In addition to the road upgrades, improvements will be made to 16.3 km worth of bridges and interchanges across nine states. (Nemesio Méndez/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s Transportation Ministry (SICT) plans to invest more than 112 billion pesos (nearly US $6 billion) on highway improvements over the next five years.
According to a press release, the work will target 10 major federal expressways that cross 14 states, from Sonora and Chihuahua in the north to Tabasco and Campeche in the south. The project will also include maintenance of several state highways.
The final budget for the federal highway project was less than originally announced by President Sheinbaum but transportation authorities stress that the priority is not the total kilometers, but rather what the repairs can do for the communities the roads connect. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Carlos Arceo, the SICT’s director of highways who announced the plan during a conference organized by the College of Civil Engineers on Monday, said the aim is to exceed 2,220 kilometers (1,367 miles) of repairs and improvements.
“Investment alone is never enough,” Arceo said. “The important thing is to know where to invest. So, we’re going to stretch [the investment] as much as possible to achieve the greatest possible impact with fewer resources.”
In keeping with what Sheinbaum said in February, however, Arceo said the project will target roads that “truly serve the communities” they traverse.
“We’re building roads to close the inequality gap,” he said. “We’re not just thinking about a road, but about the benefits that road will bring to communities.”
In addition to the road upgrades, improvements will be made to 16.3 km worth of bridges and interchanges across nine states.
La ampliación de la carretera Macuspana-Escárcega beneficiará a 370 mil usuarios 🛣️✨
Este proyecto contempla la modernización total en 300 km y la construcción de dos puentes vehiculares, Poza Azul y Agua Blanca. pic.twitter.com/W2l0zzSsol
Among the projects being carried out this year are upgrades to the Cuautla-Tlapa-Marquelia Highway, connecting the states of Morelos, Puebla, and Guerrero, and the Pachuca-Huejutla-Tamazunchale Highway, linking the states of Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Long stretches of both of these highways will be widened from 7 meters to 12 meters.
The 67-km stretch of the Bavispe-Nuevo Casas Grandes Highway, from the state of Sonora to Chihuahua is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, while improvements to two key sections of the popular 650-km Tierra y Libertad highway that traverses 36 municipalities in the state Morelos — the El Hospital bypass and the Jojutla bridge — should be completed by the end of the month.
Additionally, the heavily utilized Highway 57 in the northern state of Coahuila will be widened from Saltillo, the state capital, to Monclova — a distance of nearly 200 kilometers (124 miles) — to accommodate the volume of cargo transported on this route.
Arceo said environmental impact assessments are underway in order to upgrade the Toluca-Zihuatanejo highway connecting the capital of México state with the popular Guerrero beach resort.
The other four stretches slated for improvement connect:
Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí and Tampico, Tamaulipas
Salina Cruz, Oaxaca and Zihuatenejo, Guerrero
Macuspana, Tabasco, and Escárcega, Campeche
Guaymas-Esperanza-Yécora, Sonora and Chihuahua, Chihuahua
Titled the Feria de la Uva: Sabor, Tierra y Tradición (Grape Festival: Flavor, Land and Tradition), the event opened Saturday and runs through Sunday, Aug. 24. (Ruta del vino Aguascalientes/Facebook)
Considering the last one was held 40 years ago, you probably have never attended the Grape Festival in the central state of Aguascalientes — but now is your big chance.
Titled the Feria de la Uva: Sabor, Tierra y Tradición (Grape Festival: Flavor, Land and Tradition), the event opened Saturday and runs through Sunday, Aug. 24.
It features more than 200 cultural activities, including wine tasting, concerts and two chances to “run” with the bulls.
Local officials and organizers attributed the long gap in festivals to shifting economic priorities and the state’s busy event landscape.
This year’s reinstatement was viewed as a move to consolidate Aguascalientes’ position on Mexico’s wine and tourism map. Governor Tere Jiménez, elected in 2022, led the revival effort, boasting: “Aguascalientes has an impressive cultural richness. We have more than 200 wine labels that have won international awards. Today we are very happy that the fair is returning and that we are showcasing the wealth and hard work that exists in the state.”
The opening weekend set a spirited tone with over 7,000 people gathering for the Sanmarqueño Bull Run through the historic center, followed by a free jazz concert by Argentine singer Karen Souza that drew about 2,000 people. In other areas of the fair, people sampled local wines, cheeses and sweets.
