While both countries head into presidential elections, Travis Bembenek sees major contrasts between the two political scenes. (Shutterstock)
Mexico and the U.S. are both heading into presidential elections in 2024, but from my view, the two races could not be more different.
These are the five most notable aspects of Mexican politics in contrast with U.S. politics that I see today.
Diversity of political parties
After seven decades of being essentially a one-party system dominated by the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) until the election of PAN (National Action Party) president Vicente Fox in 2000, Mexico now has a plurality of active political parties, with seven officially registered.
President López Obrador was a member of both the PRI and the PRD (Democratic Revolution Party) in his career, but after parting ways with the latter, formed his own Morena (National Regeneration Movement) party in 2011, and went on to win the presidency with the party in 2018. Today Morena is the dominant party in Mexico, with more governerships and legislative seats than any other. Movimiento Cuidadano (Citizens Movement) is another political party that only recently began to gain momentum, and now the mayors of Mexico’s second and third largest cities, Guadalajara and Monterrey, are from the MC, as are the governors of their respective states of Jalisco and Nuevo León.
Alliances between political parties
After dominating Mexican politics for decades, the PRI has found itself losing momentum. The two other prominent parties of the past two decades, the PAN and PRD, have also been losing ground, and joined with the PRI to form an opposition coalition bloc to Morena.
This political alliance of rivals, called Va por México, and then changed to Frente Amplio por México or Broad Front for Mexico (FAM) before beginning the candidate selection process, is one that would have been hard to imagine only a decade ago.
Candidates switching political parties
Before founding Morena, AMLO was at different times a member of the PRI and PRD parties. Marcelo Ebrard, AMLO’s former foreign affairs minister, and current hopeful to be the Morena 2024 candidate, is rumored to be considering switching to the Movimiento Cuidadano (MC) party if he doesn’t get Morena’s nomination.
Xóchitl Gálvez (PAN) is currently the leading candidate to win the opposition’s nomination and just yesterday said she would welcome Ebrard to join her campaign if he fails in his bid with Morena. This all makes for a dynamic political scene, and also has inspired a Mexican political term: chapulineo, or “grasshoppering”, when a politician makes en expedient switch in party allegiance.
Left and right ideologies shifting
The ideologies and platforms of the political parties in Mexico are evolving quickly. As a result, legacy definitions of right and left don’t seem as applicable as in the U.S., with a coalition like the Broad Front for Mexico (FAM) made up of a conservative party (PAN), a leftist party (PRD) and an ideologically shape-shifting but most recently center-right party (PRI).
The prominence of women in Mexican politics today
Three of the leading candidates (Xóchitl Gálvez, Beatriz Paredes and Claudia Sheinbaum) to run for the presidency in 2024 are women, and two of them come from scientific and technological backgrounds. In a comparison of the two forerunners, we see diverse backgrounds and experience. Claudia Sheinbaum (Morena) is a physicist who has a doctorate in energy engineering. Xóchitl Gálvez studied computer engineering. Both are in their early sixties. Sheinbaum is the granddaughter of Jewish European immigrants and Gálvez is the daughter of an Otomí father and mestiza mother.
This will undoubtedly be a fascinating election season to watch, on both sides of the border.
From the Supreme Court to elections in Guatemala to the Maya train, President López Obrador covered a range of topics at the daily pressers. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Last Sunday’s presidential election in Guatemala, the failure of the Supreme Court to issue a ruling in a case involving alleged tax evasion and the resignation of the head of the National Search Commission were among the topics President López Obrador addressed at his morning press conferences, or mañaneras, this week.
AMLO started his week of pressers as per usual in the National Palace, but ended it in the balmy climes of Acapulco, where the health of the city’s picturesque Pacific coast bay was discussed.
AMLO stands next to an image of the new Dos Bocas refinery, of which the president made special mention in the mañanera as proof that Mexicans are not “lazy.” (lopezobrador.org.mx)
López Obrador will be back on the coast next Friday, but on the other side of the country in Campeche, where he will present his fifth annual informe (report) in a State of the Union-style address. Brief video clips in which AMLO promotes his quinto informe appeared on the federal government’s official YouTube channel on Friday.
Monday
“They’re within their rights to protest, we’re free,” López Obrador said when a reporter asked his opinion about the burning of the government’s controversial school textbooks by a group of parents in Chiapas and a citizens’ protest against the books in Aguascalientes.
However, if they’re protesting because they believe that the books indoctrinate and “inject the virus of communism,” they’re wrong, AMLO said.
“They’re completely misinformed and manipulated,” he said before blaming opposition political leaders and “conservative bloc” business people for the alleged manipulation.
“They use all these lies to deceive – to try to deceive because a lot of people don’t believe them,” López Obrador said.
Later in his press conference, AMLO described the victory of Bernardo Arévalo in last Sunday’s runoff presidential election in Guatemala as “very good news.”
Guatemala’s President-elect Bernardo Arevalo and Vice President-elect Karin Herrera. (@BArevalodeLeon/X)
“I’m very happy because Bernardo Arévalo won the election in Guatemala,” he said, adding that there is ample evidence that the soon-to-be president is a “progressive man, with principles … who will govern for everyone.”
“But I’m sure he’ll give special attention to the poorest people,” López Obrador said of the 64-year-old son of a former Guatemalan president, who ran on an anti-corruption platform.
“Yesterday I spoke with him and we agreed to meet once he’s [officially] president-elect. Of course we have a lot of issues to address so that there is cooperation, so that we can help each other,” he said.
“… I’m sure that Bernardo will seek more cooperation in economic and social matters,” AMLO said.
Returning to domestic issues, López Obrador acknowledged traffic congestion in southern areas of the Veracruz city metropolitan area, but effectively ruled out starting any projects to address the issue during his administration.
“We’re trying not to start projects that won’t be finished [before I leave office],” he said.
“We don’t want to leave projects unfinished,” explained AMLO, who will hand over the presidential sash to his successor on Oct. 1, 2024.
“For example, in the case of Veracruz we’re finishing the widening of the highway to Tampico [in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas]. … In the case of the southeast, we’re committed to finishing the first stage of the link on the isthmus,” he said, referring to the modernization of the train line across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec between the port cities of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, on the Pacific coast and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, on the Gulf coast.
“… I expect that on Sept. 17, which is a Sunday, we’ll be able to take a passenger train in Salina Cruz and get off in Coatzacoalcos,” López Obrador said.
“… We’re already finishing the first stage of the expansion of the two ports. … And the modernization of the highway from the isthmus to [the Veracruz municipality of] Acayucan will be finished. We’re not going to leave anything [incomplete],” he said.
