-year-old director — the first Mexican ever chosen to preside over the Cannes Film Festival jury — delivered a lecture titled “The Consensual Hallucination.”
Throughout it, he championed the visual power of Mexican culture, asserting that the nation’s cinematic history grew out of its pre-Hispanic worldview and its 20th-century muralist tradition — not just Hollywood techniques.
“Mexico is a visual powerhouse because our culture has always used images as a way to explain the world,” he said.
In a Q&A with the newspaper El País, Iñárritu took aim at how U.S. cinema depicts his country. Mexicans, he said, “grew up with American movies, television, art and music. So I do know that culture. They don’t know a damn thing about us,” he added, criticizing Hollywood’s long use of “sombrero-wearing, drunk, drug-trafficking” caricatures.
Iñárritu (who’s usually referred to by his maternal surname) has won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best original screenplay for “Birdman” in 2015, and best director a year later for “The Revenant” — joining a short list of directors with back-to-back directing Oscars.
His filmography includes “21 Grams,” “Babel,” “Biutiful” and “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” a dreamlike epic that blurs the line between Mexico and the United States, memory and reality.
He is often identified as one of the so-called “Three Amigos” along with acclaimed Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro, 61, best known for his Oscar-winning fantasies “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Shape of Water,” and Alfonso Cuarón, 64, Oscar-winning director of “Roma” and “Gravity.”
Iñárritu is among 113 people who have received the lifetime honor from El Colegio Nacional since its founding 83 years ago. As of this year, 37 sitting members participate in the institution’s free lectures, concerts and symposia and provide material for published works.
Recent inductees include Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Cristina Rivera Garza in 2023 and demographer Silvia Giorguli Saucedo last year.
The roster includes some of Mexico’s best-known figures in the arts and sciences, from muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco to Nobel Prize–winning poet Octavio Paz and chemist Mario Molina, who shared the Nobel in 1995 for his work on the ozone layer.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Iñárritu also addressed migration, uprooted identity, Mexico’s culture of brutality and how the nation has “normalized” the crisis of more than 130,000 missing people.
He also warned that technology and artificial intelligence risk severing art from real life, insisting, “Art is not the result, it is the transmission of one human experience to another.”
With reports from El País and UNAM Global
The MND Sheinbaum Index™: Sheinbaum scores 60.0 for April 2026
THE MND SHEINBAUM INDEX™
Measuring Mexico’s president beyond the polls
MND Intelligence · Second edition
Welcome to the second edition of the MND Sheinbaum Index™, an eight-pillar index designed to give our readers balanced, data-driven insight into the current situation in Mexico across a range of areas.
As we wrote in our inaugural Sheinbaum Index article last month, most of what you hear anecdotally about Claudia Sheinbaum fits into one of two buckets: breathless admiration or reflexive dismissal, often without a lot of evidence or data to support the opinion expressed.
Neither tells you much about how Mexico is actually doing on her watch. The MND Sheinbaum Index™ was built to fill that gap.
In this second edition of the index, the headline number is 60.0, representing a 0.1-point deterioration compared to March. That is not to say that nothing changed. As you will see below, four of the pillar scores improved in April, while four deteriorated. These changes effectively canceled each other out, resulting in only a minimal month-over-month variation to the overall index score.
We obtained the index score for April by applying the MND Sheinbaum Index™ methodology to the raw data we collected across eight pillars.
In the sections below, we remind you how the index works and what the overall index score means, and detail how the data across each of the eight equally-weighted pillars is scored.
We also examine how the MND Sheinbaum Index™ has changed over the past five months and home in on the performance of each of the pillars in April.
How the Index Works
Each month, we use the MND Sheinbaum Index™ methodology to calculate a single score out of 100. The Index has eight equally weighted pillars — each contributing a score of up to 12.5 points to the final composite out of 100. Each pillar score is calculated using raw data, which is mainly sourced from the national statistics agency INEGI.
