While most of Mexico has abandoned Daylight Saving Time, some regions have chosen to keep it to stay in harmony with the U.S. (Renel Wackett/Unsplash)
In October 2022, most of Mexico ended Daylight Saving Time (DST) after the Senate passed a bill to eliminate biannual clock changes. However, according to the current Time Zone Law, 33 municipalities that share a border with the United States still observe DST.
On Sunday, March 10, the following municipalities will set their clocks forward one hour at 2 a.m:
Chihuahua: Ciudad Juárez, Ojinaga, Ascensión, Coyame del Sotol, Guadalupe, Janos.
Tamaulipas: Nuevo Laredo, Guerrero, Mier, Miguel Alemán, Camargo.
Nuevo León: Anáhuac.
Baja California: Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada, Playas de Rosarito, Tecate and San Quintín.
Daylight saving time was adopted nationwide in 1996 with the idea of using more natural light and less electricity for lighting buildings, as well as facilitating commerce with the U.S.. However, the arguments in Mexico to keep it nationwide were not strong enough for those who wanted it repealed. Northern border cities, however, were allowed to keep DST in order to continue encouraging U.S.-Mexico trade.
During the discussion to approve the new law, the head of the Senate Energy Commission Rocío Abreu Artiñano, noted that energy savings from using DST had been less than 1% of the total energy consumed each year.
However, a study conducted by the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy (INEEL), reported that the implementation of DST in 2006 resulted in the prevention of 1,427 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and a reduction of 2,754 million barrels of oil in fuel consumption for the generation of electrical energy.
The use of DST is a controversial topic worldwide. Over 140 countries have implemented it at some point but approximately half have since abolished it.
As day length variations are minimal around the equator, most tropical regions do not change their clocks. Currently, less than 40% of countries in the world observe DST.
Protesters used a Federal Electricity Commission truck to ram through the wooden doors of Mexico's historic National Palace Wednesday. (Cuartoscuro)
Students protesting the abduction and presumed murder of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014 used a pickup truck to break open wooden doors at the National Palace while President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke at a press conference inside the historic building on Wednesday morning.
Video footage shows young men — reportedly students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in Guerrero — pushing a Federal Electricity Commission vehicle into doors at an entrance to the National Palace on Moneda Street in Mexico City’s historic center.
While protesters streamed into the presidential residence following the breach, they were stopped by military police before reaching the Treasury Hall, where President López Obrador was holding a press conference. (Cuartoscuro)
The National Palace is both the official residence and working office of Mexico’s President Andres Manuel López Obrador.
The protesters broke two wooden doors, and while some of the men reportedly entered the National Palace, none made it into the Treasury Hall, where López Obrador was speaking to journalists at his morning press conference, or mañanera.
Government personnel barricaded that room. Outside the National Palace, authorities used tear gas to disperse protesters.
Asked about the incident, López Obrador said that the government wouldn’t “repress” the protest.
At his press conference on Wednesday, President López Obrador said that advances have been made in the contentious Ayotzinapa 43 case. But the president is running out of time to fulfill a pledge to solve the case before he leaves office this year. (Presidencia)
“We’re going to achieve it, and we’re going to find the young men,” López Obrador said.
He didn’t express any great concern for the damaged doors, saying that they will be fixed and that there will be “no problem.”
The president claimed that the protesters aimed to “provoke” the government. He asserted that they were “being manipulated” by groups opposed to his administration.
“We don’t want confrontation, we’re making progress in the investigation,” said López Obrador, whose government published a new report on the almost decade-old Ayotzinapa case last September.
The Centro Prodh human rights organization, which has provided lawyers for the missing students’ families, said on social media that “fathers and mothers are not being ‘manipulated’ by @CentroProdh” or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
“They have agency over their process,” the NGO said on the X social media platform. It said that it “regretted” that “the protest of some young men escalated” to the breaking down of the National Palace doors.
Before that post, Centro Prodh provided some “context” to the events that unfolded on Wednesday morning. It said that the military — which has long been suspected of involvement in the students’ disappearance — is refusing to hand over relevant documents and that there has been an “absence of meetings” with the president for months.
The NGO also said that there is a “governmental attempt to divide the families” of the students.
“… We urge the reestablishment of respectful dialogue supervised by international human rights authorities,” Centro Prodh said.
López Obrador said that lawyers and advisers for the students’ families were “not allowing” him to speak with the parents, but stressed that his government was willing to meet with them.
Although nearly a decade old, the unsolved case still sparks protests, like this one last month at Mexico’s senate by parents of the victims. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Millions of Mexicans have participated in hundreds of protests since the 43 students disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero, on the night of Sept. 26, 2014. Protests involving current Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College students have on occasion turned violent.
