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CNTE teachers’ union clears its camp in Mexico City. Did the Education Ministry pay them to leave?

By
MND Staff
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Empty streets near Mexico City's central square
For 19 days, the encampment congested the streets near Mexico City's central square, the Zócalo, which is currently hosting FIFA's official World Cup Fan Festival. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)

The federal government has denied that it paid 800 million pesos (US $46 million) to Section 22 of the CNTE teachers’ union in exchange for it agreeing to take down its protest camp in the historic center of Mexico City.

Teachers affiliated with the Oaxaca-based Section 22 of the dissident union began taking down their tents on Friday night. A large protest camp set up by teachers demanding better pay and the abrogation of a 2007 reform that changed their pension system remained in the historic center of the capital for 19 days.

Teachers’ union defaces World Cup statues, installs sit-in within blocks of Zócalo

Members of the CNTE’s Section 22 voted last Thursday in favor of ending their protest in the capital, although they remained committed to fighting for a 100% pay rise and the revocation of the 2007 ISSSTE (State Workers’ Social Security Institute) Law, which changed their pension system and will leave them — they say — considerably worse off in retirement.

While the general secretary of Section 22, Yenny Aracely Pérez Martínez, said late last week that an “economic offer” from the federal government wouldn’t go to the union division she leads, and wasn’t related to any decision to take down the protest camp, assertions were made, including on social media, that the Sheinbaum administration had paid Section 22 to dismantle its encampment.

Education Minister Mario Delgado denied that was the case, telling reporters on Saturday that the 800 million pesos would go to schools and be used to create additional teaching positions in places where more teachers are needed.

He said that the money was coming from the government’s education budget.

On Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed that the government’s 800-million-peso allocation to schools in Oaxaca wasn’t going to the CNTE.

“Those 800 million pesos have absolutely nothing to do with the CNTE, nothing,” she told reporters at her Monday morning press conference.

“It’s for the education of girls and boys in Oaxaca,” Sheinbaum said.

School was finally back in session on Monday in Oaxaca after members of the local CNTE teachers' union spent 25 days on strike.
School was finally back in session on Monday in Oaxaca after members of the local CNTE Section 22 spent 25 days on strike. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal/Cuartoscuro)

She said the money would be used to create new teaching positions in the southern state and to make “improvements” to schools.

“Last year, for example, we reached an agreement for there to be computers and printers in all the schools that need them,” Sheinbaum said.

The 800-million-peso allocation “isn’t given to the union so that the union gives it to the schools,” she stressed.

The money is given “directly to the schools,” Sheinbaum said.

“… This idea that ‘this money is going to the union’ is mistaken, it’s false,” she said.

“It’s to improve education in Oaxaca for the girls and boys in Oaxaca,” Sheinbaum said.

A ‘historic’ protest comes to an end 

The federal and Mexico City governments, business owners in the historic center of Mexico City — many of whom have incurred heavy economic losses due to the teachers’ protest — and at least some World Cup fans are no doubt relieved that the CNTE camp has been dismantled. The encampment was located near Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, which is currently hosting FIFA’s official World Cup Fan Festival.

Parents of more than 1.4 million students affected by teacher strikes — in Oaxaca and in several other states — are also no doubt happy that their children will be able to go back to school.

As for the protesting teachers, they will “reorganize” for the next stage of their fight for better pay, better conditions and the repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE law, according to Pérez, the leader of the CNTE’s Section 22.

“We came out to demand a decent retirement, and during these days the intransigence of the federal government was made visible,” she said.

She said that “the fight” teachers have undertaken through recent protests in Mexico City and other parts of the country “has been historic.”

“Not just because we denounced a government that isn’t on the side of workers, but also because we denounced the administrators of retirement funds [AFORES]. We’ve made national and international headlines, and achieved the goal of raising awareness that there is not a [fair] retirement system for all workers in the country,” Pérez said.

Teachers are not going home because they have been defeated, but rather to “reorganize,” she said.

“… We will return with more strength,” Pérez said.

For his part, Pedro Hernández Morales, a CNTE leader in Mexico City, said that the decision to end this stage of the fight for better pay and conditions is not akin to being “defeated.” According to the newspaper La Jornada, Hernández said that CNTE-affiliated teachers will “return with greater strength, composure and intelligence.”