The president presented the first locomotive of the interoceanic rawilway on Aug.13, which will haul cargo and passengers across the 303-kilometer line. (Luisa Alcalde/Twitter)
AMLO also pledged that the government’s new universal health care scheme, IMSS-Bienestar, will be “completely established” before he leaves office.
“It will be, I repeat, the best health system in the world,” he asserted.
López Obrador noted there are “some governors that don’t want the system,” but predicted that between 23 and 25 of Mexico’s federal entities will agree to its implementation before his presidency ends.
“The rest will remain with the traditional system managed by state governments,” he said.
Shortly before concluding his first mañanera of the week, AMLO revealed that the director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Zóe Robledo, won’t leave his current position to contest the 2024 gubernatorial election in his native state of Chiapas.
The president said that Robledo told him late last week that he didn’t want to “abandon” IMSS, and wants to fulfill “the commitment we have to establish the IMSS-Bienestar system and guarantee people’s right to health care.”
“I gave him a hug because one has to know where he or she is most useful in the process of transformation,” AMLO said. You don’t fight for positions, you fight for principles [and] ideals.”
Tuesday
Federal tax prosecutor Félix Arturo Medina Padilla told reporters that the federal government will file a complaint against Supreme Court Justice Luis María Aguilar Morales for alleged negligence in a case involving an unnamed large company with a tax debt of over 25 billion pesos.
“This company, abusing its large corporate structure, has used a range of legal strategies to challenge and delay the issuance of a sentence that forces it to pay the taxes,” he said.
During the past eight months, Aguilar has been “negligent” because he hasn’t issued a ruling on the matter, Medina said.
“Improperly delaying the resolution of the matter not only violates the federal constitution, it goes against the very nature of the Supreme Court, which must impart justice,” he said, adding that that Aguilar’s conduct also has a negative impact on “the resources of all Mexicans.”
“… This kind of selective conduct … must be eradicated from our nation for the benefit of all Mexicans,” Medina said.
Later in the press conference, National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval reported that authorities have seized 2,803 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) since the current government took office in late 2018, including some that had already detonated.
The Defense Ministry has seized 2,803 improvised, or homemade, explosive devices (IEDs) since 2018. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
“These devices have been seized in 22 states,” he said, adding that Michoacán ranked first for confiscations followed by Guanajuato, Jalisco and Chiapas.
“On land, 2,186 [IEDs] have been identified, 12 were in vehicles and 605 were on drones. … Those that exploded injured 77 people – 24 military personnel, 10 National Guard officers, 31 police and 12 civilians who belong to [organized crime] groups,” Sandoval said.
“All these explosive devices are homemade using tutorials found on the internet. The explosive material is gunpowder, common gunpowder that you can get in the market,” he said, adding that the majority of the artisanal bombs fail to explode.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez subsequently presented data that showed there were 2,462 homicides in July, a 3% decline compared to June. There were 17,589 homicides in the first seven months of the year for an average of 83 per day, according to data displayed by Rodríguez.
She noted that 47.8% of the murders between January and July were committed in just six states: Guanajuato, México state, Baja California, Jalisco, Chihuahua and Michoacán.
Having taken center stage to respond to reporters’ questions, López Obrador also railed against Justice Aguilar for failing to deliver a ruling in the company tax debt case.
AMLO criticized Supreme Court Justice Luis María Aguilar Morales of negligence in a case involving a company, rumored to be the mega-corporation Grupo Elektra, that owes over 25 billion pesos in unpaid tax. (Wikimedia Commons)
“Twenty-five billon pesos are involved – the budget of a state of the republic! It could be the budget of Baja California Sur, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas, Campeche, but he doesn’t rule [on the case]. … Where’s the prompt and expeditious justice?” he said, before noting that Aguilar had ruled in favor of suspending the distribution of government textbooks in Coahuila.
“There is prompt and expeditious justice [in that case] because it’s against us,” said AMLO, who frequently criticizes the judiciary.
“… I’m not saying that the judges have to side with the government in order to recover that [unpaid tax] money [but] I am proposing that [the case] be resolved in accordance with the law,” he said.
López Obrador said that the complaint against Aguilar would be filed with the Federal Judiciary Council, but Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde interrupted to correct him, saying that it will in fact be presented to the Supreme Court and “the justices themselves” will assess it.
AMLO turned his focus to the Maya Train when a reporter remarked that small-scale tourism operators and other residents of the states through which the railroad will run had doubts about whether they would in fact benefit from the project, as the government has said they will.
The president noted that Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama recently attended his press conference and said that communities outside tourism hubs would benefit from the project because Maya Train passengers will visit them and stay there.
President López Obrador with Quintana Roo governor Mara Lezama. (Mara Lezama/X)
Tourists will stay in the “homes of campesino families, get to know what life is like in the indigenous communities and they can purchase crafts … and enjoy the succulent food of the Yucatán Peninsula,” López Obrador said.
Outside Quintana Roo, Environment Minister María Luisa Albores is working on projects that will benefit honey producers, among others, he said.
López Obrador said he was confident that the Maya Train, which is scheduled to begin operations in December, would “help the people a lot because tourism will increase” in the south of Quintana Roo and in the states of Campeche, Yucatán, Chiapas and Tabasco.
The Ministry of National Defense has no record of a person with the name mentioned in the Reforma report having been a member of the armed forces, García said.
She also condemned journalists who were critical of López Obrador for telling a joke at the end of his Aug. 16 mañanera when he was asked about the presumed murder of five young men in Jalisco.
Their sole aim was to influence public opinion so that citizens would reject the president and his actions, García said.
The president announced on Wednesday that Grupo Frontera will perform on Sept. 15 in the Zócalo. (Gob MX)
“The President Andrés Manuel López Obrador clarified a day later that it was a campaign of misinformation, a lie,” she said, referring to her boss’s claim that he didn’t hear the questions put to him.
“In December we’re going to have a pharmacy here in Mexico City, we’re already working on that. … In that warehouse, in that pharmacy, there will be all medications, all the medicines in the world,” he said.
“If a hospital or health care center reports a shortage of a certain medicine, new stock will be sent out to them and it will arrive within a day,” López Obrador said.
“… We have to get medicines in India, … in China, in France, in Korea, wherever. We’re going to have all medicines. We can do this because … there is no longer corruption,” he said.
On Wednesday, AMLO announced another end-of-term promise: a public pharmacy with ‘all the medicines of the world.’ The current administration has struggled to meet the demand for some medicines. (Archive)
Later in the press conference, a reporter asked the president about the Ministry of National Defense’s plan to lease 10 Boeing aircraft from Texan company Petrus Aviation to launch the new state-owned commercial airline, which will operate under the Mexicana brand.