“It’s a return to what made us great and what keeps us that way,” said State Secretary of Tourism Mauricio González López.
The schedule includes handicraft expos, culinary showcases and three bullfights at Plaza San Marcos — one last weekend, and two more coming up on Saturday and Sunday.
In an homage to the region’s renowned cattle and savvy bullfighters, there will also be bullfighting workshops, courses for kids related to bullfighting and vaca loca (mad cow) rallies — fun events in which participants try to dodge or playfully interact with a young or non-dangerous bovine.
As for “running with the bulls,” here’s how it happened on opening day: six bulls were released and paraded through the streets, flanked by families, bullfighting fans and ranchers — all dressed in traditional attire: white shirts, jeans and red scarves. Another bull release is set for 12 p.m. Saturday.
Aguascalientes resident and outdoor enthusiast Luigi Rivera founded free annual group hiking events around the city of Aguascalientes that take participants to some of the state's most amazing natural spots. (Luigi Rivera)
Aguascalientes is one of Mexico’s smallest states, occupying only 0.3% percent of the nation’s territory. That doesn’t stop around 8 million people from pouring into the capital, also called Aguascalientes, for its annual Feria de San Marcos, the country’s largest fair.
Those visitors come for concerts, rodeos, bullfights and gastronomy. They might never guess that Aguascalientes is also a great place for hiking and that a few of its citizens dream it may someday attract trekkers from all around the world.
One major attraction in Aguascalientes is the annual Feria de San Marcos. But for those seeking more of a nature outing, hiking around the Aguascalientes capital does not disappoint. (Feria de San Marcos/Facebook)
The Assumption Trail is named after the patroness of Aguascalientes, the Virgin of the Assumption, and connects centuries-old footpaths.
“This year, participants did the trek from Aug. 8–10,” I was told by Luigi Rivera, one of the project’s founders. “The first night, we camped at the splendid ex-Hacienda de Peñuelas, which was founded in 1575 and is [located on] a World Heritage site [Mexico’s El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, or the Royal Inland Route], and then we passed the second night at El Sabinal Park, famed for its huge old Montezuma cypresses. It was an incredible experience!”
“By the way, if someone feels pooped out while hiking, we have a sweeper vehicle which picks them up and drives them to where we’ll camp that night.”
Rivera told me there is no cost for participation in these extended hikes.
The Trekking Aguascalientes Club can be easily found on Facebook. (Luigi Rivera)
Going from Aguascalientes to Alaska
“There’s one more thing I should say about the Assumption Trail,” Rivera added. “This route takes hikers into the beginnings of the Sierra Madre Occidental, which stretches from here to northern Sonora. From there, it is conceivable one could continue hiking right up the American Cordillera until they reached Alaska. Now that’s what I’d call a serious trek!”
“How about less ambitious hikes?” I asked Rivera. “Where do Hidrocálidos (people from Aguascalientes) go walking on the weekend?”
Exploring the Dead Man
Just a 10-minute drive from the city of Aguascalientes, Rivera told me, there’s a chain of craggy hills 8 kilometers long that, from the right perspective, resembles the silhouette of a man lying on his back with his hands on his chest. People call this El Cerro del Muerto and point out that the man must be dead, rather than sleeping, because the earth is very red around his so-called body. A legend recounts that the Muerto was a Chichimeca priest (a very tall one) who went one day to bathe in a hot spring and never came back. This provoked a war among several Indigenous groups.
During the war, so the story goes, the giant priest reappeared and was hit in the heart by an arrow. He fell over dead, landing directly on top of his people, the Chichimecas, and burying them. To this day, it is said, those who sleep in the Cerro can hear their laments in the middle of the night.
The Cerro del Muerto is said to resemble a dead man with his hands on his chest. (Luisalvaz)
“Walking the entire length of El Muerto takes two hours each way,” Rivera says.“But there are people into trail running who do all of it in less than half that time. The route passes through several ecosystems and was declared a protected natural monument in 2008. It’s a delightful and easy hike.”
Getting exercise and picking up trash
According to Rivera, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that got isolated people out of the city and into the wilderness.
“Before COVID,” Rivera said, “most people only went to the Feet of the Dead Man, a.k.a., El Picacho. They would jump out of the car, climb El Picacho and drive back home. There were only a few nature lovers who would hike the whole length of the body of El Muerto.”
