A record 21.79 million people are now registered with the Mexican Social Security Institute, meaning that they have employment in the formal jobs sector. (Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)
Mexico has recorded its best ever first-quarter job creation result, adding over 420,000 formal sector positions in the first three months of the year.
The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) reported that the number of people in formal sector IMSS-affiliated jobs rose by 423,384 between January and March, a 10% increase compared to the first quarter of 2022.
January through March saw the largest first-quarter formal-sector job creation growth on record, according to IMSS. (IMSS)
The loss of more than 345,000 positions in December has now been more than offset by job creation in the first three months of the year.
A record 21.79 million people are now registered with IMSS after 790,428 formal sector positions were added in the 12-month period to the end of March. Just over 86% of the positions are permanent while the remainder are temporary, IMSS said.
The total number of formal sector employees is up 3.8% from just over 21 million a year ago.
IMSS said that the sectors that recorded the strongest job growth in the past year were construction, up 6.8%; transport and communications, up 6.4%; and services for companies, up 4.5%.
Nuevo León saw more than 47,500 new jobs, partly thanks to the boom in nearshoring. (Wikimedia Commons)
The number of people in formal sector positions increased over 9.5% annually in Tabasco, Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, which recorded the largest percentage term-gains among Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
However, Nuevo León, an industrial powerhouse and leading recipient of foreign investment, added more formal sector jobs than any other state in the past 12 months, with 47,540 additional positions created. Jalisco, Baja California and Guanajuato ranked second to fourth.
Mónica Flores, president of the Latin America division of ManpowerGroup, said that a poll carried out by that staffing firm showed that 43% of more than 1,000 surveyed employers planned to increase their workforces during the second quarter of 2023.
Manpower’s general director for Mexico, Alberto Alesi, said that foreign investment could spur higher levels of hiring in the formal sector.
Although there is global economic uncertainty, Mexico’s economy remains stable, and that generates confidence among investors, Flores said.
Foreign direct investment increased 12% in 2022 to more than US $35 billion, the Economy Ministry said in February, while the Mexican economy grew 3.1%. The federal government is predicting 3% growth this year, while the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are considerably less optimistic.
The tourism sector also likely helped Quintana Roo see 9.5% formal job growth in the same period. (Sectur)
President López Obrador recently asserted that Mexico is on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse given the current levels of foreign investment and the country’s “trained responsible workforce.”
Draws for potential investors include Mexico’s proximity to the United States and competitive labor costs. IMSS reported that the average base salary of formal sector workers at the end of March was 525.3 pesos per day (about US $29), up 11.2% from a year earlier.
President López Obrador during the morning presser on April 5, 2023 (lopezobrador.org.mx)
With Semana Santa, or Holy Week, upon us, President López Obrador held just three morning press conferences this week instead of the usual five.
He announced at his Wednesday mañanera that he would spend the following days at his ranch in Palenque, but remain “attentive” to national affairs.
President López Obrador addressed the fentanyl crisis, fuel prices, easing inflation, and more at last week’s morning pressers.
AMLO plans to spend a lot more time at his property in Chiapas once he leaves office in September 2024. He said in late 2021 he would retire there, turn off his phone and settle in to write a book on “conservative thought,” one of his pet hates.
Monday
In a preamble to the weekly update on fuel and food prices, López Obrador noted that his government took the “unorthodox” decision early in its six-year term to subsidize gasoline.
“The experts, the orthodox economists, don’t recommend that,” he said.
President López Obrador, right, is pictured with Raúl Quintana, senior vice president of Bodega Aurora, which the government announced was the cheapest supermarket in the first quarter of the year. (lopezobrador.gob.mx)
“What have we achieved? Well, we have very low inflation for energy, and that helps us to contain inflation in general,” AMLO said.
The head of the consumer protection agency Profeco subsequently reported that the average price for a liter of regular gasoline last week was just over 22 pesos.
“The three priciest brands were Oxxo Gas, Petro Seven and Akron. … Petro Seven and Akron hadn’t been in these first three places, but now they appear. Hopefully, they’ll adjust their internal policies,” Ricardo Sheffield said.
He said that the three cheapest gas stations last week, and therefore “the allies of consumers,” were Rendichicas, Exxon Mobil and Orsan.
The Profeco chief also said that Bodega Aurrera was the cheapest supermarket in the first quarter of the year for the 24 essential products that make up the canasta básica, or basic basket of goods.
The director of the National Tourism Promotion Fund later reported that tracks along just under half of the 159-kilometer-long section of the Maya Train railroad between Calkiní, Campeche, and Izamal, Yucatán, have been laid.
“In this part of the train route, passengers will be able to get to know and admire emblematic places like the Dzibilchaltún archaeological zone, Izamal, the port of Progreso and the city of Mérida with its rich cultural life,” Javier May said.
Federal Electricity Commission chief Manuel Bartlett gave an update on more than 50 electrical projects along what will be a 1,554-kilometer railroad, and declared that the construction of the Maya Train is one of the most significant infrastructure undertakings in Mexican history.