Each month, the Defense Ministry will have to pay Petrus between US $230,000 and $350,000 per plane, the reporter said before suggesting that the expense was excessive.
“They did an analysis and reached the conclusion that it was the best mechanism,” López Obrador said.
“… What I did was speak to the president of the Boeing Board of Directors and asked him to help us and for them to advise us. I spoke with him by telephone and he has been helping,” AMLO said.
“They don’t lease [planes], but I understand that they recommended this company that is going to lease [the aircraft],” he said.
López Obrador indicated that he believed that the costs of leasing the planes won’t prevent the state-owned airline from being profitable.
The first fleet of the new state-owned Mexicana airline will be made up of 10 Boeing aircraft leased from the Texan company Petrus Aviation. (Mexicana)
“I feel that we’re going to have reasonable profits because … the tickets are going to cost 18% or 20% less,” he said.
“This airline is going to have a lot of success because when we inaugurate it, which we think will happen in November of this year or December at the latest, one of the main flights will be Mexico City-Tulum,” AMLO said, noting that planes will depart the Felipe Ángeles International Airport north of the capital and arrive at the airport currently under construction in the Quintana Roo tourism destination.
Among other remarks, López Obrador announced that Grupo Frontera, a Texas-based band, will play in Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, on Sept. 15, the night on which he will deliver the Grito – the Cry of Independence – from a National Palace balcony.
“Inflation came down, [only] a little bit, but it declined,” AMLO noted not long after the national statistics agency INEGI reported an annual headline rate of 4.67% in the first half of August, down from 4.79% in July.
“This is very good because this means there is less risk of high costs and incomes go further if food and goods cost less,” he said.
The president at last year’s fourth yearly report. Next Friday, AMLO is expected to present another year in review following his fifth year in office. (lopezobrador.com.mx)
Later in his press conference, López Obrador reminded reporters that he will present his fifth annual report to the nation in Campeche on Sept. 1.
“We’ll have the report in the state of Campeche for the first time because it’s among the most forgotten states,” he said.
AMLO informed reporters that he will travel from Campeche city to Mérida on the Maya Train railroad after delivering his annual address, adding that executives of companies contributing to the construction of the railroad as well as the governors of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo will accompany him on the “supervision” trip ahead of the scheduled commencement of operations in December.
López Obrador said he will take another “supervision” trip from Mérida to Cancún the following day.
“On Sunday [Sept. 3] in Cancún we’re going to inaugurate the repaving … of the Colosio [Boulevard],” he said, referring to a major road in the Caribbean coast city.
“… And from there we’ll continue, but not on the train. We’ll fly over [the railroad] in helicopter to get to Tulum, oversee the Cancún-Tulum section and the Tulum airport,” López Obrador said.
“The Tulum airport … must already be about 65% finished, we’re going to inaugurate it in December along with the [new state-owned] airline Mexicana,” he said.
President López Obrador during a site visit to the Tulum airport in May. (Gob MX)
AMLO also outlined his itinerary for his trip to South America next month, during which he will meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
“We’re going to leave on Friday Sept. 8 … and we’re going to Colombia, to Cali, I think. The issue is cooperation for development between the two countries, and also the issue of drug trafficking,” he said.
“There’s going to be a meeting beforehand, an analysis about the problem of drug trafficking, the consumption of drugs in Colombia. Experts from various places are going to meet in advance … and will deliver to us, to President Petro and I, their conclusions,” López Obrador said.
He reminded reporters that he will attend a ceremony in Santiago to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of former Chilean president Salvador Allende during the 1973 coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who would go on to lead the South American nation until 1990.
“It’s said it was a suicide, but in the circumstances I would say it was murder, a despicable crime,” AMLO said.
The president was later asked to assess the performance of National Search Commission chief Karla Quintana, who resigned on Wednesday.
Quintana was appointed as director of the national commission in 2019 and did not give specific reasons for her departure. (Karla Quintana/X)
“A lot of progress is being made in the search for missing people,” López Obrador said without offering a direct appraisal of Quintana.
“… Progress has been made and we’re going to continue making progress. She decided to resign, her resignation was accepted and her participation [in the government] during several years was acknowledged,” he said.
It’s not just the Search Commission that is involved in the search for the nation’s missing people – of whom there are over 110,000 in Mexico – but rather the entire government, López Obrador added.
Friday
Dressed down in a guayabera, AMLO presided over his final press conference of the week in Acapulco, Guerrero.
“Acapulco is always Acapulco,” he said at the start of the mañanera.
“As long as the world exists, paraphrasing the Mexicas, the beauty and glory of the port of Acapulco will not end,” López Obrador said.
The president held his final press conference of the week in Acapulco. (Gob MX)
Violence, unfortunately, is another seemingly indomitable aspect of life in Acapulco, which was described by The Washington Post in 2017 as Mexico’s murder capital.
The city has recorded 395 homicides this year, making it the most violent municipality in the state, according to data presented by Navy Minister José Rafael Ojeda Durán.
He told reporters that Guerrero ranks as the eighth most violent state in Mexico for total homicides during the term of the current government. Based on murders per 100,000 people, the state ranks as the ninth most violent of Mexico’s 32 federal entities, Ojeda said.
Governor Evelyn Salgado – who replaced her father (and alleged rapist) Félix Salgado as the ruling Morena party’s gubernatorial candidate at the 2021 state election after he was disqualified – subsequently said that femicide numbers in Guerrero were down 70% in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period of 2018.
“There have been important advances in Guerrero,” she said. “Advances that are, without a doubt, the result of the support the government of Mexico has provided us at all times.”
López Obrador returned to the mañanera lectern to respond to reporters’ questions, but called on Salgado when he received an inquiry about contamination in Acapulco Bay, which has been sullied by discharges of sewage over the years.
National Guard and other law enforcement have been deployed to Acapulco recently in response to violence. (CARLOS CARBAJAL/CUARTOSCURO.)
Over 700 million pesos (US $41.8 million) has been allocated to addressing the issue since 2021, the governor said, explaining that the money came from all three levels of government.
Authorities are attending to the problem, but additional “millions” of pesos are needed to “achieve a total clean-up of the bay,” Salgado said.
AMLO added that having pristine water along the Acapulco coast is a “priority” for the federal government. “We’re helping and we’re going to continue helping,” he said.
López Obrador was later asked about recent violence in Nuevo León, where there were at least 11 murders on Wednesday and three bodies were found hanging from a bridge in the municipality of Salinas Victoria on Thursday.
“The situation was analyzed this morning and an investigation is being carried out,” he said.
AMLO disagreed that Governor Samuel García – who described the acts of violence as “isolated” incidents – had “played down” the crimes, as a reported claimed.