This pandemic-inspired interest in hiking had its pros and cons.
“People connected with nature,” he said. “But they also left trash everywhere.”
So Rivera worked with the city on a campaign to clean up the entire length of the Cerro del Muerto.
One interesting attraction in Asientos is La Casa de la Geodas. The walls are covered with geodes. (Kurt Menking)
Magical Town, magic hike
Another pleasant hike in this area is from the Pueblo Mágico of Real de Asientos to the Cerro Altamira.
Real de Asientos, a 40-minute drive from the capital, is a picturesque little mining town built from pink quarried stone and dating back to 1647. It’s also home to La Casa de las Geodas (The Geode House), whose walls are covered with these extraordinary rocks that, when broken open, are often filled with beautiful quartz or calcite crystals.
“The hike to Altamira is 4 kilometers one way,” Rivera told me. “You start on the outskirts of Asientos, and from there, it’s all uphill. The altitude gain is about 500 meters, and the route takes you past a rejuvenated mine from which they’re extracting gold and silver. It’s a good climb to the peak, which is 2,600 meters high. Once you are on top, you have a great view and will probably see the phenomenon known as a lenticular cloud. They’re lens-shaped and look something like UFOs. I find them enchanting!”
Camping during a four-day hike in the Aguascalientes hills. (Luigi Rivera.)
“So you see, Aguascalientes is much more than the Feria de San Marcos!” Rivera tells me.
The routes to Cerro del Muerto and Cerro Altamira are very well-known, and you’ll find lots of local people quite happy to act as your guide.
John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.
In the statement, the DEA announced what it called "a major new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico in the fight against cartels." (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro/ DEA/X)
A day after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced “a major new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico in the fight against cartels,” President Claudia Sheinbaum declared that her government hasn’t entered into any agreement with the DEA.
“I want to make a clarification,” Sheinbaum told reporters at her Tuesday morning press conference.
🗣️ “La DEA emite el comunicado, no sabemos con base en qué. Nosotros no hemos llegado a ningún acuerdo”.
🚨 La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum desmiente colaboración con la DEA para la creación del Proyecto Portero. Señala que el único acuerdo que se trabaja en… pic.twitter.com/Br67hrjm6I
“Yesterday, the DEA issued a statement saying that there is an agreement with the government of Mexico for an operation that they call [Project] Portero. There is no agreement with the DEA,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that her government didn’t know “the basis” on which the DEA issued the statement.
“We haven’t reached any agreement, none of the security institutions [have reached an agreement] with the DEA. The only thing there is, is a group of police from the Ministry of Security and Citizens’ Protection that is participating in a workshop in Texas. That’s all there is, there is nothing else,” she said.
The DEA statement
“DEA Launches Bold Bilateral Initiative to Dismantle Cartel Gatekeepers and Combat Synthetic Drug Trafficking.” That is the title of the statement the DEA issued on Monday.
In the statement, the DEA announced what it called “a major new initiative to strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico in the fight against cartels.”
The “trafficking networks” of cartels “are responsible for flooding American communities with deadly synthetic drugs,” the agency said.
The DEA said that “at the core” of the effort to combat cartels is Project Portero, “DEA’s flagship operation aimed at dismantling cartel ‘gatekeepers,’ operatives who control the smuggling corridors along the Southwest Border.”
“Gatekeepers are essential to cartel operations, directing the flow of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States while ensuring the movement of firearms and bulk cash back into Mexico. By specifically targeting them, DEA and its partners are striking at the heart of cartel command-and-control,” the agency said.
The DEA subsequently referred to the training that Sheinbaum acknowledged that Mexican police are undertaking in the United States.
To “advance” Project Portero, “DEA has launched a multi-week training and collaboration program at one of its intelligence centers on the Southwest Border,” the agency said.
“The program brings together Mexican investigators with U.S. law enforcement, prosecutors, defense officials, and members of the intelligence community. Over the course of several weeks, participants will identify joint targets, develop coordinated enforcement strategies, and strengthen the exchange of intelligence,” the DEA said.
DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said that “Project Portero and this new training program show how we will fight by planning and operating side by side with our Mexican partners.”
“… This is a bold first step in a new era of cross-border enforcement, and we will pursue it relentlessly until these violent organizations are dismantled,” Cole said.
