Despite efforts to integrate them into social security programs, domestic workers still face uncertain employment and lack of access to healthcare. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Despite high-profile increases in the minimum wage and the number of days of annual vacations for employees, 95% of domestic workers in Mexico still have not been enrolled in social security programs, according to unions.
Despite a law in 2022 mandating the enrollment of domestic staff, little has changed for workers. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Healthcare in Mexico is provided by the government, but workers must be officially enrolled and make regular contributions to the scheme via taxes in order to receive assistance. Private healthcare options are unaffordable for the majority of domestic workers.
March 30 is the National Day of Domestic Workers — but in 2023, an estimated 70% of workers are paid below minimum wage, between 239 pesos (US $13.20) and 312 (US $17.23) pesos per day (for workers on the U.S. border).
Mexico has around 2.5 million domestic workers, the vast majority (2.25 million) of them female, and usually working as cleaners and carers, according to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
So far, only around 56,000 workers in this field have been successfully enrolled in IMSS, according to the National Center for the Professional Training and Leadership of Domestic Workers. This number represents less than 2.3% of eligible workers.
The reality for many domestic workers is a lack of job security and low pay. (Magdalena Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
Many domestic workers also have multiple employers — working in three or four different homes over a week, meaning that it is unclear which employer should shoulder the cost of paying their social security contributions.
This situation is further complicated by the fact that many employers do not want to pay the cost or deal with the bureaucratic requirements of being registered as employers in the IMSS system — and many workers would rather see the extra money that would go to IMSS contributions in their pockets. They are also often paid in cash, without any receipts or official payment documentation to demonstrate that they are employed.
This has created an environment where despite some pay increases, domestic staff are still left in the cold when it comes to social security benefits.
The National Union of Domestic Workers in Mexico (Sinactraho) has been fighting hard for members, trying to enroll and assist where possible, but the informal nature of the sector means that it can be hard to measure the true scale of the problem.
Sinactraho also notes that many workers lack employment protections and contracts, meaning that their precarious situation is made worse by the fact that they can be dismissed at any time, which would eliminate their eligibility for IMSS.
There is a battle for higher pay now looming on the horizon — but before winning new concessions, it will be necessary to make sure that workers can enjoy the benefits of the battles that they have already won.
Perhaps no other neighborhood is as associated with 21st-century Mexico City as La Roma is. (Cody Copeland)
Purple is the color of spring in Mexico, thanks to the jacaranda tree.
Every spring, millions of residents in Mexico City and beyond are charmed by the purple canopies of this beloved tree. Although it has become a staple of the season for nearly a century, did you know it isn’t native to Mexico?
In fact, it is originally from South America.
Despite it’s association with Mexico City, the jacaranda is actually from Brazil! (João Medieros/Wikimedia)
1. The jacaranda tree arrived from Brazil
Jacarandas are native to a region known as Gran Chaco that spans Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. They were brought to Mexico by Japanese immigrant Tatsugoro Matsumoto in the 1930s.
Matsumoro, who worked as a gardener in the Chapultepec Castle — the former presidential residence — advised President Pascual Ortiz Rubio to plant jacarandas instead of cherry trees, as they would better adapt to the city’s climate.
Clearly, he was right!
2. Its purple flower blossoms during the spring
Blossoming from February through March, the jacaranda grows an abundance of lilac and violet flowers in bunches that completely cover the tree. Due to their vibrant purple color, they have become ornamental trees all across Mexico City (and most states in the country).
The New York Times described the jacaranda blossoming season as “an explosion of purple flowers.” When the flowers fall, “the sky blooms on the ground,” wrote Alberto Ruy Sánchez in his book “Dicen las Jacarandas” (“What the Jacarandas Say”).
Many jacarandas are found in upscale neighborhoods throughout the capital. (ANDREA MURCIA /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
3. There are more found in wealthy neighborhoods
According to an analysis by the newspaper Expansión, although the jacaranda tree can be found in most areas of Mexico City, they’re particularly prominent in the wealthiest neighborhoods.
Based on data from real estate websites like Propiedades.com and VivaAnuncios.com, the study argues that the abundance of jacarandas in these areas raises the price of neighborhoods, including the exclusive areas of Polanco, Juárez, Del Valle, Condesa, and Cuahutémoc.
4. They grow quickly
Jacarandas can vary from 6 to 25 meters and grow at an average of 1.5 meters per year. It only takes jacarandas about three to five years to become an “adult tree” and to start blossoming flowers.