“The Maya Train will mean development for the south-southeast,” he added.
The Maya Train is one of President López Obrador’s signature infrastructure projects. (@TrenMaya/Twitter)
“It’s just that you, the representatives of the conservative and corrupt press that is against us, are using these cases to try to project the idea that we’re the same [as past governments],” he said.
“… Firstly, we don’t tolerate corruption, or to say it more clearly, we’re not corrupt, we’re not thieves like previous governments, during which corruption with … the complicity of the media reigned. In the case of Segalmex, there are already arrest warrants issued and there are already people detained,” López Obrador said.
“And we’re going to explain — next week maybe — how the fraud occurred and how much [money] has been recovered because you’re taking about 15 billion pesos.”
Turning his attention to the March 27 fire in Ciudad Juárez that claimed the lives of 40 migrants, López Obrador acknowledged that security guards from a private company were working at the National Immigration Institute detention center where the blaze occurred despite his instruction that only government officials provide security at such facilities.
The president said that the government doesn’t yet have enough of its own security personnel to completely replace guards employed by private companies, two of whom were formally accused of homicide in light of video footage showing that migrants were left in a locked section of the detention center while the fire raged.
“I suppose that’s why they entered into that contract,” he said in reference to an agreement with a security company owned by an honorary consul of the government of Nicaragua.
A total of 4,824 GN troops will be deployed across the six destinations, while 3,800 more will patrol highways, he said. Sandoval said that GN members will also be on the ground in 14 airports across the country and 42 bus stations.
In the recurring “Zero Impunity” report, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejía said that 16,722 presumed criminals were arrested in the period between March 22 and April 3.
In the April 4 mañanera, López Obrador revealed that he had written a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping to seek his support in the fight against fentanyl. (Gob MX)
Among those he mentioned was an alleged pollero, or people smuggler, who was taken into custody in Nuevo León and seven presumed members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — including one nicknamed “el Bonito” (The Pretty One) — who were arrested in Colima.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard later offered a brief history of fentanyl, noting that the drug was first synthesized by the “great” Belgian scientist Paul Janssen over 60 years ago and approved as an analgesic by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1968.
He declared that Mexico’s efforts to combat illicit fentanyl today “are the most significant in the world” and conveyed a blunt message to U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who claims that Mexico isn’t doing enough to stop the flow of the drug across its northern border.
“Mexico is not the problem. Rather … it’s the main part of the solution to the [fentanyl] problem. … The senator says that we, the Mexicans, are not just the origin of the problem [via the production of fentanyl] but that we’re the ones who traffic … fentanyl. But according to United States statistics, … 86.3% of the people in prison for fentanyl trafficking are United States citizens,” Ebrard said.
Any information China can provide about who fentanyl is being sent to, the quantities being shipped, the vessels used to transport the drug and when and where shipments will arrive in Mexico would be “invaluable,” the president said in his letter, which he read aloud to reporters.
The president expressed a desire to increase regional trade integration at a virtual meeting held on Wednesday. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Holding forth on disparate political ideologies during his subsequent Q&A session with reporters, AMLO asserted that the “sole doctrine” of the “conservative right” is “hypocrisy” and that members of such parties and groups are not supporters of democracy but rather defenders of oligarchy.
“… Democracy is government of the people and it annoys [conservatives] greatly when the government is of the people and for the people, when … everyone is listened to and everyone is respected but preference is given to the poor. That really irritates them because they’re very classist and racist,” he said.
At the conclusion of his presser, López Obrador noted he would meet virtually on Wednesday with a group of leftist leaders from Latin American and Caribbean countries, including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gabriel Boric of Chile, Alberto Fernández of Argentina and Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba.
“There are 10 of us. We’re basically going to take about how to exchange foodstuffs – the trade of food, of raw materials, to confront together the problem of inflation. … That’s the basic issue,” he said.
Wednesday
In a continuation of her purported myth-busting work, government media monitor Ana García Vilchis took center stage early in the press conference to present another edition of her “Who’s Who in the Lies of the Week” segment.
Ana Elizabeth García reveals the media’s lies of the week. (Gob MX)
“According to opposition media outlets and journalists, … the President Andrés Manuelovich is receiving help from Moscow to confront the fuel prices crisis,” she said, using a nickname AMLO invented for himself during the 2018 presidential election campaign.
“But all that turned out to be a fairy tale,” García said.
Reports that a Russian ship carrying diesel had arrived in Guaymas, Sonora, were false, she said, explaining that the vessel in question had set off from Russia but was in fact sailing under the Cyprus flag and carrying 25,000 tonnes of fertilizer “that will be distributed to farmers across the country.”
García also took aim at a “veritable disinformation campaign” that claimed that AMLO suffered a heart attack last week.
“There are professional liars and slanderers … that repeat these kinds of attacks against the government, against officials and especially against President López Obrador every day,” she said.
