Aeroméxico to go public again later this year or in 2024

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March 28, 2023

Aeromexico plane — As part of its economic recovery plan, Aeromexico will invest in new aircraft, including 20 Boeing 787s. (Aeromexico)

The Mexican airline Aeroméxico plans to relist on the stock exchange in the US, and likely the Mexican stock exchange as well, in the second half of 2023 or early in 2024, Chief Executive Andrés Conesa said on Monday.

Following the end of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., the carrier’s shareholders approved the company’s decision to exit the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) in December 2022.

Passengers make their way through the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport in May. — The airline will offer several new routes as part of plans for modernization and expansion. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)

The airline has yet to decide whether it will trade on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq, Conesa said.

“Listing gives you access to financing that is fundamental for the company,” Conesa told journalists at the Tianguis Turístico tourism exhibition in Mexico City. “The more lines of financing we have, the better.”

The move is tied with Aeroméxico’s new goals for its recovery from bankruptcy. The airline detailed a US $5 billion investment plan that includes fleet and technology upgrades and the rebranding of its loyalty program, among other projects.

Starting in April, the airline’s loyalty program Club Premier will now be called Aeroméxico Rewards. Points earned under the new program will no longer expire, and the cost of points to redeem a flight to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada will drop by 25%, Conesa explained.

He also said Aeroméxico’s fleet will add 150 aircraft by the end of the year, including 20 long-range Boeing 787 models. The new additions would turn Aeroméxico’s fleet into the largest one in the company’s history, Conesa stressed.

In May 2021, citing safety concerns, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded Mexico from the Category 1 aviation rating to the Category 2 rating, meaning that Mexican airlines were not allowed to establish new routes to the U.S.

Conesa acknowledged the downgrade as a continuous challenge, even as the FAA has authorized a new route to Houston from the Felipe Ángeles Airport in Mexico City. The new route will open on May 1.

Finally, the airline addressed the federal government’s cabotage initiative, which would allow foreign airlines to operate national routes.

While cabotage is currently prohibited in Mexico, the government is seeking to legalize it to promote foreign airline investment in the country.

“We are not afraid of competition […] But we don’t want them [the federal government] to make us compete with our hands tied,” Conesa said.

With reports from Expansión and Forbes

Reuters: US ultimatum to Mexico over energy dispute imminent

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MND Staff

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March 28, 2023

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Joe Biden, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Justin Trudeau at the North American Leaders' Summit — At the North American Leaders' Summit held in January, the "three amigos" reaffirmed their commitment to the USMCA free trade pact. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro.com)

The United States intends to issue an ultimatum to Mexico in the coming weeks as it seeks to make progress in a dispute over the latter’s nationalistic energy policies, according to a Reuters report.

The U.S. and Canadian governments requested dispute settlement consultations with their Mexican counterpart under the USMCA (US-Mexico-Canda) free trade pact last July.

Katherine Tai (US Trade Representative) and Raquel Buenrostro (Economy Minister Mexico) — U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai (left) with Mexico’s Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro (right) at a meeting in Washington D.C. last year. (@SE_MX/Twitter)

They claim that American and Canadian energy companies that operate in Mexico are being treated unfairly by the Mexican government, which has implemented policies that favor the state oil company Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

More than seven months after the U.S. and Canada filed their requests, the disagreement remains unresolved.

Citing unnamed people familiar with discussions within the U.S. government, Reuters reported Monday that the Biden administration “plans to send Mexico an ‘act now or else’ message in an attempt to break a stalemate” in the dispute.

Three sources told the news agency that the Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) was expected to make what they described as a “final offer” to the Mexican government to open its markets to U.S. companies and agree to some additional oversight.

Mary Ng at NALS — Mary Ng (center), Canada’s Minister of International Trade, at the North American Leaders’ Summit in January with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian officials. Canada joined the U.S. in requesting a dispute settlement with Mexico last year. (@Mary_Ng/Twitter)

If Mexico refuses to budge, the U.S. government will request that an independent panel settle the dispute under USMCA, the sources said.

The United States and Canada could impose hefty punitive tariffs on Mexican imports if an independent panel rules in their favor and Mexico doesn’t alter the policies in question.

Under USMCA rules, the U.S. could have requested the establishment of a panel just 75 days after it submitted its request for talks, but the White House, Reuters reported, “has hoped to avoid escalating trade tensions with Mexico as it sought help on immigration and drug trafficking.”

