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How Mexico City can solve its 400-year water crisis

By
Andrew D. Daily
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Bird looking for drinking water in Mexico City
Mexico City's water crisis goes back four centuries, and remains a critical issue for the capital's residents. (Angel Maldonado/Unsplash)

Following a bout of heavy rains in September 1629, water rose through the streets of Mexico City and did not recede. The city had just spent 22 years digging a drainage channel through the mountains, the Desagüe de Huehuetoca, meant to solve a problem the closed, mountain-ringed basin had faced for centuries: nowhere for excess water to go.

The project failed. Parts of the city stayed flooded for years and more than 30,000 people died, mostly from disease in the standing, sewage-laced water.

 

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The city kept making the same trade for four centuries after that: draining the water to survive and turning every success into a new, worse problem.

A city that traded its lake for a sinking foundation

Before the Spanish conquest, Tenochtitlán sat on an island in Lake Texcoco, its neighborhoods built with the lake rather than against it. Colonial and then Porfirian-era engineers kept draining it instead, culminating in the Gran Canal del Desagüe around 1900. Draining the lake solved flooding and erased the city’s water supply at the same time, so the city turned to pumping the aquifer beneath the old lakebed’s soft, clay-rich sediment.

Pumping that aquifer releases the pressure holding the clay open. The clay compacts, causing the ground to drop. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth measured subsidence near 50 centimeters a year in the worst areas, and found the sinking no longer tracks current pumping rates: It is now driven by decades-old compaction that cannot be undone, even if every well stopped tomorrow.

That uneven sinking has warped the Gran Canal itself, leaving stretches of the drainage system sloping the wrong way. Mexico City has sunk roughly 30 feet across the lakebed zone, and engineers now run pumping stations just to lift sewage back up to where gravity can take over — the same 1607 trade, repeated at greater cost.

The newest version, the Túnel Emisor Oriente, finished in 2019 after 11 years of digging, carries wastewater 62.5 kilometers (39 miles) to Hidalgo state, where it irrigates the Mezquital Valley. Only about 36% of the city’s wastewater gets treated at all; the nearby Tula Valley region now draws 90% to 100% of its own aquifer from decades of Mexico City’s former runoff.

What survives to reach a kitchen tap

Mexico City’s water is treated properly at the source. What happens after is where the system fails.

Túnel Emisor Oriente during construction in 2013
Túnel Emisor Oriente was completed in 2019 to carry wastewater 62.5 kilometers to Hidalgo state, where it irrigates the Mezquital Valley. (PresidenciaMX/Wikimedia Commons)

Official figures from Mexico City’s water agency, the Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de México (SACMEX), put network-wide leak loss at roughly 40%, while researchers studying intermittent, low-pressure water systems in general have documented exactly how contamination gets in through a leaking network: a crack or joint, a nearby contaminant source, and a pressure gradient pulling inward.

Rooftop reservoirs, also known as tinacos, exist precisely because city pressure is not continuous, and a small pilot study in Guadalajara found contamination rates more than double after water sat in a home’s storage tank versus straight off the network.

Water contamination

Two boroughs carry a documented, more specific version of this.

In Iztapalapa, two named SACMEX/UNAM wells have shown arsenic and heavy-metal levels exceeding Mexico’s own drinking-water standard since they opened; separately, UNAM researchers found microplastics, Giardia muris and E. coli in the borough’s water.

SACMEX’s own 2020 data recorded arsenic violations across 28 wells in Tláhuac, Tlalpan, Coyoacán, Iztapalapa, Iztacalco and Azcapotzalco, signifying a documented national pattern: Only 1 in 10 Mexican treatment plants is even equipped to remove arsenic or fluoride.

Stressing the system

Meanwhile, large companies are also extracting from the same stressed basin. CONAGUA’s public registry shows Coca-Cola FEMSA holds a well concession in Cuauhtémoc, where it extracts 1.13 billion liters a year. PepsiCo’s bottler holds another in Iztacalco, extracting 511 million liters.

Mexico City at night
Mexico City systemic water issues include leakage, contamination and instability from a sinking lakebed. (Oscar Reygo/Unsplash)

Nationally, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo’s Mexican bottlers have extracted roughly 14.7 billion and 25.7 billion liters, respectively, since 1994.

What none of the public record shows is what becomes of the 15% to 30% of that water any industrial reverse-osmosis system inevitably rejects as concentrate, a limit set by the physics of the membrane itself.

Where the hope is

The subsidence side of this cycle has already been broken elsewhere.

Tokyo sank roughly 4 meters before two laws, the 1956 Industrial Water Law and the 1962 Law on Regulation of Groundwater Use in Office Buildings, made new wells prohibitively expensive to drill while the government subsidized cheaper surface-water infrastructure as the replacement. Groundwater pumping in the city’s 23 wards peaked in 1964 and has fallen since; subsidence in the most heavily regulated districts was brought close to zero.

Venice stopped pumping groundwater entirely and now draws its drinking water from the Italian mainland instead, sinking at about 1 millimeter a year, down from a rate that once threatened the city outright.