In recent times, some have maintained a sit-in protest at the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square opposite the National Palace, as relatives, friends, Ayotzinapa students and others continue to seek justice and some sense of closure in the mystery-shrouded case.
On the night they disappeared, the 43 students were allegedly handed over to a local crime gang by corrupt municipal police. There have been well over 100 arrests in connection with the students’ disappearance, but no one has faced trial or been convicted of the crime.
The previous government’s official version of events — the so-called “historical truth” — was widely rejected, and the current government initiated a new investigation and pledged to definitively determine what happened to the young men. López Obrador now has less than seven months left in office and thus risks finishing his six-year term without the case having been resolved.
The case is a major blight on the record of former president Enrique Peña Nieto, who had been in office 22 months when the students disappeared. Mass protests held in the weeks and months after the crime occurred called for Peña to resign, but the president weathered the storm — at least by his own reckoning — and fully completed his term in 2018.
The Vaso de Cristo area is abnormally dry this year and a fire started in the basin on Sunday. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
A grassy, shrubby basin that serves to catch runoff rainwater from Mexico City is so dried out by central Mexico’s drought and water shortage that it caught fire on Sunday and burned for three days.
Thought to be under control on Tuesday morning, the blaze in the El Cristo basin in México state later reignited and consumed even more dried-up vegetation, bringing the total area scorched to between 30 and 45 hectares — a significant portion of the 118-hectare area.
In a social media post later Tuesday afternoon, state Civil Protection officials declared, “With the support of authorities at all levels, we managed to contain the grassland fire in the El Cristo regulatory basin.” However, a popular Mexico City-area X account noted Wednesday morning that the smell of burning grass continued to linger.
The smell of burnt vegetation wasn’t the only worry. Because El Cristo was a receptacle for sewage for decades, nearby residents have been affected by “intense clouds of smoke,” according to newspaper El Universal. “Pollution by PM2.5 particles composed of highly toxic chemical substances [were] reported by Azcapotzalco authorities,” the newspaper wrote. Azcapotzalco is Mexico City’s northwesternmost borough, adjacent to El Cristo.
El Universal added that classes and activities were suspended at nearby schools, sports complexes and cultural centers, and that firefighters had to shift to another area at one point due to a toxic cloud. The area remained on environmental alert Wednesday for smoke clouds.
The fire occurred at the Vaso Regulador El Cristo, on the border of Mexico City and Naucalpan, México state. “Vasos reguladores,”common sites in Mexico, are regulating ponds or retention basins that help stop flooding by holding excess water from man-made storm drains that are overwhelmed during heavy rains.They can also be used to store water for irrigation, improve water quality by filtering out pollutants and sediments, and provide a habitat for plants and animals.
Debido a la cantidad de humo que emana del Vaso Regulador el Cristo en Naucalpan por incendio de pastizales, incendio que ya fue sofocado, fueron suspendidas las clases en planteles educativos de la zona, incluyendo el CCH Azcapotzalco. pic.twitter.com/URwPmbsdtD
Videos posted to social media show the smoke that covered the surrounding areas
El Cristo captures runoff water from Mexico City and its neighbors, which are situated in high mountain valleys with no natural outlet.
Under normal conditions, El Cristo is lush with greenery and has enough standing water to be called a lake. In past years, people would come to the site to go kayaking, take a stroll or enjoy a family picnic.
But with below-average rainfall in 2023, and drought conditions that have been intensifying over the past four years, Mexico is experiencing a water crisis. Three reservoirs that provide the Mexico City metropolitan area with 25% of the water for over 23.5 million residents are at about one-third of capacity. In October, Mexican officials began restricting water from those reservoirs by roughly 8%, and enacted an additional 25% cut in November.
Of all the foreign carmakers with Mexican factories, GM accounted for the most light vehicles exported in February, with 68,949 of them sent abroad, or 24% of total exports. (GM de México)
Last month, foreign automakers operating in Mexico exported 282,608 light vehicles, the most ever in the month of February and the biggest year-over-year monthly increase in 12 years according to Milenio newspaper. More than 75% of the exports were classified as light trucks (including SUVs, pickups).
General Motors topped February’s list of auto industry exporters with 68,949 vehicles sent abroad, mostly to the United States. Other big exporters were:
Nissan (41,632)
Stellantis (33,124)
Volkswagen (30,663).
General Motors and Nissan reported significant export increases over their February 2023 performances — 35.9% and 30.1% respectively — but Volkswagen made even more impressive gains, with an increase of 115.7%.