The news agency’s sources said that the U.S. government has run out of less-combative options as there has been little progress toward resolving the dispute despite months of talks.

“We want to see clear progress on this issue and address the concerns that have been raised by our negotiating teams,” a U.S. government official told Reuters.

The news agency said that a USTR spokesperson declined to comment on the talks with Mexico, but noted that the trade representative herself, Ambassador Katherine Tai, hinted last Thursday at a possible escalation of the dispute.

“We are engaging with Mexico on specific and concrete steps that Mexico must take to address the concerns set out in our consultations request. This is still very much a live issue,” Tai said at a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing.

“… We know that all the tools in the USMCA are there for a reason,” she added.

President López Obrador, a fierce critic of the 2014 reform that opened up Mexico’s energy sector to foreign and private companies, appears reluctant to change the government’s nationalistic policies.

AMLO — President López Obrador, seen here visiting a Pemex refinery in Veracruz, has focused on promoting energy “sovereignty” by investing in Pemex and CFE. (Presidencia)

During a speech at a March 18 event to mark the 85th anniversary of the nationalization of Mexico’s oil industry, he alluded to his belief that the government has done nothing wrong in implementing policies that favor Pemex and the CFE.

A section of the USMCA, López Obrador noted, states that “the United States and Canada recognize that Mexico reserves its sovereign right to reform its constitution and its domestic legislation.”

With reports from Reuters

39 migrants killed in fire at Ciudad Juárez detention center

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MND Staff

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March 28, 2023

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Emergency responders outside immigration detention center — According to reports, migrants set fire to mattresses after being informed they would be deported. (Juan Ortega/Cuartoscuro)

At least 39 migrants died in an apparently deliberate fire that occurred late Monday at a detention center in the northern border city of Ciudad Juárez.

Twenty-nine other migrants were injured in the blaze, which began just before 10 p.m. in the “accommodation area” of the facility, according to a National Immigration Institute (INM) statement. They were taken to four different Ciudad Juárez hospitals in “delicate-serious” condition, the institute said.

All the migrants in the center were either killed or injured in the ensuring blaze. (Juan Ortega/Cuartoscuro)

A total of 68 Central American and South American men were being held at the detention center in the Chihuahua city opposite El Paso, Texas.

All migrants in the facility were killed or injured in the fire.

The INM did not mention the nationalities of the victims, but Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry said that 28 of the deceased were believed to be from the country. A Mexican official told the Reuters news agency that Hondurans were also among the dead.

President López Obrador said Tuesday morning that it appeared that migrants set mattresses alight when they found out they were going to be deported.

“This has to do with a protest that we assume began when they found out they were going to be deported,” he told reporters at his regular morning news conference.

The detention center in 2019. (@CiberCuba/Twitter)

“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” said López Obrador, who noted that most of the migrants were from Central America and Venezuela.

According to local media organization La Verdad Juárez, the migrants were detained on Monday, locked up in the detention center and not given any water for several hours.

A spokesperson for the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry said that Mexican officials had informed them that Venezuelan migrants set the mattresses on fire. Without giving details, the INM said that it “vigorously rejects the actions that led to this tragedy.”

It also said that it filed a complaint with the relevant authorities “so that what happened is investigated.”

A witness told the Reuters news service that she saw bodies and body bags lined up outside the detention center.

“I was here since one in the afternoon waiting for the father of my children, and when 10 p.m. rolled around, smoke started coming out from everywhere,” said Viangly Infante, a 31-year-old Venezuelan woman.

She confirmed that the fire had been extinguished. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from a Ciudad Juárez morgue swarmed the detention center, according to an Associated Press report.

CBP One app ad — The U.S. government recently made announcements telling migrants to not “just show up” at the border without having applied, and has encouraged them to use a new Customs and Border Patrol application to do so. Adoption of the app by migrants has been high, but that has resulted in it being overwhelmed, resulting in spotty performance. (Google Play Store)

Infante said her 27-year-old husband survived by dousing himself in water and pressing against a door.

The fire is among the deadliest tragedies involving migrants in Mexico in recent decades. Two incidents in which more migrants died include a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Chiapas that claimed the lives of 55 clandestine passengers and the massacre of 72 migrants by cartel gunmen in Tamaulipas in 2010.