Here is a short guide to the significance of a Sheinbaum Index score:
- 85–100: Exceptional — administration performing at a high level across nearly all indicators.
- 75–84: Excellent — administration performing well across most indicators.
- 60–75: Room for improvement — meaningful strengths, some areas of concern.
- 50–60: Mixed — passing marks overall.
- Below 50: Broad underperformance — more indicators below benchmark than above.
The 8 pillars and how they are scored
1. Inflation:
In this pillar, we measure how close Mexico’s headline inflation rate is to the Bank of Mexico’s 3% target. On-target scores 100; each percentage point above costs 20 points. For this pillar and all others, the raw score out of 100 is converted to a number out of 12.5, reflecting the actual contribution it makes to the overall MND Sheinbaum Index™ score.
2. Approval rating:
The score for this pillar is derived from the presidential approval ratings yielded by two leading polls, those conducted on a monthly basis by El Financiero and Mitofsky/El Economista. The average of the two approval ratings produces a percentage score, which is then converted into a score out of 12.5.
3. Economic growth:
In this pillar, annual GDP growth is benchmarked at 2%, which scores 60. Each percentage point above adds 20 points to the pillar score; each point below deducts 20. A year-over-year economic contraction scores zero.
4. Security:
This pillar tracks the year-on-year change in the national homicide rate, per the National Public Security System data reported at President Sheinbaum’s morning press conference. A 0% annual change scores 30 — because stagnation on violence is not good enough. A 50% reduction scores 100.
5. Employment:
This pillar is equally weighted between year-on-year changes in unemployment and informality. For both components, a score of 50 is neutral — meaning the indicator is exactly where it was a year ago, neither better nor worse. For unemployment, every 0.1 percentage point improvement or deterioration adds or deducts 5 points. For informality, each full percentage point of improvement adds 20 points, while each point of deterioration deducts 20.
6. Business confidence:
This pillar is equally weighted between INEGI’s monthly business confidence score and the most recently published foreign direct investment growth rate. FDI indicates whether the international business community believes in Mexico’s trajectory; business confidence data reflects domestic private sector sentiment.
The business confidence sub-component anchors at 50 — a neutral INEGI reading scores 50, with each one-point index shift adding or deducting 5 points. FDI anchors lower: zero growth scores only 40, with each 10 percentage points of growth adding 20 points, capped at 100 for growth of 30% or above.
7. Tourism:
This pillar looks at year-on-year growth in international visitor arrivals. Zero growth scores 50, while 20% growth in arrivals hits the 100 ceiling and a 20% reduction reaches the 0 floor. This pillar updates on a one-month lag as INEGI’s tourism data is published approximately six weeks after the conclusion of the reference month.
8. Labor poverty:
This pillar is equally weighted between the share of Mexicans living in households where combined labor income is insufficient to cover a basic monthly food basket per person (the labor poverty rate), and real per capita income growth. INEGI publishes data on these two components on a quarterly basis.
For labor poverty, a score of 50 is given if there is no year-over-year change in the rate. Each percentage point improvement adds 10 points, meaning that a reduction of five percentage points or more gets a score of 100. A score of 0 is given for an annual increase of five percentage points or more in the labor poverty rate.
For real income, each percentage point of annual growth adds four points to the neutral score of 50, benchmarked at 0% year-over-year growth. Therefore, 12.5% growth achieves a score of 100. Any decline in income is penalized, with a 12.5% reduction scoring 0.
* MND acknowledges that President Sheinbaum does not directly control outcomes in all eight pillars. For example, global commodity prices and tariff decisions in Washington can affect Mexico’s inflation and growth rates. The Index measures what is happening in Mexico on Sheinbaum’s watch.
A note on education and healthcare
Two pillars conspicuously absent from the Index are education and healthcare — not because they don’t matter, but because official data on them is not published monthly, or even quarterly.
