From Canada to Cabo part 3: Redefining priorities

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March 4, 2023

Kids cycling in Cabo San Lucas — Christina's family outing to the "ciclovía" every Sunday in Cabo San Lucas. (Christina Whiteley)

To catch up on Christina’s story so far, read Part 1 and Part 2.

Every Sunday, my family and I go downtown to the Ciclovía Recreativa to meet up with friends so our kids can ride their bikes together down the main drag here in Cabo San Lucas. They shut down the street from 7am-11am so families can walk, ride bikes, rollerblade, exercise and dance together.

Kids on the ciclovía recreativa in Cabo — Enjoying Sunday out on the ciclovía (Christina Whitely)

This past weekend my friend Crystal said casually, “isn’t this amazing? Everyone comes here to vacation and we get to live here.” It made me smile ear to ear because every Sunday I feel this way, and reflect on how lucky we are to have “time freedom” with our family, because the older I get the more I realize that the ultimate luxury is having the time to do what we want in life.

It is interesting to see how our values have shifted post-pandemic-, and that lifestyle has become a a greater measure of success over income alone. As we walk down the road, palm trees blowing in the crisp pacific breeze, past the marina lined with fishing boats, luxury cruisers and boat tours, many people stop to greet us and Larry, our miniature Australian shepherd, who’s living his best life in the desert. Our daughter Izzy loves playing with the kids and meeting new friends, regardless of common language. They ride, chase each other and laugh together.

When we came here, we learned a lot about ourselves. We flew down with 7 suitcases (one filled only with educational material and Christmas presents) and lived out of them for 8 months. We learned we could live with so much less. This lesson was magnified when we went home for the summer to clear out our storage unit with all of our worldly possessions. It’s certainly humbling to pack up everything you own into a 8 x 5 ft trailer.

One of my biggest lessons in life, and definitely when moving from Canada to Cabo, has been that your risk is equal to the size of your reward. Most people want a small risk, a small challenge and to reap a BIG reward… but that’s not how it works. We’ve definitely had some challenges with communication and setting up services such as phone, banking, electricity and internet… and there are cultural and linguistic differences, however I can’t help but gush over our lifestyle. In Mexico, we see a culture that truly values family and prioritizes time together. Every day, we are reminded of what matters most in life – discovering other currencies in life beyond money.

Girl with her dog on the beach — Izzy and Larry on the beach (Christina Whiteley)

That leads me to question what our society defines as luxurious and what it means to live a life of luxury. For our family, it’s about working hard towards what you want. It’s not having the biggest house (the most debt) or the nicest cars on the block (consumer debt), it’s about our quality of life. Many people don’t want to be house poor anymore and are feeling the pinch with climbing interest rates, instead they want to be debt free. Look at the tiny house movement!

Many have maxed out credit cards because their daily cost of living has gone through the roof and they are putting essentials such as groceries, gas, phone and electricity on their credit cards just to keep up, and that comes with 20% interest which just compounds the problem. Many parents we talk to don’t want to put their kids in daycare and have them raised by strangers just to break even at the end of the month. They want to work from home so that they can be more present and spend more than dinner and bath time with their kids.

Our generation is starting to shift beliefs, where luxury and privilege should no longer be defined by designer handbags, clothing and expensive shoe purchases, but instead by having time and financial freedom with a focus on health and well-being. Back home, the level of consumerism has become unsustainable because wages have not kept up with the cost of living which means consumers can’t afford to keep up with their spending habits.

I’ve noticed that people aren’t willing to work to the point of burn out anymore and are changing their careers so they can live more in alignment with their belief systems. We see things starting to shift, and people are beginning to value their freedom more than they value the things they can buy. Covid changed that. It gave us a mandatory time out to gain perspective on the lives we were living and the jobs we were using to pay our bills, then allowed us the time and space to rearrange our priorities. Some people worked from home, some people left their jobs and took on completely different careers, but one thing remained consistent, people started to change how they valued money, and what they were willing to give up in exchange for it.

Post-COVID, in this new emerging economy, luxury means something different. Our purpose is emerging at the forefront of our earning. Luxury is no longer just measured in dollars, but it is now measured in lifestyle, freedom, health and community. Too much has changed around us and within us. Adaptability will be key to survival and growth as there is no going back to the lives we lived pre-COVID. I know because I experienced this first hand over the past few years as we transformed our lives. It is hard work, but as I’ve taught my daughter, we can do hard things and to look at life in chapters. This is our family’s chapter in Mexico and we chose to face our hard here because everything seems to be better on the beach.

What’s fascinating is that we’ve found a closer community of neighbors in Cabo San Lucas than we’ve experienced for many years up in Canada, whether we lived downtown in the middle of the city or out on acreage in the rural country.

There is something to be said for those of us that have taken the risk to relocate our families and uproot our lives, to choose a simpler, yet “richer” life, here in Mexico. Once you’ve been through that, you honor that experience in those around you, by bonding together and helping those who are willing to go through what you did, make it happen.