The DEA said that “this initiative reflects Administrator Cole’s broader priorities: recommitting DEA to enforcement, dismantling cartels designated as terrorist organizations, and strengthening collaboration with foreign counterparts.”
“While fentanyl is the most urgent threat, Project Portero addresses all aspects of cartel criminal activity — from drug smuggling to weapons trafficking to illicit finance — that cross the border and endanger American communities,” the statement concluded.
Sheinbaum: ‘We don’t know why they issued this statement’
Sheinbaum told her Tuesday press conference that her government doesn’t know why the DEA issued “this statement.”
“On security matters, the only thing there is with the United States government is … an agreement that is practically ready, or already ready, with the U.S. Department of State,” she said.
“None of the security institutions [have reached an agreement] with the DEA,” President Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, a day after the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a statement asserting otherwise. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)Sheinbaum said that the agreement is on the verge of being signed and is “fundamentally” based on “sovereignty, mutual trust, territorial respect … and coordination without subordination.”
“They are the four principles,” she said.
“… That is the formal security agreement. … It’s the only agreement,” Sheinbaum said.
She said there is communication between Mexican and U.S. security authorities, but no agreement “for a particular operation” — such as that announced by the DEA.
“It’s important to clarify this because any joint communication is done together. We don’t validate something that is issued by a United States government institution that the government of Mexico hasn’t been asked about,” Sheinbaum said.
The publication of the DEA statement and Sheinbaum’s denial that there is any agreement with the agency to carry out a joint operation comes a week after Mexican and U.S. authorities announced that 26 organized crime figures had been sent to the U.S., marking the second large transfer of Mexican prisoners to the U.S. this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Mexico to do more to combat drug cartels, including by imposing 25% tariffs on Mexican goods not covered by the USMCA free trade pact. In turn, the Mexican government wants the U.S. to do more to stop the southward flow of weapons, and there is evidence that the Trump administration is heeding that message.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
The digital bank Nu was founded in Brazil in 2013 and entered the Mexican market in 2019. (Nubank/Facebook)
Nu México, the subsidiary of Nubank, the largest financial technology (fintech) firm in Latin America, grew its customer base by over 50% in the last year, reaching 12 million users in Mexico by the end of the second quarter of 2025.
With this figure, the company ranked sixth in the number of clients within the Mexican financial system. These include traditional banks and Sofipos, which are financial institutions in Mexico that serve people without access to traditional banking.
Nu was founded in Brazil in 2013 and entered the Mexican market in 2019. It began by offering consumers a no-fee credit card, backed by investors that included Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm. According to data released by the firm, 22% percent of its customer base are people who joined the formal financial system for the first time via Nu.
In an interview with Nu Videocast, Guilherme Lago, CFO of Nubank and Chairman of the Board of Nu Mexico, said that operations in Mexico show stronger indicators than those of Brazil at the same stage of development.
“Today, we serve one in four banked Mexicans. It’s a phenomenal achievement in a very short period of time. But we’re just getting started,” he stated.
For Lago, Mexico represents a key market as it is the second-largest economy in Latin America. It has a higher GDP per capita than Brazil, but with a lower rate of banking and credit card use: around 50% of Mexico’s population does not currently have a credit card.
Nu ranks third in the number of credit cards in circulation
As of the end of June, data from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) revealed that there were over 37.1 million credit cards in circulation in Mexico, marking the highest number on record. These figures show that Mexico’s credit card portfolio expanded by 1.8 million new accounts over the past year, up 5.1% compared to the same period of 2024.
Nu Mexico recently received its banking license, though for the moment it continues to operate as a popular financial society (Sofipo). (Nu México)
In this context, Nu reported that it had reached 6.6 million credit card customers in Mexico – 52% more than the same period last year, making it the third financial institution in Mexico with the greatest number of credit cards in circulation, just after BBVA México (10.7 million credit cards) and Banamex (9.2. million credit cards).
The increasing use of credit cards by Mexican families is associated with times of economic pressure, such as the back-to-school season. According to HSBC, back-to-school shopping is one of the periods when credit cards are most commonly used, alongside the Christmas season and the Buen Fin (Mexico’s version of Black Friday).
OData, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, created over 1,500 temporary local jobs during the construction phase of QR04, 96% of them filled by Mexicans. (X)
The data center provider ODATA has inaugurated a new campus near the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende (SMA) in Mexico’s Bajío region, its fourth center in Mexico.