Education Minister Mario Delgado joined President Sheinbaum's press conference on Monday to clear the air about teachers' current earnings ahead of what will likely be a protest-heavy World Cup opener on June 11.
Education Minister Mario Delgado has sought to show the general public that teachers have benefited from recent government policies in a range of ways. (Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia)

Sheinbaum has said that protesting teachers have “legitimate demands,” while stressing that it is not possible for the government to meet all of them. She has said on repeated occasions that the government can’t meet all of the demands for budgetary reasons. Via the Education Ministry and the Interior Ministry, the Sheinbaum administration has engaged in dialogue with the CNTE in recent weeks as it sought to reach a resolution that would bring the protests to an end and get teachers to return to their classrooms.

Delgado has sought to show that teachers have benefited from government policies in a range of ways in recent years, including due to significant salary increases, while ISSSTE chief Martí Batres said earlier this month that the creation of a common pension fund for teachers of the kind that existed before the 2007 reform is unaffordable, but the Pensionissste scheme could be “developed progressively” in order to become a better alternative to individual retirement accounts.

With reports from El Financiero, López-Dóriga Digital, El Universal and La Jornada 

A new highway project better linking Mexico City to Zihuatanejo could reveal this Pueblo Mágico to the world

By
Nolan Clack
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Skyline of Valle de Bravo, Mexico state
Valle de Bravo, less than two hours outside Mexico City, is a Magical Town with hectares of preserved forest and one-of-a-kind weekend homes built by some of Mexico City's most innovative architects. (Pexels)

The town of Valle de Bravo has been Mexico City’s mountain retreat of choice for decades, a lakeside colonial town and Pueblo Mágico in the pine forests of México state where the capital’s professional class comes to decompress on weekends. What almost no one has noticed yet is what will happen when a major federally funded highway connecting Valle de Bravo to the Pacific coast opens in 2029.

The Mexican federal government is upgrading Federal Highway 134, which connects the Toluca region to the Pacific beach resort city of Zihuatanejo on the Guerrero coast, with a committed budget of approximately 18.6 billion pesos (about US $1 billion). 

Valle de Bravo has long been CDMX denizens’ place to rest and reconnect with nature. A revamp of Federal Highway 134 will end up making it easy to shuttle between Valle de Bravo and Zihuatanejo, making it significantly quicker to commute to the beach from Mexico City.

The infrastructure project, currently approximately 33% complete, will significantly reduce the drive from the Valle de Bravo region to Zihuatanejo — from more than eight hours to approximately four. 

The existing Federal Highway 134 is a two-lane mountain route that demands full attention and adds significant time to distances that look more manageable on a map than they currently are by car.

Combined with Valle’s existing two-and-a-half-hour road connection to Mexico City, the project will create a triangle of access that few places in Mexico can offer: a major international city, a mountain environment with a developed residential landscape, and a pristine Pacific coastline, all reachable from a single address.

This outcome has not yet been widely talked about, and the market does not yet reflect it.

What Valle de Bravo actually is

Valle de Bravo’s historic center, with its cobblestone streets and lakeside promenade, is the version of Valle that most visitors see. It is also only part of the story.

A wide, brick tiled with a gabled roof sits in a forest environment surrounded by tall pines. The patio has a wood stove, a handmade luxury wooden table and an outdoor bar.
A generation of innovative, environmentally conscious Mexican architects have been playing in Valle de Bravo for years, designing homes that integrate themselves seamlessly into the area’s forest land and wetlands, like this home designed by the Mexico City architectural firm Estudio Temporal. (Dezeen)

The residential landscape here that draws long-term residents with weekend homes extends across the surrounding forest and countryside, where elevations range from 1,800 to 2,600 meters above sea level. The climate shifts considerably across that range: cooler and more heavily forested at altitude, warmer and more open lower down. A car is close to essential; the communities that make up Valle’s residential fabric are spread across terrain that does not lend itself to walking.

It is in this broader residential landscape that a generation of Mexican architects has produced some of the more quietly influential residential work in the country. The homes here are modern and minimalist, built with gorgeous volcanic stone, cantera and floor-to-ceiling glass positioned to frame specific views at specific times of day. Outdoor terraces function as primary living spaces. Trails from private properties lead into the surrounding pine forest. 

The design language is one of integration with the landscape rather than imposition on it, and it produces a quality of life difficult to find at comparable price points elsewhere in Mexico or, for that matter, North America.