Apparently in good health, AMLO strode back to his lectern as reporters vied to be selected as his first inquisitor of the day. The victor asked the president about the agreement the government reached with the Spanish energy company Iberdrola to buy 13 of its power plants in Mexico for approximately US $6 billion.
“I believe the agreement signed yesterday is very important for the country … especially consumers, because in essence what it guarantees is that the price of electricity won’t go up. That’s the essential thing,” López Obrador said.
“There are a lot of technical elements, but to those watching us, listening to us, I say that we’re making this purchase to strengthen the public company – the Federal Electricity Commission, in order to be in a position to offer electricity at fair prices,” AMLO said.
“I made a commitment that prices for fuel, electricity, gas, gasoline and diesel wouldn’t increase and I’m fulfilling it. In more than four years, there haven’t been increases and I can prove it,” he said.
The ruling Morena party and the National Action Party reached an agreement to select one commissioner each, but the two people chosen weren’t the best candidates, he said.
After they were unable to reach a two-thirds majority for any candidates for the open positions, the Chamber of Deputies voted to use sortition, or lottery, to fill the slots. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
“In the case of the INE there were 20 [candidates] and there was a draw and four [names] came out. That’s democratic,” he said.
Before calling an end to his third and final presser of the week, AMLO described data showing that inflation declined to 6.85% in March as “very good” and briefly weighed in on the legal troubles faced by former United States president Donald Trump.
“Now I’m going to give you a story,” he told reporters.
“I reiterate, I maintain my position that … supposedly legal issues should not be used for political-electoral purposes. That’s why I don’t agree with what they’re doing to the ex-president Trump. I don’t agree, I already suffered from that myself,” López Obrador said, referring once again to an accusation related to a property expropriation that he faced while mayor of Mexico City in the early 2000s.
Depending on where you came from and where you now live in Mexico, you may have to learn to deal with new wildlife that have easier access to your home than you're accustomed to. (Illustration: Angy Márquez)
Every evening in my living room, usually around dusk, I hear a high chirping sound that lasts for about two seconds. My hearing is not great, but one thing’s for certain: it’s definitely coming from inside the house.
What could it be? In my head, it’s an adorable tiny lizard that’s found a home up in the wood beams of my ceiling, calling out a sweet (if detached) “good night.” It’s my little buddy, a companion sharing the space. It doesn’t pay rent, but the presence of this critter is inevitable, so I sigh and pretend that I’m the one that invited it in in the first place.
And if you think about it, I kind of did. (We enthusiastic immigrants are nothing if not romantic.)
Since I almost always have my windows open to let in the typically perfect breeze and often leave the back door slightly ajar for my dog to wander in and out — I’ve lucked out in having impenetrable back patios and yards — I can hardly expect to be the only species hanging out within the confines of my home.
Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of encounters with what I’ll (romantically, of course) designate as “critters,” and chances are you have too.
My first scorpion was on purpose. I didn’t want it, but my boyfriend did, and I was so in love that I agreed to let him take “Fred” home from the pet shop. I cried in fear and disgust when he was dumped from the carrying box into the fishbowl and woke my boyfriend up at 3 a.m. when I got up for the bathroom and saw he was no longer there.
It was a long night, and at 7 a.m. Fred was finally located wandering amongst our shoes in the closet.
Since then, I’ve had wild scorpions wander in that my mild-mannered dog She-ra mercifully hunted and killed, a bat fly into the living room that my current dog Lola trapped and killed before I could usher it back outside (I’m a big fan of bats, actually) and a tarantula that I caught creeping toward my couch — I trapped it with an old mayonnaise jar and tossed out into the woods in front of my house.
Lizards scurry into hiding when I walk outside, and squirrels eat the avocados from my tree before they’re ripe enough to fall down for our guacamole. Chachalacas (birds that look and sound like a chicken and a pigeon had a baby) gossip loudly in the early-morning hours, and one large spider with a golden web (the Xalapa-common nephila clavipes) stuck around so long and provided such excellent mosquito-trapping services that I named her Lupita.
If you’ve lived in Mexico for any extended period of time, chances are you’ve encountered your fair share of animals and insects. Chances are, too, that you’ve encountered them in your home, quite a bit closer to you and your family than you’d like or expect them to be.
Depending on where you live, a whole host of critters could become close, intimate family members, regardless of whether or not you’re aware of their presence. If you’re “city folk” like I am, you’ve probably met these, depending on your disposition, with a mixture of squeamishness and bafflement.
And herein lies, I believe, one of the bigger differences in home design and cleanliness preferences between Mexicans and more recent immigrants: while those of us from overall more intentionally sanitized through closing-off, climate-controlled worlds have long romanticized the idea of “getting back to nature,” there are also plenty of people here who have downright had it with nature.