Dubbed QR04, the data center is located in the SMA Industrial Park in Guanajuato state, close to ODATA’s three other data centers in the neighboring Querétaro state. The development responds to the growing demand for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services.
“With QR04, we reaffirm our investment in Mexico and our commitment to our global customers,” ODATA CEO Ricardo Alário said at the inauguration event on Thursday.
In May, ODATA commenced operations at its US $3 billion campus in Querétaro. Once fully operational, that new campus is expected to have a total information technology capacity of up to 300 MW. QR04 is designed to have a total capacity of 24 MW, with the first phase of 12 MW already operational.
“Our expanded regional presence provides a solid foundation for sustained cloud and AI growth in the country and throughout Latin America,” Alário said. “Just three months after opening DC QR03, we have already begun its expansion and launched DC QR04.”
ODATA, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, created over 1,500 temporary local jobs during the construction phase of QR04, 96% of them filled by Mexicans, according to Guanajuato Deputy Economy Minister Luis Andrés Álvarez Aranda.
The Brazilian data center firm ODATA has inaugurated four data centers in Mexico in just three years. (X)
During the inauguration ceremony, Álvarez Aranda emphasized the state’s commitment to becoming a technological leader in Latin America. He said that ODATA’s project promotes innovation, digital infrastructure and a sustainable economy.
Álvarez Aranda said that San Miguel de Allende could become “the next Virginia or Arizona” in terms of data centers.
“With this center, Guanajuato [state] becomes a key point for meeting the growing technological demand in Latin America,” said Álvarez Aranda. “This investment comes at a time when the information technology sector in Mexico has grown by 22%, surpassing Brazil.”
He also recognized ODATA’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by using technologies such as free cooling and its Delta Cube technology to optimize energy consumption.
SMA’s mayor, Mauricio Trejo, echoed this sentiment, stressing ODATA’s commitment to “responsible industry” and minimizing its water consumption.
Craving authentic Korean cuisine in Mexico City? Look no further than the capital's Little Seoul district! (Alexandra Tran/Unsplash)
The drums of the sogochum workshop on the Korean Cultural Center’s patio compete with the whir of a metal floor fan to drown out Vivian Oh in the kitchen classroom. As she giggles at her own jokes, we all strain forward to hear the instructions for making spicy Korean chicken soup with noodles, or dak-kalguksu.
Oh has a high-pitched lilting Spanish that after 20-plus years in Mexico is still heavily laced with the sounds of her native Korean.
Vivian Oh, third row, second from left, in red and white, with a group of Mexican students she taught about Korean cooking at the Korean Cultural Center in May. (CCC)
Oh came to Mexico in 2001 at the behest of her best friend, who was already living here in the city. It was her first trip out of Korea, and she came with little knowledge of the place that would soon become her new home.
Oh joined the estimated 9,000 to 11,000 Koreans currently living in Mexico City – a tiny fraction of the immigrants that reside in the capital. This immigrant group has often had out-sized visibility due in part to the wave of Korean culture, or hallyu, of the 1990s and 2000s, when cultural exports like K-pop and Korean soap operas became world-famous.
The Mexico City area known as “Little Seoul” is part of the Juárez neighborhood’s Zona Rosa. The Korean Cultural Center, however, was built in the Polanco neighborhood, where you will find far more Jewish restaurants than Korean ones. Oh explains why.
Koreans, she says, have been moving to Polanco in the last several years as big companies like Samsung and LG have brought their employees to Mexico.
Mexico’s first wave of Korean immigrants
Korean men arriving in 1905 at the Port of Progreso, destined for Yucatán’s henequen fields. (Mexican National Archives)
The first Koreans to arrive in Mexico landed in the Yucatán in 1905, fleeing the mounting dominance of the Japanese empire, which would annex their country only five years later, leaving them stateless.
Many of those first 1,000 or so Korean immigrants intermarried with the Maya of the region, adopting regional customs so fiercely that when several were interviewed years later, they admitted to feeling more Korean-Yucatec than Mexican.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Mexico and South Korea in 1962 increased the flow of Koreans to the country, but not enough to build much of a community. Restrictive immigration policies in the United States often resulted in Mexico being a fallback choice for Koreans and Chinese citizens.
