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Where can you find a taste of Colombia in Mexico City?
The ties that bind Mexico and Colombia have been interwoven for generations. From Bogotá’s first mariachis around the middle of the 20th century to the Cholombianos, a subculture in Nuevo León in the early 2000s, a cross-cultural exchange of music, fashion, film and cultural icons has passed between these two countries. While many of the immigrant populations we have covered previously in this series first came to Mexico at the end of the 19th or early in the 20th century — Chinese, Japanese and Lebanese, for example — Colombian immigration is comparatively more recent and has grown significantly in recent decades.
Colombian emigration began to increase in the 1970s, during the political transition following the end of the National Front, with Mexico becoming a favored destination.
Colombian migration to Mexico
By 1990, only a few thousand Colombians were registered as residents of Mexico. A series of agreements between the two countries — a 1995 trade agreement, a 2001 agreement to mutually recognize educational certificates and diplomas, the 2002 Tourism Cooperation Agreement and, perhaps most importantly, the forming of the Pacific Alliance in 2012 — have deepened cooperation and created more channels for mobility, especially for students and professionals; to the point that Colombians are now one of the top five immigrant groups in the country.
The Pacific Alliance eliminated short‑stay tourist and business visas for each other’s nationals, allowing Colombians to enter Mexico with only a passport for stays of up to 180 days, and eventually to apply for residency or citizenship.
Mexico, with the second-largest economy by gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America, has been a natural draw for lots of Latinos (as well as U.S. citizens, who have been the largest immigrant group by far for years), but while many Central Americans have used Mexico as a pass-through country during their trek north of the border, many Colombians have come to stay.
The appeal of Mexico City
Neighborhoods in Mexico City, like Colonia Roma, have a strong Colombian presence. If you’ve ever been inside Mercado Medellín — its colloquial name, a funny coincidence given that it sits on Medellín Street and predates the arrival of the Colombian community — you may have noticed something peculiar. Several stands are dedicated 100% to the products and ingredients of other Latin American countries, particularly Colombia and Venezuela.
You can purchase arepa flour and mixes to make Colombian-style natilla, yuca, green plantains, Colombian candies and even homemade buñuelos and pan de bono, sold by several stands.
There are plenty of products from other places, too — Yerba maté from Argentina, Bucanero beer from Cuba — but Colombian products dominate. “El Paísa,” a vendor who claims to be the first to sell these foreign products in the market, claims that the community came first.
Colombian restaurants and vendors
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Customers from Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba started coming to the market and asking him if he could procure certain ingredients and foodstuffs that they were finding it hard to get their hands on. Even as Colombians and other South Americans have spread across the city’s neighborhoods, this market is still a meeting point for finding the flavors of home.
Along Medellín street near the market are also a handful of Colombian restaurants, the best-known of which is Pollos Marios, where you can buy frozen arepas and pan de bono (bread made with yuca starch, corn flour and a mix of cheeses) or sit for a massive bandeja paisa (a Colombian smorgasbord of sausage, arepa, chicharrón, rice, beans, fried green plantain, finely ground beef and a Colombian-style condiment called hogao). While the Colombians in the neighborhood will tell you that the best bandeja is the one they make at home, Pollos Mario is a good place to go in case you don’t get invited over.
Next to the market on Coahuila Street is a tiny outdoor food stand set up just a year or so ago that sells Colombian street food: hard-boiled eggs encased in mashed potato and deep-fried, corn empanadas filled with savory potatoes or meat, and the crispy on the outside, tender in the middle pan de bono. My partner Sergio’s Colombian father, a demanding critic of Colombian food in Mexico, loves this place.
A family’s story of immigration
Sergio’s family is a classic story of Colombian immigrants to Mexico. They came at the beginning of the 2000s, not exactly fleeing but definitely looking to distance themselves from the state-sponsored violence that was prevalent in Colombia at the time. They were also searching for economic and educational opportunities.
Mexico’s expansive higher education system, which until recently offered a bounty of scholarships for foreigners, meant that every person in the family went to college. A large number of the Colombian immigrants in Mexico are studying, and we have several friends who have graduated and now work in those same university systems.
Like many of their compatriots, they were drawn to the capital. The largest percentage of the Colombian immigrant population is concentrated in Mexico City and just over the border in the State of México.