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

Depressed in paradise? You’re not alone

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Sarah DeVries

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March 4, 2023

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Illustration representing the isolation of depression — The isolation many expats normally feel at first while slowly building up a support network is only compounded when mental health issues arise. But there are ways to find help, even with a language barrier. (Illustration: Angy Márquez)

I’ve got a confession to make: my mental health has not been the greatest lately.

Okay, fine. It’s not really a confession; I didn’t do anything wrong, after all. But I’ll admit that I have felt some sheepishness when it comes to admitting I’ve been majorly depressed over the past several months. After all, what do I have to be depressed about?

I live in my dream home, and I have a great family and relatively few troubles, especially when you think about people who are literally living on the streets or losing everything to war and earthquakes or being reduced to fourth-class citizens by the Taliban or something.

But as my therapist says, it does no good to discredit your feelings and try to punish yourself for not feeling the way you’re “supposed” to. And because guilt is my own go-to emotion, that’s what I’d been doing: feeling ashamed and scolding myself for not being happy when I should be.

So what are you supposed to do when you’re psychologically suffering in a different culture and country than your own and aren’t sure how to get help for yourself or don’t have the strength to do it?

This isn’t the first time I’ve been depressed. After my daughter was born nine years ago, I had what I can now identify as major postpartum depression. During that time, I felt lost and didn’t get psychological help, nor did anyone else try to get psychological help for me.

Motherhood is probably one of the most loaded statuses there is here in Mexico, culturally speaking, and I felt constantly judged for not living up to the Mexican mother ideal; whether I actually was or not, I can’t be sure.

It didn’t help that my new baby never slept and cried as if she were being murdered much of the time. When I was pregnant, I thought we’d be best buddies, but once born, it seemed as if she hated me: “You’re doing everything wrong!” she seemed to be howling.

She was diagnosed with “colic,” which is what they say is wrong with babies when they’re extremely unhappy for no apparent medical reason. Theories that perhaps she was unhappy because I myself was stressed only made me feel worse and more stressed and guilt-ridden than I already was.

I stayed depressed for a very long time: at least five years, until I finally found my current therapist (more on that in a moment). During that time, I would just sort of shrug and tell myself that being a grown-up in the world was depressing and it was just how life was — oh well.

Everyone’s experience is different. I think most of us can admit, though, that being a foreigner — especially if you’re newly arrived — can be very isolating. Building a community can take time, and even when you do, sometimes there are cultural differences that just keep you cordoned off. And in the meantime, life just keeps happening; there’s no getting off the merry-go-round.

After the death of my mother and some major crises with my now ex-husband, I finally found Grisel, my therapist. She is lovely. She is wise. She is The Best. I’d write her a mushy platonic love letter, but that would be weird.

Getting myself to therapy in the first place was too long a road. Part of this was because I felt that my Mexican family would roll their eyes at it: yet another clear sign of my inherent weakness and not-enoughness — which was surely the depression speaking, but hadn’t I begged for marriage counseling, only to be brushed off time and again?

I also knew people who gave therapy, and I was extremely not impressed with them. “That’s the kind of person that’s going to help me? Ha, no thank you.” I was a snob toward people who had basically just done an undergraduate degree in psychology and then slapped a “therapist” sign on their front door; and there were a lot of them.

And besides, could someone from such a different culture even understand what I was going through? Surely they’d just tell me all the ways in which I was so obviously being ridiculous (again, the depression talking).

Finally, an acquaintance recommended Grisel to me, and I decided to make an appointment. She helped get me through what has been, up until now, the most difficult phase of my life, and now she’s helping me again.

She made sure, then and now, that I received a psychiatric evaluation. The first time I was told, “You can try antidepressants; you’re a candidate.” I did, and they helped, and then I stopped taking them, and I was still fine.

This last time that I went to see her, a few years later, she sent me to the psychiatrist for another evaluation, and he promptly diagnosed me with severe depression and insisted this time that I take antidepressants (many of which, by the way, can be bought at the pharmacy in Mexico without a prescription; I’m not recommending that anyone self-prescribe, but if you’re already taking something and need to find it here, in many cases, you can do so without too much trouble).

I’ve been taking them again, and along with therapy, they’ve been helping. Slowly but surely, I’m crawling out of this hole that I’d unwittingly fallen back into (I wrote a more detailed blog about it here).

When I think about how much I needlessly suffered when help was right there, I feel sad for Past Sarah. But getting help even in one’s own culture isn’t easy, let alone a different one.

If you’re like me and live in a place where not too many people speak English, then your choice of a local therapist will be greatly reduced if you want to have it in your own language. I feel comfortable enough with Spanish that it isn’t a problem for me (Grisel doesn’t speak English), but I can imagine how daunting it must be for someone who doesn’t feel they can fully express themselves in Spanish when the stakes are so high.

For those who live in places where there are more English speakers, finding a local therapist might not be quite as hard. Getting a good recommendation can do wonders, and I can attest to the fact that a therapist from a culture different than your own can still help tremendously.

If a local option is impossible, there are good online choices as well. But whatever you do, don’t just suffer, punishing yourself for not being “happy enough” in what you thought would be a life-changing (only in a good way) location.