“The Nuevo León governor is a good governor. What’s happening is that those from PRIAN in Nuevo León and [the] El Norte [newspaper] are against him,” he said, using a hybrid acronym for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and the National Action Party, or PAN, political allies that are sometimes accused of being one and the same.
In a mañanera with a recurring focus on violence, López Obrador blamed the situation Mexico faces today on the government of former president Felipe Calderón, who he claims won the 2006 election – in which he was runner-up – thanks to fraud.
The Calderón administration – which launched a militarized war against drug cartels shortly after taking office in late 2006 – “got us into this spiral of violence,” he said.
“He stupidly took a whack at the hornet’s nest, there was no diagnosis [of the situation], they didn’t have programs to attend to young people, they never addressed the causes [of crime],” AMLO said.
“And not just that, the worst thing was that the person in charge of security was involved with one of the [criminal] groups,” he said, referring to former security minister Genaro García Luna, who a U.S. jury found guilty of collusion with the Sinaloa Cartel.
López Obrador ended his week of press conferences with another attack on Justice Aguilar for his failure to issue a ruling on the company that is said to have a monumental tax debt.
“Do you know how long he’s had a 25-billion-peso file? … Eight months and he hasn’t ruled on it. And he asked for that file to be given to him,” he said.
“… So I ask the chief justice and the justice, when are you going to rule one way or the other?”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Jesús Montiel Hernández returned home in part to help the area’s economy and lessen the need for migration. (Ayutla Distillery and Brewery)
Forty plus years ago, a young Jesús Montiel Hernández left his home in the Mixtec Indigenous region of southern Puebla. He eventually made his way to New York, working all kinds of jobs for 10 years until he and his family founded a jewelry business. That business became successful enough that Hernández could send money to invest back home, a rural area just southwest of Izúcar de Matamoros.
The time spent up north also introduced him to something else – the United States’ decades-long movement of hobbyists who brought back all kinds of beer, wines and spirits that had been ignored by commercial producers for decades. By the time Hernández decided to turn over most of the business to his children and return to Mexico in 2010, he says “…I had two passions: making jewelry and making alcoholic beverages.”
Entrance to the Ayutla Distillery on the family’s property just southwest of Izúcar de Matamoros. (Alejandro Linares García)
Bourbon whiskey was (and still is) of particular interest.
“[My family and I] began researching the origins of whiskey in Scotland and discovered that it is made in Japan and China as well. From there, we looked for a Mexican version and found none,” Hernández says, “We also found that “whiskey” does not have a denomination of origin, even in Scotland.”
While in the U.S., Hernández spent time in Kentucky to learn more about bourbon (American corn whiskey) because he was curious about whether the corn varieties he grew up with had possibilities.
He quickly learned the pros and cons of using corn, and learning that Kentucky whiskey was a blend of 75% corn and 25% barley. Hernández, however, was determined that a Mexican whiskey needed to be from 100% Mexican corn. Today, this is the accepted standard of what makes a whiskey “Mexican.”
Hernández has branched out into the making of gin and vodka, and next year, will start working with local sugar cane to make rum. (Ayutla Distillery and Brewery)
Hernández’s home in Ayutla today is a testament to his passion for investing in his community… and the idea that it could be a center of fine beverage production. Over the past decade or so, he has built facilities filled with large commercial vats, barrels and experimental gardens to find what needed crops, like hops, can be produced by local farmers.
The Ayutla Distillery and Brewery’s flagship brand is Cetxim, Mexico’s first “Mexican corn whiskey,” which came out in 2011. It is made with a local Mixtec variety simply known as “white” corn, bred for the local hot climate. It comes in both “white dog” (unaged, clear) and the more common barrel-aged type with their characteristic caramel hues.
It is this product that has caught the attention of both local and regional press for some time now, but it is by no means Ayutla’s only product. It produces various craft beers using Mexican ingredients such as cacao, damiana (and other herbs) and a regionally-popular fruit called nanche or nance. It also produces two other spirits – Volfran vodka and Monavgi gin, whose juniper berries are now grown locally.
In Hernández’s favor is the fact that whiskey is growing in popularity in Mexico. Almost all that is consumed is imported, however, with Johnnie Walker claiming about 45% of the domestic market. In the last few years, a number of distilleries have followed Hernández’s lead, sensing opportunities in higher-end markets where pride in a purely Mexican product is important. Internationally, Mexico has gained a reputation for fine spirits due the meteoric rise in the prestige of tequila and the up-and-coming mezcal. A “Mexican corn whiskey” can certainly piggyback onto the trend.
Inside one of the huge buildings that the Hernández family has constructed and equipped for the distillery/brewery over the past decade. (Alejandro Linares Garcia)
While Hernández has been successful in producing high-quality whiskey and promising craft beers, there is absolutely no local market in the Izúcar area for these beverages, even at their relatively modest prices. While whiskey may be growing in popularity, local consumers simply cannot pay three to five times the price of a regular commercial beer or spirit, making it essential to get the product into outlets in larger cities.
But this is far from easy. First of all, taxes on alcoholic beverages on average account for about 60% of the retail price, and the government requires a seal called a marbete, whichclassifies alcoholic products sold in main outlets like supermarkets. While there are some exceptions to this rule for traditional home-brewed products, Ayutla Distillery does not qualify for this. This and the costs of small production make it very difficult to compete even against other, larger Mexican distilleries experimenting with Mexican corn, never mind international conglomerates.
The other issue is getting city markets interested in the brand, and even in corn whiskey. Efforts to get into markets in cities like Atlixco and Puebla began about 8 years ago, which included participation in the Puebla State Fair, although the pandemic put a damper on many of these efforts to reach restaurants and hotels.
Created by Jesús Montiel Hernández, Cextrim is the first whiskey to be crafted 100% from native Mexican corn. (Ayutla Distillery and Brewery)
Hernández realizes that tourism is an important element to the distillery’s success, as visitors may be more inclined to try what a Puebla operation has to offer. He recently opened a restaurant featuring his beers called El Bateador on Highway 892 just outside of Izúcar de Matamoros, which will also have hotel rooms ready by the end of the year. It’s a slight detour if you are traveling between Puebla/Mexico and Oaxaca on the libre, but it’s a good way to sample the product (with some chicken wings) if you are passing by.
The distillery has a website for ordering, as well as reserving a time for a tour/visit. If you are a fan of whiskey and/or entrepreneurial projects with a social side, a visit to the Ayutla facility is recommended. But make an appointment first. The roads require a bit of navigation, and the maestro is not always available. I was fortunate to catch him just before he went out to visit farmer-suppliers and got a tour despite just dropping in.