Sergio’s family started their own business 15 years ago — a bar and restaurant — and 11 years later, a café. Statistics show that most Colombians who arrive in Mexico work in the service industries. Their introduction to Mexico, like the majority of immigrant communities around the world, was through a fellow Colombian living in Mexico who encouraged Sergio’s father to come and work for the company where she was employed.
Education and social mobility
Their story is a classic, but it’s not the only one. Many Colombians have come fleeing the violence that continues to affect regions of the country; some came in response to their persecution after the National Strikes in 2019 and 2021. Some are here for the social mobility that Mexico offers, which many other Latin American countries do not.
Angela and Luis came in 2005. Luis was recruited at his university in Cali by representatives from Mexico’s National University (UNAM). He was offered a scholarship for a master’s program and came to Mexico at first on his own, with Angela following two years later with their baby girl, now 21 years old.
While Luis was eventually offered a permanent position as a professor at UNAM, Angela went into the service industry, first selling Colombian food out of her house for parties and events, and eventually opening La Tertulia Valluna in Del Valle two months ago. Her business partner, also from Cali, arrived 9 years ago and has been working in the restaurant industry in the city since landing.
In the area of Colonia Del Valle, where they opened La Tertulia, there are several other Colombian restaurants nearby, as well as a handful of Colombian-owned beauty parlors and a few Venezuelan restaurants. For this generation of immigrants, it seems this area is set to become the next “Little Colombia” of Mexico City.
For a taste of Colombian food in Mexico City, here are a few standout eateries:
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Bolero Café
They don’t serve a full menu of Colombian food but have the best patacones (with various kinds of toppings) that I have had in the city.
Medellin street stand
This stand doesn’t show up on Google Maps, but it can be found next to the Discos Aquarius store on Calle Coahuila in Roma. The papas rellenas are divine.
La Tertulia Valluna
A cozy new spot in Colonia Del Valle where Angela sells her famous empanadas with shredded beef and potatoes, as well as a whole menu of delicious Colombian classics.
Pollos Marios
One of the most old-school options for Colombian food in the city, Pollos Marios serves a full menu of traditional Colombian dishes as well as frozen foods to go.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based in Mexico City. She has published extensively both online and in print, sharing her insights 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.
MND’s ‘Confidently Wrong’ podcast kicks off season 3 with a look at fracking in Mexico
After a full season 2 of “Confidently Wrong about raising and educating your kids in Mexico,” George and I are back at it again, taking on important topics impacting Mexico.
Our objective with this podcast, as always, is to do a deeper dive into topics that we find many people (including George!) are often “Confidently Wrong” about: topics that social media tends to misrepresent, stereotypes that are shallow and misleading, and issues that people tend to form a very superficial opinion on. Our goal is not to convince you one way or another about our opinion, but rather arm you with more facts, data and perspectives to help you form a more informed opinion. As we often say in Mexico News Daily, our aim is not to tell you what to think, but rather to help inform you to be better prepared on how to think.
With that backdrop, our first episode of Season 3 is a good one. When many (if not most) people hear the word “fracking,” they often have a negative reaction. When pressed further, they talk about how we as a society should be moving beyond hydrocarbons to purely renewable energy. When I recently published a perspective piece on this topic, almost every comment talked about how Mexico should not pursue fracking and instead needs to focus on increased solar and wind energy. That misses the broader point.
The United States has already unleashed this technology, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, hundreds of billions of value creation, and achieving energy independence. More solar and wind power is certainly needed in Mexico, but that will not create nearly the amount of formal, high-paying jobs that the fracking industry would create. Mexico, more than ever, needs more jobs in the formal economy, and more levers to increase and accelerate economic growth. Equally important, Mexico needs to reduce its natural gas dependency on the United States.
Please take a few minutes to listen to this latest episode and tell us what you think about fracking in Mexico.
Confidently Wrong about fracking in Mexico: Season 3 - Episode 1
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
Mexico City’s Morras on Sports collective is ready for its World Cup moment
When Elizabeth Santos and Natalia Bolaños first met during a sports photo shoot, they connected around being amateur athletes. But more importantly, they felt a kinship around the invisibility of women in sports in Mexico.
They began to strategize ways of bringing more attention to the issue and dreamed of creating spaces for women to enjoy sports in Mexico City in the way that their male counterparts have always seemed to be able to do. That was in 2021.