Total car exports from Mexico in 2024 have so far reached 536,975, a 14.6% increase over January-February 2023. The value of auto exports for 2023 surpassed US $188.9 billion — up 14.3 percent over 2022 — and a record high.
Automobile production in Mexico in February alone reached 318,725 vehicles, nearly 8% more than were assembled in February 2023. This lifted total 2024 production to 625,804, an 8.64% rise over January-February 2023.
A worker puts together a sedan at the BMW plant in San Luis Potosí. (BMW)
INEGI data shows that nearly 3.78 million automobiles were produced in Mexico last year, a 14.2% rise in annual terms but slightly behind the 3.81 million units assembled in 2019. Still, the year-over-year increase in percentage terms was the largest recorded in 13 years.
The automotive industry includes the auto parts sector which is the world’s third-largest.
The domestic car market is also thriving, although it is impacted by the fact that local consumers predominantly purchase imported vehicles and used cars. According to INEGI, 113,258 vehicles were sold in the domestic market last month, lifting total 2024 domestic vehicle sales to 225,357. These numbers do not distinguish between vehicles produced in Mexico versus imports.
The automotive industry anticipates a 10.8% increase in production this year, exceeding 4 million units, according to Odracir Barquera, CEO of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association.
The Guadalajara International Airport plans to open its new runway in May. (Shutterstock)
With an eye on underlining its status as the major air travel hub of western Mexico, Guadalajara has invested 16 billion pesos (US $889 million) over the past five years for comprehensive improvements at its international airport.
The improvements include a new terminal and a second runway, which is expected to open in May, making Guadalajara’s the fourth airport in Mexico — after Mexico City’s two airports and the Cancún International Airport — to feature two runways.
The 3,500-meter runway will have the capacity to manage 60 operations per hour, alternating with the existing runway because they are only 275 meters apart.
Once the Transportation Ministry completes the certification and publications processes, the new runway will begin operations, airport director Martín Pablo Zazueta said.
Zazueta also said the construction of the new terminal should be completed by the end of June. The mixed-use area that will house shops, restaurants and a Hilton Garden Hotel could be inaugurated next month.
“We will then finish up the roads and facades so that the renovation is completed in December,” he said. “Afterward we will begin building a second terminal but that will be in a separate location so passengers will not be inconvenienced.”
In addition to a new runway and terminal, the Guadalajara airport plans to add a mixed-use area with shops, restaurants and a hotel. (Wikimedia Commons)
“We are looking to consolidate our status as a world-class airport” with the first stage of construction, which will be completed in December, Zazueta said.
“It’s a fact that Guadalajara has the opportunity to reinforce our claim as the hub of western Mexico,” he said. “And we already are, in many aspects, but these improvements will also allow us to take advantage of the dispersal of traffic from the Mexico City area.”
The Guadalajara International Airport is part of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, a firm that manages 14 airports in western Mexico, including five of the country’s top 10: No. 3 Guadalajara, No. 4 Tijuana, No. 6 Los Cabos (Baja California Sur), No. 7 Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco) and No. 9 León (Guanajuato).
Guadalajara, with 14.7 million passengers in 2023, is the firm’s biggest airport with Tijuana a close second (11 million passengers).
The headquarters of the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) in Mexico City. (Shutterstock)
Nearshoring has reached the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) in the form of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that offers investors exposure to around 70 North American companies and trusts considered “direct beneficiaries” of the growing business trend.
Aztlan Equity Management’s North America Nearshoring Stock Selection ETF is the first ETF accessible via the BMV that specifically seeks to take advantage of the nearshoring phenomenon.
It was first listed on the BMV on Monday via the Stock Exchange’s International Quotation System, which allows investors to invest in shares and ETFs listed offshore. The ETF — which had an opening price of 364 pesos (US $21.60) — has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since Nov. 30.
The fund, identified by the ticker symbol NRSH, “seeks to invest in stocks that are based in North America, including the U.S.A, Mexico and Canada, and that have been identified by Aztlan as direct beneficiaries of the nearshoring phenomenon,” says Aztlan Equity Management, which has offices in the U.S. (McLean, Virgina), Mexico (Monterrey, Nuevo León) and Hong Kong.
It is comprised of companies and trusts that operate in sectors including real estate, ground transportation, air freight and logistics, transport infrastructure and marine transportation. Among the 70 or so companies and trusts that make up the ETF are TFI International, CSX Corporation, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Mexico-based real estate investment trusts Fibra Macquarie and Fibra Mty. The 30 best-performing companies in the pool selected by Aztlan contribute to the ETF share price at any given time.