Neither city undid the damage already on the books. Both proved the mechanism itself can be stopped, and both did it with a law, not a technology.

Legal remedies vs. a household fix

clean glass of drinking water
Getting new laws passed is difficult. A simpler solution to cleaner drinking water is the installation of an ultrafiltration membrane. (Manki Kim/Unsplash)

The legislative move mirrors Tokyo’s. Sustained public pressure on regulators, not new technology, is what got its fix passed. Here, that looks like contacting a local representative directly, and backing investigations like “Veneno en mi agua,” or “Poison in my water,” that keep this issue on the public record instead of letting it fade after one news cycle.

A household’s own move is smaller and immediate: A fix goes under the sink.

An ultrafiltration membrane, at roughly 0.01 microns, physically blocks the bacteria and parasitic cysts responsible for most water-borne illness here, the exact risk documented above. It runs on the building’s own water pressure: no pump, no electricity and a 100% water recovery rate, so there is no reject stream at all. The water that enters the membrane is the water that leaves the tap, only cleaner. That combination — no pump, no electricity, no wasted water — also makes it the cheapest of these options to buy and run.

Reverse osmosis, run at home, sends roughly 3 liters down the drain for every liter it produces, a smaller version of the same tradeoff bottlers make at industrial scale. Given how much of this city’s wastewater exits the basin rather than getting treated and returned, that reject water is likely gone from the Valley of Mexico’s own water cycle for good, unlike ultrafiltration, which never enters that path at all.

Ultrafiltration

Garrafón delivery carries its own documented risk: Independent testing found the majority of samples in one Mexico City study contaminated with coliform bacteria, and nearly a quarter with E. coli, in an industry that grew 85% between 2012 and 2018.

Ultrafiltration is the one choice in this entire chain that does not ask the aquifer for anything extra to keep a household safe. It does not fix the leaking network, the sinking ground, or the four centuries of trades that got the city here. It is the one piece of the cycle a single kitchen can opt out of today, without waiting on a General Water Law that has been stalled in Congress for eight years, or a recharge program that exists as exactly one working pilot against a documented crisis.

Andrew D. Daily lives in Roma Norte, where he runs a water filtration company and mexicocitytravel.com, a simplified guide for visitors. Before meeting his wife and relocating to CDMX, he worked 11 years in Los Angeles, CA, as a television Production Manager on shows like Shark Tank, The Voice, and Miss Universe.

Meet Jacinto Canek, the Maya rebel who rose against Spanish rule in Yucatán

By
Andrea Fischer
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0
Mural of the execution of Jacinto Canek by Fernando Castro Pacheco.
After leading a Maya rebellion in present-day southeastern Mexico against the Spanish, Jacinto Canek was publicly tortured and executed by colonial authorities. This is his story. (Yodigo/Wikimedia Commons)

The people of Cisteil were tired. After years as a Spanish district, they depended heavily on the municipality of Yaxcabá, located in what is now the state of Yucatán. Despite being a relatively small town, it had a fiery population that wanted to free itself from the Spanish yoke.

Cisteil lasted no more than eight years under this abusive regime. Little did the Spanish know that this small Yucatecan town would spark a major Maya anti-colonial uprising, led by a Maya man named Jacinto Canek.

From student and Maya physician to revolutionary leader

Monument to Jacinto Canek in Mérida
Jacinto Canek proclaimed himself leader of the Maya revolution with a syncretic name sacred to both the Maya pantheon and the Christian faith. (Juan Pedro Balam Canul/Wikimedia Commons)

Long before Miguel Hidalgo began the Mexican independence revolts in Dolores, in what is now the Bajío region, southeastern Maya communities were already seeking to rid themselves of Spanish invaders.

Despite his standing as a prominent figure of Maya resistance, little is known about the early life of Jacinto Uc de los Santos Canek. Born in the 18th century, he led the “most important Maya rebellion in Yucatán during the colonial era,” according to the Great Maya Museum in Yucatán.

Documentary evidence shows he was born around 1731 to a poor family in the southeastern state of Campeche. Historical records indicate he studied Latin, history and Christian doctrine at the Convento Grande in Mérida before being expelled for his rebellious nature. Canek had a strong knowledge of Christian doctrine, joined a religious organization in his hometown of San Francisco de Campeche and practiced traditional Maya medicine learned through oral tradition.

After the 1761 rebellion, “Jacinto Canek chose a name of historical significance for the Maya,” according to a study by Robert W. Patch from the University of California, Riverside. He proclaimed himself king of the movement to reclaim “political and religious domination of the Yucatán Maya.”

Thousands of Indigenous people recognized his authority and viewed him as an incarnation of Kukulkán, the sacred serpent of the Maya pantheon. Researchers note the movement sought to revitalize Maya culture after two centuries of colonialism, with revolutionaries believing the days of Spanish rule were numbered.

Jacinto Canek: Kukulkán and Christ, embodied in a Maya revolutionary

No other significant anti-colonial movement had taken place in present-day Mexico to this point. However, as a review of a criminal trial resulting from the rebellion emphasizes, “it was a highly serious rebellion, with a strong anti-colonialist content.”