Five years later, they’ve manifested their shared vision with Morras On Sports — a sports and lifestyle collective for women (or, morras in Mexican slang) who regularly band together for night runs, soccer games, rock climbing and much more. Though they’re a year-round group, they’re particularly thrilled for the chance to showcase their brand during Mexico’s period as a World Cup host — which kicked off on June 11 and finishes on July 5.
How safety, inclusion and joy define Morras On Sports
Though loosely launched in 2021, Morras On Sports has been a gradual evolution for both Santos and Bolaños. Not until this year have they been able to make it a full-time gig, in which they split duties to continue growing their digital platform.
Santos handles design and brand identity, while Bolaños takes on editorial and public relations. Together, they’ve blossomed from hosting small gatherings with a few friends to drawing upwards of 50 participants for weekly events, which have expanded to include recreational activities outside of sports, such as dancing and dining together after finishing a competition.
The group’s mission is to develop an inclusive, informed and positive perspective on sports that encourages friendship for women who are seeking an outlet traditionally reserved for male participation and fandom. As the International Olympic Academy puts it, “Women are — to a greater or lesser degree — underrepresented among the populations active in sports.”
Addressing women’s underrepresentation
Even in 2026, though the perception around women in sports has seemingly shifted in the public eye, there is a significant lag between women and their male counterparts. A recent UNESCO report confirmed what many know firsthand: that “women and girls are still far from having equal access to sport at any level, professional or amateur.”
Enter Morras On Sport, who are particularly mindful of how women in Mexico have tragically endured higher-than-average rates of femicides, a crime that has steadily increased in number in the past decade. The crisis has been documented by the United Nations, which reported that the majority of perpetrators have gone unpunished, with exorbitant cases of impunity and injustice for murdered women in Mexico.
“We live in a country plagued by high levels of gender-based violence and femicides, and that inevitably affects how many women inhabit public spaces and experience activities as simple as going for a run,” Santos and Bolaños said.
The social dynamics of sports
“It’s important to understand that sporting itself isn’t negative; rather, sporting often reflects social dynamics that already exist outside of it. Therefore, it is important to take a critical look at how we experience sports and the violence that can arise around them,” the duo said. “In Mexico, for example, various studies have indicated that after defeats by certain popular [professional sports] teams, cases of domestic violence can increase. This demonstrates that the problem is not the sport itself, but rather the behaviors and social structures that some people reproduce both within and outside of these spaces.”
Together, Morras On Sports is working to deconstruct those norms, encouraging women to enjoy sports and exercise around the nation’s capital city despite the alarming trends and statistics that might otherwise deter them.
The World Cup as a communal experience for women in CDMX and beyond
Of course, with the World Cup in town, the chance to celebrate a collective love of sports, particularly through soccer, is opportune.
“We believe that the World Cup represents a very important opportunity for more women to approach football from a place of excitement, curiosity and belonging,” Santos and Bolaños said. “For us, it’s exciting to think about all the girls who will be able to get together to play, watch games, chat and experience the passion for this sport together.
“Historically, women have been excluded from many spaces related to football, both professionally and culturally. Many of us grew up thinking that football [soccer] wasn’t for us, or associating it solely with masculine or even aggressive environments.”
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For the pair, who both grew up in Mexico participating in sports but have long felt a lack of support for women who play, what they’re offering is more than just kicking a ball around. They’re offering social representation, creative expression and friendship:
“We’re interested in talking about football not only from a sporting perspective, but also from the perspectives of fashion, history, culture, identities, inspiration and the experiences surrounding the game,” they said.
“Something we find very important is that more and more women can feel that football is for them, too. That they can enjoy it, understand it and analyze it from technical, tactical, cultural and historical perspectives without feeling they need validation,” they said.
World Cup jersey runs and collaborations
Aside from their regular programming of run clubs, pick-up games and hangouts, they’ve planned special touches, like a World Cup jersey run, in which women participants wear the kits of their favorite soccer teams, giving them the chance to discuss fandom, favorite players and favorite soccer moments. They are also gearing up to host jersey customization workshops and watch parties.
Outside of soccer, they’ve also organized interdisciplinary activities like a “Run and Embroidery,” event, dinner and DJ hangouts, group bike rides, ultimate frisbee gatherings and more.