“The new ETF marks a turning point in the sector of investment funds that are listed on the stock exchange. The investors who decide to invest in the NRSH ETF will have broad exposure to the nearshoring phenomenon in a single instrument,” said Alejandro Garza, Aztlan Equity Management’s founder.
The fund includes the rail company Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. along with other businesses that directly benefit from nearshoring. (Canadian Pacific Kansas City)
“There’s never been a fund integrating these three markets,” he said, referring to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the three signatories to the USMCA free trade pact.
“That, and the fact that it’s the first nearshoring fund, also makes it a watershed,” Garza said after the ETF was listed on the NYSE last November.
Over half of the companies in the fund — 57% — are based in the United States, while 23% are in Mexico and 20% are in Canada.
In an interview with Bloomberg Línea, Garza said that US $10 million has been invested in Aztlan’s nearshoring ETF since it listed on the NYSE three months ago.
“We think that is a good performance [but] our objective is to get to $100 million by the end of the year,” he said.
Now that the ETF is accessible via the BMV, investing in the fund will be easier for Mexicans.
Mexico is already benefiting from the nearshoring trend, but foreign investment is expected to continue to increase in coming years as companies act on plans already announced and other foreign firms take the decision to establish a presence here due to the country’s proximity to the United States, competitive labor costs and other factors.
Art Walk is one of the most beloved and long-running events in Los Cabos. (All photos by Art Walk San José/Instagram)
Art Walk is one of the longest-running cultural happenings in Los Cabos, but the seasonal event, which has run since 2006 is more than just an opportunity for visitors to admire the colorful canvases of local artists or bask in the beauty of San José del Cabo’s historic Gallery District. It’s a showcase for the heart of the city.
When and where to see Art Walk
Art Walk takes place throughout the high tourist season, every Thursday evening from November through June.
Art Walk is held every Thursday evening from 5 to 9 p.m., during the November through June high season in Los Cabos. It’s free and open to the public. Many of the participating galleries where Art Walk takes place, which extend their normal business hours for this event, are clustered along a two-block-long stretch of cobblestone-studded Calle Álvaro Obregón, between Calle Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Calle Vicente Guerrero in downtown San José del Cabo.
However, the event also branches off onto nearby side streets and starts only a block or so from Plaza Mijares, the city’s broad and lovely main square, which has been renovated in recent years and offers new charms alongside its notable historic attractions.
Art Walk was founded by local gallery ownersand gallery visits continue to be the focus of the event, from showcases for contemporary Mexican artists, like Ivan Guaderrama Art Gallery and Galeria de Ida Victoria, to those spotlighting folk art and jewelry design. But the event also draws wandering musicians and street performers, and other local businesses stay open late too, giving Art Walk nights a special energy and glow.
Historical attractions
The downtown area outside the Art District’s borders also comes alive though, and nearby attractions bordering Plaza Mijares – the city’s main plaza – also remain open, including the historic Catholic church.
Los Cabos, the name given to the municipality when it was formed in 1981, references the municipality’s two cities: Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, its most important city and municipal seat, respectively. Because the focus on tourism here really took off when the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur) took an interest in Los Cabos in the 1970s, many visitors are unfamiliar with the rich history and culture present here, particularly in San José del Cabo.
San José is one of the longest continually occupied communities on the Baja California peninsula, dating back to the founding of its Jesuit mission in 1730 by Nicolás Tamaral and José Echeverría. Tamaral was subsequently killed in a 1734 revolt by Indigenous Pericú people, an event depicted in a colorful mosaic above the door of the city’s historic downtown Catholic church, the Parroquia Misión San José.
The church is lit up for Art Walk evenings and open to the public. It has been at its current site in downtown San José del Cabo since the middle of the 19th century, and in its current form since being rebuilt following a hurricane in the early 20th century. Like City Hall with its historic 1930s-era clock tower, it’s an instantly recognizable landmark adjacent to Plaza Mijares, which also comes alive on Art Walk nights.
Drinking, dining and romance in San José del Cabo
The Art Walk also serves as a cultural showcase for San José del Cabo and the city’s historic Art District.
One of the many great aspects of Art Walk is that between gallery visits and downtown perambulations, there’s also plenty of time to eat and drink. Helpfully, the city’s best bars and restaurants are found in the Gallery District, or within a block or two of its borders. These include Los Tres Gallos, Los Cabos’ premier destination for traditional Mexican cuisine, whose San José del Cabo location is set in the heart of the Gallery District on Calle Obregón and features a two-level dining area built around three intertwined huanacaxtle trees.