It remains to be seen whether Ayutla Distillery will grow from a passion project into a true local industry. But the project did plant a seed – several areas of the country including Oaxaca, México state, San Luis Potosí and even Sonora have corn whiskey projects in various stages.
This achievement is just as important as the whiskey itself, which Hernández strongly recommends sipping neat or with a little ice to fully appreciate what Mixtec corn has to offer the palate.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
Nobody gets married thinking that things might not work out in the end.
Certainly, few people decide to have children with their partner with the idea that they’ll be doing anything other than raising them together.
The sad reality is, as many of us already know, that marriages and other domestic partnerships don’t always work out. This fact is hard and sad enough for any couple. When the partners are from two different countries and don’t have children, they can each usually decide to go their separate ways, even if this involves moving back to one’s home country. It’s sad, but at least it offers the prospect of a fresh start.
If the couple has children and one of the parents wants to move to a different country with them, however, then things can get extremely complicated, adding an element of panic and horror to what would have otherwise just been good-old-fashioned pain.
In my own case, this was fortunately not a problem that I faced: I knew I didn’t want to be married anymore, but I also knew that I wanted to stay where I was in Xalapa indefinitely. I have a nice community of friends here and live well. This is my home, and it’s my child’s home.
And while my ex-husband and I had our share of differences both before and after (especially after), he was and is an excellent father who I had no intention of separating from our daughter.
Even so, things were tense and very tricky. As the sociological Thomas theorem goes, “If [people] define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
Either from the natural mistrust that can come after a separation or from the suggestions of friends I do not know, but he was convinced that I would try to flee the country with our daughter in tow and refuse to return. I was not planning on doing this, but understood his fear: it’s certainly been done by plenty of other people.
Nothing I said could convince him that this was not my plan, and as a consequence of his fear, he asked me for primary custody of our daughter with the down-the-middle visitation schedule that we’d already agreed on. I did consider it, but in the end decided it was definitely a bad idea.
Three and 1/2 years and a lot of drama and hand-wringing passed before we were finally able to set things in stone legally.
Not being able to put a period at the end of that sentence felt like torture, but honestly, it was nothing compared with what people around me have gone through. A few cautionary tales:
One friend in the US married a Mexican woman, came with her and their children to Mexico for vacation, then went back earlier to work. He then received an email saying she wanted a divorce and they’d be staying in Mexico permanently. When he quit his job and moved to Mexico to be closer to them (and his incredibly high child support payments decreased significantly) she accused him of abuse and worked hard to ensure that he would only be able to see his children for court-supervised visitation.
A Canadian woman I know had two children with her Mexican partner and traveled to Canada for a month when her father was dying. When she returned, she found she’d been accused of having abandoned them. The father had taken them away, and convinced a judge (likely by monetary means) to not allow her to see them.
A local friend, Mexican, recently received a message from the father of her children that he would not be taking them back to her unless she agreed to pay a certain percentage of their private school tuition right before blocking her (thankfully, he was bluffing and returned them to her at the regular time).
These examples – there are many more, unfortunately – aren’t to scare you out of having relationships or children with people from other countries. But if the parents are from two different countries, then there are some things you should definitely keep in mind.
Think about the worst-case scenario, and talk about the worst-case scenario with your partner. If there are incidences of abuse, then that’s obviously a no-brainer (just make sure you have actual evidence). But what about simply wanting to end the relationship? Unfortunately, I’ve seen many instances of one or both ex-partners trying to use their children, either through parental alienation or restricting visitation (often both). Like all areas in life, communication is key, and planning is paramount. If you can, put a “worst-case scenario” plan in writing and sign it. It could save you.
Know the law. While it used to be that one parent always had to have primary custody, now most states allow for shared custody (which is what I have with my daughter’s father). This might not be the right arrangement for every family, but it’s important to know that it’s an option. And when it comes to children in a divorce in Mexico, they are the ones with the rights: to be able to see both of their parents, to be fed, clothed, sheltered, educated, entertained…a judge will not sign off on a divorce without ensuring that the children’s’ rights are protected. Another important feature of the law: you cannot move away with your child without the other parent’s permission (even if you have primary custody), and you most certainly cannot flee the country with them without the other’s permission: that’s international kidnapping.
Know the limits of the law. In Mexico, we know that skirting the law is relatively easy and that manipulating outcomes, particularly through bribes, is also common. Unfortunately, when this happens, the wheels of justice can turn very slowly, and sometimes not at all. When adults are extremely upset, they’re capable of taking hurtful actions you would never have believed them capable of, blind to the fact that they’re hurting their own children just as much. One acquaintance, for example, had an ex-husband who had hand-picked a psychologist to manipulate their children into saying that she was abusive (though he had thrown her out of the house in the middle of the night and locked the door). Though he is very wealthy, he has full custody of their children, and she is required to pay half of her meager earnings in child support to him. Money gives people a lot of freedom to manipulate the justice system, including in family court.
Again, my purpose is not to scare or discourage you. But from the other side of a tricky situation – my own and others’ – it’s always better to be prepared. Mexicans are famous for their passion; just remember that it can swing to the opposite side.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mexico News Daily, its owner or its employees.
Ice cream pie is the perfect make-ahead dessert for summer.
Living on the coast as I do, it’s a constant surprise to hear that in other parts of Mexico — Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Ajijic — folks aren’t roasting in the sweltering heat and humidity like we are here. How hot is it, you might wonder? Well, I just turned my hot water heater off; the oven hasn’t been used in weeks and won’t be for many more to come. I wear as few items of clothing as decently possible, and the a/c is my closest and most constant companion.
Yet one must eat, and food must be made (or, ahem, ordered). At this point I tend to gravitate towards salads, sandwiches — hot or cold — and easily made stovetop meals. I will also say that desserts somehow seem more justifiable now, maybe as a reward for making it through yet another blistering day.
Ice cream pie is surprisingly simple to make at home. The hard part might be deciding what to put in it!
And that brings us to ice cream pie.
Had I ever made one before? Sadly, I had not. But there’s no time like the present!
Like any pie, this one starts with a crust — in this case, a graham cracker or chocolate cookie crust. If you’re able, just buy one; otherwise, find recipes below. Choose your ice cream flavor(s) and let it soften to make it easier to work with; you’ll need about a half-gallon of ice cream per pie.
Next, spread half the ice cream (or one flavor) in an even layer onto the crust. Drizzle this with some kind of yummy sauce: dulce de leche, chocolate, caramel or strawberry. Now sprinkle with your add-ins of choice: nuts, sprinkles, white or dark chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, candy bars or peppermint candies, whatever you fancy. (Imagine an ice cream parlor and let your imagination run wild.) Then spread the top layer of ice cream evenly over everything, drizzle again with your sauce of choice and garnish with some of the add-ins. This second ice cream layer can be the same flavor or a different one.