The group isn’t solely for women who are top athletes either. It’s an invitation for women and girls of various ages, body types and skill levels who are merely interested in exploring an athletic connection — whether it’s for the first time or as the continuation of a lifelong passion.
Currently, they are collaborating with Soy Corredora, one of the largest women’s running clubs in Mexico City, with nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram. Their joint run is expected to have 100 or more women participants and will help to amplify their messaging around access, equality and connectivity through exercise.
“We know that a single run won’t change the reality of the streets, but we do believe in the value of creating collective efforts where we can feel more supported, visible and safe among each other,” the duo says. “Being able to run together at night, enjoy the city, move around without constant fear and feel that we don’t have to be constantly looking over our shoulders can be profoundly meaningful for many women.”
Women’s participation in sports is growing
Groups like Morras on Sports are having a greater impact, though. According to a recent report by Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI, Mexican women’s physical activity and sporting participation has shown gradual growth.
“In 2025, between 37% and 40% of women reported engaging in some type of physical or sporting activity, depending on the methodology and age range used in the measurements. Although a significant difference compared to men still exists, the gap has begun to narrow gradually,” INEGI wrote.
Proof of this seems to be found in the story of the Mexican women’s soccer league, Liga MX Femenil — which is still relatively young, debuting in 2017. Nevertheless, attendance and viewership of the league’s games have been consistently growing. Last month, the league’s leadership reported that Liga MX Feminil had a viewership of 67.8 million throughout 2025 — the highest women’s soccer league viewership numbers worldwide. The league surpassed the viewership numbers of older women’s leagues such as the Barclays Women’s Super League and Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga.
Using everyday experiences to transform culture
Morras On Sports is clear, however, that their focus isn’t necessarily on women in professional sports, but more creating more everyday experiences with sports for average women — as both participants and fans. The World Cup, and the cultural activities that will spring up all around its peripheries, is one chance to solidify that focus.
“We believe it is important to understand that the growth of women’s sports is not only reflected in professional figures or television audiences,” said Santos and Bolaños. “From our experience, we see more and more women interested in getting involved in sports from amateur, collective and community spaces: women who start running, playing soccer, climbing, cycling or participating in sports activities because they are finally finding communities where they feel comfortable practicing it despite age, technique or physical condition. For us, this cultural transformation is a very important way to measure the growth of women’s sports in Mexico.”
Alan Chazaro is the author of “These Spaceships Weren’t Built For Us” (Tia Chucha Press, 2026), “Notes from the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021), “Piñata Theory” (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), and “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album” (Black Lawrence Press, 2019). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and was selected as a Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poetry Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His work can be found in NPR, The Guardian, SLAM, GQ, L.A. Times, and more. He is currently based in Veracruz.
Everything you need to know about Mexican hand gestures
Ever had someone in Mexico give you the stink eye and you didn’t know why?
Were you pointing in a really obvious way?
Hand signals and gestures are one of those things that take a while to learn. I’d throw graphic symbols into this category, too. For example, my first year here, I did not understand the political billboards. They seemed to be saying “Vote Green Party,” but then they’d have a giant “X” over the Green Party candidate’s name.
“So … do you want us to vote for them or not?” Crossing their names out felt like defacing their pictures. “Support them, but don’t vote for them?”
It turns out that an “X” is how you make a selection on ballots. “Oooooh, okay! Well, that makes more sense then, I guess.”
But back to the finger-pointing. Did you know it’s rude here? “What am I supposed to do besides point?” you may ask. My friend, I do not know. Describe it, I guess. Or describe them, especially if it’s a “them.” Pointing at a person is especially rude.
What are some other common hand gestures you’ll want to know? This is a perennial topic if you ask me, something that should always be stacked near the top of recent articles. This is not the first one that Mexico News Daily has published, but that’s okay — this is exactly the kind of thing it’s good to hear from multiple perspectives.
So let’s dive in! But first, a kind of sad caveat: like cursing and whistling, lots of these gestures are things that mostly men do. There’s no official prohibition against women doing them, of course, but it’s considered, well, unladylike.
This is not something that concerns me greatly on a personal level. Also, it’s very useful in a loud place like Mexico — not everyone can hear every word perfectly. Anyway, if the “ladylike” thing is for you, I wanted to give you a heads up.