We might be able to change our physical locations, but controlling our minds is a much bigger challenge than we usually think it should be. Remember, the same grace and understanding that we extend to other people must be extended to ourselves as well. Even if you’re in paradise.

So if you or someone you know is suffering, don’t be afraid to look for help. It’s out there, I promise.

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

Blue hole in Chetumal Bay discovered to be world’s second deepest

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MND Staff

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March 3, 2023

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Blue hole in Chetumal Bay, Quintana Roo, Mexico — Data on the Taam ja' blue hole in Chetmual Bay, Quintana Roo, which has been determined to be nearly the largest blue hole in the world, only surpassed by the 301-meter-deep Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in the South China Sea.

A blue hole in Chetumal Bay, Quintana Roo, has been determined to be the second deepest known blue hole in the world.

First things first – what is a blue hole?

Blue Hole in Belize — The Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize. (Depositphotos)

According to the Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, a division of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, blue holes are “underwater sinkholes, similar to sinkholes on land.”

“… A blue hole can be an oasis in an otherwise barren seafloor. Blue holes are diverse biological communities full of marine life, including corals, sponges, mollusks, sea turtles, sharks and more,” the office says on its website.

The world’s deepest known blue hole is the almost 301-meter-deep Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, also known as Dragon Hole, located near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The Taam ja’ Blue Hole (TJBH), as the blue hole in Chetumal Bay has been named, is more than 274 meters below sea level, making it the second deepest known blue hole in the world, according to Mexican scientists who studied it.

Six researchers from the Colegio de la Frontera Sur (College of the Southern Border), or Ecosur, recently published a paper about the blue hole in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal.

Sampling and surveying of the TJBH, located northeast of the city of Chetumal, “were conducted in September 2021 by scuba, echosounders, CDT [conductivity, temperature and depth] profilers, and the collection of water samples,” the scientists said in the paper, published Feb. 23 under the title “First insights into an exceptionally deep blue hole in the Western Caribbean: the Taam ja’ Blue Hole.”

The study, carried out in conjunction with a local fisherman, “revealed a previously unknown maximum water depth … of 274.4 meters below sea level,” they wrote.

According to the paper, the TJBH has “a nearly circular shape at its surface,” which encompasses an area of 13,690 square meters, and steep sides with slopes of more than 80 degrees that “form a large conic structure covered by biofilms, sediments, limestone, and gypsum ledges.”

Its mouth is about five meters below sea level, the researchers said, noting that the temperature and salinity of water “change significantly” at the entrance.

The formation of the blue hole was “likely associated with glacio-eustatic changes in the Yucatán Caribbean coast,” the paper said, referring to sea level changes associated with the uptake or release of water from glaciers.

It also said that the location of the Taam ja’ Blue Hole – whose name means “deep water” in Mayan” – near the coasts of both Mexico and Belize “would inevitably imply an increase of local and foreign visitors, the development of economic activities, and very probably of environmental pressure.”

The Great Blue Hole, located off the coast of Belize, is a popular diving destination.

The Ecosur researchers said that “regulatory measures” might be needed to protect the TJBH, although they noted that it is within a state-managed manatee reserve.

The National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) noted in a statement that the TJBH is the first blue hole to be identified in an estuarine system.

It said that the blue hole is of “great relevance for scientific marine research” as it “represents a window to obtain information about how the environment and climate were thousands of years ago.”

Such information could aid “the understanding of environmental and geological processes, the connectivity of aquifers and the origin of water from these hydrogeological systems,” Conacyt said.

Mexico News Daily

Amazon Web Services launches new ‘local zone’ in Querétaro

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MND Staff

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March 3, 2023

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Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing services arm of e-commerce giant Amazon, announced the opening of their new “local zone” in the state of Querétaro on Wednesday. It is their first in Mexico.

“We are very excited to launch the new local zone in Querétaro, México. This goes in line with our long-term commitment to Mexico and Latin America,” said Andrés Tahta, general director for the public sector of AWS Latin America to EFE news agency in an interview.

Map of AWS hub expansion plans — AWS local zones – existing and announced – in the Western Hemisphere. (AWS)

The new Local Zone, which AWS said in September of last year would open in the first quarter of 2023, will mainly offer database services that will reduce latency for AWS customers in the region. Tahta stressed that the local zone will seek new ventures and will open the door to applications in the public and private sectors to offer more services to the general population.

For instance, AWS has been an ally for platforms such as Netflix and Mercado Libre. In the banking and financial industry, it has helped institutions like Banco Itaú and the Brazilian fintech company Nubank. It has also aided cell phone operators such as Verizon.

In Mexico’s public sector, AWS has collaborated with the National Electoral Institute (INE) and provided support in the 2018 electoral process. Its applications have also improved vehicle procedures in Michoacán after cloud services were integrated to expedite the renewal of license plates for more than three million cars in 113 municipal centers. With AWS, the time to process a license plate went down from four hours to twenty minutes, according to a report in Forbes México.

According to Tahta, only 10% of the applications that could do so take advantage of cloud services globally. In Latin America, that percentage is merely 5%.“What we want to do is accelerate cloud adoption and migration for the benefit of our customers,” he said.