La Lupita Taco & Mezcal is another local favorite for Art Walk interludes, thanks to its colorful courtyard dining atmosphere and menu specialties like pato con mole tacos, plus a superb collection of artisanal mezcals. The Gallery District is also home to the original location of Baja Brewing Company, the first microbrewery ever built in Los Cabos and maker of some of the municipality’s best hamburgers.
The signature pleasures of Art Walk in San José del Cabo, from walking hand-in-hand along cobblestone streets to being serenaded by wandering musicians to sipping wine and enjoying al fresco fine dining, are such that they’ve contributed to the event’s reputation as one of the best romantic activities for couples in Los Cabos.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
Lila Avilés with her Barbie Role Model doll. (Mattel)
Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés was honored with a Barbie doll as part of the brand’s “Role Models” line, released yearly to commemorate International Women’s Day.
This year’s Role Model theme was storytelling.
Mattel, the company behind the world-famous doll Barbie, chose Avilés in recognition of her achievements in the film industry. She’s joined by actresses Helen Mirren and Viola Davis along with Canadian country-pop artist Shania Twain, Australia’s Kylie Minogue, German comedian Enissa Amani, Japanese model Nicole Fujita and Brazilian Indigenous influencer Maira Gomez.
The 42-year-old filmmaker is the director of the acclaimed film The Chambermaid (2018), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and her latest movie, Tótem (2023), has been selected for the long list of the Best International Feature category at the Oscars.
Speaking to Variety magazine, Avilés said her selection was an “incredible, beautiful and surreal surprise.” The doll features her with a camera on her shoulder, a script in one hand, and her cat by her feet.
“It is not only me who the doll is honoring, but my entire career,” she added.
Avilés most recent move, Tótem, is a candidate for the Best International Feature category at the Oscars. (IMDb)
Tótem, which delves into childhood and the idea that childhood defines our destiny, has been showcased in over 100 film festivals around the world and will soon be released in more than 40 countries, including the United States, where it is still being screened. The movie will also be featured on Criterion Channel and is now available on Netflix Latin America.
“People ask me if my movies are feminist. In as much as my protagonists are women, they are, in an organic way,” she noted. “The Chambermaid, my feature debut, gave voice to a woman who’s ostensibly invisible to many,” she said.
Avilés was born in Mexico City in 1982. She started her career in theater before moving into filmmaking. Her first feature film earned her various national and international awards and was screened in more than 70 film festivals worldwide.
“This Barbie is more than a trophy for me; it’s like my Oscar,” Avilés told newspaper Milenio. “I love what I do very much, and I hope I can continue on this path to inspire many more women,” she said.
The three candidates running for mayor of Mexico City are (from left to right): Clara Brugada of Morena, Santiago Taboada of the PAN-PRI-PRD coalition and Salomón Chertorivski of the Citizens Movement party. (Cuartoscuro/X)
Around 20,000 municipal, state and federal positions will be up for grabs in Mexico’s biggest-ever elections on June 2.
Excluding the presidency, the biggest single prize on offer is considered by many to be the mayorship of Mexico City, the national capital and the country’s largest city.
Mexico City has state-like status, and therefore the power of its mayor (jefe/jefa de gobierno in Spanish) is akin to that of a governor.
In 2024, one woman and two men will contest the mayoral election in the capital. The winner will occupy a position previously held by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2000-05), former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard (2006-12) and presidential aspirant Claudia Sheinbaum (2018-23), among other well-known politicians.
Here is a guide to this year’s mayoral race in Mexico City, where on June 2 citizens will also elect mayors in each of the capital’s 16 alcaldías (districts or boroughs) as well as 66 local lawmakers.
Mexico City’s 3 mayoral hopefuls
Morena candidate Clara Brugada (right) with the party’s presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, who was formerly the mayor of Mexico City. (Clara Brugada/X)
Clara Brugada, candidate for a coalition made up of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Labor Party (PT) and the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM)
Brugada, a 60-year-old former mayor of the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa, is aiming to extend Morena’s rule in the capital from six years to 12.
Founded by López Obrador, the leftist Morena party took office in the capital for the first time in 2018 under the leadership of Sheinbaum. If Brugada wins on June 2, she will succeed Martí Batres, who took over from Sheinbaum when she left the mayorship to focus on winning Morena’s nomination for president.
At an event at the National Auditorium on Sunday, Brugada outlined a range of other proposals for the government she would lead in Mexico City. Her plans in three key areas are detailed below. Unsurprisingly, she also committed to leading an honest and transparent government with zero tolerance of corruption.