5. Its name has different meanings and symbolisms
The original name is pronounced “jacarandá,” with the stress on the last syllable. It comes from the Guaraní language spoken in Brazil and Paraguay, and some experts consider it to mean “fragrant” (which is odd because the jacaranda flower doesn’t have a scent) or “strong wood.”
Since the jacaranda blossoms in spring, it is associated with rebirth and the “magic” of the season.
In the Amazon, the jacaranda is associated with the goddess of the moon and is also considered a sign of good fortune. According to legend, if a jacaranda flower falls on your head, it will bring you good luck.
So, next time you’re standing under a jacaranda tree, don’t move and you might end up a lucky fellow!
On Tuesday, President López Obrador presented a reform to Congress to shorten mining and water concessions, among other measures. (Andrea Murcia Monsivais/Cuartoscuro.com)
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed an overhaul of mining and water regulations, to shorten extraction concessions and provide greater oversight.
The legislation, presented on Tuesday, aims to protect the environment and prevent water shortages in nearby communities.
Mexico is the world’s fourth-largest recipient of foreign direct investment for mining. (ilozavr63/Depositphotos)
Under the new proposal, mineral exploitation rights will be reduced from 50 to 15 years. Water concessions, on the other hand, will be given a maximum of five years. According to the president, the reform seeks to “recover state leadership of the mineral and water resources in the Mexican subsoil that are the direct domain of the nation.”
Any company looking to secure exploitation rights under the new regulations will need to prove their work has no negative impact on existing water supply.
The proposal bans mining activity in protected areas and nature reserves, and further enforces the requirement of consultation with Indigenous populations.
If approved, the new legislation will require that bidding be held on a competitive basis, with the proposed aim of seeking to balance foreign business interests against the goals of the Mexican government.
Indigenous groups protest mining projects in Cuentepec, Morelos. (Margarito Perez Retana / CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Successful bidders will be required to submit a social impact study that determines the effects of mining on the daily lives of residents, and provide appropriate prevention, mitigation, and compensation measures for the population. This compensation will need to be distributed in the form of credit before work can begin.
Failure to provide appropriate evidence of consultation and environmental impact assessment would provide grounds for revocation.
In addition, AMLO’s initiative grants the government new powers to ensure that mining waste is appropriately disposed of in accordance with environmental regulations, in a move to reduce industrial pollution levels.
The current proposal is part of a clampdown on mining and water permits under this administration. Between 1988 and 2018, 65,534 permits were granted – overwhelmingly to companies from Canada and the United States. However, since the advent of the Morena government, there has been a total halt in the approval of new permits.
This strategy marks a general shift in global mineral extraction trends. In reference to the reform, López Obrador noted that minerals that were considered strategic during the drafting of the Mining Law of 1992 are now “widely available in international markets,” and that previous legislation was designed to “favor the interest of individuals, under the assumption that the massive entry of national and international capital was required for the exploitation of [Mexican] mining resources.”
The Association of Mines, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico (Aimmgm) has warned that the proposed law would undermine the industry, which could lead to the mass exit of companies and jeopardize 405,000 direct jobs in Mexico.
The Chamber of Deputies will now discuss the proposed legislation before sending it to the Senate for review.
Eric Anchisi has wonderful memories of the peaceful, quaint hometown where he grew up in Southern France. Yet as he grew older, he often found himself frustrated with what he perceived to be a lack of opportunities around him.
Eric Anchisi’s first conominium development in Tulum, Mistiq, completed in 2019. (Courtesy)
Eric always had an entrepreneurial itch; but so many things were already built up, already created, already done, and he wondered what he could do beyond simply working for someone else in a service job, as most of his friends started doing. Eric wanted adventure.
He had a desire to do something creative, something bigger, something that entailed taking risks but could also yield big rewards – and he did not see how that would be possible where he grew up. France to him was mature, majestic, and full of history, but offered limited opportunities for young entrepreneurs – especially those without an established network.
And so he left. At age 17, he moved to Monaco, where his father worked as a charter yacht captain. Eric worked on the charters, doing everything from cleaning the bathrooms to driving the boats when his father needed a little sleep. On these yachts, Eric would overhear wealthy clients talking about their businesses, their investments, their ambitious plans for growth. Eric was curious, he was hungry to learn, and not afraid to work hard.