To reach its goals worldwide, AWS says it seeks to train 29 million people with digital skills by 2025. So far, they’ve trained 1.2 million, including 300,000 Mexicans.

The AWS cloud currently covers thirty-two local areas – including Mexico — of which seventeen are in the United States. Amazon plans to incorporate twenty-one additional local zones in eighteen countries that include Australia, Germany, Greece, Norway, and Portugal.

In Latin America, AWS has local zones in the cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina Santiago, Chile Lima, Peru Bogotá, Colombia and Río de Janeiro, Brazil.

With reports from Forbes México and Wired

Peso continues to strengthen; hits best level against the dollar since 2017

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MND Staff

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March 3, 2023

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Mexican peso and US dollar — Some reasons for the peso's strength include high interest rates, large volumes of remittances and falling inflation. (Rmcarvalho/Istock)

The Mexican peso appreciated on Friday to its strongest position against the U.S dollar in over five years, with one greenback buying just under 18 pesos at the close of trading.

Bank of México (Banxico) data shows that one dollar was worth 17.97 pesos when North American markets closed, its weakest level against the Mexican currency since September 2017. The value of the dollar dipped to a slightly lower 17.95 pesos earlier in the day.

Data shows that the peso appreciated 0.86% against the dollar on Friday and 2.33% this week. It has gained 7.88% in value against the U.S. currency this year, making it the best performing major currency in the world in 2023.

As a result, one U.S. dollar now buys 1.54 fewer pesos than it did at the start of the year.

Citing analysts, the newspaper El Economista reported that a weakening of the dollar, strong inflows of remittances and expectations of higher foreign investment in Mexico — including from electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla — benefited the peso this week.

Positive economic data out of China increased appetite for risk assets and thus weakened the U.S. dollar, according to Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base.

Jacobo Rodríguez, director of economic analysis at Black Wallstreet Capital, said that greater demand for pesos due to an increase in exports and remittances as well as tourist spending was benefiting the currency.

However, one of the “most significant” factors helping the peso are high interest rates in Mexico, he said. The central bank lifted its key rate to a record high of 11% last month as it continues to battle high inflation.

“The fact that we have higher interest rates than other nations causes investors to seek … investment [opportunities] here in Mexico,” Rodríguez said.

Banxico Governor Victoria Rodríguez noted Wednesday that core inflation – 8.38% in the first half of February – still hasn’t fallen much, raising expectations that the central bank will continue to lift rates. Its next monetary policy meeting is on March 30.

With reports from El Economista, El Financiero, El CEO and Bloomberg

Can economics save Jalisco’s toxic Santiago River?

By

John Pint

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March 3, 2023

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Ahogado creek in El Salto, Jalisco — The Ahogado creek, filled with industrial waste and raw sewage from toilets, flows out of the Ahogado dam toward the Santiago River. The smoke is from someone in the vicinity burning tires.

A new movement is afoot to clean up Jalisco’s Rio Santiago, widely considered one of the most — if not the most polluted river — in Mexico. And the charge is not being led by environmental activists but by a group of economists.

Well, ecological economists.

The Santiago River in El Salto, Jalisco — Life near the Santiago River is noxiously smelly, a side effect of the real problems facing residents of El Salto: they breathe in the aerosols generated by the moving water. (Fernando Carranza García/Cuartoscuro)

Salvador Peniche of CUCEA, the University of Guadalajara’s Center for Economic Sciences (under the leadership of Gustavo Padilla and Margarita Hernández) has teamed up with his colleagues in the International Society of Ecological Economics to issue a clarion call to government, business and the public at large:

“¡Verguenza! Shame!” they are crying out over the toxic waste and raw sewage that flows through what used to be one of Mexico’s most beautiful rivers before it was contaminated by an overwhelming number of toxic chemicals coming from one of Mexico’s largest industrial zones.

The Santiago River flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in Mexico, over 400 km long.

The sad state of the Santiago made headlines in 2008 when 8-year-old Miguel Ángel López of El Salto, Jalisco, waded into the river to retrieve a soccer ball and died 18 days later, not from drowning but from having swallowed a mouthful of river water containing 400 times the amount of arsenic a human being can tolerate.

El Salto falls — El Salto de Juanacatlán falls, once called “Mexico’s Niagara,” as it looked in 1909 (top) and as it looks today.

The public outcry resulted in the construction of the Ahogado sewage treatment plant in 2012. That reduced the amount of fecal matter in the river but did little about the more than 1,000 contaminants — including chrome, cobalt, mercury, arsenic, benzene, toluene and chloroform, just to name a few.

These heavy metals and synthetic compounds come from the second largest industrial zone in Mexico, located just above the river. In the zone, there are 600 plants producing everything from chemicals and steel to textiles and powdered milk. Many of them are owned by foreign companies.

Over the years, there have been numerous campaigns to stop these companies from polluting the river, including by Greenpeace. In the end, however, the river remains toxic, and the people who live alongside it in El Salto are paying the price.

They breathe the aerosols generated by the moving water, and they get sick. The incidence of cancer is several times higher in the municipality of El Salto than elsewhere in Mexico.