Water
Brugada expressed confidence that Sheinbaum will be the next president of Mexico, and pledged to work with her and México state Governor Delfina Gómez to solve Mexico City’s water scarcity problem.
Water scarcity in Mexico City has led to some neighborhoods going for days without municipal water and dependent on deliveries by truck. (Cuartoscuro)
“I know the problem and we’re going to resolve it as a priority,” said the mayoral aspirant, who pledged to create a water-focused ministry, expand the capital’s rainwater harvesting program and establish a new program for the “rehabilitation” of 11 water sources, among other measures.
She said she would allocate “billions of pesos” to water projects in the capital, where many residents don’t have running water in their homes and depend on deliveries from trucks known as pipas.
Security
Brugada declared that she wants to make Mexico City “the most video-surveilled city” in the Americas with more cameras than New York. In addition to installing more security cameras, the mayoral aspirant said she would improve street lighting to make the capital “the most illuminated” city in Latin America.
Brugada asserted that not a lot needs to change in terms of security policy as crime has declined during the term of the current Morena government. However, she committed to strengthening the capital’s police force and equipping it with “the best and most modern technological resources available.”
Transport
Brugada pledges to expand the aerial cable car public transit network if elected. (Cuartoscuro)
Brugada pledged to build five additional public transit cable car lines, open two new Metrobús lines and extend line 12 of the Mexico City metro to the Observatorio station, where the Mexico City terminus of the Mexico City-Toluca train line will be located.
Among other transport plans, she said that a government she leads would expand the capital’s bike-share program, called Ecobici.
Santiago Taboada, candidate for a coalition made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD)
Polls shows that Taboada, a 38-year-old former mayor of the borough of Benito Juárez, is the only candidate with a legitimate chance of beating Brugada on June 2. A victory for the former Mexico City and federal lawmaker would return the PRD to power in the capital after an absence of six years.
Senator Miguel Ángel Mancera (2012-18), Ebrard and López Obrdor all governed the capital as representatives of the leftist PRD, as did Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (1997-99), Mexico City’s first jefe de gobierno. (Mexico City was previously administered by regentes, or regents, who were appointed by the president of the day).
Neither the conservative PAN of the once-omnipotent PRI has governed the capital since the commencement of democratic mayoral elections in 1997.
Santiago Taboada is representing the opposition PAN-PRI-PRD coalition in the contest. (GALO CAÑAS/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
“Mr. President, don’t be mistaken, this neighborhood, like many in Mexico City, is aspirational and [the residents] are aspirational; they aspire to have better urban services, greater security, better work, better schools and quality health care. That’s legitimate aspiration and as a government we are obliged to provide it,” responded Taboada, who at the time was mayor of Benito Juárez, where Colonia del Valle is located.
Accompanied by PAN-PRI-PRD presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez at an event at the capital’s Bicentennial Park on Saturday, Taboada outlined his vision for Mexico City, including his plans to address the water problem, improve security and expand the public transport network.
Water
In a nutshell, Taboada’s water plan consists of three proposed “actions.”
He said a government he leads would repair leaks — a major cause of water loss in Mexico — recycle more water and capture more rainwater.
Taboada charged that the current Mexico City government has neglected to address the water problem in the capital and is “losing water” as a result.
Security
The National Autonomous University-educated lawyer portrayed himself as the best person to improve the security situation in Mexico City, the country’s 16th most violent entity in 2023 in terms of total homicides.
Taboada has pledged to expand his “BlindarBJ” security initiative if elected mayor of Mexico City. (Alcladía Benito Juárez)
He pledged to implement across the capital the security strategy he used in Benito Juárez, a mainly middle-class borough where perceptions of insecurity among residents are lower than in any of the 90 cities across Mexico that are included in the National Survey of Urban Public Security, which was last conducted in late 2023.
That strategy is known as “BlindarBJ” or ShieldBJ (Benito Juárez) and involved, among other measures, increasing police numbers and ensuring a police presence in 28 different “quadrants” in the borough in order to reduce response times.
“In Benito Juárez we have the best [security] results,” Taboada said, adding that six of the city’s “riskiest” neighborhoods “where people suffer from insecurity the most” are located in Iztapalapa, where Bruagada was most recently mayor between 2018 and 2023.
“That’s not fair and we’re going to change that,” he declared.
Transport
Tabaoada also claimed that he is best placed to carry out the maintenance work required to ensure that the Mexico City metro functions safely and efficiently.
“Those who buried 26 people due to poor maintenance aren’t going to fix the metro,” he said, referring to the Line 12 accident that claimed that number of lives in May 2021 while Sheinbaum was mayor.