After several seasons in Monaco, an opportunity came up for him to do similar work on charter yachts in Miami, and so he moved there. In this milieu of successful businesspeople, Eric began to realize that he wanted to go into land and property development – he just didn’t know how or where or when it would ever be possible.
Tulum has experienced rapid growth in the last decade. (Sectur)
In 2010, at age 22, a friend of Eric’s invited him on a vacation to Tulum, where Eric found a natural paradise: incredible beaches, archaeological ruins and cenotes, but also to Eric’s eyes, exciting potential for growth. Tulum at that time was still a relatively quiet and unknown place, but was starting to be discovered by people from around the world, including many Europeans.
The Municipality of Tulum already had a 20-year master plan blueprint for significant potential growth, but there was a lack of entrepreneurs willing to execute it. Most of the locals in Tulum lacked the access to capital or the experience to build, and most of the foreigners were focused on smaller businesses like restaurants or yoga or tours.
Eric saw this as his chance to begin to do something on his own.And so with his savings he started building several small homes in the area. He was able to build quickly and reinvest the proceeds into more construction and land purchases. At that time, the Tulum boom had not yet started, and so land could be acquired and homes could be built for far less than today. Eric was truly at the right place at the right time – he had worked hard to get there, and he was able to take advantage of rapidly appreciating land values and increased demand for homes.
After several years of building individual homes, Eric felt that he was ready to take on significantly more risk. He saw demand increasing so quickly that he felt he could design a large condominium complex and with pre-sales alone, fund the construction of the project. Eric thought that a game changing concept and design would result in quick sales, given the demand. He had a vision.
Mistiq Gardens in Tulum, Eric’s second 102-condo project. (Courtesy)
It was with that mindset that in late 2018 Eric designed and began pre-selling his first mega-project, Mistiq Tulum. Mistiq is a 104-unit condominium complex with elevators, underground parking, massive pools, restaurants, a spa, and a high-end gym. It was a huge risk at a time where a road was barely built to the project, and there was not yet electricity, water, or internet service available in the immediate area.
The big bet paid off, with Eric selling out most of the project in the first few months. This allowed him to move fast on construction and reduce his financial risk, completing the building in late 2019, just in time for three consecutive hurricanes to hit the area for the first time in over a decade. This knocked out power, downed many trees, flooded the pools, and set back the opening by a few weeks, but once it opened, many saw it as a game-changing development for Tulum.
Initial demand and interest were so high for the condominiums that Eric began planning and pre-selling his next mega project, Mistiq Gardens, less than 1 kilometer away. The design of the 102 condominiums was extremely well received and the building was sold out in a matter of months.
The pandemic brought an explosion of growth for Tulum. People from around the world flocked to here to “ride things out” and Mistiq’s amenities resonated with many people looking for longer term accommodations.
Eric’s latest project in Cabo San Lucas (Courtesy)
In just a 12-month period in the height of the pandemic, Mistiq sold over 600 condominiums – an average of almost 2 per day.
Mistiq now has 9 projects completed or under construction in Tulum as well as 3 in Cabo San Lucas. In 2021 Eric wanted to diversify and saw opportunities in Cabo similar to those he saw in Tulum more than a decade earlier – another land of opportunity with massive potential.
As Eric reflects on his success and good fortune, he cannot help but talk about how Mexico has been a land of opportunity for him. He is extremely proud of the 1,200+ Mexicans that he currently employs. Most of his leadership team have been with him since the beginning, and Eric talks at length of how they have grown and developed over the years.
Eric and his team. (Courtesy)
Many of these workers arrived from Chiapas with little or no construction skills, and had come to Tulum in search of opportunity, just like he did years earlier. He finds it incredibly satisfying to see how many of these workers have now started a family and found a new life in Tulum.
There are many stories of Mexican immigrants leaving the country in search of a better life. Eric is an inspirational example of how Mexico can offer so much, welcoming a French immigrant who could realize his big dreams here.
A woman protests the INM at a migration station in Comitán de Domínguez in Chiapas. (Toño Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Video footage posted to social media shows that migrants were left in a locked section of a provisional detention center in Ciudad Juárez despite the outbreak of a fire that ultimately claimed many of their lives.
The National Immigration Institute (INM) said Tuesday night that 38 men died inthe blaze on Monday night, one fewer than the institute had previously reported. The death toll rose to 39 again on Wednesday, however, after another migrant died in hospital. Close to 30 migrants were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment.