According to Sergio Gallardo García, who researched the Korean diaspora in Mexico City, the largest wave of Korean immigrants to the city was between the 1980s and 2005, when South Korea’s economy was flourishing and immigrants came with money to invest or start small businesses.
This was when Korean churches, associations, and cultural centers started to really develop. Oh remembers arriving at this time and living in the south of the city near the UNAM campus, where a community of Korean students had formed. During these years, Koreans who had previously immigrated to Argentina or Brazil moved to Mexico in an attempt to escape economic and political instability in South America.
It was in the years of the K-wave and Mexico City’s Korea Town, or Little Seoul, as it’s sometimes called, really started to develop. Even so, when Oh arrived in 2001, she remembers often being confused for Chinese.
“When I arrived, everyone in the street just called me china, but now people say, ‘You’re Korean right? I have a lot of Korean friends.’ In 20 years, it’s completely changed.”
The most recent wave of Korean immigration, Gallardo García says, has been made up of students and workers coming to Mexico to learn Spanish and work in the Latin American headquarters of Korean companies. South Korea, he adds, has made moving abroad easier with institutions dedicated to informing immigrants of the news back home, helping them to send remittances to family in South Korea and helping them mitigate issues in their new countries.
These days, you can find Korean restaurants and grocery stores tucked into many of the Zona Rosa’s side streets, providing a taste of home for those who have made the crossing.
Kuili, one of several Korean restaurants to be found in Little Seoul. (Soy CDMX/Instagram)
In Korea, Oh’s mother taught her to pull noodles when she was 10 years old, and she would gather minari from the edges of the rice field where her parents worked. When she arrived in Mexico, many traditional ingredients were still impossible to find.
“I really want to teach the authentic flavor of Korea,” says Oh, “even though, at times, it can still be difficult to find Korean ingredients. Once people have tasted the original flavors of Korea, then they can adjust the recipes to their own tastes.”
The Korean peninsula’s most well-known culinary exports to the world are probably kimchi (there are hundreds of varieties of this spicy, pickled cabbage dish) and Korean barbecue – a mere fraction of the culture’s culinary lexicon.
Fermented snacks and salsas — often spiced with gochugaru, miso, garlic, ginger or Korean chilli paste — are usually served as part of side dishes or banchan at every meal. Spicy noodle soups, Korean fried chicken, whole fried fish, grilled meats and steamed veggies are almost always served alongside a bowl of rice, with chopsticks and a long spoon for eating.
Where to find authentic Korean food in CDMX
For a traditional Korean feast, order the bossäm platter a day in advance from Angela and her husband, who opened Seoul at 177 Londres Street in the Zona Rosa a few years back. A cornucopia of tiny dishes (banchan) holding things like sweet peanuts sprinkled with sesame seeds, a rolled omelet with onions and peppers, and a creamy cucumber-and-onion salad will be laid out in front of you.
Dabs of this or that fermented salsa, or slices of raw serrano chile are combined with a spoonful of egg souffle, grilled strips of beef or a spicy tofu-and-clam soup. This spread is easily enough for three or four people and will open up your mind to the range of Korean flavors.
Na De Fo is a standout among the city’s Korean BBQ restaurants, managed by the Lee family since 2007 and now part of a Korean restaurant group with various spaces around town.
On the westernmost end of Liverpool Street, each table at Na De Fo has an opening at its center with a grill at table level. Diners can order from a bevy of meats — bacon, beef, pork, fish, tongue — that they cook themselves on the grill in front of them. All are accompanied by grilled greens, spicy kimchi, mung beans and a selection of different vinegary and spicy sauces. The punchy kimchi chigae soup should not be missed.
This video by a Mexican Instagrammer features dishes available at Na De Fo, a Korean BBQ restaurant that has been in Mexico City for decades.
For something less traditional with a bit of Mexican fusion thrown in, try Jowong, a chic, modern bistro in Condesa. The menu is designed to incorporate Mexican ingredients into contemporary versions of Korean dishes. Their mussels are heavenly, swimming in a tangy tomato sauce, and the tender fried eggplant has a deep charred flavor that’s hard not to love. The sweet, mustardy pork belly is a nice contrast to the quick-pickled smashed cucumbers served on their own as a side.
