One of 223 pieces returned to Mexico after negotiations with the Netherlands. (SRE)
On Thursday, the Ministry of Culture announced that 223 archeological pieces were returned home to Mexico from the Netherlands, thanks to an agreement with the European country.
According to the Ministry, the repatriated artifacts are already under the protection of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) for analysis, care, conservation and cultural promotion.
An initial inspection of the pieces, carried out by INAH’s experts, confirmed that they are pre-Hispanic artifacts from cultures in western Mexico, the central highlands (also known as the Mexican Altiplano), the Gulf of Mexico and the southeast region of the country. They date from the Mesoamerican Preclassic Period (1200 B.C.-400 B.C.) to the Postclassic Period (A.D. 800-A.D. 1,521).
In the repatriation ceremony, Foreign Affairs Ministry official Bernardo Aguilar Calvo expressed the Mexican government’s gratitude to the deputy ambassador of the Netherlands in Mexico, Anne Le Guellec, for her collaboration in the recovery of the pieces.
A pre-Hispanic figurine, one of the items repatriated to Mexico. (SRE)
In turn, the deputy ambassador recognized the positive trend in the international arena to return cultural and heritage objects to their original communities, based on the principles of ethics and respect.
Also present in the ceremony was SRE’s deputy legal consultant, Salvador Tinajero, who described the Netherlands’ support as invaluable to fight illicit trafficking of archaeological and cultural objects.
Mexico’s current administration has prioritized the recovery of national cultural heritage from abroad. According to the national news outlet Aristegui Noticias, around 9,000 national pieces have been recovered since López Obrador took office in December 2018.
As part of the recovery strategy, Mexico has filed lawsuits in different countries against the auction of Mexican pieces. In 2021, the government also launched an international campaign called #MiPatrimonioNoSeToca (#Don’tTouchMyHeritage) promoted by Mexican ambassador in France, Blanca Jiménez Cisneros.
Countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, and Colombia have joined the campaign as they also try to recover heritage that is illegally sold in foreign countries.
Puebla has several Pueblos Mágicos to enjoy. Cuetzalan is a great spot for architecture, history and indigenous culture. (Sectur)
The season that stretches from Christmas to New Year’s is a popular time of year for locals to escape city life and unwind with a change of scenery. There are staple destinations where you are sure to bump into one of your neighbors: Tulum, Acapulco, Cabo, Oaxaca City and San Miguel de Allende are historically fashionable holiday havens.
If you’d like to go somewhere a bit more tranquil that still boasts cultural flair, consider the following five options. Not only will they serve to satisfy that travel itch, the chances of bumping into your personal trainer while digging into your fourth tamale are slim to none.
Puebla’s Sierra Norte
This Puebla region is a stunner. Its green and mountainous landscape, dotted with ancient ruins, is sure to please any outdoor enthusiast. This is also the spot to celebrate holidays and traditions in a most authentic manner. And in case you were wondering, the entire state of Puebla is a culinary goldmine.
Zacatlán, Puebla’s Tulimán Falls is the second highest waterfall in Mexico. It’s inside a nature park with gorgeous views and a variety of activities, including archery and zip-lining.
There are seven Pueblos Mágicos in this region, and each showcases a distinct personality.
Bird lovers will appreciate Pahuatlán, well-known among birders as a hotspot for seeing Puebla’s hundreds of extremely colorful avian inhabitants. The Mirador de Ahila, a nearby lookout point that gives you a panoramic view of the area, is perfect for bird spotting.
An architecture junkie? Check out Cuetzalan, whose name means “place of the quetzals,” although the only “quetzals” left in Puebla are the performers of the Quetzal Dance, an folkloric tradition believed to be one of the oldest surviving ones in Mexico. This charming town feels like walking into Mexico’s colonial past, in large part due to cloud forest surrounding it and its colonial-era buildings.
Traveling with family? Picturesque Zacatlán offers everything from ziplining to museum hopping, during which you can sip on a homemade cider (some of it alcoholic) cultivated from the surrounding apple orchards it’s known for. The town is also filled with modern mosaics made by local artists. Check out nearby Tulimán Falls for the ziplining inside a park that affords amazing views.