In addition to carrying out maintenance work, Taboada said that, as mayor, his government will extend the metro system so that people can reach 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup matches at the Estadio Azteca (Azteca Stadium) in southern Mexico City by train. The stadium is currently served by a station on the capital’s sole Tren Ligero (Light Rail) line, which connects to the metro system at the Tasqueña station.
Taboada also said he would add “cablebús” cable car lines, but only proposed three projects in as many boroughs, two fewer than Brugada.
Taboada has proposed extending the metro system to connect directly with Azteca Stadium. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
Salomón Chertorivski, candidate for the Citizens Movement (MC) party
The third candidate in the Mexico City mayoral contest is 49-year-old Salomón Chertorivski, a former federal lawmaker who served as health minister in the final year of the 2006-12 federal government led by ex-president Felipe Calderón.
The results of recent polls (see below) show that Chertorivski has scant support, and therefore he doesn’t currently appear to be a serious contender for the mayorship.
Still, he is aiming to portray himself as a viable alternative to the two main candidates — as MC presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez is attempting to do at the federal level — and has outlined a detailed water plan that includes a “Zero Leak” infrastructure renewal program and a campaign aimed at getting citizens to take better care of water resources.
Chertorivski, who has master’s degrees in both economics and public policy, said on Monday that over the course of the 12-week campaign, he will present his plans to address 12 different problems faced by Mexico City. He started with water on Monday, and will hold press conferences on each coming Monday prior to election day.
“We’ll speak in depth about each of what we consider to be the 12 biggest problems for our citizens and we will explain with complete detail what the solution [for each one] is,” Chertorivski said.
MC party candidate Salomón Chertorivski announced plans to present detailed policy proposals during his long-shot campaign for mayor. (Salomón Chertorivski/X)
Who’s going to win?
Brugada is the clear favorite to become the next mayor of Mexico City, but a close race is not out of the question.
The results of a poll conducted in mid-February by the company Enkoll for the El País newspaper found 56% support for the Morena candidate, giving her a 16-point advantage over Taboada on 40%. Chertorivski was in a distant third place with just 4% support among just over 800 respondents. (Those who didn’t specify who they would vote for were excluded from the results.
However, the difference in the levels of support between Brugada and Taboada was just 3.6 points in a poll of 1,000 people conducted last week by Massive Caller. The Morena-PT-PVEM candidate had 41.1% support, while the PAN-PRI-PRD hopeful was the preferred option of 37.5% of those polled.
With just over 17% of respondents saying that they hadn’t yet made up their mind about who they would vote for on June 2, there is a chance for Taboada to make up the ground required to beat Brugada and become the next mayor of Mexico City, at least according to that poll.
As politicians sometimes like to say, the only poll that ultimately counts is the one on election day, when the millions of Mexico City residents who go out to vote will have the power to decide who and which party will govern the capital for the next six years.
The comfortably appointed Jose Cuervo Tequila Train Express Wagon - the perfect location for the ride of your life. (All photos by Bethany Platanella)
I’ll be the first to admit it. I hesitated over the “Book Now” button that would secure my Jose Cuervo Sunrise Express Wagon Train trip from Guadalajara to Tequila, better known as the Tequila train.
Visions of sloppy bachelor parties and guide book-toting tourists with wide-brimmed hats started to swirl through my mind. I quickly pushed these nightmarish reservations to the deep recesses of my brain, took a deep breath, and CLICK.
Booked.
Step into some luxury – and enjoy plenty of tequila while you’re at it!
I had decided long ago that there was no way I was going to Guadalajara without hopping on that infamous Tequila train. That’s like going to Paris and not picnicking in front of the Eiffel Tower with a bottle of crisp Champagne. Is it touristy? Yes. Am I a tourist? Also, yes.
But as my long-awaited trip to Jalisco moved closer to reality, so did my reluctance to participate in something that seemed so kitsch. Will the experience be worth the not-so-economical ticket? Will I just be one gringa in a sea of gringo tourists? Do I really want to risk sitting in a packed train car of drunk 20-somethings taking obnoxious videos just to post to social media? Not particularly, but I had to give it a try.
The verdict? I absolutely loved it.
The Tequila train is not to be feared. My assumptions of what to expect were, as assumptions generally are, completely unwarranted.
A Gringa in an agave field, enjoying the experience much more than originally anticipated.
There were no sloppy bachelor parties present.
While there were definitely some TikTok photo shoots going on, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
Tourists were from all parts of the world — Germany, Spain, Mexico, France, the U.S., Canada, and Britain.
It was well worth the money. Ample tequila, water, and food were available.