The number of migrants in northern border cities has increased in recent weeks, Reuters reported, noting that United States authorities are currently attempting to process asylum requests using a new U.S. government app called CBP One.

The app has been “overloaded by huge demand and plagued with glitches since tens of thousands of migrants staying in shelters on the Mexican side of the border began using it,” according to a New York Times report.

Amid frustration over difficulties with using CBP One, hundreds of mainly Venezuelan migrants tried to force their way into the United States via a Ciudad Juárez border crossing earlier this month.

With reports from Reforma, Reuters, Aristegui Noticias and AP

Feds to challenge Supreme Court ruling against ‘Plan B’ electoral reform

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MND Staff

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March 27, 2023

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AMLO press conference in March — President López Obrador, seen here at a press conference earlier this month, accused the Supreme Court justices of forming part of the "mafia of power" following the ruling on Saturday. ( Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)

The federal government has announced it will challenge a Supreme Court (SCJN) ruling against a major electoral reform package that passed Congress last month.

The SCJN announced Friday that Justice Javier Laynez Potisek had authorized the suspension of “Plan B” electoral reform laws, which took effect after the publication of a presidential decree on March 2.

The suspension – which Laynez said was necessary to protect democracy and voters’ rights – was requested by the National Electoral Institute (INE), which is seeking to prevent a significant cut to its budget as well as measures that curtail its autonomy and diminish its capacity to sanction politicians who violate electoral laws.

The institute says the budget cut approved by the Congress will force it to dismiss some 6,000 employees, or about a third of its workforce, in the lead-up to next year’s presidential and congressional elections.

Laynez also ruled that the SCJN will “admit” an INE lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the “Plan B” reform package, which the ruling Morena party put forward after a more ambitious plan to overhaul Mexico’s electoral system was rejected late last year.

The suspension of the laws will remain in effect until the SCJN makes a definitive ruling on INE’s lawsuit. The case involves a “possible violation of citizens’ political-electoral rights,” the SCJN said in a statement.

The seat of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SJCN) in Mexico City. (ArturoZaldivar.com)

The court said that Laynez asked the Mexican Congress and the federal executive to present their defense “within the legal period.”

The office of President López Obrador published a statement on Sunday that asserted that Laynez had “ripped pages out of the constitution” in issuing a suspension of the electoral reform laws and accepting the INE’s lawsuit for consideration.

“The people of Mexico should know that it’s not common for the Supreme Court to announce, on Friday night and without formally notifying the authorities, a ruling that is so important,” the president’s office said.

The office asserted that the Mexican constitution “doesn’t allow” constitutional challenges on electoral matters, and said it is the first time in Mexican history that “a single constitutional judge” has ruled against “the totality of an electoral law legitimately approved by the legislative power and ordered the revival of repealed provisions.”

Such a ruling, the office added, can only be made via “a definitive decision approved by at least eight justices.”

It also said it’s “worrying” that Laynez suspended “the application of the entirety of the [electoral reform] decree … when the INE … didn’t challenge the entirety of the modified regulations, but rather only those it believes may affect the operating capacity of the institute.”

“In addition, it’s false that the fundamental rights of citizens and the organization of elections are placed at risk. … The rule of law has never been threatened by the approval of the electoral reform laws. On the contrary, their approval guarantees the efficient use of public resources in order to strengthen our democratic regime at a lower cost for taxpayers,” the office said.

“Faced with this series of arbitrary actions, … the federal executive, through its legal department, will challenge the decision of Justice Laynez Potisek,” it said.

The office said “the federal executive will not allow the constitution or the Mexican legal system to be violated,” and will ask the SCJN to revoke both the suspension of the electoral reform laws and Laynez’s admission of the INE’s lawsuit.

López Obrador said Saturday that the SCJN is “part of the mafia of power,” asserting that the court’s justices are “the same as the conservatives” who are opposed to his government and democracy in Mexico.

“That’s why they don’t want the electoral reform,” he said during a visit to Chetumal, Quintana Roo.

López Obrador is also a fierce critic of the electoral institute, which he claims was complicit with fraud that cost him the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections.

The statement issued by his office said that the objective of the electoral reform package is to “reduce the bureaucratic costs of elections and strengthen democratic principles so that the political-electoral rights of citizens are truly respected and more frauds, like those in the past, don’t occur.”