In Oaxaca, they have it all: beaches, colorful flora and fauna and picturesque urban areas steeped in Mexico’s history. (Creative Commons)
Oaxaca
The traditional festivals of Oaxaca city make it a bustling destination for tourists during the holidays, which is why we suggest bypassing the quaint and colorful city altogether and beelining it for the beach.
Despite its rising popularity among the international crowd, the coast of Oaxaca is still a more restful alternative to hotspots like Cancún, Mazatlán or Puerto Vallarta. If the beach is not your scene, maybe a nighttime boat ride through a bioluminescent bay will do? And wildlife aficionados will be thrilled to know that turtle-nesting season is in full swing through January.
Other attractions include surfing, hiking, whale watching, fresh fish for lunch or simply lounging with a good book.
Holbox
If you’re feeling a more Caribbean vibe, this tiny island just might be the ticket. While you may have to deal with throngs of would-be beachgoers and partiers in and around the Cancún airport, hang tight and keep your eyes on the prize: from the airport, you’ll need to make a two-hour escape north to the town of Chiquila, where you’ll hop on a ferry and hop off in paradise.
Holbox is whimsical and charming and especially quiet over Christmas. The car-free, lackadaisical culture lends itself sweetly to long, lazy days on the beach.
If lounging on a hammock in crystal-clear waters isn’t your jam, fret not. You can be active here, despite the island’s small size.
Sign up for a day or night (or both!) of snorkeling or a kayaking experience in the bioluminescent bay. Join a street art walking tour, explore the endemic wildlife on a Three Islands boat tour or try your hand at kitesurfing with some private lessons.
Need to sunbathe but not surrounded by drunk tourists? In late December, it’s peaceful in Holbox. (Photo: Depositphotos)
Valle de Guadalupe
As the rest of Mexico flocks to the coastline, why not head slightly inland where you can immerse in Baja’s laid-back vibes and sip wine without the usual gaggle of snowbirds, where the weather is temperate yet the sun is forever shining?
Valle de Guadalupe isn’t polished. It isn’t flashy. It’s raw, earthy and lawless in its approach to wine tourism. New restaurants are popping up frequently, and wine quality is constantly improving.
The landscape is gorgeous, with rolling hills of vineyards against a backdrop of beautiful blue sky. Outside of remarkable Mexican wines and fantastic food, there isn’t much to do, but that’s the beauty of it.
Consider this excursion a period of downtime, where you can fully enjoy the people you’re with and the libations you’re savoring.
Colorful Campeche is the perfect warm place to take it easy during the hectic holiday season. (Photo: Depositphotos)
Campeche
Utterly overlooked by the international crowd, Campeche is brimming with culture, museums and Maya undertones. This pastel-hued seaside town was once a pirate’s treasure trove and, as a result, is surrounded by fortresses.
The charming downtown requires just two days of sightseeing, so you can devote substantial time to exploring outside the city. Within just a three-hour drive, you can visit mind-blowing Maya archaeological sites and biospheres like Edzná, Calakmul and Balakmu; the easygoing fisherman’s village of Isla Arena; the pink flamingos in Celestún; and the cenote in Miguel Colorado.
This holiday season, leave the crowds behind and give yourself the gift of a vacation in Mexico’s many off-the-beaten-path treasures.
Bethany Platanella is a travel writer and contributor toMexico News Daily. To find out more about Bethany, visit her website.
At the Costa Verde International School in Sayulita, Nayarit, the school’s population of 190 students is these days split about 50/50 between Mexican and foreign students. (Photo: Costa Verde School)
Mexico has become an increasingly popular place to live for retirees and remote workers from around the world. According to the latest figures from the federal statistics agency INEGI (2020), more than 1.2 million foreigners live in Mexico — nearly 300,000 more than a decade ago. But did you know Mexico is also a hot relocation spot for families with school-aged children?
While Mexico doesn’t publish data on the family makeup of its foreign population, the number of extranjero families living here appears to be significant and growing: just look at the number of Facebook groups and blogs dedicated to families living in or immigrating to Mexico. Visit any school, plaza, café or mercado in an expat enclave, and you are bound to find parents and kids of various nationalities integrating everywhere into daily Mexican life.