Here are the hand gestures that I personally use the most in Mexico:
A wagging finger
Really, it’s just sticking out your arm and wagging your index finger back and forth. I feel like a grouchy señora admitting that this is one of my most-used gestures here. I may be a little bitchy sometimes, but hey — at least I’m honest! This is especially useful when you need to vehemently refuse a service, like when dudes want to clean your windshield at an intersection. They’ll start and keep at it, but eventually, they’ll give up and move on.
And be careful with making this gesture a habit. Once, I used it on my mom to say no when I was chewing and swallowing food, and she was not happy. “Don’t you wag your finger at me!” Whoops. Needless to say, it’s not as rude here as it might be in other places.
The ‘redrum’ gesture from ‘The Shining’
This is the best way I can think of to describe this gesture, and oh, how it confused me when I first saw it! The Mexican exchange students at my college would do it, and I’d just think, “What the hell are they doing?”
I finally asked one day and realized it’s just a little symbol to say “yes,” as if your finger were nodding. “Ooooooh!” This is also very handy if you’re chewing or swallowing, so you don’t have to move your neck all over the place while your food chooses between the esophagus and the nearby airway.
A hand held up, palm facing you, with a slight bow of the head
If you’re not expecting this one, it can be easy to interpret as downright offensive. But it’s not, I promise. This is the Mexican symbol for “thank you,” and it’s perfect for communicating your gratefulness at a distance. I use it quite a bit, for example, when cars stop to let me cross the street. If you ask me, it’s always a good idea to let even strangers know that you appreciate them!
Shaking your hand as if you’re trying to fling water from it, but a little slower
This is often accompanied by a hissing sound, as in, “Ooooh, you’re in troubleeeee!” You might see children do it, for example, if a student talks back to a teacher. “Things just got real, y’all.”
It’s very useful, too, when someone is telling you a scandalous story, and they get to the part of heightened confrontation. “I can’t believe that just happened!” could be another good interpretation.
Finally, you use this gesture when you have made a mistake. It’s a way of acknowledging a moment that says, “Whoops! Sorry, I didn’t realize!” or “That was an accident, I am so sorry!”
Since I’m kind of clumsy, I use it more than you might think.
Slapping hands together vertically, with one sliding up and the other down
This means “let’s go!” I use it a lot for emphasis, especially with children, who always seem to take forever at anything. I am convinced, in fact, that if zombies were sprinting toward my house and our salvation depended on my kid getting her shoes on quickly, we’d be zombies very, very quickly.
Pretending to write a note in the air
Remember that at restaurants, you will never have a bill brought to the table unsolicited. Why? Because it’s bad manners. The waiter is not trying to rush you out. This means that when you’re ready to go, you need to ask for the check. Many restaurants have thin margins and not a lot of staff, which means you’ll often need to flag someone down — especially if you’ve basically finished your meal. To do this, catch someone’s eye and make that scribbling gesture. They’ll get the message right away and get the bill to you.
We’ll stop here. It’s not a complete list, of course, but it is a list of the ones I actually use. If you’re new, I’d recommend watching others use them first, because, well, you don’t know what you don’t know, and I might have missed an important detail, which is always possible.
But soon, you’ll have mastered “Mexican sign language” along with the best of them!
Good luck!
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.
What am I doing here? A dispatch from MND’s summer journalism intern in San Miguel de Allende
Before Saturday, I had never been further south than Florida. I had been as far north as upper Ontario, as far west as Seattle, and as far east as Croatia. I have been to Canada, seven countries in Europe and more than half of the 50 states.
But I had never been to Mexico.
That all changed when I stepped off a United Airlines plane in Querétaro on Saturday. My Spanish skills, despite a fraught effort to learn the language in the months before my trip, were lacking. It was just me and my freshly downloaded translation app against the world.
My final destination was San Miguel de Allende, where my inadequate language skills were luckily less necessary amongst the scores of American expats. But I was not here only to marvel at the towering spires of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel or to explore the colorful colonial streets. I was here for a journalism internship. A nine week journalism internship. In a foreign country where I barely spoke the language.
So why did I choose to come here? What am I hoping to learn in these nine weeks? What do I want to get out of this when I board another jet back to the states at the end of August?