The MND Sheinbaum Index™ over the past 5 months
We have now calculated MND Sheinbaum Index™ scores for the first four months of 2026 and the final month of 2025. Over that period, the index score has remained in the 60s, peaking at 65.6 in December and bottoming out at 60.0 in April.
The peak in December was supported by year-over-year economic growth of 2.4%, an annual inflation rate only 0.69 points above the Bank of Mexico’s 3% target and a year-over-year decline in homicides of almost 30%, among other factors.
The two-point month-over-month decline to an index score of 63.7 in January was due to factors such as a reduction in the annual economic growth rate to +0.5%, a slight increase in inflation and waning business confidence due to deteriorations in both components of that pillar. However, some pillars of the index did improve in January compared to December, including security, due to a 34% year-over-year decline in homicides.
The index score improved slightly in February to reach 64.8. Stronger economic growth (+1.2%), a slightly higher aggregate approval rating for Sheinbaum (70.6%) and a lower year-over-year increase in the informality rate (+0.3 percentage points) contributed to the higher index score.
The nearly 5-point deterioration of the index score to 60.1 in March was due to an increase in the headline inflation rate (4.59%), slower economic growth (0.5%) and a smaller — albeit still significant — decline in homicides (-31.4%), among other factors.
The decline in the index score to 60 in April marks the second deterioration in as many months. We explain what happened in each of the pillars in April below.
MND Sheinbaum Index™ pillars for April 2026
Each pillar is given a stoplight color indicating a strong performance (green), an average performance (yellow) or a poor performance (red). An upward pointing arrow ⬆️ indicates that the pillar score improved compared to March. A downward pointing arrow ⬇️ indicates a deterioration in the pillar score.
🟢 ⬆️ LABOR POVERTY (10.10 out of 12.50)
The labor poverty pillar was once again the top contributor to the overall index score. The score increased from 9.51 in March to 10.10 in April thanks to improvements in both pillar components. The labor poverty rate decreased 3.2 percentage points annually to 30.7% in the first quarter of 2026. Real incomes increased 7.4% year-over-year.
🟢 ⬆️ TOURISM (9.97 out of 12.50 — This pillar has a one-month lag):
International arrivals increased 11.9% in March, up from an 8.5% rise in February. The double-digit increase was particularly notable as it came after widespread violence in Mexico in late February triggered by a Mexican military operation that resulted in the death of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. The tourism pillar score increased from 8.90 in March (based on February data) to 9.97 in April (based on March data).
🟢 ⬆️ INFLATION (8.88 out of 12.50):
Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate eased from 4.59% in March to 4.45% in April. The inflation pillar score consequently increased to 8.88 from 8.53 a month earlier.
🟢 ⬇️ APPROVAL RATING (8.53 out of 12.50)
Sheinbaum’s approval rating fell to 68.2% in April from 69.2% a month earlier. At the time of publication, El Economista/Mitofsky had not published poll results for April so we carried over the 68.4% result from March. Per El Financiero, the president’s approval rating fell to 68% in April from 70% in March. The approval rating pillar score fell 0.12 points from 8.65 in March to 8.53 in April.
🟡 ⬇️ SECURITY (7.30 out of 12.50):
The pace of the reduction in homicides slowed for a third consecutive month in April. The year-over-year decline last month was 20.3%, below the 31.4% and 35% reductions reported by the government for March and February, respectively. The security pillar score consequently fell from 9.25 in March to 7.30 in April. A change in the stoplight color from green to yellow reflects that deterioration.
🟡 ⬇️ BUSINESS CONFIDENCE (6.36 out of 12.50)
Mexico’s business confidence score, as measured by a monthly INEGI survey, fell to 48.2 in April from 48.4 in March. In this second edition of the index, we replace the foreign direct investment result for 2025 (+10.8%) with the result for the first quarter of 2026, which the federal Economy Ministry announced this week. FDI increased 10.4% in Q1 compared to the same period of last year. Due to the slight decreases in both business confidence pillar components, the pillar score fell to 6.36 from 6.48 in March.