“It’s the best move we could have ever made,” said Jason Hartman, who moved to Michoacán from Los Angeles. “Here I am less stressed. I don’t work 60-hour weeks just to get by.”
“The trend used to be that foreign families would come for just part of the year or a few months and then return to their home countries. In the past two to three years, we have seen more families stay here permanently,” said Erika Ramírez Gamero, director of the Costa Verde International School in Sayulita, Nayarit, where the school’s population of 190 students is split about 50/50 between Mexican and foreign students from all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France and Tahiti.
The school’s story is reflective of what’s happening in several locations in Mexico. “Since the pandemic, we have seen a huge influx of foreign families,” says Amber Nieto, who grew up in San Miguel de Allende with a Mexican father and American mother and runs a website and consulting service for families. “At my daughter’s school, Academia Internacional, we had 46 new families … and there are 16 nationalities represented currently.”
Erika Ramírez Gamero, director of the Costa Verde School in Sayulita, Nayarit, says her young students are increasingly foreigners living in Mexico. (Costa Verde School)
Earlier this year, Mexico News Daily conducted a survey of foreign families in Mexico to learn more about this growing demographic. We heard from 28 families who had immigrated to Mexico over the last 15 years.
That data, compared with data from a 2017 survey of 43 other immigrant families, is helping paint a clearer picture of where families are from, where they are moving to, and why they moved, and to some degree, how that’s changing.
Where are families from?
Of the 28 families that responded to our most recent survey, 21 (or 75%) are from the U.S. The other 25% hail from Canada (3), England (2), Israel (1) and Kuala Lampur (1).
The earlier survey in 2017 specifically targeted U.S. families. Of the 43 respondents, 42 were from the U.S. and only one was from Canada. In both surveys, the families from the U.S. hail from all over the country.
Jason Hartman, right, moved from Los Angeles, California, to Jacona De Plancarte, Michoacán, with his wife and children. They’ve never regretted the move, he said.
While our results skewed toward U.S. immigrants, relocation specialists told us that they’ve seen interest in moving to Mexico rising from families all over the world.
“Prior to the pandemic, 99% of my clientele was from the U.S.,” said relocation consultant Katie O’Grady. “Now I’m seeing more interest from Canadian, Australian and even Irish families. And where before, most of my U.S. clientele was from the West Coast, New England and Colorado, now I’m seeing more interest from families in the Midwest and southern states.”
San Miguel de Allende-based relocation consultant Sonia Díaz is seeing similar changes.
“The majority of my clients are from the U.S. and Canada, but I am seeing more interest from people in Europe, Australia, Central and South America, Asia and South Africa,” she said.
Sonia Díaz, whose San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, relocation consultant, says the number of young families she’s dealt with has tripled.
“At one time, nearly every person was retired,” she said. “But the number of young families I have as clients has at least tripled since I started relocation consulting services 10 years ago.”
Where are families moving to?
The families we heard from are gravitating toward coastal cities like Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán and also Mexico City — the latter which has long been popular with expats in general and is becoming more and more popular with people from the U.S. and digital nomads.
These destinations match findings by INEGI this month. It found that in the first nine months of 2022, the top destinations for new temporary visas granted were for people with addresses in Mexico City, Jalisco (mainly Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Chapala), Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur and Yucatán, all of which have coastal locations.
Many respondents told us they’d moved to coastal areas, like Puerto Vallarta, but we also heard from expat families in urban interior cities and even small villages. (Photo: Taylor Beach/Unsplash)
Our survey found people are choosing to live all over the country — from small fishing villages to megacities to rural communities in the middle of the country.
A good example of this diversity is the Dempseys, a family that moved in 2019 from the U.S. state of Virginia with their three children, three horses and five dogs to an avocado farm in the small community of La Escondida, Michoacán. They wanted to be closer to the father’s side of the family, who are Mexican.
La Escondido’s population in the 2020 census was 774.
The majority of respondents to both surveys came from the U.S, but where they came from in the U.S. varied greatly. Hover over the map or use the search box to see where.
Why are families immigrating to Mexico?