The national leaders of the main opposition parties – all of which opposed the electoral reform package – welcomed the SCJN’s decision to suspend the application of the laws and consider the INE’s lawsuit.

National Action Party leader Marko Cortés said that Plan B “violates the law and infringes on the autonomy of our electoral body,” while Democratic Revolution Party chief Jesús Zambrano said that the court’s decision is “a good sign that the division of powers and the democratic regime will prevail.”

Marko Cortés at pro-INE protest — Marko Cortés (with the hat, center) in attendance at the pro-INE protest in February. (@MarkoCortes/Twitter)

“Great day for Mexico, bad news for the [National] Palace autocrat,” Zambrano wrote on Twitter.

Alejandro Moreno, national president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, said that the Supreme Court’s ruling was “another victory for Mexico’s democracy.”

Large protests against the electoral reform and in defense of the INE were held across Mexico on Feb. 26. The INE oversees the electoral system in Mexico, where the transition to a full multi-party democracy was completed just 23 years ago.

With reports from El País, Quadratín and El Economista

From Canada to Cabo part 5: Becoming immigrants

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Christina Whiteley

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March 27, 2023

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Christina Whiteley and family at INM — Christina Whiteley and her family went through the process of obtaining temporary residency in Mexico. (Courtesy)

Moving to a foreign country and starting a new chapter in the sun sounds appealing, but the thought of immigrating can be overwhelming and sometimes confusing due to the plethora of contradictory or ambiguous online information. I wanted to share a little about our own personal experience, and a few things that you can consider if you’re thinking of making the leap.

Our story is somewhat unique in that we didn’t plan ahead to move here. Although we had spent a lot of time in Mexico over the years, when we came to Cabo in October 2021, it was simply to take a break from our lives and get a balcony view of our current situation.

When we arrived, we had booked an Airbnb for a few months, to give us time to figure out our next move. Fortunately, we booked a spot where there were a lot of other Americans and Canadians either living in Cabo as residents, or spending the winter. Many of them have remote work and flexible schedules like us.

We loved our rental so much that we asked them if there were any long-term rentals in the building. Within minutes we were connected to the landlord and offered a six-month stay, for a fraction of the price. These people instantly became our community. They would spend time with our daughter and watch our dog for the weekend if we went away.

During the pandemic, this community became our extended family; we spent holidays, celebrated birthdays and went out for dinner together once a week. I was blown away by how connected and close we had become almost overnight, because we had never had that connection with our neighbors in Canada. We barely knew their last names.

We started inquiring about next steps with our new neighbors. Everyone was open and willing to share a phone number of someone local who could help. We would meet people on the street who had lived in Cabo for a decade or more, and simply asked for help when setting up our phone, electricity, and attaining our driver’s licenses. We met our realtor this way too.

Christina Whiteley with friends — Christina and her family found an instant community when they started living in Cabo. (Courtesy)

So when the topic of immigration came up, we already had the resources we needed, we just needed to figure out the logistics. We ordered a new birth certificate for our daughter (to get legally authorized and translated) and used a company in Canada called ALSC (Authentication Legalization Services Canada) for that service. They couriered it to us in Mexico. We had heard horror stories of lost documents, passports and people waiting months to receive them in Canada – even missing vacations and holidays they had booked six months out, because everything was so backed up. So we didn’t feel comfortable parting with her original birth certificate while she was in Mexico with us.

There are multiple ways to immigrate to Mexico, but the most popular thing for people spending winter here is to come down on a 180-day tourist visa. With that visa you can rent a place to live, purchase health insurance, and get a Mexican phone number (for a fraction of the cost, US $13-20 a month). Many people use Whatsapp down here because the calls are clearer and you can text/call internationally without the charges of long distance. It is best to check the Mexican consulate closest to you to assess your options and limitations as the regulations vary, but to begin the process of applying for residency, you start at a Mexican consulate in your home country.

There are two options for residency in Mexico. Temporary residency can be granted up to four years and is usually renewable, or you can apply for permanent residency at the end of the term. A permanent residency is for those looking to stay in Mexico indefinitely and does not need to be renewed. With temporary residency you can open a Mexican bank account, legally buy and register a vehicle, enroll in the public medical system (although you also have access to private insurance, if you can afford it), and are able to come and go as often as you want.