🔴 ⬆️ EMPLOYMENT (5.63 out of 12.50)
Mexico’s unemployment rate was 2.5% in April, unchanged from the same month of 2025. The unemployment score improved compared to March, as the jobless rate increased 0.2 points in that month. Mexico’s informality rate — the percentage of all workers who work in the vast informal sector — increased 0.5 points annually to 55.2% in April. The year-over-year growth in the informality rate was unchanged from March. Due to the improvement in the unemployment score, the pillar score increased 0.63 points to 5.63 in April from 5.0 in March.
🔴 ⬇️ ECONOMIC GROWTH (3.25 out of 12.50)
Year-over-year economic growth in April was 0.3%, according to preliminary data from INEGI. That figure represents a 0.2 percentage point slowdown from the growth rate recorded in March. The economic growth pillar score consequently fell from 3.75 in March to an even weaker 3.25 in April.
What to watch
The next MND Sheinbaum Index™ will focus on the month of May.
Here are three things to look out for in the May Index:
- Inflation: Data for the first half of May indicates that the score for the inflation pillar will continue to improve. INEGI reported last week that the annual headline rate was 4.11% in the first 15 days of May, a significant improvement from the 4.45% reading for April as a whole.
- Security: It appears likely that the security pillar score will also improve in May. Data presented by the federal government this week showed that homicides were down 31.4% annually so far in May. A similar decline for the month as a whole would represent a significant improvement from the 20.3% decrease in homicides recorded in April.
- Tourism: While the labor poverty pillar was once again the top contributor to the overall index score in April, the tourism pillar was not far behind. If international arrivals increase 12.3% or more in April (remember this pillar has a one-month lag), tourism could replace labor poverty as the top contributor to the May index. The score for the labor poverty pillar won’t change in the May index as the most recent data will still be that for the first quarter of 2026, which INEGI published this week.
Mexico News Daily
Sheinbaum reveals the winner of her World Cup ticket: Friday’s mañanera recapped
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- ⚽ World Cup ticket goes to Veracruz woman: Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua, a 21-year-old Indigenous woman from Tlaquilpa, Veracruz, won Sheinbaum’s ticket (No. 00001) to the June 11 opening ceremony and Mexico vs. South Africa match, beating out entrants in a ball-juggling video contest open to women age 16–25.
- 🎟️ Three additional tickets awarded: Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez also donated their World Cup tickets as prizes; the other winners of the juggling contest came from Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa in Mexico City, and Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
- 🎤 Winners’ remarks and Sheinbaum’s words: Ticket winner Yolett Cervantes thanked the president for “taking us into account” and called for the continued promotion of women’s football. Sheinbaum described the four winners as “the pride of Mexico,” saying they would represent the entire country at the World Cup. She thanked them for their effort, discipline and passion.
- 🏟️ Brugada highlights CDMX preparations: The mayor declared that “football has no gender, no owner,” and spoke about World Cup preparations including 18 football festival sites across the capital, a Guinness World Record wave attempt on Paseo de la Reforma on June 6, an upcoming elevated park inauguration and the near-completion of renovations at 20 Metro stations.
Why today’s mañanera matters
Almost three months ago, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a soccer ball juggling contest would be held to find a young woman to represent her — and Mexico as a whole — at the opening ceremony and match of the FIFA men’s World Cup, which will take place in Mexico City on June 11. To participate in the contest, young women aged 16 to 25 had to submit a video in which they appear juggling a ball as dexterously as they can.
On Friday morning, the winner of the contest — and Sheinbaum’s No. 00001 ticket for the opening ceremony and Mexico versus South Africa match — was announced.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez also donated their World Cup tickets as prizes in the contest. Thus, three other “winners” (or runners-up) of the soccer ball juggling competition received tickets to World Cup matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
The decision of Sheinbaum and other officials to give away their tickets was a manifestation of the federal government’s assertion that the era of privileges for politicians is over. In this case, the privilege of receiving World Cup tickets — the president got hers from FIFA chief Gianni Infantino last August — was turned into recognition of the skill, hard work and talent of four young Mexican women.