My journalism journey has been changing rapidly since I first stepped into the office of The Daily of the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle as a scared, albeit hopeful freshman. I joined the sportswriting team, and worked my way up to sports editor after about a year on the job. Since then I’ve published over 215 articles (and edited hundreds more) ranging from game recaps to investigative pieces and breaking news briefs.
Even though my goal is a career in sports journalism, Mexico News Daily (despite its distinctive lack of a sports section) was the next step for the summer before my senior year. It wasn’t just another experience to put on my resume to help find a job out of college (although that is certainly a bonus). It was a chance to finally study abroad after other opportunities in Rome and Prague eluded me. It was a chance to explore one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And of course, it was a chance to grow as a journalist — to write unique stories about a new place, to ask new questions, and to find stories about experiences far different from my own.
I found this opportunity through UW’s International Reporting Scholarship, which sends student journalists to English-language outlets in non-traditional study abroad countries around the globe. I was paired with Mexico News Daily, and over the next three months had to convince the university to allow me to intern in Guanajuato, which was under a level three travel advisory from the U.S. State Department.
Limits were put on my travel, even to the neighborhoods I was allowed to walk through in San Miguel. But all eventually worked out, and soon enough I was on a plane to Querétaro (after a three-hour delay in Houston, of course).
After an hour of admiring the rolling hills of Querétaro from Highway 111 in the pouring rain, I was greeted in San Miguel by bumpy cobblestone streets and the ringing of church bells. I woke up in my short term rental the next morning and left my apartment to explore Centro, climb to viewpoints, and meet my bosses for brunch.
I admired the colorful streets of Amsterdam, the churches in Barcelona, and the bakeries in Paris on my childhood trips to Europe. San Miguel can bring a similar experience much closer to home.
So why had I never been to Mexico? Why did my parents never take me here as a kid? Were grand European cities a more attractive vacation? Did the portrayal of widespread violence in Mexico by American media scare me off? Are any of the stereotypes even true?
Throughout the next nine weeks, I am going to try to figure out why more families don’t travel to Mexico, and if more should. So follow along as I travel to Mexico City for the World Cup, continue to explore San Miguel, immerse myself in the local culture, and (hopefully) start to learn Spanish.
Jared Tucker is a summer intern at Mexico News Daily in San Miguel de Allende and a rising senior at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is the sports editor for The Daily UW. He was previously a fellow at TheFulcrum.us, where he covered public participation in American democracy.
Mexico’s exports jump 25% in May, pushing 2026 trade surplus past US $5.7 billion
Mexico recorded a trade surplus of nearly US $2.26 billion in May as total exports surpassed US $69.5 billion, driven by 25.6% annual growth of non-oil exports and an 18% rise in oil exports.
In its monthly trade balance report, Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI said preliminary foreign trade data indicates that overall exports were up 25.4% compared to May 2025, reaching US $69.54 billion.
Although the May surplus of US $2.26 billion pales in comparison to the US $4.52 billion surplus reported in April, INEGI said the reduction stemmed from a smaller surplus in the non-oil trade balance — which fell from US $7.22 billion in April to US $4.9 billion in May.
At the same time, the oil trade balance deficit remained at a similar level, shrinking only slightly from US $2.70 billion April to US $2.64 billion in May.
Significantly, last month’s export figures helped boost the country’s accumulated trade surplus for the January-to-May period to nearly US $5.77 billion, easily exceeding the US $918 million surplus recorded during the first five months of 2025.
May was also the third straight month during which Mexican exports registered year-on-year growth as they continue to outpace the rise in imports, which rose 24% to US $67.28 billion last month.
Breaking down the data by goods, petroleum exports rose 18% year-on-year to US $2.42 billion, primarily as a result of higher crude-oil prices.
Exports of manufactured goods grew by 25.1% to US $62.99 billion, while agricultural exports (US $1.99 billion) eked up 2.2%. Exports of extractives and raw materials reached US $2.13 billion, an 88.7% spike.
Regarding the destination of non-oil exports, INEGI reported that there were year-on-year increases of 27.2% in those goods destined for the United States and 17.7% in those destined for the rest of the world.
On the import side, Mexico bought goods from abroad worth US $67.28 billion dollars, an annual increase of 24%.
The biggest increase was seen in purchases of intermediate goods — used as inputs for production — which climbed by 29.8%. Imports of consumer goods rose by 6.5% and imports of capital goods advanced by 1.6%.