Having a temporary resident visa doesn’t instantly qualify you to work here, you also must apply for a separate work visa or be sponsored by a company or business here. I’m an entrepreneur who works online and I am paid through my account in Canada. Mexico does offer temporary residency to remote workers and digital nomads, as long as you are able to prove economic solvency. The solvency requirements for temporary residency are lower than for permanent. This piece is very important. The country wants to make sure you are not a burden or taking a job from someone local. This dollar amount also changes each year, so make sure you check before you apply.

If you want a more detailed overview on these requirements, check out this primer in the Mexico News Daily Expat Resources section. If you are married to a Mexican national, you are granted a temporary residency for two years that can be changed to permanent residency at the end of this period.

We were also told that we could apply for permanent residency directly, without being a temporary resident first, if you are retired. You must be able to show either investing or financial records of your bank statements of the last 12 months and the minimum amounts required vary by consulate.

So why would you consider residency over the temporary tourist visa? A few reasons: you may not want to leave the country after 180 days; you may have kids in school or have work commitments here. You may want to apply for citizenship eventually (which you can do after you become a permanent resident). You may want to work down here, and will need to apply for a tax number through your residency. Another reason you may want temporary residency is so you can buy and register a car here.

It’s not as daunting as you may think. If you’re not sure where to book an appointment to apply for your visa, you can Google “Mexican consulate” and choose the one closest to you to call and inquire. They will give you the next steps and information you will need to gather for your appointment. Once you find your dream location in Mexico, it won’t be difficult to find someone willing to help with the paperwork, I just recommend you hire someone based on a referral.

We’ve been so blessed by the community of people here who support us and helped our family adapt to living in another country. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know not only our neighbors, but local businesses and the people who run them, because just like back in Canada, we want to support as many people as possible in our local community.

Christina Whiteley, founder of Life Transformed, is a bestselling author, speaker and business strategist who leads the 6 Figure Profit Plan Mastermind and hosts corporate retreats where she resides in Cabo San Lucas. She and her husband Ryan, who is a realtor, live for road trips and weekend adventures with their daughter and their dog, Larry. You can also join her private Facebook group here.

National tourism fair opens 47th edition in Mexico City

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MND Staff

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March 27, 2023

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Tianguis Turistico 2023 — The exhibition will run through March 29, and will see thousands of attendees in the Mexican capital. (@SECTUR_mx/Twitter)

The 47th edition of the Tianguis Turístico, Mexico’s largest tourism fair, has opened in Mexico City.

The event will be held in the capital for the first time, at the Citibanamex business center through Mar. 29.

Mexican culture will be on full display throughout the exhibition. (@GobOax/Twitter)

It is set to be the largest Mexican tourism fair ever and officials hope that it will prove a defining moment for the national tourism industry.

“This edition will be remembered forever and will mark a milestone in the history of national tourism, ratifying our country as a world tourism power and a destination full of success and exponential growth,” Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco said during the opening of the event.

Torruco said that his goal is to make tourism an “instrument of social welfare” and a “reconciliation tool” to promote sustainable development and boost local economies at all levels of Mexican society.

Among the highlights of the event is the Mundo Maya Pavilion, which seeks to promote tourist offerings from the five countries that make up the historically Mayan world: Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The new Felipe Ángeles International Airport and Maya Train also take center stage, as the government seeks to promote the projects for domestic travel. International carriers are also prominently displayed.

Claudia Sheinbaum at the tourism fair in Mexico City — Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum at the Tianguis Turístico on Monday. (@Claudiashein/Twitter)

The fair boasts 150 exhibitors and expects the attendance of nearly 2,000 national and international buyers. Organizers anticipate that about 6,000 business deals will be closed during the four-day event.

Overall, the capital anticipates 15,000 visitors to the fair and overall revenue of more than US $1.7 million.

According to the head of the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services, and Tourism Héctor Tejada, the fair will tap into emergent trends within the tourism sector, to increase the number of visitors, and promote Mexico as a tourist destination.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the capital had exceeded all pre-pandemic indicators and said that the country has moved up five positions since 2018 rankings to become the second most-visited country in the world.

Sheinbaum also inaugurated a Mexico City Tourism Festival along Paseo de la Reforma to showcase artisan works and cultural expressions from across the country. The festival will run until Tuesday.