According to our two surveys, there are a number of reasons why families are moving to Mexico, some which have not changed, such as seeking better weather to reducing stress to finding a lower cost of living. But new reasons have risen to the top spots between the surveys of 2017 and 2022.
“There have been waves of immigration,” said Katie O’Grady, relocation consultant. “First with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and now during the pandemic.”
In the 2017 survey, almost all of the top five reasons families moved to Mexico were geared toward personal fulfillment, such as spending more time with family and experiencing Mexican culture. Our 2022 survey showed the top reasons concerned more practical quality-of-life issues: No. 1 was escaping politics at home. In the 2017 survey, wanting to escape politics was a factor, but not among the top five.
“There have been waves of immigration,” said O’Grady. “First with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and now during the pandemic. The biggest difference I see now is that most of my clients are moving because of political discomfort, even more so than before.”
Move to Mexico consultant Katie O’Grady says she’s noticed more families among her clients and that they are from more places: beyond those from the U.S. and Canada, she’s seen Australian and Irish families emigrate. (Photo: Facebook)
Politics was a big factor for Lee Wampler, who moved with his family from Johnson City, Tennessee, to Oaxaca city, Oaxaca, in 2022.
“The U.S. has become a toxic country with all the gun violence, political divide and racism,” he wrote in his survey response.
“We have seen in the U.S. [that] there are areas that have become more violent or harder for families to live. They feel safe here,” said Ramírez of her foreign students’ families.
“And now with the pandemic and things opening up for jobs, families have the option to move to another country more easily. It has reduced the number of families that leave. More people are staying here longer.”
Between 2017 and 2022, respondents’ reasons why they came to live in Mexico changed from those geared to personal fulfillment to more practical ones like a lower cost of living.
One survey respondent who wished to remain anonymous wrote, “We left Canada in June 2022 due to the political climate and divisiveness. We wanted to live where the culture is rich, people are kind and [where] we could have better health all around and we could raise our children to be bilingual and bicultural.”
In the 2022 responses, seeking a lower cost of living was also a big driver for families making the move, the second most popular reason given in our most recent survey, compared to fourth most popular in 2017. A lower cost of living was No. 3 overall between both surveys.
Amber Nieto concurs that the main reasons given for moving to Mexico are “the better quality of family life and lower cost of living,” adding, “People can have a slower paced lifestyle here. When you have more time, you create stronger family bonds, and create a stronger sense of community.”
Although he came to Mexico in 2015, cost of living was already a major factor for Jason Hartman, who moved here from Los Angeles, California, to Jacona De Plancarte, Michoacán, with his wife, 3-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son.
Amber Nieto, center, with her family in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Nieto grew up here, the daughter of a Mexican father and an American mother, and is bringing up a second generation in Mexico.
“When our son was born, the want of going to Mexico became a need,” he said. “I was running the numbers of what my wife and I were earning at our jobs. And after rent, bills, a respectable but not ostentatious food budget and care costs for two kids — at the end of the month, we would just about break even,” he said.
“I shared what I found with my wife and told her we either have to move out of California to a more affordable place, or I need to change positions with a company that pays more,” Hartman said. “She brought up the idea of moving to Mexico, where her family was from and where we had visited on multiple occasions and loved.”
The Hartmans are now coming up on the eighth anniversary of their move to Mexico in February.
“It’s the best move we could have ever made,” Hartman said. “Here I am less stressed. I don’t work 60-hour weeks just to get by. Now I work when I want to and save more money than I did while in L.A.,” he said.
While many respondents moved to coastal areas of Mexico, a surprising number are living in small interior cities and even tiny communities.
Ties to Mexico
Our survey also found that a good number of families immigrating to Mexico already have ties to the country, although the numbers decreased from the earlier survey to the most recent.
Forty percent of respondents from our 2017 survey and 29% from our 2022 survey cited a connection to Mexico: a Mexican partner or spouse; extended family in Mexico, Mexican heritage, or Mexican-born children.
That was certainly true for the Dempseys, the Hartmans, as well as for Tara Gray, whose husband is Mexican.
Gray and her husband met in England — she is English — and moved to Mexico with their three young daughters in 2009 to be closer to family.