Getting covered in mosquito bites (or worse, the dreaded chaquistes – “no-see-ums”) when you’re outside, having flies swarm above your lovingly-prepared meals on hot days or all manner of tiny mammals and reptiles helping themselves to your stored food: they’ve all got a way of turning off our cheerful “Well, we all share this world!” attitude and activating the narrowing of our front-facing predator eyes in search of what’s bugging us.
After all, we’re animals too. The main difference is that we’re animals who think we’re gods.
In Mexico, this means that many of us go about marking our territory, not with urine but with a potent mixture of Fabuloso and bleach. Many people daily sweep and mop their homes, as well as the sidewalk in front of their homes; a home’s overall cleanliness almost always takes preference above its organization and decoration. (Curiously, few people install mosquito nets on their windows, though.)
For most people, prevention through extreme cleanliness — which, if they can afford it, will often include a concrete patio rather than a critter-filled yard — is the initial solution. When that doesn’t work, most are not afraid to call an exterminator to get rid of pests using pretty much whatever chemicals they need to get the job done.
Few and far between are the Facebook posts I see from Mexicans saying, “Who can tell me a safe, organic, humane way to get rid of [fill-in-the-blank pests] in my house?” Those types of questions are mostly from us foreigners.
Demand, and therefore supply, for these environmentally gentler types of services are typically found in areas heavily populated with foreigners unaccustomed to fending off unwelcome animals and insects but with a preference for lo más natural and generally with larger budgets.
In the meantime, I’d recommend focusing on prevention: keep things as clean as you can, including nooks and crannies. Get some mosquito netting — if not for your windows and doors, at least for your bed.
Shake out shoes before putting them on and your blankets before climbing into bed, especially during the rainy season when you’re likely to be accommodating some uninvited guests.
And hey, if you’re overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to call an exterminator or ask a gardener about options. They might not be able to get it done with vinegar and lemon juice (or whatever), but they can help.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com
Like Parmesan-Reggiano and Champagne, Spain’s Pimientos de Padrón have a protected designation of origin.
Last weekend at one of my favorite vendor’s stands at the local organic market, I spied a small bag of — could it be?! — bright green Padrón peppers leaning up against a basket of heirloom tomatoes. Had someone forgotten them, I wondered? But no, Lorenzo had, in fact, grown them, and these were the first small harvest.
To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. I’ve loved these spicy little peppers ever since I first ate them a decade ago at a huge farmers’ market in Los Angeles where they were being served from a food truck. Since then I’ve learned that grilled or broiled Padrón peppers, drizzled with a flavorful olive oil, are a standard Spanish tapa, their slightly spicy, earthy flavor the perfect accompaniment to other, more mild dishes.
Quick-fried at high heat and sprinkled with coarse salt, Padrón peppers are delicious.
I won’t go so far as to say I cooked up a table full of tapas and invited friends over, but the Padróns did turn my own personal happy hour into something special.
Like shishito peppers (their longer, thinner cousins), Padróns are thin-walled, making them easy to broil or grill and blister. They have a mild taste, only somewhat spicy, although every once in a while, (plant biologists say every 10–20 peppers) one will be really hot. A popular northern Spanish adage says, “Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non.” (“Padrón peppers, some are hot, some are not.”
This variety of pepper originated in Galicia, Spain, in the municipality of — you guessed it — Padrón. Like Parmesan-Reggiano and Champagne, Pimientos de Padrón (a.k.a., Pimientos de Herbón) have a protected designation of origin. They’re picked while small and unripe, usually curled in somewhat of a “C” shape. Nowadays, they’re also grown in the Caribbean, South America and some parts of the United States.
The most popular method of cooking Padróns is to sauté them in hot oil until they blister, then sprinkle with coarse salt and eat while they’re still hot. It’s easy, simple and decadently delicious. Use a high-quality, aromatic Spanish olive oil; they’re meant to be oily, so you want it to be as flavorful as possible. (Purists may prefer to use a neutral oil for frying and save the olive oil for drizzling once they’re off the heat. Why? Olive oil turns bitter when heated, although not everyone will taste it.) They can also be stuffed or made like poppers, should you feel so inclined (recipe below). Either remove the stems before cooking or leave them intact for holding while eating; your choice.
Padrón peppers are a classic Spanish tapa you can easily make at home.
A few tips: Dry the peppers well after washing for the best blistering. Use a very hot cast-iron skillet if you have one; you want to heat the oil almost to the smoking stage.While the traditional way to serve Padróns is simply with a generous dusting of a coarse sea salt like Maldon, I also like to dip them in mayo (somehow, they taste like artichokes, what can I say?), sprinkle them with Parmesan or squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over them.
If you can’t find Padrón peppers, shishito peppers are a similar substitute, and actually are a little easier to cook with because they’re straighter in shape.
Pimientos de Padrón (Spanish-Style Blistered Padrón Peppers)
1 Tbsp. neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
12 oz. Padrón peppers
Coarse sea salt (like Maldon)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Heat oil over high heat in a cast-iron skillet big enough to fit the peppers in a single layer. Heat until very hot (almost smoking), then add peppers. Cook without moving until blistered on one side, about 30 seconds. Turn peppers a couple of times until they’re tender-crisp and blistered all over, about 2 minutes total. Remove from pan onto paper towels. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve immediately.