Modern Maya with ancient stone carving
Maya communities resisted abandoning their cultural foundations and maintained a cyclical view of time. (A. D. White Architectural Photographs Collection, Cornell University Library)

Beyond establishing stronger trade ties with former Maya chiefdoms, the people of Cisteil wanted to reclaim their culture, traditions and religion. “The Maya continued to believe in a cyclic version of history,” the study points out, “which led them to think that one day in the future they would overthrow the Spaniards.”

Canek took a name sacred to two religious traditions: Maya and Christian. From 1761 onward, he was known as Jacinto Uc de los Santos Canek Chichán Moctezuma. He embodied the man-god myth of Mesoamerican tradition, presenting a syncretic Maya-Christian figure blending Jesus Christ and Kukulkán. Under that name, he summoned the highest rulers of Cisteil to wage revolution.

How the Maya remember Jacinto Canek

Yucatán Governor José de Crespo y Honorato ordered the arrest of the revolt’s leaders to quell the movement. Spanish forces captured Canek and took him to Mérida, where he was condemned to be “broken alive” — having his limbs broken with iron bars — before being executed on Dec. 14, 1761. His body was burned to ashes after his death.

Many followers were killed alongside him. Following the execution, Spanish commanders suppressed the rebellion before it could spread beyond central Yucatán.

The Spanish then launched a campaign to delegitimize the revolutionaries, framing the event as a “drunkards’ riot,” according to UNAM records. Among the Maya, however, it remained “a noble uprising against colonial exploitation.”

Today, Canek is remembered as “one of the most significant figures in the history of Yucatán” and as someone who “lives in the hearts of the women and men of the Maya people.”

Andrea Fischer contributes to the features desk at Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.

Supreme Court ruling lets Indigenous communities speak in constitutional trials for the first time

By
MND Staff
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2
Hugo Aguilar leads a Supreme Court (SJCN) session on August 24, 2026
Mexico's Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Tuesday to let Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities participate in constitutional disputes for the first time as interested third parties. (SCJN)

For the first time, Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) has opened a formal avenue for Indigenous peoples, communities, and Afro-Mexican communities to participate in constitutional disputes (known as controversias constitucionales) as interested third parties — a role that had previously been limited to only government bodies.

“Today is a historic day,” Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, who is of Mixtec Indigenous origin, said during the Tuesday ruling. “We are attending this appointment with history to see if we can correct in some way 200 years of exclusion and racism, and, among them, the judicial exclusion of Indigenous peoples and communities.”

Members of the Concejo Indígena fundador de Crescencio Morales with the community's entry sign
The case originated in the Indigenous community of Crescencio Morales, in Zitácuaro, Michoacán. The community sought to participate in a constitutional dispute filed by the Zitácuaro municipal government over control of the autonomous community’s budget. (Concejo Indígena fundador de Crescencio Morales / Facebook)

With five votes in favor and four against, the SCJN recognized the participation of the Mazahua community of Crescencio Morales, in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, in two constitutional controversies brought by the municipal government, related to regulations and actions connected to a prior consultation on Indigenous self-government.

In its ruling, the SCJN concluded that the Mazahua community “must be recognized as an interested third party, in order to remove obstacles to its effective access to justice and ensure its full participation in a process whose resolution may directly affect its collective rights and interests,” Minister Arístides Guerrero García said.

An interested third party is any person or entity that has a contrary interest to that of the complainant in an amparo trial or constitutional dispute. Even though they are neither the plaintiffs nor the defendants and thus can’t initiate the trial, they can join ongoing disputes as an interested third party when a ruling by the SCJN could affect their rights or interests.

Historically, only entities, powers or governing bodies were able to act as third parties in constitutional disputes.

That doesn’t mean that Indigenous communities weren’t able to defend their rights. They could, through other means. What the new ruling established is the opportunity to join a constitutional controversy promoted by an authority, meaning they can consult the file, submit arguments, and defend their rights.

The court cited articles 2 and 17 of the Mexican Constitution as the basis for the new ruling.

Article 2, reformed in 2024, recognizes Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities as subjects of public law, with their own legal personality and assets. Together with the right of access to justice under Article 17 of the Constitution, the SCJN ruled that those groups have a procedural voice if the outcome of the constitutional controversy affects their legal sphere.

Three ministers voted against the ruling, arguing that granting a recognition that is not explicitly provided for in the Constitution, “directly implies an overreach of powers” ​​and amounts to legislating.

“This decision breaks the separation of powers,” Minister Espinosa Betanzo said.

Meanwhile, Minister Ríos González, who also voted against the ruling, added that the votes against the ruling do not imply a stance contrary to the rights of Indigenous peoples.

With reports from La Jornada

A Danish firm’s US $510 million renewables project will boost Campeche’s clean energy supply

By
MND Staff
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1
solar panels in a field
The commitment by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to develop and store solar-generated power in Campeche marks another advance toward meeting the Sheinbaum administration's goal of converting 38% to 45% of Mexico's energy supply to clean energy by 2030. (CIP)

Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has announced it will invest approximately US $510 million into a priority clean-energy project in the state of Campeche.