Migrants set mattresses alight after they found out they were going to be deported or moved, President López Obrador said Tuesday.
A 32-second video shows a security guard and a man in an INM uniform walking across a room adjacent to the locked section of the detention facility, where flames and smoke are visible.
They apparently evacuated the building without unlocking the door to the section where the migrants were being held. It was unclear whether one of the men, or both, had keys to the door.
One migrant makes an unsuccessful attempt to kick the metal door down while another stands next to it and appears to say something to the security guard and INM employee. Thick smoke quickly engulfs the lockup and the adjacent room.
INM Commissioner Fernando Garduño Yáñez visits a victim of Monday’s fire in a Ciudad Júarez hospital. (Twitter/@INAMI_mx)
The migrants who died were killed either directly by the fire or due to smoke inhalation.
Interior Minister Adán Augusto López, whose department oversees the INM, said in an interview that the government had been in possession of the video since shortly after the fire. However, López Obrador made no mention of it at his press conference on Tuesday, at which he only briefly discussed the events at the detention center.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry of El Salvador expressed “its strongest condemnation of the very serious actions of the personnel” at the INM facility, reporting that several Salvadorans died in the fire.
“We demand that the relevant authorities thoroughly investigate what happened and bring those responsible to justice,” the Salvadoran government said.
The INM publisheda list of the detainees but didn’t fully differentiate between those who died and those who were injured. Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 28 of the deceased were believed to be from that country.
Fifteen women were released from the same detention center when the fire broke out, but the INM didn’t explain why the men were not. Men from six countries — Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador — were being held at the center in the Chihuahua border city located opposite El Paso, Texas.
Immigration agents detained the men on Monday, according to the Associated Press, which reported that many of them had been begging or washing car windows at stoplights in Ciudad Juárez.
One of the survivors of the fire is Venezuelan Eduard Caraballo López, who doused himself with water and pressed himself against a door when the fire broke out, according to his wife, who was waiting outside the detention center.
Viangly Infante Padrón told the Associated Press that she was initially “desperate” as she saw several dead bodies come out of the facility but didn’t see her husband.
“There was smoke everywhere. The ones they let out were the women, and those [employees] with immigration,” Infante said.
El Salvador condena acciones del personal de la Estación Migratoria de Ciudad Juárez durante el incendio que dejó múltiples fallecidos y lesionados.
Además, el Gobierno del Presidente @nayibbukele exige una investigación a fondo y que los responsables enfrenten la justicia. pic.twitter.com/TAkF73ju6l
— Cancillería de El Salvador 🇸🇻 (@cancilleriasv) March 29, 2023
The government of El Salvador released a strongly worded statement demanding an investigation into the fire and that the persons found responsible face justice.
“The men, they never took them out until the firefighters arrived. They alone had the key,” she said, referring to INM personnel.
“The responsibility was theirs to open the bar doors and save those lives, regardless of whether there were detainees, regardless of whether they would run away, regardless of everything that happened. They had to save those lives,” Infante said.
More than 200 organizations in Mexico, other Latin American countries and the United States endorsed astatement by a human rights advocacy group that blamed the federal government for Monday’s tragedy.
“The situation reflects an absence of protocols and absence of a policy … to guarantee the rights and protection of migrants and asylum seekers,” the statement said.
The organizations called on the INM to take responsibility for the incident and explain what happened on Monday night and urged Congress to legislate against the arrest of migrants except in exceptional circumstances.
Migration stations, as the government calls centers like the one where the fire occurred, are “torturous environments and their operation infringes on rights, dignity and, as is shown in this case, the lives of migrants,” the statement said.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez listens to a question from a reporter at a Wednesday afternoon press conference about the Monday fire that killed 39 migrants. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
“The metallic blankets that covered the bodies of the deceased are symbols of an inhumane migration policy. … Said policy … supports a system of systematic arbitrary detention that violates rights. Migration policy in Mexico kills,” the statement said.
Pope Francis offered prayers on Wednesday for the migrants who died in the fire, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and called for a “thorough investigation of this tragic event.”
President Lopez Obrador said at his press conference on Wednesday morning that employees of a private security company worked at the INM center in Ciudad Juárez and that he had asked federal Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero to attend directly to the case. He also mentioned that some of the employees of the detention center were under contract with a private security company.