Sheinbaum’s World Cup ticket goes to …
Football referee Katia Itzel García, one of the judges of the soccer ball juggling competition, announced that the winner of Sheinbaum’s ticket was Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua, a 21-year-old woman from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
García said that Cervantes — an Indigenous woman from the municipality of Tlaquilpa — is a “clear example that Mexico has talent in every corner of the country,” and an example of “the cultural diversity that makes us feel proud of being Mexican.”
“Her technique with the ball, her ability to control it, her life story and the passion she conveys to us when we see her show us that our Mexico is great, brave and talented,” she said.
After a hug with Sheinbaum, Cervantes, García and the president posed for a photo, with the No. 00001 ticket on prominent display.
Cervantes to Sheinbaum: ‘Thank you for taking us into account’
After showing off their impressive juggling skills, including with bare feet in the case of Cervantes, each of the four contest winners made brief remarks.
“Esteemed President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, thank you very much for taking us into account and for [giving me the opportunity] to be at a very important event such as the World Cup,” Cervantes said.
“I admire you and I respect you a lot for being the first woman president of our beautiful country,” she added.
“I don’t think there are words right now to say how I feel. I’m very excited. Thank you for taking us into account. Let’s keep promoting women’s football because all women have their own talents and qualities,” Cervantes said.
🔴Claudia Sheinbaum encabezó la entrega de boletos para el Mundial de Futbol a ganadoras de Guadalajara, Monterrey y Ciudad de México.
Entre ellas, Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua obtuvo el pase inaugural que correspondía a la presidenta.pic.twitter.com/riv5Ku7pwd
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) May 29, 2026
The winners of the other World Cup tickets were Karla Itzel Peña Vilchis of Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City; Briana Ameli Medina Cortés of Iztapalapa, Mexico City; and Daira Yaretzi Díaz García of San Pedro Mixtepec (Puerto Escondido), Oaxaca.
Sheinbaum described the four women as “the pride of Mexico.”
“They’re not going to represent the president or the mayor, they’re going to represent Mexico,” she said.
“… Thank you very much for your effort, for your discipline, for the love of what you do,” Sheinbaum told the contest winners.
Brugada: ‘Football has no gender’
Mayor Brugada began her mañanera remarks with a declaration.
“Football has no gender, no owner,” she said.
“It has no borders, it belongs to the people and girls and women,” Brugada said.
Later in her address, the mayor noted that Mexico City will have 18 “football festival” sites during the World Cup, spaces where people will be able to watch the matches live and take part in cultural and sports activities. An official FIFA Fan Festival site is currently being set up in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square.
El futbol no tiene sexo, ni dueños, ni fronteras, es del pueblo y también de las niñas y mujeres.
Gracias a la iniciativa de nuestra querida Presidenta @Claudiashein entregamos a las ganadoras del concurso “Representa a México en la inauguración del Mundial” los boletos para… pic.twitter.com/qqPCbhnz6R
— Clara Brugada Molina (@ClaraBrugadaM) May 29, 2026
Brugada invited people to join the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest wave (or Mexican wave). The attempt at setting a new record will take place on Saturday, June 6, on Paseo de la Reforma, the boulevard that leads into Mexico City’s historic center.
Brugada highlighted that a lot of work has gone into preparing the capital to host five World Cup matches, including the opener.
“We’re receiving this World Cup with over 2,000 projects that we’re working on here in the city,” said the mayor, who has faced criticism for the extensive use of the image of ajolotes (axolotls) in the city, and for the beautification of public infrastructure in the capital, such as pedestrian bridges, by painting it purple.