The new La Esperanza Solar project — financial close was reached on Aug. 6 — is an energy storage-plus-solar PV (photovoltaic) project that CIP described as a 420MW (megawatt) solar PV and 150MW/750MWh (megawatt-hour) battery energy storage system project.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has been expanding its renewables portfolio in Latin America and considers the new Campeche project to be a “significant milestone” in that endeavor. (CIP / via LinkedIn)

The project — which CIP calls “a significant milestone in its growing renewables portfolio in Latin America” — is being financed via debt facilities provided by BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Natixis CIB, Santander and Scotiabank. Mexico’s retirement fund administrator, Profuturo, is expected to be a co-investor.

Developed in collaboration with the Energy Ministry and relevant authorities, La Esperanza Solar aims to shore up the National Electricity System through long-term strategic energy infrastructure investment, as part of the government’s renewable energy plan. 

Four days after financial close, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) agreed to purchase energy from La Esperanza Solar via a long-term power purchase agreement with CFE Calificados.

CFE Calificados is a CFE subsidiary specializing in providing qualified supply of electrical energy to large consumers and industries in Mexico. Qualified supply refers to vendors whose services have been verified and approved.

“A contract of this nature provides certainty regarding demand, and certainty is crucial for investments of this magnitude to be able to secure financing and construction,” CFE said in a statement.

The combination of PV solar generation and energy storage is particularly relevant, since electricity production depends on the availability of solar resources. 

This capacity allows for more flexible management of the energy produced by the plant and contributes to the electricity supply in the Yucatán Peninsula, a region plagued by blackouts in recent years while energy demand continues to rise.

The La Esperanza Solar project also reflects the role of CFE Calificados within the national electricity system. It acts as a marketer that, with the support of the Federal Electricity Commission, contributes to strengthening the transition and national energy sovereignty, explained the state-owned company.

This agreement is part of CFE Calificados’ strategy to strengthen and diversify its portfolio with different generation technologies and to support its customers in the transition to cleaner energy sources.

As part of its adherence to President Claudia Sheinbaum’s clean energy directive, CFE Calificados has signed hedging contracts for renewable energy projects. With these options, large consumers can support their operations with renewable energy and have greater certainty of supply.

Shortly after taking office in October 2024, Sheinbaum declared her government would pursue a target of 38%-45% clean energy by 2030.

With reports from El Economista, Power Gen Advancement and Energy Storage News

Mexico posts best jobs growth of 2026, but informal sector drives the gain

By
MND Staff
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1
A fishmonger hawks his product in Mexico City
A fish vendor at Mexico City's Nueva Viga market. Mexico's informal employment rate topped 56% in July, the highest level since December 2021. (Graciela López Herrera / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexico added almost 1.1 million informal sector jobs in July but lost more than 400,000 formal sector positions, according to data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Thursday.

Mexico’s informality rate — the percentage of the total Mexican workforce employed in the informal sector — thus rose from 55% in June to 56.2% in July, the highest level since December 2021.

INEGI’s data shows that the number of people in informal sector jobs rose by just over 1.08 million in July to reach 34.1 million.

Meanwhile, the number of people in formal sector jobs — i.e. workers with employment benefits such as paid vacations and IMSS health insurance — declined 412,889 in July. Around 26.6 million workers, or 43.8% of the Mexican workforce, are employed in the formal sector.

The increase in informal sector jobs in July and the decline in formal ones left Mexico with a net gain of 670,991 positions last month, the best result this year. The net gain in jobs came after two months of declines, but the fact that the growth was due to a surge in informal employment is cause for concern.

The high level of informality in Mexico has “a direct cost on potential economic growth,” Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, wrote on X on Thursday. She noted that 2024 data from INEGI showed that Mexico’s vast informal sector generated just 25.38% of Mexico’s GDP even though it employed — and continues to employ — more than half of all workers.

Mexico has lost more than 775,000 formal sector jobs this year 

INEGI data shows that Mexico added a total of 377,764 jobs in the first seven months of 2026.

The overall job growth is the product of the addition of 1.15 million informal sector jobs and the loss of 776,501 formal sector positions.

Siller said that the INEGI data is indicative of an ongoing deterioration of Mexico’s formal sector labor market. That deterioration is “one of the factors keeping the country in an economic stagnation trap,” she wrote in a Banco Base analysis.

Mexico’s economy has struggled to grow in recent times, although it did expand 1.4% on a quarter-over-quarter basis between April and June, the best second-quarter result since 2021.

INEGI’s employment data in detail

INEGI reported on Thursday that a total of 60.75 million people were employed in Mexico in July, while 1.81 million people were classified as unemployed. Mexico’s unemployment rate in July was 2.9%, an increase of 0.1 points compared to the same month of 2025. The unemployment rate was 3.1% for women and 2.9% for men.

Of the 60.75 million people in jobs in July, around 63% were employed in the tertiary or services sector while about 25% worked in the secondary sector, which includes the manufacturing, construction, mining and electricity industries. Most of the remaining workers — about 10.6% — were employed in Mexico’s primary sector, which includes agriculture and fishing, among other activities.