“… We’re not going to hide anything. We’re not the same as those who fabricated crimes, hid things, tortured, so that people, some of them innocent, would blame themselves,” he said.
At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez extended condolences to the families of the victims and told the press that eight people had been identified as likely to have been responsible parties in the incident, including federal agents, a state migration agent and workers with the private security company under contract at the center. Charges forthcoming would include homicide and property damage but also possibly other charges, including abuse of authority, she said.
The case will be pursued jointly by the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office, Rodríguez said.
The company that provided security services to the center will no longer be allowed to offer services in Mexico, she said.
The fire is among the deadliest tragedies involving migrants in Mexico in recent decades. Two incidents in which more migrants died include a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Chiapas that claimed the lives of 55 clandestine passengers and the massacre of 72 migrants by cartel gunmen in Tamaulipas in 2010.
Migrant refugees waiting outside a Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance office in hopes of regularizing their status. COMAR has been overwhelmed throughout Mexico
The number of migrants in northern border cities has increased in recent weeks as United States authorities attempt to process asylum requests using a new U.S. government app called CBP One. The app has reportedly been overloaded by huge demand and plagued by glitches.
Mexico has come under pressure from the United States to do more to stop the movement of migrants to the two countries’ shared border. The federal government has deployed the National Guard to detain migrants, but many have still made it to the northern border, and crossings into the U.S. between official points of entry have recently surged.
Different forms of this ballgame have existed continuously in different parts of Latin America for around 3,500 years. (Courtesy of Jose Lizárraga)
In 1968 — on the first day of the Olympic Games held in Mexico City — millions of spectators from around the world watched the ancient game of Ulama, most of them for the first time.
The players are spectacular to watch. The game requires skill, endurance and athleticism — players must leap into the air with great strength, yet with the grace of a ballet dancer as they twist their bodies to hit the ball with their hip.
Members of an ulama team play a modern-day version of the game. (Courtesy of José Lizárraga)
The Mesoamerican ballgame of Ulama — the oldest continuously played team sport in the world — has existed for 3,500 years. The oldest ball court — discovered in 1974 in Paso de la Amada, Chiapas — dates back to 1400 B.C. Ulama balls have been found that are even older: dating back to 1600–1700 B.C.
Ulama was widespread in Mesoamerica, played by the Olmecs, Aztec and Maya. More than 2,500 ballcourts have been found — the most famous can be seen in Mexico’s archeological sites of Chichén Itzá, Tikal, and Monte Albán.
Ulama reflected the shared cosmological beliefs of a vast region stretching throughout much of Mesoamerica. When the Spanish saw the ritual and its religious aspects and regarded it as a threat to the Catholic Church, they banned the game, and the tradition began to disappear.
By the beginning of the 21st century, historians were concerned that Ulama was becoming extinct. In 2003, California State University and the Historical Society of Mazatlán began a 10-year interdisciplinary project to study the status of the Ulama tradition.
Ulama was documented in 1528 in this drawing by Christophe Weiditz, who was in the audience as indigenous men brought to the court of King Charles V played a version of the game for the monarch.
They found that the game continued to be played in just four communities in Sinaloa but that the practice had died out in the rest of the country, alarming them that this ancient tradition might become extinct.
Then the Lizarraga family almost single-handedly rescued Ulama from extinction.
The family had kept the Ulama tradition alive since 1900, passing down the training and rituals of the game from generation to generation. More recently, family members also became concerned by the lack of interest in the ancient game. They started reaching out to distant relatives and others to provide training and help organize teams.
Don Manuel Lizárraga taught his eight children (including a daughter) to play Ulama, and they exported it to the theme park of Xcaret near Cancún. The park built a ball court and hired players from Sinaloa — at the time, there were no players left in the Yucatán Peninsula — for exhibition games as a tourist attraction.
For the Lizárragas, Ulama is a family tradition. The clan has produced 150 Ulama ballplayers. That tradition is now being carried forward by José Lizarraga, an Ulama player and promoter.
I ask Lizárraga about the symbolism of the game.
“Historically, it was a sacred ritual related to seasonal or agricultural changes, such as marking the beginning or end of a harvesting season. It was also used to end conflicts,” he says.
There are historical records of games played between teams of two civilizations or their kings to decide the winner of a conflict; often, the losing team or king would be sacrificed to the gods.