With reports from Swiss Info and Infobae

Charity half-marathon draws 3,000 runners in San Luis Potosí

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MND Staff

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March 27, 2023

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SLP caritas half marathon — 3000 participants turned out to support migrant charities in the city of San Luis Potosí. (@EF_Galindo/Twitter)

The Cáritas half-marathon to raise funds for migrant groups saw 3,000 runners turn out in the city of San Luis Potosí on Sunday.

The aim of the race was to “[combine] sport with solidarity and support those who have less,” explained Enrique Galindo Ceballos, president of San Luis Potosí council.

Participants came from across the community, creating a family atmosphere that the city hopes will promote “solidarity and support”. (@EF_Galindo/Twitter)

The race was organized in association with both the migrant charity Casa del Migrante (Migrant House) and the office of the Archbishop of San Luis Potosí.

The runners were joined by families and children, who all entered the race to show their support for charitable causes, passing 21 churches in 21 kilometers.

Archbishop Jose Alberto Cavazos noted that charity would help to “do good for the city” and that the event would help to bring residents together.

The Cáritas half marathon will become an annual event, to promote the health of the city, and help those in need, according to Ceballos.

Those staying in the Casa del Migrante accommodation in San Luis Potosí have been in need of basic supplies for some time, including clothing, food, shoes and personal hygiene items.

San Luis Potosí is a key waypoint on the journey to the border with the United States, and for many migrants marks the last major city before they leave Mexico.

With reports from El Universal and La Realidad de San Luis

Beloved Mexican presenter ‘Chabelo’ dies at 88

By

MND Staff

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March 27, 2023

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Xavier “Chabelo” López, best known for his record-spanning career as a children’s television host, died on Saturday aged 88.

The actor was best known for his show “En Familia con Chabelo” (Family Time with Chabelo), which ran from 1967 until 2015.

Chabelo was a staple of Mexican children’s entertainment for almost 3 generations. (Armando Monroy/Cuartoscuro)

His family stated that he had died “unexpectedly due to abdominal complications” and asked for privacy as they mourned his death in Mexico City.

There has been an outpouring of grief from all levels of Mexican society.

President Andres Manuel López Obrador sent his condolences to the family, reminiscing how his oldest son (now aged over forty) would get up early to watch Chabelo’s show.

Former president Felipe Calderón also lamented his death. “The impression I have of him is that of a hard-working Mexican, persevering in his work,” he wrote on Twitter.

The veteran actor also enjoyed a number of awards throughout his career. (Rodolfo Angulo/Cuartoscuro)

Chabelo was born on Feb. 17, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois to Mexican parents. Shortly after, his parents moved back to the city of León, Guanajuato with him and his two sisters.

He was drafted into the US army at 18, during the Korean war, though the conflict ended before he could be deployed. He later returned to Mexico and enrolled in medical school, working as a doctor in a private clinic for several years.

While studying medicine, he also started working part-time as an assistant at the headquarters of the Mexican broadcasting titan, Televisa, often filling in for actors who were late for their shows.

In 2020, he told Caras magazine he was asked to read a joke on air about a boy named Chabelo. “I read it and the voice came out like a child, and that’s where Chabelo was born,” he said

Thanks to his longevity as a performer, Chabelo was often lovingly photo-shopped into memes of historical moments. (Pinterest)

He later decided to quit his job as a doctor to become an actor. “I’ll never forget my father’s face [when I told him].” His radio show “La media hora de Chabelo” (The Chabelo Half Hour), was launched in the 1950s, before making the transition to television in December 1969.

Family Time with Chabelo aired live on television nearly every Sunday from 7 to 10 a.m. for almost 46 years.

The game show, which saw families competing in various challenges and games for prizes, only went off the air on a few special occasions such as during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Mexico in 2012, or when Chabelo fell ill.

The show’s permanent presence on TV even introduced a new verb to Spanish slang in Mexico – catafixiar, referring to the final segment of the program “La Catafixia.” In it, participants were given the choice to risk what they had won for hidden prizes that could range from sweets and toys to furniture, electronic goods, and even a car.

“¿Le entras a la catafixia?” Chabelo would ask participants – “do you accept the catafixia challenge?

“His show lasted so long,” Laura Martínez, a Mexcian journalist, told the BBC in an interview. “My aunts and uncles got to see him. He used to be a figure in their childhood. And then I was born, and he was a figure in my childhood.”