Petroleum imports rose 27.9% to US $5.07 billion, while non-petroleum imports were up 23.7% to US $62.22 billion.
With reports from UDG-TV, Market Watch, El Sol de México and El Economista
Work-from-home mandate renewed for Mexico City employees on Tuesday
President Sheinbaum has suspended school activities and ordered mandatory home office (teleworking) for the public sector in Mexico City for June 30.
The Mexican national soccer team plays a Round of 32 World Cup match at Mexico City Stadium (Estadio Azteca) on that Tuesday against a third-place finisher still undetermined on Friday morning. The president’s decree is intended to alleviate traffic, enhance mobility and improve road safety ahead of that all-important game.
In a social media post published on Friday, Sheinbaum’s legal counsel Luisa Alcalde explained that the decree instructs “agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration … to grant the necessary facilities in all non-essential administrative activities in order to implement telework schemes.”
The message also urges the private and social sectors with workplaces located in Mexico City to do the same, while encouraging them to provide the necessary facilities to their employees for this purpose.
The decree also states that “classes are suspended at all educational levels in public and private schools.” This applies to preschool, primary, secondary and normal schools in Mexico City, as well as upper secondary and higher education institutions in the capital that are dependent on the Education Ministry.
Alcalde made clear that all essential workers in health care, security, civil protection, disaster relief and tournament operations will be required to be on-site.
The exemption from the home office mandate also extends to the provision of services such as land, rail, sea and air transport, telecommunications, electricity and energy supply, drinking water and sanitation.
The decree states that all “agencies and entities of the federal government must prioritize the use of information and communication technologies that guarantee the proper performance of substantive and administrative functions, ensuring at all times the continuity of services, the fulfillment of duties and attention to the public.”
Sheinbaum issued a similar decree ahead of the June 11 inaugural World Cup match, which also took place at Estadio Azteca in southern Mexico City, as well as for the June 24 match between Mexico and Czechia at the same stadium.
Likewise, the president ordered federal government agencies to implement remote work schemes in Mexico City and the Guadalajara metropolitan area on June 18 when El Tri played South Korea at Estadio Guadalajara.
Although the government has emphasized that for the private sector the decree is not obligatory but only a recommendation, the home office concept has been adopted by some companies for the World Cup. A KPMG survey found that 18% of companies are offering remote work so their employees can follow El Tri during the tournament.
With reports from El Universal, Sopitas, El Economista and La Jornada
Merlin the World Cup duck is now a registered trademark
Karla Gómez, the Mexico City street vendor and single mother whose Mexican jersey-clad duck Merlin became an Internet sensation and an ambassador for the World Cup in Mexico City, was concerned about unauthorized use of her pet’s name and image by for-profit interests.
So on Monday, she registered for trademark protection for Merlin with the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property (IMPI).
“I need to register it now because there is a lot of abuse [from companies],” she told the news outlet EFE before registering. “I repeat, they are abusing a humble family.”
Apparently, she did so just in time, because three other people seeking to register El Pato Merlín as a brand also submitted applications.
But the head of IMPI, Vidal Llerenas, issued a public statement confirming that the “Merlin the duck” brand belongs to Karla Gómez and her family.
“It is a public and well-known fact that Merlin the duck is a pet of the family of Karla Ivette Gómez, who owns the brand,” Llenares wrote on his official X account, using an alternative spelling of her first name. His statement was later shared on the official social media accounts of IMPI and the Economy Ministry.
The IMPI status means that nobody else can profit from Merlin without Karla Gómez’s permission, although street vendors have already been selling Merlin-based soft toys.
For Gómez, protecting Merlin’s name as a trademark is not only a business move but an act of love for her pet.
“I’m not going to let other companies come and profit from something that is part of my family and that is purely love,” she said. “I don’t want to help any company; companies will have to come to me.”
However, she said there’s one company she is willing to help. “The only company I do want to help is Corporativo Pascual,” she said, referring to the fruit-based soft drink producer, but did not offer details as to why.
Merlin skyrocketed to internet fame after he was seen waddling through the streets of Mexico City’s Centro Histórico dressed in a green jersey with tiny socks and sneakers, following the national team’s victory in the tournament’s opener.
Since then, Merlin has made headlines across the world, with his image appearing in everything from memes to AI images and viral new content.
With reports from El Universal and ESPN