The Aztecs made Ulama a high-stakes game. Players and team supporters would wager their home, their fields, their children and even themselves — if their team lost, they could lose everything and be forced into slavery and ultimately sacrificed.
The Lizárraga family has been a linchpin in saving knowledge of ulama from disappearing. Here, Luis Lizárraga makes a play in a match, date unknown. (David Mallin)
“There is also deep symbolism regarding the creation of the world and the continuous battle of opposites,” Lizárraga says. “Fire and water, good and evil, day and night. The ball court — called a taste (tās-tāy) — represents the portal to the underworld. The players represent the stars or celestial bodies.
Often, there were ritual offerings to the sacred energies, and the players would present themselves for purification. The game of ulama symbolizes the perpetual movement and duality of the universe.”
INAH archeologist Gibrán de la Torre tells me, “There are three different versions of Ulama: In one, you can only advance the ball by hitting it with your forearm. The second version is to advance the ball with a stick or club called a mazo — similar to the game of cricket. The most popular version is the ‘hip ulama,’ where you can only hit the ball with your hip. It is a continuation of the pre-Hispanic ullamaliztli played by the Aztecs and Mayans.”
In El Quelite, I meet with another Ulama ballplayer, Juan Carlos Osuna, to have him explain how the game is played. I quickly discover that the rules are different depending on the team and the community.
“The ball court is a long, narrow rectangle with end lines, or goal lines, at each end. In the middle is the center line (analco), which separates the two teams. The goal is to get the ball over your opponent’s endline using only your hip,” he explains.
“If you touch the ball with any other part of your body, you lose a point. If it is a low ball, you must drop to the ground and hit it with your hip. I have had many cuts and bruises, but your body gets used to it.”
Osuna raises a cloth sack he is carrying and almost reverently removes a rubber ball the size of a large cantaloupe and hands it to me. The ball is surprisingly dense — weighing almost nine pounds — but it bounces like a much lighter ball.
Example of a ulama ball on display in Sinaloa. (Sheryl Losser)
“The balls are made from the sap of a rubber tree — the arbol de hule — that grows in Tabasco. They must be constructed by special artisans. The technique is passed down from generation to generation.”
The balls are expensive, costing US $1,000 due to the amount of latex required and a scarcity of artisans who know the technique.
Each team consists of three to five players and a referee. Players wear protective gear around their hips — a loincloth, a wide leather belt that straps around their hips and a cloth belt or sash that holds it together and hangs down in front as further protection. The first team to score eight points (rayas) wins the game.
The rules and scoring are so complicated, it can take players years to fully understand them — which is why each game has one or two referees. There are three phases of the game, known as urrias, during you could lose all your points.
Due to the scoring’s complexity, games could have lasted for days — they are now limited to a certain number of hours agreed to by both sides.
Despite all this, Ulama is currently undergoing a serious comeback: through his organization FEMUC Ulama de cadera, Lizárraga has trained and organized teams and tournaments in 11 states in Mexico, as well as in California and Guatemala.
The game’s rules are complicated and in this version seen here, players drive the ball with their hips. (Courtesy of Jose Lizarraga)
He now has eight women’s teams, 12 men’s teams, four for children and four for youth.
Games can be seen regularly at the Xcaret theme park in Playa del Carmen and at the Xachikalli cultural center in Mexico City. You can even request an exhibition game by contacting Lizárraga at 984-166-8181. Or contact him on Facebook at FEMUC ullama de cadera.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive and professional researcher. She spent 45 years in national politics in the United States. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing.
A pre-Hispanic carving of a bird recently returned by German authorities to the Mexican government. (Alejandra Frausto/Twitter)
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has announced the return of 40 historical artifacts from Italy, as well as another 40 from Germany and three from France.
Some of the artifacts are nearly 1,700 years old.
Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto telling reporters about the recovery of 83 pre-Hispanic artifacts returned to Mexico by Italian, German and French authorities. (Presidencia)
The artifacts arrived safely back in Mexico thanks to Aeromexico, who collected them in Rome, Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto reported during President López Obrador’s daily press conference on Tuesday.
Frausto traveled to Rome to repatriate the articles in person.
“There was joy, applause, and a lot of pride,” amongst the team on the return journey, she said. Videos on Twitter showed the group jubilantly celebrating the loading of the items into the aircraft in Rome.
“Not only do we announce the recovery of heritage but also the recovery of dignity in this country,” she told the assembled press.