Cover the pie with foil or plastic wrap and freeze for several hours or overnight. Before serving, let the pie sit at room temperature for a few minutes so it’s easier to slice. Running your knife under hot water before slicing will help too. An ice cream pie will keep about a week in the freezer, as long as it’s covered well and airtight, making it a perfect make-ahead dessert for a dinner party.
First, let your ice cream soften to make it easier to work with. (Unsplash)
A note about Oreos: The reason they’re the go-to for something like this is because of their dense, dark chocolate flavor, a result of the Dutch process cocoa traditionally used in these cookies. That’s why the color is so dark and chocolate flavor so rich.
To get you started, here are some tried-and-true flavor variations:
Strawberries & Cream: Vanilla or strawberry ice cream, strawberry jam and sliced fresh strawberries. Throw in some blueberries for even more color.
Choco Mint: Mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge sauce, and crushed Andes mint candies or peppermints in a chocolate cookie crust.
Coffee Toffee. Vanilla or coffee ice cream, dulce de leche or caramel sauce, crushed Heath bars, with a graham cracker crust.
Cookies & Cream. Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce and crushed Oreo cookies in a chocolate cookie crust.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter. Peanut butter ice cream with hot fudge and crushed peanuts in a chocolate cookie crust.
Mango Madness: Vanilla ice cream, chopped fresh mangos, shredded coconut and dulce de leche in a graham cracker crust.
Lemon Lime: Vanilla ice cream, lemon and lime zest, a few squeezes of juice (or limoncello liqueur if you can get it), crumbled vanilla wafers, Dorados or Marias cookies.
For a great graham cracker crust, look for Nabisco “Honey Bran” graham crackers at your local supermarket. (Shutterstock)
Baked Graham Cracker Crust
1¼ cups graham cracker* crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
Combine all ingredients and mix until texture is like wet sand. Press crumbs into an 8- or 9-inch pie pan, pushing crumbs up the sides. Bake at 350F (177C) for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before using.
*Nabisco makes “Honey Bran” graham crackers that you should be able to find in any big grocery store. Otherwise, Gamesa’s “Marías” cookies will work.
Classic Oreo cookie crust
2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs, made from the cookies only (about 24 standard-sized Oreos)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
½ tsp. salt
Heat oven to 350F (177C). Process Oreos in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and salt; process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Spoon mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, and press crumbs evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake until crust is fragrant and set, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before using.
No-Churn Lime Ice Cream Pie
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. freshly grated lime zest, plus more for garnish
¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Store-bought or homemade graham cracker crust
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk lime juice, zest, condensed milk and cream. Stir until mixture thickens, for about 1 minute. Add salt.
Pour ice cream base into crust, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Chill in freezer until firm, 2-3 hours or overnight. Let pie sit out on counter for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with lime zest and serve.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is vying for the Republican nomination to run in 2024, but is polling behind former president Donald Trump. (Shutterstock)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday pledged to make immediate use of the United States military to combat Mexican cartels in Mexico if he becomes U.S. president
“As president, would you support sending U.S. special forces over the border into Mexico to take out fentanyl labs, to take out drug cartel operations?” journalist Martha MacCallum asked DeSantis during the first Republican party presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.
Republican primary debate candidates faced off on Wednesday night. (Screenshot)
“Yes, and I will do it on day one,” the governor responded. “Here’s the thing. The cartels are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens.”
DeSantis, seen as the main rival to former President Donald Trump in the quest to represent the Republican Party at the 2024 United States presidential election, said that “the cartels” control much of the U.S.-Mexico border and that authorities “have to reestablish the rule of law” and “defend our people.”
“The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander-in-chief to protect our country and protect the people. So when they’re coming across, yes we’re going to use lethal force,” he added.
DeSantis also promised to treat cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” given that they are bringing “poison” – fentanyl and other narcotics – into the U.S. and killing Americans.
Criminal groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel press illegal fentanyl pills in Mexico using precursor ingredients imported from Asia and then smuggle them to the U.S. (Photos courtesy of National Guard)
In a subsequent interview, the governor reaffirmed his commitment to using force to combat Mexican criminal organizations, among which are the notoriously violent and powerful Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
“When I talk about using the military to take on the drug cartels, because they’re killing tens of thousands of our citizens, we have every right to do it,” he told Fox News.
“I’m going to do it. I’m not just going to get into office and say ‘forget about it,” said DeSantis, who has previously indicated that he is open to using drone strikes against Mexican cartels.
Other Republican party figures, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, have also advocated the use of the United States military in Mexico to combat cartels that smuggle fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.
President López Obrador has been very critical of DeSantis’ stance on immigration, as well as his proposal to send the U.S. military into Mexico to combat the drug cartels. (Gob MX)
President López Obrador, who in 2019 declined Trump’s offer to “help in cleaning out” the cartel “monsters,” has categorically rejected the idea that the United States military could be used in Mexico, but has indicated his willingness to continue cooperation with U.S. authorities in the fight against drug trafficking.
He has been highly critical of DeSantis for his stance towards undocumented migrants in Florida, and on Tuesday described his threats to use force against Mexico as “propagandistic, politically motivated outbursts.”
At Wednesday’s debate in Wisconsin, other Republican Party presidential aspirants presented more cautious and collaborative plans to combat Mexican cartels and the flow of narcotics to the U.S.
Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson expressed support for limited military action, such as intelligence gathering, against Mexican cartels. However, such action would require support from Mexico, he said.
“Cooperation makes a difference. We cannot be successful going against the cartel unless we bring in Mexico as a partner. We have to use economic pressure to accomplish that,” Hutchinson said.
Former vice president Mike Pence proposed partnering with Mexico’s army “to hunt down and destroy the cartels.”
John Negroponte, a former United States ambassador to Mexico, ex-deputy secretary of state and observer of Wednesday’s debate, advised against any unilateral U.S. intervention south of the border.
“I believe any action that is unilateral by the United States vis-à-vis Mexico, especially by U.S. uniformed forces, be they police or military, would be completely counterproductive to United States-Mexico relations,” he said.
“Mexico is our largest trading partner. We share a 2,200-mile border and we have inter-relationships that are extensive and across an entire spectrum of issues such as migration, trade, people-to-people relations and environmental concerns. I believe such action would be extremely ill-advised,” Negroponte said.
Xóchitl Gálvez (center) at a press conference with the PRD president and other leading members of the party. (ROGELIO MORALES /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Xóchitl Gálvez’s hopes of securing the presidential election nomination of the Broad Front for Mexico (FAM) got a significant boost on Friday when the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) announced its support for the National Action Party (PAN) senator.