The secondary sector added 504,390 jobs in the 12 months to the end of July, while the primary and tertiary sectors lost 279,339 jobs and 208,494 jobs, respectively. The net result was a loss of 45,352 jobs in Mexico in the 12 months to July 31.

The growth of the secondary sector workforce was primarily due to the addition of more than 522,000 construction jobs in the 12 months to the end of July. The manufacturing industry lost just over 61,000 jobs in the period, while the mining and electricity sectors added almost 43,000 positions.

INEGI also reported that 6.7% of Mexico’s 60.75 million workers were underemployed in July, meaning they weren’t working as many hours as they wanted. That figure was down 0.6 points compared to July 2025.

Most workers in Mexico earn between one and two times the minimum wage, meaning they take home 315-630 pesos (US $18.50-$37) per day.

INEGI reported that 27.88 million workers —45.9% of the workforce — earned “up to a minimum wage” in July. Just over 19.4 million workers earned more than one but no more than two minimum wages. That number equates to 32% of the Mexican workforce.

Less than 1% of Mexican workers earned more than 5 minimum wages (1,575 pesos or US $93 per day) in July, according to INEGI, while 5.7% made 2-3 minimum wages and 2.4% earned 3-5 minimum wages.

With reports from El Economista

US pressures Mexico to stop its own citizens from crossing the border, sources say

By
MND Staff
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5
Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco shakes hands with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco met with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. (Marco Rubio / X)

Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first face-to-face meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, amid tensions in Mexico-U.S. relations.

Both officials commented on the meeting in social media posts, though a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter revealed a tougher private ask.

Velasco, who succeeded Juan Ramón de la Fuente as foreign minister in April, wrote on X that he and Rubio “reviewed security progress” and Mexico and the United States’ “joint work against drugs and arms trafficking and against transnational organized crime.”

He asserted that the bilateral “security cooperation scheme” has “yielded the best results in the region.”

Homicides in Mexico have declined significantly during the term of the current government, firearm seizures have increased and U.S. intelligence has helped Mexican authorities capture high-profile criminals, including former Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who was fatally wounded during a military operation in Jalisco in February. In addition, irregular migration to the United States via Mexico has declined sharply during the second Trump administration, although U.S. Border Patrol’s encounters with migrants at the United States’ southern border doubled in annual terms to more than 9,200 in July.

Velasco said that he and Rubio also spoke about “respect for the human rights of Mexican migrants in the United States.”

“I reiterated that our work with the United States is based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, shared responsibility, mutual trust and collaboration without subordination,” he wrote on X.

Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States Roberto Lazzeri and various other Mexican officials accompanied Velasco during his meeting with the U.S. secretary of state.

Rubio offered a briefer summary of Wednesday’s meeting, writing on X that he met with Velasco to “discuss decisive actions to end illegal immigration, halt fentanyl trafficking, and dismantle Foreign Terrorist Organizations and cartels.”

Eight Mexican cartels, including the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel, have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

Bloomberg News spoke with anonymous sources who offered additional insight into the meeting between Velasco and Rubio.

Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the news agency reported on Thursday that the U.S. secretary of state told his Mexican counterpart that the Trump administration wants the Mexican government “to do more to stop undocumented migrants from crossing the U.S. border” given the recent spike in migrant apprehensions.

“… The push is led by Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, and the main U.S. demand is that Mexico stop its own citizens from crossing the border,” Bloomberg reported, once again citing its anonymous sources.

“That presents a constitutional and legal complication for [President] Sheinbaum’s government because Mexican nationals are free to travel within their own country, including from the poorer southern states where many migrants originate to northern Mexico and the U.S. border region,” Bloomberg wrote.

Meeting takes place against a backdrop of bilateral tension 

The meeting between Velasco and Rubio took place at a time when Mexico-U.S. relations are strained for a variety of reasons.

Among the reasons for the bilateral tension are:

In a major speech on May 31, Sheinbaum railed against what she framed as U.S. interference in Mexican affairs, but nevertheless vowed to continue security collaboration with the Trump administration.

She has maintained a respectful relationship with Trump, even though the U.S. president has claimed she is “scared” of Mexican cartels and publicly mocked and mimicked her way of speaking.

With reports from La Jornada and Reforma 

Thursday night’s ‘blood moon’ eclipse over Mexico: How and when to watch it

By
MND Staff
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Diagram shows the progression of the August 27 lunar eclipse in Mexico
The lunar eclipse tonight (Thursday, August 27 in Mexico) ) won't be total, but very close to it (96%) and will be visible across most of Mexico starting at 8:33 p.m. CST. (NASA)

Mexico’s moon will lose much of its glimmer Thursday night as Earth’s shadow covers nearly all of it in a deep partial lunar eclipse.

The eclipse — which will darken 96.3% of the moon’s disk at its maximum — will be visible across much of Mexico, with clear skies being the deciding factor.