Fresh pineapple and tomatillos combine with Padrón peppers to make an irresistible salsa.
Pineapple Tomatillo Salsa
Tastes best after chilling at least an hour.
1 lb. tomatillos (about 6 medium)
6 Padrón or shishito peppers, stems removed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. salt, or to taste
1 cup diced onion
½ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Optional: 1 habanero, serrano or jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Halve the tomatillos and Padrón peppers.
Set a skillet over medium-high heat; add olive oil. When oil is hot, add tomatillos, Padrón and other peppers, pineapple, garlic, oregano and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything starts to char, 5–7 minutes.
Transfer everything in the skillet to a blender or food processor; add ½ cup water. Blend until almost puréed. Pour mixture into a bowl; chill for 1 hour. Stir in onion, cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt to taste and serve.
Just a few minutes under the broiler turns these stuffed Padróns into a tasty appetizer.
Baked Padrón Poppers
12 Padrón peppers, as straight as possible
2 oz. very thinly sliced Serrano ham, prosciutto or dry salami
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. grated Manchego cheese
1 Tbsp. finely minced chives or scallion greens
1 ¼ cups panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Smoked paprika
If using Serrano ham, preheat a toaster oven or regular oven to 400 F (200 C). Lay ham on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Bake 6–8 minutes until beginning to crisp. Remove from the oven, cool, then crumble into small pieces. Set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 375 F (190 C). Slice peppers in half lengthwise, preserving stems if possible. Use the edge of a metal spoon to remove any seeds and ribs.
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, Manchego, chives and chopped ham. Using a small spoon, fill pepper halves with the mixture. In another bowl, combine panko with the olive oil. Dip each popper into panko mix, filling side down, pressing the panko with your fingers to make it adhere. Dust each popper lightly with paprika.
Arrange poppers in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Bake 20–25 minutes or until the peppers soften and panko is golden brown. Remove from the oven; let cool slightly and serve.
Popocatepetl looms over Ozumba, México state, providing a great view but also great danger. Urbanization in Puebla and the Mexico City metropolitan area has crept closer and closer to the volcano's slopes. (MGM25/Wikimedia)
Mexico City residents often forget that they live nearly on the doorstep of one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. The city’s infamous smog rarely allows even a glimpse.
But Popocatépetl has dominated the geography, history and culture of the region. It remains iconic for Mexico, and its recent activity makes experts and the government nervous.
Popocatépetl is both exceedingly majestic and dangerous, which influences how humans relate to it. Its name comes from Nahuatl and means “smoking mountain.”
For Mesoamericans, it was the source of both fire and water, as rain clouds gather there. The Florentine Codex notes that even decades after the imposition of Catholicism on the native peoples in the area, pilgrimages to both petition and appease the volcano continued.
Today, the volcano is often called simply “(El) Popo” and “Don Goyo.” The first is a shortening of the difficult Nahuatl, but the second has a story.
“Goyo,” a nickname for Gregorio, is probably from an early colonial renaming of the mountain. But according to legend, it comes from the appearance of an old man near the town of Santiago Xalitzintla, Puebla, who introduced himself as Gregorio Chino Popocatépetl and is believed to be the spirit of the mountain.
Mural section depicting the myth of Popocatépetl guarding Iztaccihuatl for eternity, located at the municipal palace of Atlixco, Puebla. (Alejandro Linares García/Wikimedia)
Either way, the volcano continues to receive offerings and pilgrimages today, just now in the guise of Saint Gregory’s feast day.
Popocatépetl appears in numerous artworks from the region, and is featured in the English-language novel “Under the Volcano” (1947) by Malcolm Lawry. If you have seen the image of an Aztec warrior carrying a limp maiden, it is a reference to a “Romeo and Juliet”-like story that explains why Popo is active and its “partner” volcano, Iztaccihuatl, is not.
Most modern humans generally dismiss the supernatural, but I’ll mention here that Popocatépetl’s crater is the focus of stories of UFOs that may have a base within, despite the heat.
Don Goyo may no longer command worship — but it still should be respected. With over 46 active ones, Mexico is no stranger to volcanoes, but none have such a population density living so nearby.
Popocatépetl is an active stratovolcano — like Hawaii’s Mauna Loa and Indonesia’s Krakatoa — and it’s the second tallest active volcano in North America (5,425 meters). It and Iztaccihuatl separate the Valleys of Mexico and Puebla.
Popocatépetl arose over 730,000 years ago, according to scientists. Humans arrived only 10,000 years ago, and since then, archeological finds and written records evidence the volcano’s impact on them (us).