Ahogado dam in Jalisco, Mexico — Dr. Salvador Peniche, second from left, converses with University of Guadalajara students at the Ahogado dam.

“See that street?” local resident Enrique Enciso says in the excellent documentary about the Santiago, “Silent River.” “There are eight houses on this block, and in six of them, somebody has cancer. “

The harm that the river’s contaminants are doing to the people of El Salto have made headlines for years, but no one has succeeded in cleaning up what many call “The River from Hell.”

So how is it that economists have now taken on this task?

I put this question to Peniche.

Activists in El Salto, Jalisco meeting with a University of Guadalajara delegation of academics — A University of Guadalajara delegation meets with founders of the local activist group, El Salto de Vida, which means “the leap for life.”

“We call this ‘shame economics,'” he says. “Basically, we want to demonstrate with satellite maps and with local sensors the deplorable state of the river basin and how it’s affecting people’s health. Then we want to make this public, and we want to calculate the cost of it all.”

These economists are calculating the cost of the services residents are not getting; the cost of the harm being done to nature, “the cost of so many people losing their kidneys; the cost of conjunctivitis; the cost of cancer,” Peniche explains.

They are interested in measuring all of these factors scientifically, he explains, “which is why we are working with satellite image experts, data managers, people who will help us get measurements — hard scientific data that we can present through the media.”

In other words, these economists want to quantify the scale and costs of the problem and give the public the scientific evidence it needs to act.

“What we are trying to do is to generate awareness here,” Peniche says. “As someone once wrote, ‘The silence we have kept greatly resembles stupidity!’”

Perhaps the best way to come to an awareness of this problem is to participate in what the people of El Salto call “El Tour de Terror.”

This is a visit to the Ahogado creek and dam, where raw sewage and industrial waste collect and work their way down to the river.

The tour is simply disgusting.

Dr. Salvadore Peniche in El Salto, Jalisco — Dr. Salvador Peniche hopes that shame economics will result in a clean-up of the Santiago River.

Stop number one is at a point where Guadalajara’s Periférico, or Ring Road, meets the main highway going to the city’s international airport. At the corner of two streets quaintly named Biblia and Rosario, we pulled up next to what looked like a drainage ditch.

We stepped out of the car to be hit by a stench that nearly gagged us.

This was the natural bed of the Ahogado creek, and raw sewage from countless houses all around us was flowing into it.

Our next stop was a spot only 100 meters north of the airport. Here we found great gobs of garbage floating on the creek’s surface. Amongst the plastic bags, worn-out tires and “icebergs” of Styrofoam, we spotted the bloated corpse of a dead dog.

Just across the highway from the airport, the river flows right into a grim-looking swamp called the Ahogado dam, which stinks to the high heavens. All around it are located hundreds of factories, and most of them seem to be spilling their residues into the smelly bog. Fat, filthy cows wander about the place, munching on the water hyacinths growing in the muck.

Finally we went to the most infamous point on the Santiago River, El Salto de Juanacatlán falls, once a huge tourist attraction nicknamed “The Mexican Niagara.”

Again, the stench. Amidst the falls’ corrosive spray, Peniche addressed our little group:

pollutede El Ahogado creek near Guadalajara, Mexico — Garbage floats in the El Ahogado creek as it flows past Guadalajara’s Miguel Hidalgo International Airport.

“This is everybody’s shame, the shame of the government, the industries, the university and the students. How is it possible [that] all of us have permitted a catastrophe of this magnitude!” he said. “We aren’t aiming at confrontation here. No, all of us, all the actors, need to work together in the recuperation of the river basin.”

Shame economics, as described by U.S. economist Paul Sutton and by Peniche, proposes the imposition of a universal tax — or as they refer to it, a duty — onto all factories near the river, based on their individual revenues: a “Collective Industrial Victim Impact Compensation Cost” (a CIVIC Duty).

“This financial levy,” say the two economists, “should be sufficiently painful to incentivize behavior change in the polluters. The beauty of a CIVIC Duty is that, as the river’s environmental qualities improve, the tax goes down. If the river gets worse, the tax goes up.”

“I think the public will like this,” adds Peniche, “because we are not blaming anybody in particular, but rather sounding an alert, to say, ‘Either we move full steam ahead on this or we’re all going to suffer.’”

Coming soon: Río Santiago: the Heavenly River — about the extraordinary natural beauty of the Santiago River and the loss in tourism dollars that its pollution has caused.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

Q&A on Mexico real estate with a top agent in San Miguel de Allende

By

Sarah Bender

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March 3, 2023

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Finca Garambullo San Miguel de Allende — Finca Garambullo in San Miguel de Allende. (CDR San Miguel)

Meet Joseph W. Lown, a top Realtor® in San Miguel de Allende. With a deep connection to Mexico and a love for small cities, Joseph made a life for himself in San Miguel after moving there in 2009.

As a seasoned real estate professional and a licensed Mexican attorney, Joseph offers unparalleled expertise and insight into the local market.