The nice thing about Jowong’s upscale setting is that you can get a Goldboy cocktail (mezcal, yuzu and ginger), a kimchi Gibson (gin, vermouth, and kimchi juice), or other delicious beverage concoctions to accompany your meal.
Jowong’s kimchi-marinated chicken sandwich, bathed in a salsa of smoked pineapple and gochujang, is the ultimate Korean comfort dish. (Jowong/Instagram)
I also highly recommend the cooking demonstrations at the Centro Cultural Coreano. Although there’s no hands-on work for attendees, Oh gives the Korean names for ingredients and shows you which products she uses from the Korean grocery store. She even offers movie recommendations and will always invite you to stay after for the Korean music workshop.
You get to taste whatever delicious thing she happens to be cooking that day, but you have to bring your own bowl.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of “Mexico City Streets: La Roma.” Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at mexicocitystreets.com.
Sheinbaum noted that the Mexican women's flag football team won gold on Sunday at the World Games, an Olympics-style event that was held in Chengdu, China, between August 7 and 17. (X)
During her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum congratulated Mexico’s triumphant flag footballers and criticized media outlets for their alleged failure to report on new data on poverty.
In response to one question, Sheinbaum declined to comment, a tactic she regularly uses when she thinks that someone else is better qualified to respond, or when she wants to shut down discussion of a particular issue or scandal.
Sheinbaum congratulates Mexico’s champion flag football team
“What is the name of the sport that is similar to American football? Flag football. The Mexican women won, many congratulations, they beat the United States,” the president said.
It was the second successive World Games at which the Mexican women’s flag football team claimed the gold medal. In both gold-medal matches — in Chengdu this year and in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2022 — Mexico defeated the United States.
¡MÉXICO, BICAMPEONAS DE LOS WORLD GAMES EN FLAG FOOTBALL!🇲🇽🏈
La Selección Nacional brilló en un encuentro trepidante y derrotó a Estados Unidos en una final de alto voltaje con marcador de 26-21.
Un auténtico choque de titanes entre dos potencias que dejaron claro que están en… pic.twitter.com/FUjJj4r8jl
“We say in Mexico, ‘pienso en oro’, that’s our signature, ‘think of the gold’, and we came with that mindset to each play of the game,” Mexico’s quarterback, Diana Flores, said after Sunday’s match.
On Monday morning, Sheinbaum also congratulated Mexican athletes who won medals over the weekend at the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, and the Masters Indigenous Games in Ottawa, Canada.
Asked about her approval rating, Sheinbaum attacks the media
A reporter highlighted that the president has a 74% approval rating, according to the results of a poll conducted by the company QM Estudios in alliance with the Heraldo Media Group.
He also noted that only 56% of respondents rated her work on health care as very good or good, compared to 84% who endorsed her performance in the area of social programs.
Asked about the different poll results, Sheinbaum declared that her government would “keep working” before expressing her gratitude for “the support of the people.”
She then segued into an attack on the media, railing against “many” outlets for not reporting on new data that showed that more than 13 million people were lifted out of poverty during the 2018-24 presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).
Although the president remains popular overall, healthcare represents a weaker spot in her approval ratings. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Still, the president asserted that many Mexican newspapers were unable to bring themselves to publish stories on “something so extraordinary” as 13.4 million people coming out of poverty.
“Instead of saying ‘that’s good,’ it’s not even a newspaper article,” she said.
“Despite this [media] offensive [against the government], … there is recognition from the people,” Sheinbaum said, returning to the question about the poll results.
“… The support of the people is because we haven’t betrayed them,” she said.
Later in her press conference, while responding to an inquiry about a Wall Street Journal column headlined “Don’t Bomb Mexico, Mr. President,” Sheinbaum asked a series of questions of Mexican and international media outlets that she considers opponents of her government.
She said the crime was spoken about in the daily security cabinet meeting, but told reporters that she would leave it up to security officials to report on the case.
The massacre occurred late Saturday in the municipality of Ayutla de los Libres, located in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero. The ambush occurred in an area where the criminal groups “Los Ardillos” and “Los Rusos” are reportedly engaged in a turf war.
As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been reported in connection with the crime and it wasn’t clear who perpetrated the attack.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
The announcement of a railway connection between Guatemala and Mexico, with Belize to be added, came after a busy day of talks among the heads of state of the three neighboring countries. (Cuartoscuro)
Mexico and Guatemala have confirmed their intention to extend the Maya Train to Guatemala following a series of talks between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her Guatemalan counterpart Bernardo Arévalo.