Steam rises from the crater of Popocatépetl. The crater and the entire volcano are far better seen from the Puebla side because of the crater’s tilt and much less smog. (Luis Alvaz/Wikimedia)
An eruption is believed to have spurred migrations that resulted in Teotihuacán. Eruptions have been recorded as early as the 1300s.
Hernán Cortés was impressed by the two volcanoes, describing them as “…two marvelously high mountains whose summits at the end of August are still covered with snow so that nothing else can be seen of them. From the higher of the two, both by day and night, a great volume of smoke often comes forth…”
Since the fall of Tenochtitlán, Popocatépetl has had 15 significant eruptions, but none (yet) have had major destructive consequences. One reason is that its last plinian eruption (i.e. extremely explosive — think Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79) occurred in A.D. 800, when the valleys did not have the population density they have now.
The area around the Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes is the Izta-Popo National Park, but unlike parks in the United States and Canada, visitation is extremely limited.
After 70 years of inactivity, Popocatépetl came back to life. First, its glaciers began to melt, but it was the December 21, 1994, eruption that got everyone’s attention.
Since then, a column of smoke from El Popo has been visible on most days, along with ejections of steam, ash and rock.
A major eruption of Popocátepetl would affect 25 million people in the volcano’s vicinity, says Dr. Hugo Delgado Granados of the National Autonomous University. (UNAM)
There is always the risk of a major eruption, says Dr. Hugo Delgado Granados of the Geophysics Institute of UNAM. Such an eruption could obliterate everything within 15 km and cause serious damage as far as 100 km away — a radius that’s home to about 25 million. And urbanization is creeping up the slopes as Mexico City and Puebla continue to grow.
Ash is the main issue for the region. Right now, there is a 12-km exclusion zone around the crater because of fallout. Light ash has fallen much further away, either toward Puebla or Mexico City, depending on seasonal wind patterns.
Popocatépetl has caused some headaches for airlines, but more ash accumulation could snarl land traffic as well — and if rain is involved, the resulting sludge would clog drainage systems.
Lava from Popocatépetl’s crater is not a major threat. There is plenty of magma under the valleys, but their danger comes from small “pop-up” volcanoes (like Paricutín in Western Michoacán), that are extremely hard to predict.
Volcanoes like Popocatépetl can give some warning of an upcoming eruption, which is why monitoring, warning systems and evacuation plans are essential to prevent tragedies.
Mexico’s main warning system is a stoplight-like advisory system called the semáforo de alerta volcánica, which currently is in yellow (caution) — Phase 2. Since 1994, the general advisory has been as high as yellow-3 (the status just before red), with the 12 km exclusion zone in red.
19th-century painting by landscape artist José María Velasco. In addition to showing the volcanoes with clear visibility, the piece also shows just how small Mexico City used to be. (Maurice Marcellin/Wikimedia)
Today, it is possible to see what Popocatépetl is up to 24/7. Popocatépetl’s crater is a favorite of Webcams de México, where you can look at it anytime and receive alerts in social media when something interesting happens.
Although evacuation routes are well-marked, a major evacuation would be challenging at best, both because of the number of people and due to the fact that the Valley of Mexico is crowded, with few ways out.
Could Mexico evacuate everyone in time in the worst-case scenario?
Delgado Granados says that there are many factors to consider but also that monitoring systems and evacuation plans are being constantly upgraded. He also points out that in 1994, Mexico was able to evacuate 70,000 people in less than three days, despite being caught relatively by surprise.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
Twelve of the Iberdrola plants being sold are combined cycle generation plants like this one. (Iberdrola)
The wisdom of the federal government’s decision to buy 13 power plants from the Spanish company Iberdrola for approximately US $6 billion has been questioned by two energy experts who spoke with the Reforma newspaper.
The government announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Iberdrola to purchase 12 combined-cycle plants and one wind farm. President López Obrador hailed the deal as a “new nationalization” of the Mexican electricity industry.
The Spanish company will continue to operate in the country but with a focus on the renewable energy market. (Depositphotos.com)
Carlos Flores, head of new markets at solar energy company Lightsource BP, and Rosanety Barrios, independent energy analyst and former federal official, agreed that the price for the 13 plants is high, given that about two-thirds of them have been operating for between 10 and 25 years. Therefore, the plants have a limited useful life ahead of them – an average of 18 years, according to the Finance Ministry.
“From an economic perspective, the transaction doesn’t make much sense for the government,” Flores said.
In the interview, Flores asserted that the government was paying too much because building the same number of new plants “would cost around US $8 billion.”
Barrios described the purchase as an “indulgence” given that the majority of the electricity the plants generate is already sold at a cheap price to the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).
A CFE plant in Alto Lucero de Gutiérrez Barrios, Veracruz. (CFE)
Most of the plants the government is buying are deemed “independent energy producers” or PIEs, but contracts obligate them to sell their energy to the CFE. “The truth is, these plants already belonged to the CFE,” Barrios said.
The analyst said it “would be better” for the government to buy or build new plants rather than ones that have already been in use for years.