“People can have a slower paced lifestyle here,” says Amber Nieto. “When you have more time, you create stronger family bonds, and create a stronger sense of community.”
They first moved to Cuernavaca, Morelos, since her husband’s family would be relatively nearby in Mexico City. Now they live in Tequisquiapan, Querétaro, where her kids attend the Instituto Bilingüe Victoria.
“I had always known I didn’t want to live in the UK,” Gray said. “I always knew I would live someplace else. So when the recession hit and our business suffered, we found we had to start from scratch. We decided to move to Mexico.”
“I wanted my kids to be a part of a big Mexican family. My husband is one of nine children.”
For Gray, the choice to move to Mexico and stay, despite the challenges her family has faced, boils down to ensuring that their daughters were raised in a safe and nurturing environment with good educational opportunities, which they found in the Pueblo Mágico of Tequisquiapan.
“We are committed to staying. We are very happy. We love where we are,” Gray said.
Debbie Slobe is a writer and communications strategist based in Chacala, Nayarit. She blogs at Mexpatmama.com and is a senior program director at Resource Media. Find her on Instagram and Facebook.
Susana Prieto, the sponsor of the bill, said impact on businesses will be neglible because payroll costs are a small fraction of the cost of a finished product. (Archive)
Mexico’s minimum wage will increase by 20% next year thanks to an agreement struck by the federal government with employers’ associations and unions.
The minimum daily wage across most of the country will increase to 207.44 pesos (about US $10.80) on Jan. 1, up from 172.87 pesos in 2022.
In the Northern Border Free Zone — made up of 43 municipalities on the Mexico-U.S. border — workers will receive at least 312.41 pesos (US $16.30) per day starting Jan. 1, a 20% increase from the prevailing minimum of 260.34 pesos.
Workers on the minimum wage in most parts of the country will receive an additional 1,052 pesos per month, while those in the northern border region will get an extra 1,584 pesos.
Announcing the 20% increase at his regular news conference on Thursday, President López Obrador said that the raise is “very important because we’re facing inflation of an international character.”
López Obrador acknowledged that there is “some concern” in the business community that the minimum wage increase will fuel inflation, but said his government doesn’t see that happening.
The president of the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami) also asserted that the increase won’t drive inflation up. “Conasami studies project negligible impact on inflation,” Luis Munguía said on Twitter.
The president announced the minimum wage increase at his Thursday morning press conference. (Presidencia de la República)
Labor Minister Luisa María Alcalde highlighted that 6.4 million workers will directly benefit from the wage increase. She also said that Mexico will have the 50th highest minimum wage in the world in 2023, at US $321.80 per month.
Alcalde presented data that showed that Mexico had the 81st highest minimum salary among 135 countries in 2020, but it improved to 73rd in 2021 and 60th this year.
She said that workers’ purchasing power will increase on Jan. 1 and asserted that will add “dynamism to the local economy” and Mexico’s “internal market.”
The increase won’t just help workers but their families as well, the labor minister added.
Labor sector representative José Luis Carazo said that the increase of the minimum wage to above 200 pesos per day represents “justice for workers in Mexico,” while business sector spokesman Lorenzo de Jesús Roel said that the raise could have been even higher had inflation not been a problem.
López Obrador, who styles himself as a champion of Mexico’s most vulnerable people, has made lifting the minimum wage a priority of his government. It was just 88 pesos when he took office in 2018, but the president wants a daily minimum wage of at least 260 pesos (US $13.60) when he leaves the nation’s top job in 2024.
In November, homicide killed an average of 69 people per day, down from 80 in October. (CDMX Servicio de Medios Públicos)
Mexico registered just over 2,000 intentional homicides during the month of November, marking a return to the year’s trend of declining violence.
Preliminary figures derived from daily reports by the federal government counted 2,071 homicides over the course of the month, giving an average of 69 per day.
Official homicide data released by the National Public Security System (SESNSP) later in the month tends to show a slightly higher rate; all the same, November appears to have been a markedly less violent month than October, when an average of 80 homicides per day were recorded.
Indeed, November’s homicide rate is one of lowest of 2022 so far, equaling February’s tally and only surpassed by January, which registered 66.5 killings per day. It is also 7.6% lower than the same month in 2021.