“In the coming days we’re going to have the inauguration of the elevated park,” Brugada said, referring to a park situated above Calzada de Tlalpan — a major north-south route in Mexico City.
She also said that the renovation of 20 Metro stations will be completed in the coming days.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
From Cancún to Mahahual, sargassum influx puts nearly 50% of Riviera Maya beaches on red alert
Nearly half of Quintana Roo beaches are currently on red alert due to a massive influx of sargassum seaweed in recent days, making conditions unsuitable for swimming or enjoying the otherwise turquoise waters.
Head of the Sargassum Monitoring Center in Quintana Roo Esteban Amaro reported that substantial amounts of seaweed accumulating offshore triggered the alert in 65 of the 140 beaches monitored in the state.
“We have observed a significant increase in the amount of sargassum in the first five nautical miles off the coast in the state of Quintana Roo,” he said.
There are 34 beaches on red alert in the northern part of the state, Amaro said, including numerous beaches in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. In southern Quintana Roo, there are 31 beaches on red alert, mainly in and near Mahahual, another popular tourist destination.
Forecasts indicate sargassum will continue to increase on the Riviera Maya’s shores. According to monitoring reports, the first week of June will see larger quantities of sargassum wash ashore in both the northern and southern parts of the state, partly due to intensifying strong winds coming from the southeast.
The amount of sargassum has overwhelmed local business owners, who said it has exceeded the capacity of cleaning brigades.
Earlier this month, the Navy announced the deployment of an additional 150 personnel to support the cleaning and containment efforts of the seaweed before it reaches the shores of Quintana Roo. Furthermore, authorities added a new sargassum collection vessel that can collect up to 600 tons daily on the high seas, compared to the 250 tons that were previously collected.
But collection efforts don’t come without risks for workers. A new study conducted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) found that workers who collected sargassum on beaches in Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Mahahual suffered headaches, rashes, nausea, difficulty breathing and other health issues after exposure to the hydrogen sulfide that is released by the algae as it decomposes.
With reports from La Jornada and El Economista
El Jalapeño: Mexico, EU sign historic trade deal to bravely protect world from duty-free sombrero shot glasses
All stories in El Jalapeño are satire and not real news. Check out the original article here.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico and the European Union have signed a long-awaited modernized trade agreement that will liberalize 99% of goods between the two economies, while firmly safeguarding humanity from the dangers of tariff-free Corona-branded tank tops and tequila-themed kitchen décor.
Officials hailed the deal as “a landmark in open markets and common sense,” explaining that while automobiles, machinery, avocados, and pharmaceuticals will flow freely, a tightly guarded remaining 1% of products will continue to face tariffs. These include novelty ponchos printed with the Eiffel Tower wearing a sombrero, distressed denim with “Cancún Spring Break 2011” pre-faded on the backside, and any shot glass shaped like a cactus, toilet or breast.
Negotiators said the exclusions emerged after “intense and highly technical discussions” in which both sides agreed that some items were simply too culturally important to be sold unregulated. One European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We can manage Mexican steel and Mexican cars. What we cannot manage is another shipment of glitter keychains that say ‘Viva la Fiesta, Vallarta.’ There must be limits.”
The pact also preserves restrictions on Corona-branded resort wear produced in Mexico but designed in boardrooms that have never seen the sun, as well as LED-lit “Day of the Dead” garden gnomes targeted at Northern European consumers. “These products will remain subject to strict tariffs designed to discourage their existence,” a European official confirmed.
Business groups broadly applauded the agreement, though tourist gift shop lobbyists expressed concern that the carve-outs could harm sales of their flagship products: sombrero-shaped wine corks, fake-permanent ‘spring break’ wristbands, and decorative skulls that double as Bluetooth speakers. In a joint statement, negotiators said they were confident the deal would boost trade, deepen cooperation, and, over time, gently nudge both sides toward a future with fewer export-quality “Life’s a beach” T-shirts.