President López Obrador said that the purchase, which the government intends to complete via a private asset manager called Mexico Infrastructure Partners, will increase the CFE’s share of the electricity generation market from just under 40% to 55.5%.
However, a Mexico City-based think tank challenged that claim, as well as the president’s “nationalization” statement.
In 2022, President López Obrador enacted a reform to guarantee the Federal Electricity Commission 54% electricity market participation. (Gob MX)
The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) noted that the majority of the funds for the purchase will come from the government’s National Infrastructure Fund and other public institutions, but asserted that because the sale is to a “private trust,” the legal ownership of the plants “will remain private.”
“… Legally, the ownership of the plants and the management of the trust will be private, unconnected to the federal government and the Federal Electricity Commission. In other words, the CFE is not increasing its participation in the electricity generation market,” IMCO said.
Like Barrios, the think tank pointed out that the majority of the electricity generation capacity that Iberdrola is selling is “already under the control of the CFE, given that the PIEs already form part of the company’s generation matrix.”
“… This sale doesn’t represent a nationalization of the industry nor does it change the operation of the wholesale electricity market. It only changes the ownership of a basket of plants between private entities,” IMCO said.
The think tank also questioned why the government was using public resources to buy power plants that are mostly dependent on fossil fuels “at the expense of investments that accelerate the energy transition in the country.”
U.S. and Mexican soldiers assigned to the 19th Motorized Cavalry Regiment rescue a simulated casualty while conducting training during exercise Fuerzas Amigas 2022 in Reynosa. (U.S. Army)
A group of United States soldiers is currently believed to be on Mexican soil – not to combat cartels, as some U.S. lawmakers have proposed – but to undertake a joint training exercise with the Mexican army.
On the request of the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), the federal Senate granted authorization to President López Obrador to allow 12 members of the United States army to enter Mexico to participate in a training exercise at the Mexican army’s National Training Center in Saucillo, a municipality in southeastern Chihuahua.
Mexican soldiers training. (@Sedena/Twitter)
The exercise was scheduled to commence Thursday, April 6 and will conclude on May 11.
The Senate authorization, outlined in a decree published in the government’s official gazette on Wednesday, gave López Obrador the power to allow the U.S. soldiers to enter Mexico on April 5 and depart the country on May 12.
The Mexican and United States armies have participated in joint training exercises before, including one last October at a military facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.
The aim of that exercise, according to the U.S. army, was to “foster and strengthen the existing military-to-military partnership between the U.S. and Mexican militaries while conducting disaster response operations along the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Sedena hasn’t disclosed any specific information about the current training exercise, which is taking place at a time when some Republican Party lawmakers, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, are advocating the use of the United States military in Mexico to combat cartels that smuggle fentanyl and other narcotics into the U.S.
López Obrador has categorically rejected that proposal, but has indicated his willingness to continue cooperation with U.S. authorities in the fight against drug trafficking.
“We’re going to continue helping because it’s a matter of humanism and [illicit fentanyl use] is a pandemic that greatly affects United States residents, particularly young people,” he said Tuesday.
“Cooperation between governments for the benefit of our people should be maintained, but [we say] no to subjugation, no to subordination, because Mexico is an independent, free, sovereign country.”
Illegal gillnet fishing has brought the world's smallest cetacean to near-extinction. WWF
Mexico is in negotiations to reverse trade sanctions imposed for its failure to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise.
President López Obrador sent eight officials from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to Geneva, to discuss the sanctions with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The vaquita porpoise is threatened by the use of gillnets, in which they can become entangled and drown. (@DefensaAnimal/Twitter)
CITESsanctioned Mexico on March 27, preventing member countries from trading with Mexico in 3,148 species of animals and plants.
The measures are intended to pressure Mexico into protecting the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, whose numbers have dropped to as few as ten in the wild. It is the world’s smallest cetacean (the family of marine mammals including dolphins and whales).
The vaquita is native to the Gulf of California, where it is threatened by illegal fishing. The porpoises often die tangled in nets used to catch totoaba fish, which are highly coveted on the Chinese black market for their supposed medicinal properties.
Mexico has receivedmultiple warnings for its failure to crack down on this illegal fishing. It proposed a draft action plan on Feb. 27, which CITES dismissed as inadequate.
The week after the sanctions, while negotiating in Geneva, Semarnat released a statement saying they were working with the Navy and the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry to review fishery protection measures.
“In recent days, more than 4,700 meters of totoaba nets and a boat were secured and destroyed,” the statement said.
It added that concrete blocks had been installed to deter illegal boats from entering the vaquita’s core habitat and that new technologies were being introduced to promote sustainable fishing methods.
However, Mexican officials have also protested that sanctioning Mexico for illegal totoaba fishing is “inequitable.”
“Mexico is not solely responsible and is not the only one that should have to spend on this,” the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, Blanca Alicia Mendoza Vera, told Expansión newspaper.