Overall, 2022 has shown a slight improvement in the rates of violence across Mexico, with the first nine months of the year showing an 8.1% reduction in homicides compared to 2021. After the flare-up of violence in October, November’s return to this trend is a positive sign.
However, violence remains alarmingly high. More than 140,000 homicides have been registered since President López Obrador took office in 2018, making his first four years in government 61.2% more violent than the same period of the previous administration.
Guanajuato remains the most violent state in Mexico, with 243 killings during November, including a massacre of nine people in a bar in Apaseo el Alto on November 9. It was followed by México state, with 183; Baja California, with 178; Michoacán, with 163; Jalisco, with 139 and Zacatecas, with 135.
While most states saw a reduction from October’s levels of violence, Mexico City saw a 25% increase in homicides, from 65 in October to 81 in November, making last month the capital’s most violent of 2022 so far.
Passengers make their way through the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport in May. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
Passenger numbers at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) almost doubled between September and October and have increased almost 400% since the new facility’s first full month of operations earlier this year.
A total of 173,873 passengers used the México state airport in October, a 90.9% increase compared to September.
The former figure is 397% higher than the 34,981 passengers who passed through AIFA in April. The airport, located about 50 kilometers north of central Mexico City, opened on March 21.
Much of the 90.9% month-over-month increase in passenger traffic came from higher passenger numbers on flights between AIFA and Cancún and AIFA and Guadalajara.
Aeroméxico, Volaris and VivaAerobus offer flights on AIFA’s most popular routes, which connect to Cancún and Guadalajara. (File photo)
Passenger numbers on each of those two routes increased by more than 25,000 in October compared to September, and thus 61% of the total increase in airport users came from people flying to and from the Quintana Roo resort city and the Jalisco capital.
Aeroméxico and Volaris both fly to Cancún from AIFA, while those two airlines and Viva Aerobús operate between the new airport and Guadalajara.
Among the other routes that saw higher passenger numbers in October were AIFA-Monterrey and AIFA-Mexicali.
Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobús have all recently increased the number of flights they operate to and from AIFA, which was built by the army on an Air Force base in the municipality of Zumpango. They have been forced to reduce flight numbers at the Mexico City International Airport because the number of operations per hour has been cut there by 15% for the winter season.
One challenge the airport faces as it seeks to maintain growth in passenger numbers is keeping intruders out. Earlier this year, AIFA awarded a 26.4-million-peso (about US $1.4 million) contract to a company to control “harmful fauna” in and around the airport, according to a report by the news website Infobae.
Servipro de México’s job is to “drive away or even kill animals such as mice, ants, flies, mosquitos, cats, dogs and wild birds that represent a risk to the operation of aircraft on the take-off and landing runways,” Infobae reported.
However, the company’s work failed to keep stray dogs off the runway earlier this week. A passenger flying into AIFA from Oaxaca on Monday reported on Twitter that pilots on a Volaris plane had to abort their landing due to the presence of dogs on the runway.
AIFA officials have reportedly struggled to keep the runways clear of stray dogs and other animals. (Twitter @mrxmx2019)
“We had to do a go-around … because the control tower informed the pilots that there were dogs on the runway,” wrote the Twitter user Chip Diamond, who shared a video of the aborted landing.
“This is the level of security travelers have at AIFA,” he added.
He also shared an audio clip in which a person — purportedly a Volaris pilot — remarked in English that “the tower reported some dogs on the runway.”
AIFA hasn’t publicly commented on the presence of canine intruders, but the dogs were reportedly captured by airport personnel and transported to an army-run shelter called Los Perritos de Santa Lucía, or The Doggies of Santa Lucía.
President López Obrador still has a 55% approval rating, although a poll by the newspaper El Financiero said that number slipped slightly since a month ago. (Photo: Presidencia)
Four years after taking office, President López Obrador has an approval rating of 55%, according to the latest poll conducted by the newspaper El Financiero.
However, only 41% of those polled described the first four years of his government as a success and just 31% believe that Mexico is on the right track under AMLO’s leadership.