Forty of the artifacts being repatriated on an Aeromexico flight from Rome.
The artifacts were confiscated in 2021 by the Carabinieri group for the Protection of Cultural Heritage — an Italian enforcement agency tasked with identifying cultural items that may have been removed without permission from their countries of origin.
Some of the pieces in question were in private hands at the time of the seizure.
It is not the first time Italy has returned missing cultural artifacts to Mexico: as recently as July, it returned 30 artifacts found by Italian authorities being offered for sale online and at auction. At the time, Mexico gave Italy custody of 1,271 documents in its possession that were connected to the Italian sculptor Ettore Ferrari in exchange.
Italy has returned to Mexico at least 70 pre-Hispanic artifacts confiscated in its nation in less than a year. These three were returned to Mexico in July. (SRE)
The Italian government has been directly advising Mexico on how to create a similar cultural protection enforcement organization that could further recover more missing items and has sent an attaché to Mexico to assist.
The recovery of historical artifacts has been a key element of foreign policy under the López Obrador government, and foreign embassies have been instructed to advertise repatriation services.
“Binational cooperation is experiencing a happy moment,” said Giorgio Silli, the Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs.
Las piezas sustraídas del país, que la casa Millon Maison de ventes aux enchères pretende vender, son parte de la identidad y riqueza invaluable del pueblo de 🇲🇽
President López Obrador has prioritized the recovery of pre-Hispanic artifacts, and through the Culture Ministry, launched an education campaign aiming at getting owners to repatriate such items. In this tweet, pre-Hispanic items being offered for sale outside Mexico are highlighted.
In addition to the artifacts recovered from Italy, INAH says that a further 40 pieces have been returned by Germany, as well as and 3 from France, several of which date from 400 B.C.
The French pieces were part of a private inheritance that had been delivered to an auction house. According to the newspaper El Pais, the owner delisted and returned the objects to the Mexican embassy in Paris after learning of the government repatriation scheme, according to El País.
The Mexican government is now targeting the return of 83 Olmec artifacts from France that are set to be sold at a private auction on April 3. Frausto has slammed the auction of these pre-Hispanic pieces and at the press event, she challenged people who would buy such artifacts to appreciate works being made by modern artisans throughout Mexico.
One of the 40 pre-Hispanic artifacts recovered by German authorities. (INAH)
“They are put up for sale as if they were a luxury item to decorate a house, as if they were merchandise. This is not only illegal but it is also immoral…
“We call for potential buyers to set their eyes on the art in towns today. There are extraordinary pieces that may be adorning the most luxurious houses in the world. Contemporary art in Mexico is also a power. Visit and see this art that is being created right now,” she said.
INAH reports that a total of 11,505 archaeological pieces have now been repatriated under President López Obrador’s government.
IOA spoke with Mexico News Daily in advance of a June 5 round table discussion on energy in Mexico, featuring Mexico's Deputy Energy Secretary Jorge Islas Samperio and other speakers. Pictured: The Olmeca Refinery in Dos Bocas, Tabasco. (Gobierno de México)
Mexico’s energy policy has been under much scrutiny of late. On the one hand, President López Obrador has soughtforeign investment in huge newrenewable energy projects. On the other, his nationalistic energy policies have led to a trade dispute with the United States and Canada, who have accused Mexico of unfairly favoring state-owned companies — such as Pemex and the CFE — over foreign suppliers of clean energy.
But how much energy does Mexico use? How does its fossil fuel reliance compare to other countries in the region? And how does its energy consumption break down across the country?
In 2021 – the last year withavailable data — Mexico used 337 terawatt-hours of energy, or 14,884 kilowatt-hours per person. That includes not only electricity, but also other areas of consumption such as transport, heating and cooking.
The country’s per capita energy use has stayed relatively stable over the last few decades, even declining slightly in recent years — although the figures for 2020 and 2021 were likely affected by pandemic lockdowns.
For comparison, the average person in the United States used over five times more energy than the average Mexican in 2021 — 76,634 kilowatt-hours — while the average Canadian used a whopping 101,459 kilowatt-hours.
In terms of energy use, Mexico is in the mid-range of countries. (Our World in Data)
At the other end of the scale, one of Mexico’s southern neighbors, Guatemala, used 5,847 kilowatt-hours per person in 2019, the last year with available data. Mexico’s per capita energy use puts it roughly in the middle of countries worldwide.