As the show spanned many generations, Chabelo’s character has been the subject of memes that joked about his longevity – inserting him in historical events such as the declaration of Mexican Independence in 1810 or Biblical events like the Last Supper.

Chabelo felt honored by his online popularity.

“I am very grateful to each and every one of the people who take the trouble to make a meme about me,” he told the news program Hoy. “Maybe they think they are offensive, I don’t take it that way, with all my heart… I say thank you.”

Over the weekend, Televisa paid tribute to Chabelo with reruns of his shows and movies.

When Chabelo’s final episode aired in 2015, then-Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, wrote López a letter thanking him for a lifetime dedicated to promoting “family values” through his TV show.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Xavier “Chabelo” López’s year of birth. He was born in 1935.

With reports from El País and the BBC

Hernán Cortés’ Cuernavaca palace to reopen this week

By

MND Staff

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March 27, 2023

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Palacio de Cortés museum in Morelos — This 16th-century building once occupied by conquistador Hernán Cortés will reopen to the public after being closed five years for restoration work. (INAH)

The Palace of Cortés, a 16th-century building once occupied by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, will reopen to the public this week as a museum focused on the history and people of the state of Morelos.

Located in Cuernavaca, the palace was damaged in the devastating 2017 Puebla earthquake that claimed 370 lives in central Mexico.

Museo Regional Pueblos de Morelos — The Regional Museum of the Peoples of Morelos (MRPM) includes new permanent exhibits about the history of the area. (INAH)

After remaining closed for more than five years, the restored structure – built in the years after the conquest of the Aztec Empire (or Triple Alliance) in 1521 – will open this Thursday as the Regional Museum of the People of Morelos (MRPM). The palace previously housed the Cuauhnáhuac Regional Museum.

The MRPM features five rooms that will house permanent exhibitions, while there is space for three temporary exhibitions on the palace’s ground floor. The permanent exhibitions explore biodiversity; bioculture; landscape; peoples of corn and stone; and the Olmec phenomenon, according to a statement issued by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

A collection of 30 archaeological pieces known as the Leof-Vinot Collection will also be on display starting next Thursday.

Museum director Rodolfo Candelas Castañeda said that the permanent exhibitions will showcase the cultural and natural diversity of Morelos, a small state that borders Mexico City as well as Puebla, Guerrero and México state.

The exhibitions are not focused on “important dates or the great figures [of history] but rather the people who have given life and shape to … [Morelos], in the past and the present,” he said.

Announcing the imminent reopening of the Palacio de Cortés, INAH said that construction of the building was “the first civil project in America after the European invasion.”

“The museographic restructuring … is the product of two years of reflection and the consensus of an academic council made up of more than 20 specialists,” it added.

During the restoration of the palace – in which Cortés lived with his second wife Juana Zúñiga – a team of experts repaired the structure’s “iconic turret” using materials that reduced its overall weight by 70%, the institute said.

Diego Rivera mural in Cortés palace — Diego Rivera’s restored mural in the Palacio de Cortés. (INAH)

They also restored a Diego Rivera mural called History of the state of Morelos, Conquest and Revolution. The public “will be able to admire [the mural] on the eastern terrace, its original site,” INAH said.

Once it is open, the MRPM will welcome visitors Tuesday to Sunday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The palace is located in the historic center of Cuernavaca, known colloquially as the city of eternal spring for its pleasant year-round climate.

With reports from El País, and Reforma

Divorce a la Mexicana: what ending a Mexican marriage taught me

By

Sarah DeVries

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March 25, 2023

0

"Divorce" Illustration by Angy Marquez — The writer and her husband finally signed divorce papers after a process that was not only long and technically complicated, but also emotionally difficult in a way particular to Mexico that she didn't expect. (Illustration: Angy Márquez)

The song was right: breaking up is hard to do.

If you were married in Mexico and wish to not be anymore, then breaking up legally can be especially difficult. Figuring out your place within, as well as the actions you must take to navigate any legal system is hard enough. Figuring it out in your second language when conflicting advice and instructions abound can feel downright impossible.

The whole process has made me personally realize why, religious reasons aside, many married couples in Mexico simply decide to stay “separated” forever, never getting around to signing actual divorce papers.

I’m writing this on the day after my husband (technically, still) and I finally signed a legal agreement through a free state mediation service to dissolve our marriage and cement the specifics of the responsibility and care of our daughter. It gets us almost to the end of what has been a long, winding, and painful road to something I’ve been hoping to do for three years now. Now that the final pieces are falling into place, it feels like a weight is, at last, being lifted off of my shoulders.