Map showing times of the August 27 lunar eclipse in Mexico
A map from NASA shows the timing of the phases of the lunar eclipse based on moonrise times across the globe. It uses UTC time as the base, which is five hours ahead of Central Standard Time, so that 1:24 a.m. means 8:24 p.m. in Mexico City. And because that’s after midnight, the date given is August 28, though in Mexico City it’s still Thursday, August 27. (NASA)

Its partial phase will begin tonight (Thursday) at 8:33 p.m. Mexico City time, reaching its maximum at 10:13 p.m. and ending at 11:52 p.m., according to NASA. The subtler penumbral phase will begin at 7:23 p.m. and continue until after midnight.

At maximum, only a thin, bright edge of the moon should remain outside the umbra, Earth’s darkest shadow.

A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the sun and moon, with sunlight filtered and bent through Earth’s atmosphere reaching the moon. Blue wavelengths scatter more readily, while red and orange tones reach and reflect from the moon, giving it a dim, coppery or reddish appearance.

Because tonight’s event is extremely close to being a total eclipse, Mexican news outlets are calling it a “luna de sangre,” or “blood moon.” The popular term describes the red appearance of a fully eclipsed moon, although it is often used loosely for deep partial eclipses.

While tonight’s spectacle is notable, it is not exceptionally rare. 

Eclipses covering at least 85% of the moon’s diameter — which includes total eclipses as well as deep partial eclipses — occur somewhere in the world every two-and-a-half to three years. 

In recent years, Mexico has seen total lunar eclipses in January 2019. March 2025 and March 2026 — and ordinary partial eclipses are even more frequent.

Mexico’s last major solar eclipse occurred in April 2024 and drew many international visitors, especially in the eclipse’s arc across parts of Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila. With the moon positioned directly in front of the sun, there was nearly total darkness in those areas before the eclipse continued through the United States and Canada.

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can be viewed safely with the naked eye; no special glasses are needed. Binoculars or a telescope can sharpen the view of Earth’s shadow crossing lunar craters and other features.

Expert eclipse-watching guidance in Mexico City

Mexico City residents can attend a free pre-eclipse program at the capital’s 300 PILARES community centers, where science educators will offer guidance to people who bring their own telescopes, plus other eclipse activities.

A la Luz de la Luna (By the Light of the Moon) will run from 5 to 8 p.m., ending about half an hour before the partial phase begins and more than two hours before the greatest eclipse.

Advance registration is requested via the PILARES page, where you can also locate the community center near you. PILARES says telescopes will be available for people who don’t bring their own.

With reports from El Financiero, Radio Fórmula, Wired en Español and Infobae

Tamaulipas fuel-theft bust uncovers ranch hiding 135 exotic animals, from tigers to spider monkeys

By
MND Staff
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tiger
Among the big cats captured and held by the fuel smugglers were Bengal tigers, including the one seen here, African lions, jaguars and an ocelot. (FGR)

Raids on five properties in the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas resulted in the seizure of 68,000 liters of diesel fuel, several firearms, tactical communications equipment and 135 exotic animals. 

The operation — carried out by the Navy, with assistance from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the Security Ministry and state authorities — was a follow-up to ongoing investigations related to huachicoleo (the illegal practice of stealing, smuggling and selling fuel).

Suspect fuel smuggling
The raids resulted in the seizure of 68,000 liters of stolen fuel, 135 illegally captured animals and at least one entire ranch full of fuel-processing tools and equipment — but only one suspect. (FGR)

“Our investigations continue to dismantle this network and affect its logistical and financial capabilities,” Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said.

In an official statement released on Thursday, the Navy Ministry said that in addition to securing five properties, including a storage center, an illegal gas station, a house, a workshop and a ranch, one individual was arrested. The officials also seized an undisclosed number of tanker trucks and “fuel-handling equipment.”

Among the exotic animals impounded by the authorities — all at a single ranch — were at least 35 listed as endangered under Mexican law (21 spider monkeys, three jaguars, an ocelot, a green macaw, an American bison, bighorn sheep, a green iguana and an Aztec parrot). 

Also found were Bengal tigers, a mandrill, a lemur, African lions, hyenas and sulcata tortoises, all of which are subject to special protection under international animal trade laws. 

monkeys
These spider monkeys were among the animals found, along with a green macaw, an American bison, bighorn sheep, a green iguana and an Aztec parrot, among others. (FGR)

All the animals were placed at the disposal of the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection for evaluation, safekeeping and specialized handling.

In addition to the diesel fuel, the raid netted a tractor-trailer, tanker trucks and other equipment.

The properties — located in the municipalities of Altamira and Tampico — have been sealed and were placed under the custody of the proper authorities. The suspect was turned over to the FGR for processing.

The Security Ministry said the investigation will seek to determine the origin of the fuel and the animals, as well as to establish potential liability and locate other members of the network under investigation. 

It also emphasized that the operation aims to contribute to the protection and preservation of wildlife in Mexico.