Joseph Lown, real estate agent in San Miguel de Allende — Joseph W. Lown (Courtesy)

What are the top three things that make Mexico a unique and desirable location for real estate buyers from all around the world, and how do they impact the local markets?

I think it’s all about the three C’s: Climate, Culture, and Carrying costs.

First off, let’s talk about the climate. As a Texan myself, I had no concept of the importance of good year round weather until I moved to Mexico. There are so many incredible places here with near-perfect climates like Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Tepoztlán, Ajijic, and of course San Miguel de Allende. And let me tell you, when you’re dealing with the extreme heat in Texas, it’s a game-changer to have a place where you can actually enjoy being outside. That’s something that Mexico has to offer – a wonderful climate for everyone, whether you’re trying to escape the harsh winters up north (the snowbirds) or the sweltering summers down south (the sweat birds).

Now, let’s move on to culture. The expat communities in places like Alamos, Puerto Vallarta, Cuernavaca, Tepoztlán, San Miguel, and Ajijic have been cultivated over decades, creating a unique blend of local and international cultures with a great sense of camaraderie between them. These communities have cultivated a deep appreciation for the arts, with strong music and theatrical scenes, as well as their vibrant painting culture and culinary scene.

Casa Alba San Miguel de Allende — Casa Alba (CDR San Miguel)

Finally, let’s talk about carrying costs. Property taxes in Texas are outrageous, but in Mexico, it’s a whole different story. In San Miguel, for example, property taxes are roughly $240 USD for every $100,000 USD in evaluation. That’s a far cry from the nearly $3,000 USD you’d pay for the same value property in Texas, where the property tax rate is 3% of the appraised value which is 95% of the market value! That’s a huge difference and can make a big impact on your budget.

Are there any important cultural or legal differences that foreign buyers should be aware of when purchasing property in Mexico?

When buying real estate in Mexico, it’s important to be aware that all legal documents are handled in Spanish of course. However, reputable companies and agents can facilitate English and Spanish translations of contracts to ensure clarity for everyone involved.

If you’re worried about buying property in Mexico, it’s important to work with someone who has in-depth local knowledge and knows who to do business with and who to steer clear of. This is when having a trusted network is key. It can also put you at ease to know that there’s a public registry for all properties with unique folio numbers. So as long as all your paperwork is in order and you have a Mexican will, that includes everything you own in Mexico, such as your house, belongings, contents of your home, and bank accounts, it should all be smooth sailing.

What are some of the most common misconceptions that people have about buying property in Mexico, and how can you help dispel them?

One of the biggest misconceptions for foreigner buyers, is that you have to buy a house in a trust and can’t buy it in your name. However, that’s only true for the restricted zone, which is 50 kilometers from the ocean and 100 kilometers from the border. In the interior of Mexico, such as in San Miguel, Guadalajara, Mexico City, or even down in Chiapas, you can buy fee simple, meaning the title to the property is in your name, your spouse’s name, or even split percentages. All foreigners make an agreement with the Mexican government commonly known as the SRE permit, which recognizes you as a Mexican in regards to property ownership and recognizes the jurisdiction and court system in Mexico.

Can you recommend any special events or festivals that showcase the unique culture and heritage of Mexico, and that potential property buyers might enjoy attending?

One of my favorites is the three-day celebration of Halloween, All Saints Day, and Day of the Dead. It’s amazing to see how the Mexican people honor their ancestors and the recently departed during this time. Walking through the streets of San Miguel during this festival, you’ll see beautiful altars adorned with pictures of loved ones and offerings of food and flowers. It’s a touching and beautiful experience that really showcases the Mexican people’s reverence for their heritage and a great way to immerse yourself in the rich traditions of this amazing country.

Another is Easter Week. It’s a big festival in San Miguel, and I think it’s the best time to visit Mexico City as there’s less traffic, the museums and restaurants are still open, and the city has a special vibe.

Can you recommend any hidden gem neighborhoods in San Miguel de Allende that may not be as well-known but still offer great value?

One important thing to consider is proximity to the center of town. If you’re someone who likes to walk and explore the city, anything within a 20-minute walk of the center will add a lot of value to your experience. One neighborhood that’s just starting to gain popularity is Colonia San Rafael. It’s an interesting area with a lot of potential. Another is Colonia Linda Vista, which has amazing views of the city. You might have to walk up a couple of blocks, but trust me, it’s worth it. Colonia Independencia is another neighborhood that has recently undergone some impressive sidewalk and streetscape improvements, making it a very desirable area to walk into town. If you prefer a flat walk into the center, Mexiquito is an excellent choice located across from the Fábrica Aurora.

What advice do you have for clients who are just starting to explore the possibility of buying property in Mexico, and how can you help them find the perfect home or investment opportunity?

As someone who’s helped many clients find their dream homes in Mexico, my advice for those just starting their property search is to connect with a reputable real estate company and an agent who truly has their best interests at heart. From there, I like to take clients on a window tour of San Miguel, pointing out the pros and cons of each neighborhood and highlighting the unique characteristics that make them special. Walking around the different areas is also important because you can get a feel for the shops, stores, and overall atmosphere of each one.