“If we, the three countries, manage to build a development hub for the well-being of our people, it will be a completely different vision for Guatemala and Mexico,” Sheinbaum said, adding that she hopes the rail connection into the Central American countries will be used for both passenger and cargo transportation.
Although Guatemala lacks an active rail network, Arévalo said in a press conference that a connection with Mexico would have “enormous potential” for the development of both nations and the region.
“Connecting the Maya Train with Guatemala and eventually Belize is a vision we share, and for this we agreed to promote the start of trinational negotiations, as well as the respective feasibility studies,” he said.
Much of northern Guatemala is protected forest, so the Maya Train would have to connect indirectly via Ciudad Hidalgo in Chiapas, Sheinbaum has said previously. (Pau de Valencia/Unsplash)
“We view the Maya Train as a development solution that not only does not contradict, but rather strengthens the search for a sustainable model that clearly protects the country’s biological, natural and cultural heritage,” Arévalo said, adding that “At all times, it has been very clear that the Maya Train will not cross any existing reserve areas.”
Meanwhile, Belize’s Prime Minister John Briceño said that the Maya Train would facilitate commerce between the three countries, with his country playing a key role.
“We need to continue to make the point that Belize is the link for Mexico and Guatemala,” he stressed.
Overall, the bilateral meeting between the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala addressed public investment in projects aimed at ensuring economic development in regions where northbound migration is prevalent.
“People, in general, don’t migrate for pleasure; they migrate out of necessity,” Sheinbaum noted. “They don’t leave their towns for adventure but rather due to economic necessity.”
INEGI reported that approximately 4.5 million people didn't have running water in their homes in 2024, down 51% compared to the 9.2 million people who didn't have piped water in their homes in 2022. (Dassaev Téllez Adame/Cuartoscuro)
Almost half the residents of Mexico’s three poorest states lack access to at least one basic service in their homes, according to the results of a national survey.
Basic services include running water, electricity, sewerage systems and chimneys in households where wood or charcoal is used for cooking.
In Chiapas — the Mexican state with the highest levels of poverty — 48.6% of residents didn’t have access to at least one basic service in their homes in 2024, according to the results of a survey on “multidimensional poverty” that was conducted by the national statistics agency INEGI.
In Guerrero, 47.4% of residents lacked access to at least one basic service in their homes, the survey found, while the figure in Oaxaca was 46.7%.
Guerrero and Oaxaca have the second and third highest levels of poverty in Mexico, according to the INEGI poverty report published last week. In Chiapas, 66% of residents were living in “multidimensional” poverty in 2024, while the rates in Guerrero and Oaxaca were 58.1% and 51.6%, respectively.
Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca are the only states in Mexico where more than 40% of residents lacked access to at least one basic service in their households.
The other 25 federal entities had rates below 20%, ranging from 18.8% in San Luis Potosí and Puebla to 1.9% in Nuevo León and Coahuila.
In Mexico City, only 2.4% of residents lacked access to at least one basic service in their homes in 2024, the INEGI survey found.
How many people lack basic services in their homes?
Running water
INEGI reported that approximately 4.5 million people didn’t have running water in their homes in 2024. While the figure is high, it declined around 51% compared to the 9.2 million people who didn’t have piped water in their homes in 2022.
In 2024, 3.5% of the Mexican population didn’t have running water in their homes, according to INEGI.
Sewerage
In 2024, some 6.4 million people lived in homes that were not connected to sewerage, according to the results of the most recent survey. That figure increased 0.5% compared to 2022.
In 2024, 4.9% of Mexicans lived in homes that weren’t connected to sewerage, according to INEGI.
Chimneys
The most common basic service that Mexicans lacked in 2024 was a chimney. Approximately 12.6 million who cook with wood or charcoal didn’t have a chimney in their homes, according to INEGI. That figure declined 13.4% compared to 2022.
In 2024, the number of Mexicans who cooked with wood or charcoal but didn’t have chimneys in their homes represented 9.7% of the population.
Electricity
Approximately 300,000 Mexicans didn’t have electricity in their homes in 2024. That figure fell 26% compared to 2022.
In 2024, around 0.2% of the Mexican population didn’t have electricity in their homes, INEGI reported.