Jesús Zambrano, national president of the PRD, told a press conference in Mexico City that the party he leads had decided to back Gálvez, who is competing against Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Senator Beatriz Paredes for the opposition bloc’s candidacy at the June 2, 2024 election.
Xóchitl Gálvez (left) and Beatriz Paredes are the remaining hopefuls competing for the FAM nomination. (Xóchitl Gálvez/X)
The FAM is made up of the PAN, the PRI and the PRD and supported by numerous civil society groups.
Zambrano said that the PRD took the opinions of party leaders and members across Mexico into account before throwing its support behind Gálvez. He said that the PRD – a leftist party that President López Obrador represented at the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections – and the senator with the conservative PAN could “identify” with each other because of their shared “social-democratic and libertarian” views.
The PRD chief said that Gálvez has a solid chance of winning the 2024 election, even though polls indicate that the ruling Morena party candidate – most likely former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum or ex-foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard – will prevail.
“With Xóchitl we have a shot for 2024,” said Zambrano, who ruled out problems with the PRI for supporting Gálvez over Paredes.
PRD national president Jesús Zambrano (center) says that by supporting Gálvez, the FAM “has a shot” in 2024. (Jesús Zambrano/X)
Gálvez, who attended the event in the PRD colors of yellow, thanked the party for its support and declared that differences between the FAM partners only serve to “strengthen the unity and plurality of the project.”
Polling and a direct vote on Sept. 3 in which registered citizens can participate will determine who will become the Broad Front’s 2024 presidential candidate. The PRD’s endorsement of Gálvez will likely boost her support among supporters of that party.
Santiago Creel, a former interior minister and ex-PAN lawmaker, withdrew from the contest earlier this week and threw his weight behind Gálvez. Enrique de la Madrid, a former federal tourism minister, was eliminated because he placed fourth in the second stage polling.
Two PRD representatives – Senator Miguel Ángel Mancera, a former Mexico City mayor and ex-governor of Michoacán Silvano Aueroles – registered as aspirants to the FAM nomination, but neither reached the second stage of the selection process.
Prickly cacti decorate the panorama at Puebla's largest nature reserve. (All photos courtesy of Bethany Platanella)
It’s a few minutes before noon in Tehuacán, the second-largest city in Puebla state. My friend and I are meeting our guide Martín for a tour of…well…cacti.
My 15 years of working in the travel industry have rendered me a serious skeptic of most tour experiences, and my internal judge is chattering a mile a minute: “The meeting point isn’t clear, the guide sounds too young, no one asked about food sensitivities even though lunch is included….”
With 2,500 reported species of cacti, you’re sure to discover shapes you’ve never seen before within the Tehuacán-Cuicatlan Biosphere.
I shut my inner voice up with a simple “You’re in Mexico, Bethany, let it go” as we pull up to a nondescript bodega with Mountain Dew-colored walls, park the car and start walking toward our guide’s location. I spot him immediately – an unusually tall man (for these parts) wearing a straw cowboy hat, a long-sleeved button-down, and khakis, an outfit quite practical for a day in the sun. He looks to be in his early twenties, and is the owner’s son.
The day’s schedule had been sent to me in advance: A visit to Zapotitlán Salinas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; lunch at a small local restaurant in Tehuacán; time at a pottery studio in Los Reyes Metzontla; a walk at dusk through the Bosque de los Sotolines.
Each stop was to be followed by drives through the cactus reserve. I’m both intrigued and anxious. This is Day 4 of an action-packed 8-day road trip and not only am I tired, but my ability to translate Spanish is hit-or-miss right now.
The three of us get back into the car, pushing away a bag of rotting peaches, empty water bottles and random sweaters, the accumulated items to be expected in a car destined for a road trip. I take the back seat and change from sandals to sneakers as we make our way to the salt mines. Martín begins to explain, with a comforting air of expertise, the lay of the land.
Martín stands next to an oversized agave at the Tehuacán Biosphere in Puebla state.
The Tehuacán-Cuicatlan Biosphere is a protected, ecological reserve encompassing 145,255 hectares (359,000 acres) of dense cactus forest. There are more than 2,500 reported species of cacti, each with distinct looks and properties.
As we drive, I become increasingly aware of how regal and imposing these plants can be. Some are tall, thin and strong, protruding from the ground in clusters like candles on a rolling green birthday cake. Others are short and fat, some spherical like beach balls and several resemble engorged stars. The vistas are breathtaking, and I find myself drifting between Martín’s explanations and this otherworldly land of alien flora.
We arrive at Zapotitlán Salinas and meet Juan Diego. Almost daily, Juan Diego and his predominantly male team continue the tradition of artisanal salt production, selling to locals and the flat’s visitors. The team is small because the product’s price margin is too low to afford to pay more workers, and the work is arduous.. The salinas (salt flats) have been operating for over 2,000 years.
After buying myself an unnecessary kilo of salt, we continue on to lunch which is set to include local treats: insects. My friend and I politely but firmly clarify that despite our full understanding that bugs are considered a delicacy, we cannot eat them. I feel at this point that adding my pseudo-veganism to the mix will further exacerbate the situation and resolve to eat around whatever meat I’m served. Lunch turns out to be delicious, with cactus flowers, hibiscus water, and other regional ingredients included. We even get fried plantains for dessert, a real treat.
A local group of artisans uses naturally found clay to make all types of traditional crockery.
Satisfied, the three of us hop back in the car for a visit to Los Reyes Metzontla.
Millions of years ago, this region was a sea, blessing it with rich clay deposits that artisans use to make pottery. We enter what looks to be part-house, part-studio, and meet a team of three women, accompanied by several children and a puppy, who spend their days creating and selling stunning pieces of crockery in a variety of earthy colors.After showing us the step-by-step process, we are invited to try it ourselves. What looks relatively simple is far from it, my attempt at a bowl quickly turns into an ashtray and then back into a ball of clay. I instead buy a gorgeous water jug to lug home.
The final stop is a walk through the Bosque de Sotolines, named after the sotolín or Elephant Foot variety of tree. There, we meet another local guide, Manuelo. A native to the area and a plant lover, Manuelo takes us on a journey through the medicinal, psychedelic and cultural importance of a variety of greenery that I never knew existed. We see agave plants the size of a small car, leaves whose medicinal properties range from settling upset stomachs to getting rid of oral infections, and thriving Elephant Foot trees that have been standing proud since long before Hernán Cortés’ arrival.