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Is this Tamaulipas city protected by UFOs?
Mexico is no stranger to surrealism. In fact, the surrealist Spanish painter Salvador Dali once proclaimed that the exuberantly spontaneous nation is more surreal than even his most imaginative works. You can see it all in Mexico: a beer-bellied Spider-Man climbing various objects in a plaza at midday to gain some coins; armies of dancing Dr. Simi’s on bustling corners; firefighters rescuing a cat from a tree while a nearby quinceañera proceeds below, uninterrupted. The Mexican internet has even dubbed it all as a cultural joke, often with the title “Mexico vs. AI” — that is, anything comical and or captured on video that represents Mexico’s seemingly fictional scenarios and people.
So, it’s not completely shocking when something like an entire beach community of residents believes that an underwater extraterrestrial spaceship is hiding offshore — and builds signage and monuments in their honor. But that’s exactly what has been going on in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas at Playa Miramar in Ciudad Madero, bordering on Tampico.
Are aliens protecting the city?
Rather than being a joke or a gimmick, it’s believed that the outer space visitors have protected the city from any significant hurricane damage since 1996, when the last major hurricane, Inez, killed 74 across Mexico and damaged Tamaulipas. Before that, multiple hurricanes, including two in 1933, had left the city flooded and devastated. But, tellingly, that hasn’t happened since reports of aliens emerged.
Amupac — the name that has been given to the alleged alien base that is believed to be submerged less than one mile from the beachhead — is a symbol of regional optimism and hope that dates back more than half a century. The Association of Scientific UFO Research of Tamaulipas, or Aicot, was founded over a decade ago by Juan Carlos Ramón López Díaz, the group’s leader, who says he “visited the base … via astral projection,” according to a report in The Guardian. Today, they continue to promote their beliefs around it, and there are rumblings of a potential UFO museum on the horizon.
Last October, Marciano Fest, a seven-day alien-themed festival, took place with 947 costumed attendees. The city’s tourism director has announced that the local government is open to proposals for UFO museum exhibits in an effort to increase its alien-loving reputation.
A history of alien sightings and conspiracy theories
Formal documentation of UFO sightings (or OVNI, for Objeto Volador No Identificado, in Spanish) can be traced to as early as 1967, when “thousands” of residents reported nine unidentified flying objects in an article published in El Sol de Tampico. In recent years, Vice has interviewed community elders like Beatriz García, who adamantly claim that the beach is protected by an unknown extraterrestrial force. Vice shared that in 2022, Tropical Storm Karl “took a sharp turn away from that part of the shoreline, and connected further south on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.” (To be fair, Vice did also speak with a coastal meteorologist who debunked it all).
In 2005, with Hurricane Katrina projected to hit, locals gathered with signs asking for help and protection. Katrina famously then veered off course and significantly damaged New Orleans, Louisiana. There are conflicting theories as well that are based in religion and science, two forces that are historically at odds with each other.
An emblem of regional identity
Beyond the lore, debates, and conspiracy theories, though, one thing is certainly true: the community has rallied around it all and turned it into a prideful emblem of the region, replete with statues, signs, costumes, graffiti, restaurants, conferences and more — all centered around Amupac and its otherworldly inhabitants.
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It all adds to the ongoing allure of Mexico, which in and of itself often appears to exist in a different dimension altogether. That’s because there aren’t too many destinations in the world where you can speak with a local beachgoer and his nephew who are dressed up as aliens, then cross the street and get tacos and a beer at an alien-themed eatery, all while soaking up the sun and enjoying your time in the most surreal fashion.
Alan Chazaro is the author of “These Spaceships Weren’t Built For Us” (Tia Chucha Press, 2026), “Notes from the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021), “Piñata Theory” (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), and “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album” (Black Lawrence Press, 2019). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and was selected as a Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poetry Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His work can be found in NPR, The Guardian, SLAM, GQ, L.A. Times, and more. He is currently based in Veracruz.