With reports from Infobae, El Financiero, El Economista, Reforma and La Jornada

Mexico in Numbers: Mexico City rental prices

By
MND Staff
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Closeup of building facades on a tree-lined street in Mexico City.
Homes on a tree-lined street in Mexico City. (Unsplash)

Gentrification is a thorny issue in Mexico City, triggering protests last year in various parts of the capital, including in neighborhoods where many foreign residents live and many foreign tourists stay, such as Condesa and Roma.

A large part of protesters’ anger over gentrification was — and is — due to recent increases in rents for residential properties in certain parts of Mexico City.

With that in mind, this “Mexico in Numbers” article looks at how much it costs, on average, to rent a two-bedroom apartment in different parts of the capital, and how much rents increased in the 12 months to the end of June.

* The average monthly rents referred to in this article were calculated in June 2026 by Inmuebles 24, a real estate listing website. The El Economista newspaper and the news outlet Expansíon recently published the results of the Inmuebles24 Mexico City Index. The US dollar prices included in this article were calculated using the Bank of Mexico’s closing USD:MXN rate on Wednesday, Aug. 26, which was 16.96. 

What’s the average rent across CDMX?

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Mexico City is 21,921 pesos (US $1,292) per month, an increase of 9.6% compared to a year earlier. Mexico’s annual inflation rate in June was 3.37%.

By law, annual rent increases for existing renters remaining in the same property cannot exceed the headline inflation rate at the end of the previous year. At the end of 2025, Mexico’s headline rate was 3.69%.

At the end of May, the average monthly salary of a formal sector worker in Mexico was 20,419 pesos, an amount 1,502 pesos less than the average rent in the capital.

CDMX rental prices, by borough

Below we detail the average rents for a two-bedroom apartment in 10 of Mexico City’s 16 boroughs, or alcaldías as they are known in Spanish.

Infographic showing rental prices in 10 Mexico City boroughs

Cuauhtémoc

This borough — which includes the historic center of Mexico City as well as neighborhoods such as Roma, Condesa, Juárez, San Rafael and Doctores — has the highest average rents in Mexico City.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 29,149 pesos (US $1,719), an annual increase of 13.7%.

Miguel Hidalgo

This borough — which includes neighborhoods such as Polanco, Escandón, Lomas de Chapultepec, San Miguel Chapultepec and Tacubaya — has the second-highest average rents in Mexico City.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 27,786 pesos (US $1,642), an annual increase of 10.1%.

Cuajimalpa 

This borough in western Mexico City has the third-highest average rents in the capital.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough — which includes part of the Santa Fe business and residential district — is, on average, 21,355 pesos (US $1,262), an annual increase of 9.9%.

Benito Juárez

This borough — which includes neighborhoods such as Del Valle, Narvarte, Nápoles and Portales — has the fourth-highest average rents in the capital.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 20,486 pesos (US $1,208), an annual increase of 6.9%.

Álvaro Obregón

This borough — within whose boundaries lies another part of Santa Fe as well as the pretty San Ángel neighborhood — has the fifth-highest average rents in the capital.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 20,016 pesos (US $1,180), an annual increase of 9.7%.

Coyoacán

This borough — which includes the picturesque Coyoacán historic center as well as the “University City” campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico — has the sixth-highest average rents in Mexico City.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 17,306 pesos (US $1,020), an annual increase of 15.5%.

Azcapotzalco

This northern borough — home to the concert venue Arena Ciudad de México — has the seventh-highest average rents in Mexico City.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 17,306 pesos (US $1,020), an annual increase of 15.5%.

Tlalpan

This southern borough — home to the Cuicuilco archeological site and the Six Flags amusement park — has the eighth-highest average rents in Mexico City.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 13,607 pesos (US $802), an annual increase of 15.5%.

Gustavo A. Madero 

Mexico City’s northernmost borough — where the Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe is located — has the ninth-highest average rents in Mexico City. 

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the borough is, on average, 13,424 pesos (US $791), an annual increase of 8.3%.

Venustiano Carranza 

This northeastern borough — home to the Mexico City International Airport — has the 10th-highest average rents in Mexico City. In other words, it has the lowest rents among the 10 Mexico City boroughs included in the Inmuebles24 Mexico City Index.

Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Venustiano Carranza is, on average, 13,021 pesos (US $768), an annual increase of 5.3%.

* Inmuebles24 didn’t publish data on average rents in the six other Mexico City boroughs, namely La Magdalena Contreras, Milpa Alta, Xochimilco, Iztapalapa, Tláhuac and Iztacalco. 

Mexico News Daily 

MND Local: Discover a different side of September in Puerto Vallarta

By
Charlotte Smith
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Aerial view of Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta at night.
Aerial view of Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta at night. (Credit: Alonso Reyes via Unsplash)

September can be a strange month in Puerto Vallarta. The summer crowds have thinned, the heat and humidity are still very much with us, school’s back in session so traffic picks up, and it can be tempting to spend the month hiding indoors with the air conditioning on.

But there’s still plenty happening around town, and some of it offers a chance to experience the city as something more than a tourist destination. September is a good time to slow down, explore local neighborhoods, support small businesses and take part in traditions that have little to do with beaches or resort pools.

Naturally Mazcal Weekend Market

If you’re looking for something a little more local and a little less polished, the Naturally Mazcal Weekend Market is a good place to start.