When it comes to fossil fuel reliance, however, Mexico is indeed a poor performer. In 2021, 87.9% of the country’s energy came from fossil fuels, with 10.5% coming from renewables and 1.6% from nuclear. For comparison, the U.S. got 81.4% of its energy from fossil fuels in 2021, while fossil fuels produced 64.2% of Canada’s energy.
Energy use per capita in Mexico is less than in the United States and Canada but significantly higher than in neighboring countries like Guatemala. Energy use within Mexico also varies widely between the country’s federal entities. (Our World in Data)
Mexico performs slightly better if we look only at electricity, 72.7% of which comes from fossil fuels, 23.9% from renewables, and 3.4% from nuclear. The country still has a way to go to fulfill AMLO’s pledge of sourcing 35% of Mexico’s electricity from low-carbon sources by 2024, but with severalnew solar andwind megaprojects coming online in 2023, it is likely moving in the right direction.
More than 99% of Mexico’s population has access to electricity at home. According to a2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 91.5% of households have at least one television and 71% have access to a washing machine, but only 43.5% have a water heater – those that do rely mostly on gas boilers.
INEGI calculates that 41% of households have between one and five lightbulbs; 42% have between six and ten; and 16% have eleven or more.
Electricity use is also unevenly distributedacross the country. In 2021, Nuevo León was the state with the highest electricity consumption, consuming 16.88 gigawatt-hours, while Campeche had the lowest, using only 1.4 gigawatt hours. The variation is explained partly by population differences and also by the uneven spread of heavy industry and mining.
The PGA will play at the Tiger Woods-designed course El Cardonal for the first time this November. (PGA Tour)
The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship will be played in November this year, at El Cardonal Golf Course, located at Diamante Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur.
One hundred and thirty-two players will compete for 500 FedExCup points. The tournament will be one of the first to follow the FedExCup playoffs, which will conclude in August.
Previous host venue Mayakoba has defected to controversial rivals LIV. (Mayakoba)
“We are excited to build on our partnership with World Wide Technology as we continue to develop the growth of our sport in Mexico and across Latin America,” PGA Tour Executive Vice President Tyler Dennis said.
Opened in 2014, El Cardonal’s golf course was designed by 82-time PGA Tour event winner Tiger Woods and TGR Design. With dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean, its style draws influence from the Southern California courses where Woods grew up.
The WWT Championship is one of two FedExCup events in Mexico, along with the Mexico Open at Vidanta, which will be held in Puerto Vallarta, next month.
“We are certain that our customers, partners and everyone who comes to enjoy the championship at our new [Diamante] location will have an amazing experience,” Tournament Director Joe Mazzeo said.
The new venue will replace the Mayakoba golf course in the Riviera Maya, which recently held the controversial LIV Golf tournament, bankrolled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Visa costs for travellers and workers have been updated for the first time in nearly a decade. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
The U.S. State Department has announced increases to some nonimmigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees and the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and above.
Effective May 30, visitor visa fees for business or tourism (B1, B2s and BCCs) and other non-petition-based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from US $160 to US $185.
U.S. consulates in Mexico have made an effort to reduce waiting time for visa processing. (National Museum of American Diplomacy)
Some petition-based NIVs for temporary workers (categories H, L, O, P, Q, and R) will rise from $190 to $205, while trader and investor visas (category E) will increase from $205 to $315.
In its statement, the State Department explained that NIV fees are determined based on the costs of consular services. The fees for most non-petition-based NIVs were last updated in 2012 while others were updated in 2014.
Not all visas are affected by the new updates, the statement said, as is the case of the waiver to the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors.
The State Department acknowledged that “visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy” and recognized “the critical role international travel plays in the U.S. economy.” It also reinforced its commitment to “facilitating legitimate travel to the United States for both immigrant and nonimmigrant travelers.”
In November 2022, the State Department announced that it had achieved a 32% reduction in wait times for visitor visa interviews in Mexico. The improvement came after delays caused by restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic which prevented in-person interviews.
As part of the U.S. efforts to address the backlog in visa processing, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico announced in February the opening of more than 320,000 additional B1/B2 visitor visa appointments at consular offices. Other strategies included an increase in staff and remote processing by the Department of State of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous U.S. visas.
According to official numbers, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico granted over 1,800,000 NIVs in 2022, including record numbers of both student and employment visas.