“Valle de Bravo has all the ingredients to become a truly international destination”, says Luis Romo from Minkoba, a local real estate firm. “What makes it special is how much variety you can find in such a small area. Within just a few kilometers, you can go from warm, lakeview neighborhoods to cool, dense forests where you’re completely surrounded by nature. That diversity is also reflected in the architecture and in the lifestyle people choose here.”

Romo also noted that he’s seeing growing interest from international buyers. 

“Foreign buyers are discovering that Valle offers something unique: beautiful natural surroundings, a great quality of life, a wide range of real estate opportunities, and easy access to one of the largest cities in the world.”

Valle de Bravo is at a “very interesting moment,” Romo says. 

“It still feels authentic and relatively undiscovered internationally, but it has the potential to become one of Mexico’s most desirable residential destinations in the years ahead,” he says.

Central to its appeal is its location within a federally protected natural area, which has preserved the surrounding pine forest, keeping the air quality far cleaner than polluted Mexico City. 

Residents also have easy daily access to fresh, local organic produce: Certified-organic farmers in the area do direct home delivery, with some even offering online orders.

A new real estate market for foreign buyers?

Lake Valle de Bravo in Mexico state.
Few places in Mexico can offer a major international city, a mountain retreat and a pristine coastline from one address. (Alejandro Linares/Wikimedia Commons)

The ongoing work on Federal Highway 134 covers 317 kilometers or roadway and includes widening the highway from two lanes to three — with some key sections being widened to four lanes. The project is also building elevated bridges, underpasses and bypasses to eliminate the bottlenecks that currently make the mountain route so slow. 

The full corridor runs from Toluca through the Nevado de Toluca area, Temascaltepec, Tejupilco, Ciudad Altamirano and Coyuca de Catalan, and, finally, to Zihuatanejo. As of early 2026, work is advancing along a 38-kilometer stretch between Tejupilco and Temascaltepec. 

Full completion is projected for December 2029.

The current Valle-to-Zihuatanejo drive takes more than eight hours. The projected time after completion is approximately four.

Valle de Bravo, with an established residential landscape and an international-city connection that most coastal alternatives lack, has received comparatively little attention from buyers looking outside Mexico’s more familiar expat destinations. But that could change once this highway project finishes.

“I think the new Zihuatanejo highway has the potential to put Valle de Bravo on the radar of a much larger international audience,” says Romo. “For people who build their lives around the outdoors, Valle offers an incredible range of activities that are all accessible within minutes.”

The triangle

What the combination produces is a well-positioned triangle of access that has not previously existed for Valle residents: a practical three-point connection between a world-class city, a high-quality mountain environment and the Pacific coastline.

The highway does not change what Valle is; it changes what Valle can offer. Mexico City has always been the case for the region. Mexico City, the forest and a four-hour Pacific coast is a different conversation, and it is one that the market has not yet had.

How that conversation develops, and what it means for property values in the region, is a question that real estate professionals in Valle are beginning to examine closely. 

Nolan Clack is the founder of Qué Onda Valle, an English-language publication covering Valle de Bravo.

Merlin the duck waddles into Mexico’s National Palace, at Sheinbaum’s invitation

By
MND Staff
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President and Merlin's family
President Sheinbaum poses Monday morning with Merlin's owner Karla Yvette Gómez, her two sons, and the duck himself. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

A duck wearing a Mexico soccer jersey took center stage at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference Monday.

Merlin, a 2-year-old duck who has gone viral as an unofficial World Cup mascot, appeared at the National Palace alongside his owner, Karla Ivette Gómez, and her family after an invitation from the president.

Merlin the Duck
In less than two weeks since the World Cup opener, Merlin has gone from an unusual pet to a nationwide celebrity, worthy of the president’s attention. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)

Wearing the national team shirt and a FIFA ribbon, the duck stood calmly as cameras clicked away.

“It’s an honor to be here and talk with the president,” said Gómez, who brought along her two sons, Carlos, 22, and Cristian, 14. “I need to be pinched. I can’t believe it.”

Merlin rose to fame in the wake of Mexico’s 2-0 victory over South Africa in the World Cup opener on June 11.

Waddling through the streets of Mexico City after the game — wearing a miniature El Tri jersey, tiny sneakers and even socks — Merlin drew smiles, filled cellphone cameras and eventually racked up millions of social media views.