Held on Saturdays at the east end of Isla Cuale, the market brings together local makers, small producers, food vendors and wellness businesses. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offers the kind of relaxed, neighborhood atmosphere that makes it easy to browse, stop for something to eat and discover something you didn’t know existed.

Flyer for Naturally Mazcal Weekend Market in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
(Credit: Naturally Mazcal Weekend Market organizers)

You’ll find handmade products, locally produced food, natural body care items, clothing, art and other small-batch goods. The market is also a chance to meet the people behind many of the products being sold, which gives the experience a more personal feel than a typical shopping trip.

The September market is particularly appealing because it gives residents a reason to get out during what’s traditionally one of Vallarta’s quieter months. The pace is generally unhurried, and the setting near the river and Isla Cuale makes it easy to combine a visit with a walk through one of the city’s most distinctive areas.

Mexican Independence Day

There are plenty of ways to celebrate Mexican Independence Day in Puerto Vallarta, but if you want to experience the heart of it, head downtown.

On Sept. 15, Plaza de Armas comes alive with music, dancing, food and the anticipation of the traditional Grito de Independencia, when the mayor recalls the historic call for independence and leads the crowd in the familiar cry of “Viva México!”

A walkway into Plaza de Armas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexcio.
Head down to Plaza de Armas on Sept. 15 for a traditional El Grito celebration. (Credit: Cortor Media via Unsplash)

The ceremony is followed by the kind of celebration that reminds you this isn’t simply another event on the calendar. It’s one of Mexico’s most important national celebrations, and the energy in the plaza reflects that. Families, residents and visitors gather together, often wearing green, white and red, while vendors fill the surrounding area with traditional food and refreshments.

The following morning, Sept. 16, brings the traditional Independence Day parade through the city. It’s crowded and noisy, and it’s gloriously Mexican. School groups, marching bands, dancers, military personnel and community organizations typically make their way through the streets as spectators line the route.

It’s the perfect way to catch a memorable glimpse into one of the country’s most important traditions.

‘Estampas de México’

On Sept. 18, the Camerata de Puerto Vallarta will present “Estampas de México,” an evening celebrating some of the country’s most recognizable musical traditions.

The concert brings together young musicians trained through the Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta, offering a program built around Mexican composers and the country’s rich musical identity. 

The performance is expected to be more than a night of familiar songs and national pride. It also represents another step in the development of a local musical program that’s been working with young people in the region.

Through the Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta, young musicians are given the chance to study, rehearse and build the experience needed to continue growing as performers. “Estampas de México” reflects that effort while also placing Mexican musical traditions at the center of the program.

Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta rehearsing.
Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta rehearsing. (Credit: Orquesta Escuela de Puerto Vallarta via Instagram)

The concert’s setting is part of its appeal, too. Rather than taking place in a hotel or tourist venue, it will be held at the Colegio Niños Héroes auditorium in Las Gaviotas, creating a more intimate connection between the musicians and the community they represent. 

It’s a reminder that Puerto Vallarta’s cultural life exists well beyond the Malecón and the city’s entertainment districts, so the program offers an opportunity to hear music associated with Mexican composers and traditions in a setting that feels both local and accessible. 

Estampas de México begins at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 18. The Colegio Niños Héroes auditorium is located at Avenida Paseo del Marlin No. 89 in Las Gaviotas. Seating is limited, and tickets are available through WhatsApp at +1 (322) 241-6360.

Cuisine Without Borders: Nogada Edition

And then there’s food. Honestly, no list of things to do in Vallarta would be complete without including at least one culinary event.

Cuisine Without Borders: Nogada Edition runs through Sept. 20, bringing together Velas Vallarta, Casa Velas and Táu Beach Club for a culinary celebration inspired by chile en nogada.

The dish is one of Mexico’s most recognizable seasonal specialties. Traditionally prepared with a poblano pepper filled with a mixture of meat, fruit and spices, it’s covered with a creamy walnut sauce and finished with pomegranate seeds and parsley. The colors represent the Mexican flag, making chile en nogada especially popular around Independence Day.

Chile nogada on a plate.
Cuisine Without Borders will be serving up a fresh take on the traditional chile en nogada. (Credit: Sergio Rodríguez)

This event takes that classic dish and looks at it through an international lens, incorporating techniques and ingredients from the United States and Canada into the menus. The result is a celebration of Mexican cuisine that also reflects the international character of Puerto Vallarta.

There are special rates for locals and residents, making this worth considering even if you’re not here on vacation. It’s a chance to enjoy the city’s hospitality and dining scene from a resident’s perspective, without necessarily having to wait for visiting friends or family to arrive.

There you have it: four events, and four very different ways of experiencing Puerto Vallarta.

You can browse local products at Isla Cuale, join the crowds downtown for Mexican Independence Day, listen to young musicians perform the country’s musical traditions, or sit down to a creative interpretation of chile en nogada.

And perhaps the best thing about it all is that in September, you don’t have to be a tourist to enjoy the city. You just have to get out and be part of it.

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

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