El Financiero polled 1,100 adults across all 32 federal entities for the survey, and found that 55% approve of the work López Obrador is doing as president.
That’s a decline of one point compared to the newspaper’s previous poll, conducted a month earlier in October. The percentage of respondents who disapprove of the president’s performance rose by one point to 44%.
Although AMLO’s approval rating is strong, he actually falls below the approval ratings of other recent presidents two thirds of the way through their terms, including Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón and Carlos Salinas. (Photo: Government of Mexico)
The political issue that attracted the most attention last month – during which the latest poll was conducted – was the federal government’s plan to overhaul Mexico’s electoral system via a constitutional bill.
Among other objectives, the bill seeks to disband the National Electoral Institute (INE) and state-based electoral authorities and replace them with one centralized body.
Just under half of those polled by El Financiero – 48% – said they approved of the protests in defense of the INE, while 45% said they disapproved.
Asked about the AMLO-led “counter-march,” 45% said they approved, and the same percentage of people indicated the opposite. The remaining 10% didn’t offer an opinion.
In a lengthy address after Sunday’s march, López Obrador enumerated 110 “actions and achievements” of his government during its four years in office. The president says he is leading a “fourth transformation” of politics and public life in Mexico, and a majority of poll respondents – albeit a slim one – agree with him.
Asked to choose between two different descriptors to sum up the first four years of the López Obrador-led government, 52% opted for “transformation,” while 34% selected “more of the same.”
Marches to protest AMLO’s proposed electoral reform saw heavy turnout in Mexico City and many other cities across the country. A slight majority in El Financiero’s poll, 48%, approved of the marches. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
The remaining 14% of respondents declined to endorse either of those options.
While only 41% said that AMLO’s first four years in office were a success, that figure is 10 points higher than the 31% who described the period of governance as a failure.
Just under half of those polled – 49% – said that the federal government has offered “hope” over the past four years, while 33% asserted that it has led to “disappointment.”
The percentage of respondents who believe that Mexico is on the wrong track under López Obrador’s leadership increased one point to 34%, while the percentage of those who think the opposite declined three points to 31%.
El Financiero also asked the 1,100 respondents to offer opinions about three key infrastructure projects of the current government: the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in México state, the Dos Bocas refinery and the Maya Train railroad.
AIFA, which started operations in March, and the refinery on the Tabasco coast, which officially opened in July although it’s not yet refining oil, were seen as “very good” or “good” projects by 45% of respondents, while 44% offered the same opinion about the U.S. $10 billion Maya Train, which will connect cities and towns in five southeastern states and is slated to start running in 2023.
Just over one-third of respondents – 34% – said they had a “very bad” or “bad” opinion of AIFA, 29% said the same about the refinery and 37% condemned the Maya Train, whose construction has been opposed by residents of Mayan communities, environmentalists and others.
Asked to assess López Obrador’s personal attributes, 53% of those polled praised him for his honesty, while 51% expressed a positive opinion about his leadership skills. However, only 42% said he has shown he has the capacity to achieve results.
AMLO signature infrastructure projects the Olmeca Refinery in Tabasco and the Felipe Angeles Airport in México state were rated as “very good” or “good” by 45% of the poll’s respondents. (Presidencia)
The president’s approval rating four years after he was sworn in is more than double that of Enrique Peña Nieto at the same point in his 2012-18 presidency, but AMLO is not as popular now as Felipe Calderón, Vicente Fox, Ernesto Zedillo and Carlos Salinas were two-thirds of the way through their six-year terms.
López Obrador’s presidency will end on Oct. 1, 2024 – rather than Dec. 1 as has previously been the case – and a new president will be sworn in the same day.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum are the leading contenders to secure the ruling Morena party’s candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, while the main opposition parties are expected to choose a common candidate from a large field of potential contenders.
In the immediate aftermath of the match, Martino said to reporters that his contract with El Tri “ended as soon as the referee blew the final whistle.”
Martino had coached the team since 2019. He will leave his position as coach following El Tri’s first group stage elimination in seven World Cups — that is, since 1978.
“I couldn’t say anything else because I am the only one responsible for this terrible disappointment and frustration.”