Casa Maximus San Miguel de Allende — Casa Maximus (CDR San Miguel)

There’s something for everyone in San Miguel – from equestrian facilities to country club living to purely residential areas – so it’s important to get familiar with all the choices before making a decision.

Can you share a success story or memorable experience from your career as a realtor in Mexico that highlights the benefits of working with a local expert like yourself?

Every real estate transaction is unique, but what I love about residential real estate is that it’s all about home – that special place. It’s essential to have someone with local knowledge to advise buyers on what’s right for them.

I have childhood memories of coming to Mexico from as early as 1983, so it’s ingrained in me. This is a huge advantage when it’s time to help buyers find what they’re looking for, like the right neighborhood. For instance, if you’re noise sensitive, a purely residential area might be better than a mixed neighborhood with shops and discos. Additionally, living in a colonial city like San Miguel requires understanding its rhythm, such as the one-way streets in Centro. But living in centro San Miguel has cultural offerings like restaurants, which can be easily enjoyed with friends. Also the further out you go, the more land you can get, which drives the value and price in San Miguel.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Mexican real estate market or have any questions, feel free to contact Joseph W. Lown and visit | CDR San Miguel | Forbes Global Properties.

Mexican sanctuary opens its doors for Pablo Escobar’s hippos

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MND Staff

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March 3, 2023

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Feral hippos near former residence of drug lord Pablo Escobar — Feral hippos, descended from those owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar, were relocated from Columbia to a new home in Mexico early this year. (UC San Diego)

To deal with a hippopotamus overpopulation problem in the areas surrounding a ranch once owned by the late cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar, Colombia is planning to ship at least 70 of the hulking beasts out of the country — including about 10 to Mexico.

Dubbed “cocaine hippos” in a nod to Escobar’s years as a drug lord, some of the animals will reportedly go to zoos and sanctuaries in Mexico, as well as to India. Ecuador, the Philippines and Botswana have also expressed willingness to accept some of the hippos, according to Colombian officials.

Hacienda Napoles in Colombia — Hacienda Napoles, more or less as the entrance looked at the time of Escobar’s death. (Wikimedia Commons)

One of the planned destinations in Mexico is the Ostok Animal Protection & Sanctuary in La Campana, Sinaloa, where a 30-year-old Asian elephant was placed last year after being rescued from a Veracruz circus in 2014 and nursed back to health.

“We are working with Ernesto Zazueta, who is the president of [Mexico’s Zoo Breeders and Aquariums Association] and who liaises with different countries and manages their rescues,” said Lina de los Ríos Morales, director of animal protection and welfare in a regional branch of Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

The plan to transfer the hippos later in 2023 has been forming for more than a year, de los Ríos Morales said; however, the permits to start the process are still pending.

The hippos are the descendants of four calves (a male and three females) Escobar trafficked into Colombia in the 1980s from U.S. zoos and kept on his ranch, known as Hacienda Nápoles, in Antioquia, a province in northern Colombia just south of Panama. The hippos were just a fraction of the exotic wildlife Escobar kept on the ranch.

Hacienda Napoles theme park in Colombia — Hacienda Nápoles today is an aquatic and wildlife theme park. (Hacienda Nápoles)

The property eventually became a wildlife waterpark after Escobar died in a shootout with police in Medellin in 1993. The animals that he had on Hacienda Nápoles were sent to sanctuaries and zoos, but not the hippos.

Territorial and aggressive, the hippos spread far beyond Escobar’s hacienda in the years after his death while his family fought with the Colombian government over ownership of the property. In 2022, the news media outlet France 24 reported that the feral hippos have attacked local residents and that wildlife management officials had only managed to sterilize 10 of the male hippos in the wild herd.

Three of the descendants of the original hippos live in the park. They will not be relocated.

Living on their own near the Magdalena River and nearby lakes, the “cocaine hippos” outside the park have no natural predators and multiplied to between 130 and 150, environmental authorities said. If left unchecked, the population could reach 400 in eight years and 1,500 in 16 years, authorities say.

Male hippos can weigh up to 4.5 tons and are threatening the area’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity around Hacienda Nápoles. Their feces change the composition of the rivers and could impact the habitat of manatees and capybaras.

In 2022, Colombia’s government declared hippos an invasive alien species and called for a plan of action.

Relocating them won’t be easy.

Not only are the costs of containers and airlifts prohibitive, but simply capturing the animals will be a major chore. Officials said they must lure them with food and then get each hippo into a guacal (a large shipping container), which will then be driven 150 kilometers by truck to the José María Córdova International Airport outside of Medellín.

hippo at Hacienda Napoles in Colombia — Some of the original hippos Escobar owned — including the tame visitor favorite, Vanessa — are still on the former Escobar property. They will not be relocated. (Hacienda Nápoles)

Environmental authorities plan to capture young hippos that have not yet reached their adulthood weight, and to send 30 per transfer flight.

“It is possible,” David Echeverri López, spokesman for Cornare, the region’s environmental authority, promised in a video released Thursday. “We already have experience relocating hippos in zoos nationwide.”