She argued that CITES should create a fund to prevent illegal totoaba fishing and require market and transit countries, such as the United States and China, to contribute.
“We require the participation, support and collaboration of transit and destination countries,” she said. “Cooperation must be close and determined, not only in speech, but also by providing resources.”
The Dashing model hybrid SUV will go on sale in Mexico in 2024. (@sh_fred/Twitter)
Chinese state-owned automaker Jetour intends to invest around US $3 billion in Mexico to install a plant at which electric and gasoline-powered vehicles will be made.
Víctor Villanueva, the company’s director in Mexico, announced the plan at a brand launch event last week.
Victor Villanueva at the Jetour Mexico branch launch event. (@HolaJetourMX/Twitter)
“[The plant] will be in a strategic place, maybe the Bajío [region] or Aguascalientes. There are several options, it’s not decided yet,” he said.
Several foreign automakers, including General Motors, Honda and Nissan, already have factories in the Bajío region, which includes the states of Guanajuato, Querétaro and Aguascalientes.
José Centeno, a board member at LDR Solutions, a partner of Jetour, said that the site of the new plant will be decided in the next two months. The plant, which is expected to begin operations some time in 2024, will be Jetour’s first in the Americas.
Centeno said that the company intends to manufacture gasoline-powered vehicles in Mexico for the South American market, and electric vehicles for sale in the United States and Canada.
Jetour is also aiming to capture a share of the Mexican vehicle market even before it establishes its plant here. Villanueva said that the automaker will begin sales on April 15 and intends to “change the image of China” from one of an “imitator” to one of an “innovator.”
Jetour said in late March that it would establish 30 dealerships in 21 cities and regions throughout Mexico. The first vehicles to hit the Mexican market will be the Jetour X70 SUV and the X70 plus SUV.
The former will sell for 489,900 pesos (about US $27,000) while the latter will cost 629,000 pesos (about US $35,000), according to the Jetour México website. The “Dashing” model, a hybrid SUV, is set to go on sale in Mexico in 2024.
Jetour is hoping to attain a 3% share of the growing SUV market in Mexico, where the Chevrolet Capita was the best selling vehicle in that category last year.
Security forces in Guanajuato released footage of the rescue of the first group of 35 found near Matehuala.(@SeguridadGto/Twitter)
At least 105 people held against their will were located at various locations near Matehuala, San Luis Potosí on Thursday and Friday. The search operation began after 23 people, described initially as tourists by some media outlets but later confirmed to be migrants, were reported missing after departing San Felipe, Guanajuato on Monday evening.
As of Friday afternoon, the state prosecutor’s office in San Luis Potosí said that they had rescued the 105 victims, including the original group missing from Guanajuato, in five operations in the area. One death was reported by the authorities; one of the group’s two drivers, 36 year-old Joel Juárez Sánchez, was apparently killed by the kidnappers. Two suspects were also detained.
Helicopter teams from 3 states formed part of the 20-hour search-and-rescue operation. (@diegosinhue/Twitter)
Two helicopters from Guanajuato’s Ministry of Public Security using infrared search-and-track technology were deployed in the operation to find the missing people, which was directed by a team that included the Mexican army and the National Guard, plus state and local authorities.
The first group of 35 people was reportedly found with three rented vans in a high desert area off the San Luis Potosí–Matehuala highway in the northern part of the state. México Highway 57 is a main route between Mexico’s central and northern states. Law enforcement also found a bus carrying 46 people that had apparently been hijacked on its way towards Nuevo León. The remaining victims were found at a hotel and a safehouse.
That the abductees were migrants – reportedly from El Salvador, Venezuela and Honduras, and also from Mexico – was only discovered after they were rescued. According to officials, the group was looking to reach the northeastern state of Coahuila, before attempting to enter the United States.
On Tuesday, one of the group reportedly contacted the car rental company to say they had been kidnapped, and that their captors were asking 60,000 pesos ($3,292 US) for each of them. The ransom demand was not confirmed by San Luis Potosí authorities, a spokesman said.
36-year-old driver Joel Juárez Sánchez was found dead, reportedly killed by the kidnappers. (Twitter)
The group had been held hostage by armed men in five vehicles, authorities said.
Further confusion occurred on Wednesday, when authorities reported the rescue of 16 people wandering on a highway near Matehuala. They were believed to be part of the abducted Guanajuato group, but hours later officials said they had departed from the state of México before being robbed in the area.
As for the rescue on Thursday, the San Luis Potosí state prosecutor’s office said officials rescued people “who were being held captive by a group of offenders” and that “five trucks and a series of weapons were seized and [were handed over to] local and federal authorities.”
The office added: “As far as it has been possible to clarify, the vast majority of these victims were being transported due to a labor-migration situation, which could be confirmed after interviews with the aggrieved.”
The migrants were said to be in good condition after being held hostage, authorities added. Some of them said they had come from the state of Guanajuato, and identified themselves as migrants traveling for work, a San Luis Potosí spokesman said.