Mexican midfielder Luis Chávez said in a press conference that the team “didn’t understand” El Tata’s strategy of focusing on defense instead of attacking.
“Of course, I take responsibility. We were the ones playing.” However, he added that in the game against Argentina they “didn’t quite understand what he [Martino] wanted to do.”
Chávez, who scored Mexico’s second goal, was named best player of the match.
Sunset in Tulum, Quintana Roo, a popular destination in the Yucatán Peninsula. (Darren Lawrence via Unsplash)
In November, Oaxaca and the Yucatán Peninsula made it to two of the most important must-see travel destination lists in the editorial world — The New York Times “25 Travel Experiences You Must Have,” and “The 23 Best Places to Go in 2023” from Condé Nast.
First The New York Times published a list of the most extraordinary adventures a person should have in their lifetime in mid-November. The 25 experiences line-up, which is not a ranking and is grouped geographically, was selected by two writers, a chef, an architect, and a landscape photographer.
The list covers experiences related to food, history, religion, art, and architecture. However, it excludes hotels, because as participating writer Pico Iyer said, “hotels offer luxury and comfort, but they rarely touch my soul.” As such, a culinary experience in Oaxaca was ranked as part of the exclusive list.
Oaxaca cuisine is known for its diversity and complexity, in flavors and ingredients. (Restaurante Alfonsina Facebook)
Recommending readers to “Feast on the Cuisines of Oaxaca City,” the list says that thanks to the “growing awareness of Oaxaca’s cultural wealth and diversity […] it is possible for chefs with local roots to open revelatory new businesses in spaces as simple as they are unforgettable.” From fine dining restaurants to market stalls and relaxed mezcalerías, the list highlights that both the city and its countryside are filled with “culinary jewels.”
In Condé Nast’s annual ranking of the best places to visit, the Yucatán Peninsula was picked as a favorite by the magazine’s worldwide network of editors and writers, sharing the list with places like Marrakech in Morocco and Queensland in Australia.
The “23 Best Places to Go in 2023” recommends places that share new kinds of offerings. Yucatán was recognized for its “design-forward boutique hotels amid the region’s jungle and waterways.”
Unlike The New York Time’s list, Condé Nast does name a variety of exclusive hotels in the Peninsula that are worthy of a visit in one of the world’s most “enticing areas to visit next year.”
Oaxaca and Yucatán aren’t the only places that made it to a ‘hot travel list.’ According to Forward Keys, a specialized firm on data analytics, three Mexican beach towns were among the top 10 global destinations with the highest growth: San José del Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Cancún.
These results are thanks to less strict health controls post-pandemic as well as to the proximity to the United States, with travelers from that country preferring closer destinations with fewer restrictions.
A glimpse inside Sac Actun, the largest underwater cave system in the world. (Photo: UNAM)
Sac Actun, a 368-km cave system under the Yucatán Península, is one of the world’s 100 most important geological sites according to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).
The first-ever ranking to compile a database of geological sites of scientific value, the project had the support of UNESCO and seeks to accomplish a worldwide inventory of geological heritage of international relevance.
Sac Actun, the only site in Mexico to have made the list, is the largest underwater cave system in the world and the second largest cave after the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, United States.
According to the IUGS report, “the extensive cave systems under the Yucatán Peninsula have been a guardian of hidden and invaluable treasures to learn from our history,” and a crucial site to understand how sea level has changed over the past 800,000 years.
Sac Actun has not only contributed to the advancement of geological science but also in anthropology and paleontology: remains of Pleistocene humans and extinct prehistoric animals have been found there. (Photo: INAH)
According to the IUGS website, “a geological heritage site is a key place with geological elements and/or processes of scientific international relevance,” that have made a major contribution to the development of geological sciences throughout history.
Being underwater, the caves also have created a unique environment for the conservation of human and animal remains, which has led to changes in science’s understanding of human history on the continent. Well-preserved remains of Pleistocene humans and animals dating back thousands of years before the Maya inhabited the area have been discovered there, including the remains of a 13,000 year old adolescent girl.
The importance of the cave system also lies in its ecological value – Sac Actun provides almost all the fresh water used in the area, while also supporting the entire jungle ecosystem above it.