Colombian officials said that the Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in the western Indian state of Gujarat will cover the cost of airlifting the hippos to India, but gave no details on how the costs of the transfer to Mexico will be handled.

De los Ríos Morales said the plan includes “dignified treatment” and a home “in an appropriate place” for the hippos, “without resorting to extreme measures as some have required when being declared an invasive species, which is extermination.”

With reports from Reforma, AP and Nature

Acapulco ready for semi-finals of the ATP Mexican Open

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MND Staff

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March 3, 2023

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Alex de Minaur celebrates qualifying for the semi-finals in Acapulco — Australia's Alex de Minaur booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Taro Daniel (Abierto Mexico Telcel)

The 30th edition of the Mexican Open men’s tennis tournament in Acapulco is heating up, with the semi-finals to be played Friday night and the final scheduled for Saturday.

A field of 32 players in the main draw of the ATP 500 singles event has been whittled down to just four: Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz of the United States, Holger Rune of Denmark and Alex de Minaur of Australia, with the winner receiving 500 ranking points.

Paul, the No. 7 seed and a semi-finalist at this year’s Australian Open, will meet Fritz, the No. 3 seed, in the first semi-final at the Arena GNP Seguros in the Diamante district of Acapulco, while 19-year-old Rune, the No. 4 seed, will take on de Minaur, the No. 8 seed, in the second semi.

The winners will face off Saturday night in the final of the hardcourt tournament, a lead-up event to the 2023 Indian Wells Masters in California, often called “the fifth slam” of professional tennis.

The Mexican Open champion will receive the “silver gourd” trophy and over US $375,000 in prize money. He will also win the right to don an oversized sombrero, a tradition of the tournament first played in Mexico City in 1993.

Spanish legend Rafael Nadal won last year’s event but did not to return to Acapulco to defend his title this year.

Rodrigo Pacheco, Mexican tennis player — Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco was eliminated in a match with Australian Alex de Minaur. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal / Cuartoscuro.com

Semi-finals in the doubles event will also be played Friday, ahead of Saturday’s final.

Seventeen-year-old Yucatán native Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez was Mexico’s sole representative in the main singles draw but failed to pass the first round. The wildcard entrant, ranked outside the top 1,000 players in the world, was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by de Minaur.

Three Mexicans contested the main draw of the doubles event – two as a team and one with a French partner – but they too failed to progress to the second round.

The Mexican Open isn’t the only professional tennis tournament taking place in Mexico this week – The Monterrey Open, a women’s tournament branded this year as Abierto GNP Seguros, is underway at Club Sonoma in the Nuevo León capital. The final of the WTA 250 event will be played Sunday after semi-finals on Saturday and quarters on Friday.

No. 1 seed Caroline García of France remains in the hunt for the title. Fernanda Contreras Gómez, a 25-year-old San Luis Potosí native, lost in the first round.

The Monterrey tournament follows the Mérida Open in the Yucatán capital last week, won by Camila Giorgi of Italy.

Mexico News Daily

Pemex defies promises by continuing gas flaring at Ixachi field

By

Cat Rainsford

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March 3, 2023

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A refinery in Veracruz lets off a gas flare — The extensive Dos Bocas refinery lets off a natural gas flare during June 2022 (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)

State oil company Pemex has not only continued, but increased gas flaring at the Ixachi field in Veracruz, despite promising to stop the environmentally harmful practice in November 2022.

Flaring at the Papan and Perdiz processing plants increased from 1 billion cubic feet at the time of Pemex’s pledge, to 1.3 billion cubic feet in January, according to satellite data analyzed by Reuters.

Flaring – which involves burning off gas from oil production instead of processing it – emits harmful greenhouse gases and wastes a potentially lucrative natural resource.

When Reuters visited the site in mid-February, they found four huge flares burning. Five local residents said the flares were lit almost constantly, and satellite images indicated the flares were still active last week.

Neither Pemex nor government energy authorities agreed to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Pemex has come under sustained pressure from Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission, environmentalists and the United States government to stop this practice. The company has promised several times to bring down flaring rates, acknowledging that its poor environmental record is making it harder to access financing.

On Nov. 18, Pemex CEO Octavio Romero released a video pledging to start processing 300 million cubic feet of gas per day from Ixachi and to stop flaring at the site by Jan. 15.

However, multiple sources at Pemex and Mexico’s energy authorities told Reuters this promise was unrealistic. Pemex is the world’s most indebted major oil producer and lacks the capacity to develop the infrastructure to process such huge quantities of gas.

Senior company sources told Reuters that Pemex would rather pay fines than deal with the gas flaring problem, as it instead prefers to direct its resources towards producing condensate – a form of light crude oil.

The company is currently struggling to increase oil production to 2 million barrels a day – a 12% increase from current levels – a key pledge in President López Obrador’s nationalistic energy policy.

In December, Pemex released an updated business plan for 2023-2027, which again promised to reduce emissions but also set higher targets for increasing oil and gas production.

Besides exacerbating its already poor environmental record, Pemex’s battle to reach official targets may be putting safety at risk. Last week, three separate fires broke out at Pemex facilities on the same day, prompting renewed scrutiny of its safety record.

With reports from Reuters