Myself and two friends arrived at the train station, a 30-minute ride from our rented apartment in Colonia Americana. We were greeted by Luis Miguel ballads in the lobby where we checked in. After receiving a wristband we were guided to a waiting area with complimentary cafe de olla, hot chocolate, fruit, and pan dulce.
Twenty minutes before departure, we boarded the train. Recorded mariachi music played with gusto in the nostalgic and elegant train cars. Well-dressed servers presented us with trays of breakfast cocktails, from which I chose (and recommend!) a Paloma. A shot of Vitamin C with my morning tequila couldn’t hurt!
The wheels started rolling promptly at 9:00 a.m. and a guide started talking, giving a brief history of Jose Cuervo, an overview of the landscape, and the differences between types of tequila. While she chatted, guests were offered fruit cups and tacos al vapor and a shot of Jose Cuervo Tradicional Cristalino, which we sipped according to the guide’s instruction.
A traditional agave oven at La Rojena Mundo World distillery.
An hour of unlimited cocktails and water later, we arrived at Tequila, a designated Pueblo Mágico since 2003. We were guided in orderly groups through the Juan Beckmann Gallardo Cultural Center, a museum celebrating Jaliscan culture.
All of which led us to La Rojeña, the oldest distillery in Latin America. We followed the transition cycle of piñas, or agave hearts, from chopping to toasting to liquefying. I had seen piñas in photos but never up close like this, and was struck by how geometric and beautiful they are. They’re also huge — some were double the size of a basketball and weighed 150 pounds!
The end of the distillery tour concluded with a cocktail at 1:00 p.m., at which point we were free to explore and have lunch on our own. We went to Casa Sauza’s highly-rated garden restaurant. The food, tequila, and service were excellent.
Even though the center of Tequila is small, I found that three hours was a perfect amount of time to enjoy our leisurely lunch and exhaust the main sights. We could have popped into the Museum of Tequila (if we wanted to).
Had I not been on the tequila train tour, I would have opted for the equally-kitsch Barril Tequilero, a giant vehicle in the shape of an oak barrel that takes guests through Tequila, stopping at various distilleries.
At 4:10 p.m., we wandered to our next engagement, a live mariachi show which we were sure wouldn’t start on time because, well, this is Mexico.
We were 10 minutes late.
The average size of a piña, or agave heart, is bigger than you might expect and can weigh hundreds of pounds.
Let me take this moment to reiterate that the experience was extremely well-organized. Having worked as a travel planner myself, I know first-hand the challenge of executing events of this size, and the precision impressed me.
The concert was a blast. Many of the guests were of Mexican heritage, and the entire venue erupted in song multiple times while servers walked around with trays of frozen cocktails.
When the show finished, we boarded buses for a 30-minute ride to the countryside. As urban sprawl gave way to rural terrain, I felt butterflies in my stomach. Mexico does this to me, with its ever-changing landscape full of surprises.
When we arrived at the fields, I had no choice but to rush within the neat rows of spiky agave plants to snap a classic “gringa in the middle of an agave field, hashtag justanothersaturdayinmexico” shot. I was pulled from my photographic glory to witness a short demonstration on how to chop the thing open with an ax, and then the whole dang event turned into a party.
Imagine the scene: a giant, wooden pavilion decorated with string lights, picnic tables, and a dance floor. Food carts abound, offering esquites, churros, palomitas, and tlacoyos, with dozens of bartenders pouring drinks for all. Classic Mexican music pumps from giant speakers and everywhere you look are undulating hills covered in agave. The sun is setting, everyone is laughing and having a good time. It might sound corny, but I found it quite magical.
When it was time to go, each guest was given a final shot for a ‘goodbye cheers’. We boarded our buses and 40 minutes later arrived at Guadalajara, culminating an 11-hour tour. For a visual, watch my reel on Instagram.
At no point were we encouraged to purchase anything. I found this strange, as I would have been open to buying a bottle from the source, but also refreshing, as it made the experience feel more genuine.
There are two departure options: Sunrise, which starts at 9:00 a.m., takes you into town by train and back to Guadalaraja by bus. Sunset starts at 11:00 a.m. and does the opposite. The train and bus stations are not close to one another, so if you leave a car at your starting point, you’ll have to Uber back at the end of the tour.
The bus drop-off is the least organized part of the Sunrise tour. There is a very small parking lot with just a few taxis and hundreds of people ordering carshare simultaneously. I would suggest ordering your Uber as you pull into the parking lot to save time.
There are four categories to choose from: Express, Premium Plus, Diamond, Elite. My account is based on the Express option.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