As the sun sets behind the mountains, casting a pinkish hue throughout a vast, cloudless sky, I am suddenly struck by the magnitude of what Mexico actually is; Mexico is everything. Beaches, mountains, lakes, cities, canyons, wine country, pueblos. It’s Indigenous cultures, it’s colonial facades, it’s the Virgin Mary, it’s Quezacóatl, it’s artisanal potters and it’s Carlos Slim. Mexico’s intricate layers are unmatched. It’s truly an incredible place and I’m here for all of it.
In their trip through the biosphere, the writer and her friend found themselves among giant trees, aptly named Elephant Foot trees.
Where to stay: While the city of Tehuacán has significantly more options, we opted to stay at Hotel San Martín in Zapotitlán. It was small, clean and simple, located on a lively little square with next to nothing to do after dark,, which was perfect, because by the end of our journey through the biosphere, nothing was exactly what we wanted to do.
What to buy: Salt, pottery, straw cowboy hats made by Martín, our guide.
When to go: Anytime, though the rainy season could be messy.
How to book: Online at Bio Fan’s website or through Instagram. My experience with the company was very positive, they were easy to book with and provided excellent service.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
A rendering of the Tulum station on Section 5 of the Maya Train route, which will span 1,554 kilometers. (Secretaría de Turismo/Fonatur)
One could be excused for being cynical about the prospect of effective passenger train service in Mexico.
I have only taken a Mexican train once, and that was in 1996 from Guadalajara to Mexico City. The journey, which takes 45 minutes by airplane or 7 hours by bus, took us 16 hours and 45 minutes.
Despite traveling only an average of 20 mph for the 300-mile journey, the price at 48 pesos (US $8 at the exchange rate back then) made it an irresistible option for a cheap college student like myself.
That train has long since been mothballed, but an entirely new rail network, the Maya Train, is rapidly developing in Mexico’s southeast and connecting cities including Mérida, Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Chetumal, and Palenque.
Why is this project worth keeping an eye on?
1. The Maya Train has been extremely controversial
Countless warnings (and accompanying lawsuits) have been raised since before the project even began. Concerns regarding the destruction of the jungle, the damage to animal habitats, the encroachment on isolated Maya communities, the contamination of fresh water sources and potential destruction of undiscovered Maya ruins.
Each issue has ultimately been “resolved” (in many cases unsatisfactorily, and much to the dismay of many environmentalists). It’s difficult for me to weigh in on this point. This part of Mexico is clearly the most “untouched” and hence needs extra special attention. It also has some of the poorest areas in the country, and is desperately in need of more resources and investment. To help you make a thoughtful assessment for yourself, I would recommend reading up carefully on the project and trying to keep political biases out of the discussion.
2.The Maya Train is one of the largest and most expensive infrastructure projects in the world right now
The latest cost estimates for the over 1,500 km train is US $20 billion. Perhaps most impressively, the train is not being built one section at a time, but rather all seven sections with 34 stations at the same time with the first ones set to begin operation by the end of the year. The federal government claims that already over 114,000 jobs have been created for construction of the train.
Tren Maya. Reporte Integral de Avances Tramos 5, 6 y 7. 07/08/23.
3. The Maya Train is spurring additional investment in natural and cultural projects
A few examples include the new 2,249 hectare Parque Jaguar in Tulum, two new Maya Train route artifact museums near Mérida and improvements on many of the 26 archaeological sites along the train route. Some of the most impressive sites which are currently very difficult to access, like Calakmul in Campeche, will now be far easier to visit.
4. The Maya Train is connecting with other massive infrastructure projects in the country.
The train will connect with the Tulum airport, which is being built at the same time and will have the longest runway in the Yucatán peninsula. It is supposed to begin operations in December. The train route will also include a connection with the interoceanic freight and passenger railway project, which is yet another hugely ambitious infrastructure project on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
5. The Maya Train is a litmus test to see if Mexico has the political will and capability of completing such an ambitious project
The world has grown accustomed to seeing massive infrastructure projects carried out successfully in other parts of the world, but less so in Latin America and Mexico. A successful completion and operation of this Maya Train could open the world’s eyes to what Mexico can accomplish, and inspire more bold thinking, new proposals and investment.
The Mexican auto manufacturing industry was first to become a significant global player, the domestic airline industry is now booming. Are trains up next?
Cruise ship traffic to the island of Cozumel has risen 74% in the first half of 2023. (Cuartoscuro)
Nearly 5 million cruise ship passengers arrived in Mexican ports in the first six months of 2023, with Cozumel, Quintana Roo, continuing to lead the way in the industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Navy’s General Directorate of Ports, 2,184,784 cruise ship passengers visited the Caribbean island in the first half of this year, a 73.8% increase from the same period of 2022.
Puerto Maya, owned and operated by Carnival Cruises, is one of three cruise liner terminals on the island. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Cruise visitors to Puerto Progreso, Yucatán, also leapt by 51.4%, to reach 95,827 arrivals, while visitors to Majahual, Quintana Roo, increased by 49.7%, to 896,336. Overall, cruise visitors to Mexico’s Caribbean ports were up 65.3% year-on-year, according to the Navy’s figures, while arrivals in Mexico’s Pacific ports leapt even further, by 89.4%.
A total of 4,968,610 cruise ship passengers arrived in Mexican ports between January and June, an average of more than 27,600 per day.
Vagner Elbiorn Vega, general director of the Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo (Apiqroo), said that the figures show Mexico’s cruise sector iscontinuing to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which paralyzed the industry.
Cozumel received 2.9 million cruise passengers in 2022, representing around 64% of itsrecord-breaking 2019 numbers. Mahahual received 1.2 million, a recovery of about 75%. Between them, these two Quintana Roo ports accounted for around62% of Mexico’s total cruise ship visitors.
Cruise passenger numbers in the wider Caribbean gulf, such as here in Progreso, Yucatán, were up 65.3% on 2022. (Martín Zetina/Cuartoscuro)
Regarding the 2023 figures, Elbiorn Vega toldLa Jornada Maya newspaper that Apiqroo expects to end the year with 32.4% more passengers than in 2022 – although he clarified that Apiqroo only manages two of Cozumel’s three cruise ship terminals, as Puerto Maya is run directly by Carnival cruises.
A fourth terminal was proposed for Cozumel in October 2020, to be built on the island of Las Golondrinas. However, it has faced strong opposition from local environmental activists. A federal judgegranted a temporary injunction against the project in February 2022, which was later struck down.
In May, the Cozumel Island Citizen Collective asked Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama to mediate with the federal government to permanently revoke authorization for the terminal, which they claim was awarded irregularly. They also asked Lezama to hold a popular consultation to establish whether the fourth terminal is supported by Cozumel residents.