Before getting too deeply into it, a caveat: this is not a “how to get a divorce in Mexico” article. I don’t have the legal expertise for it, and frankly, don’t get paid enough to do the extensive research that would be needed for such an article. I simply want to share my own experience as a long-term immigrant to Mexico married to a Mexican citizen. This is also not a “let’s publicly trash my ex” article, but a series of observations made from my own and others’ experiences.

The process differs by state anyway, the common thread among them being that you’ll need quite a lot of guidance in taking the correct of many possible steps (some of them landmines) to deal with what is likely one of the most emotionally consequential actions of your life. Most lawyers will talk to you initially for free, though, so if it’s a move you’re thinking of making, the office of someone recommended should be your first stop.

As foreigners, we don’t have the “home advantage;” legally, there is no home advantage, of course, but culturally and linguistically there certainly is, beginning with the fact that the Mexican party is likely to be surrounded by an extensive family network ready to lend them a hand. For us, reliance on a network of friends is pretty much it. And as I’ve said before, friends ain’t family around here. If you happen to be a woman with children, you’ve also got some deeply-ingrained and very specific cultural ideas about what it means to be a good mother to contend with. It’s tough on top of what would be tough even in your own country.

They say that you really get to know the person you married during a divorce. This, I’m afraid, is a sad fact wherever you are. After going through this experience, I’d add to it: when people are under a great amount of mental and emotional stress — and separation and divorce will usually get them to that point – then we tend to revert to well-worn cultural scripts.

The cultural scripts of Mexicans upset about the end of a relationship, I’ve found, can be quite dramatic (all these soap opera tropes didn’t come from nowhere). There’s drama, there are accusations, there are threats, there are assurances that a desire to no longer be with that person is evidence of mental instability. And once you’ve run the gamut one time, it’s possible that it will start all over again!

Another thing to be prepared for: there’s a certain innocence in many well-meaning non-Mexicans, possibly born of our generally Pollyanna view that people will mostly behave decently given the chance. Most Mexicans do not possess this naturally trusting disposition; on a cultural level, they know better than to simply take things at face value.

That trusting disposition that many of us have, then, can leave some of us feeling a bit like Charlie Brown tumbling backward when Lucy inevitably pulls the football away at the last moment until we knock the habit of trying to be fair and agreeable above all else. “Fair and agreeable” is not always how the game is played around here.

To be fair, the timing of our separation was difficult. “February 2020,” I believe, says it all. Most all institutions were closed shortly after, and many of the support systems I was planning on relying on throughout that difficult time were suddenly not available. My young daughter and I were now in a different house, without her dad and with very little real live contact with anyone. It was rough.

We’d previously agreed to use a mediation service through the CEJAV (a free state-wide center for alternative justice). Many states have similar institutions which allow you to resolve your differences both peacefully and legally, and divorce agreements are a large portion of what they provide help with.

The trouble came, however, with our first (online) session: after telling the mediator that we wanted to share custody of our young daughter, he told us that it would be impossible; one parent had to have primary custody. (Later — too late — I realized that shared custody had been written into Veracruz state law in 2019, something the mediator apparently had not been aware of.)

Our inability to find a solution we were both okay with eventually led to me filing a lawsuit: if you don’t go the mediation or jurisdicción voluntaria route with the help of a lawyer, then the only way to get a divorce, if you have a kid together anyway, is by literally suing the other person.

My husband convinced me to desist (which I recognized almost immediately as something I should not have done) as a condition of agreeing to the convenio that I’d wanted in the first place – the lawsuit was a means to that end. This is a legal agreement to both the divorce and shared custody, which I knew by then indeed was a possibility. Said convenio was drawn up but never paid for as promised, alas, and nearly two years went by before finally getting to the CEJAV, this time, in person, for two two-hour sessions to get it all done.

By the time we finally went, I’d been gearing up to once again find a lawyer to sue for exactly what I wanted in the convenio anyway, as I’d despaired of ever being told, “Okay, I’ve got time now; let’s go.”

But it finally happened, y’all. It took a while, and the pandemic didn’t help things. Me being a somewhat gullible and disoriented foreigner, at least when it comes to the law, didn’t help, either. But here we are. At last.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com