Noting that her staff had learned of the Gómez family’s challenges, Sheinbaum said, “We’re going to help them so that this fame they’ve acquired translates into an improvement in their quality of life.”

She framed the gesture as part of a broader “humanistic” approach to give a boost to honest, hard-working Mexican families.

Gómez told reporters she’s a single mom who sells water and soft drinks on the streets of Mexico City alongside Cristian, who also helps care for the duck. Her other son, she said, has a psychotic disorder and was recently released from a psychiatric hospital.

On Monday, Gómez said the family is beginning the process of registering Merlin’s name with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI).

She also said that Merlin has a healthy diet and receives regular care from a veterinarian.

“He’s a bird specialist and checks him twice a year,” she said. “We give him vitamins and, obviously, we give him a good diet,” including one carnitas taco every Sunday in addition to duck pellets, vegetables, fruits, minnows and crickets. 

As Merlin’s popularity grows, specialists are warning of a potential “Nemo effect” — impulsive but impractical pet purchases, such as the rise in sales of clownfish following the 2003 Disney film “Finding Nemo.”

“Ducks are farm animals; they are not domesticated like dogs. They require special care,” said Jorge Francisco Monroy López, a member of the veterinary medicine faculty at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Mexico’s national team returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mexico City Stadium (Banorte) to finish group play against Czechia.

Already assured of winning Group A, Mexico will then return to Mexico City at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, against a yet‑to‑be‑determined third‑place team in the round of 32.

With reports from La Jornada, El Sol de México and El Financiero

New combined-cycle power plant in Baja California to lower bills and emissions

By
MND Staff
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Government officials touring the “González Ortega” combined-cycle plant in Mexicali, Baja California
The government invested US $704 million in the construction of the González Ortega Combined-Cycle Power Plant, which adds 653 megawatts to the national electricity grid and will be capable of generating more than 5,000 gigawatt-hours of energy per year. (Saúl López/Presidencia)

President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated the González Ortega Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Mexicali on Saturday alongside Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, marking what both officials described as a milestone for energy sovereignty and social justice in the border state.

The new facility, operated by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), is expected to prevent the emission of 3.23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. It will be supported by two new electrical substations designed to meet the region’s growing energy demand.

Electric worker doing work on an electricity pole
Authorities also shared on Saturday that it is in the process of replacing 4,000 electricity poles in Mexicali. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)

The project is part of a federal investment of over 73.9 billion pesos (US $4.2 billion) in Baja California’s electrical grid. Alongside the inauguration, the government announced a record electricity subsidy of 1.485 billion pesos ($85.5 million) for Mexicali and San Felipe residents — benefiting more than 1.37 million people in those municipalities.

“Energy production in Mexico must have at least three characteristics: guaranteeing national sovereignty, minimizing environmental impacts and ensuring social justice,” Sheinbaum said at the event.

The president also noted the goal of installing 32,000 additional megawatts in the national electricity system during her administration, of which 22,000 megawatts will come from renewable sources developed by CFE.

Additional commitments announced during the visit include the replacement of 4,000 electricity poles in Mexicali (500 of which are complete) to improve distribution and reduce outages, as well as a housing support plan for San Quintín and the extension of the Rita Cetina scholarship to Baja California students.

With reports from La Jornada

US authorities seize 43,000 rounds of ammunition headed for Mexico

By
MND Staff
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ammo
Two separate stops at the same Nogales, Arizona border crossing netted the 43,000 rounds, though the suspects' identities have not yet been made public. (Clint Patterson/Unsplash)

U.S. authorities last week seized 43,000 rounds of ammunition in two separate stops at one of the four international border crossings in Nogales, Arizona.

In a Monday social media post, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said the seizure at the Mariposa Port of Entry reaffirms the U.S. government’s commitment to disarming drug cartels and stopping the illegal flow of weapons to Mexico.

boxes of contraband ammo
The border officials found 40 boxes in one of the stops and 44 in the other, a haul that an OFO spokesperson attributed to modern non-intrusive technology that allows officials to identify contraband before entering or stopping a vehicle. (U.S. CPB-OFO)

Johnson said the operations involved U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and its Office of Field Operations (OFO), as well as federal agents from Tucson, Arizona. 

The identities of the suspected smugglers have not been released.

The CBP action was originally disclosed on June 18. OFO Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino said in a social media post that CBP officers discovered 40 boxes containing 15,000 rounds of ammunition in one vehicle and 44 boxes containing 28,000 rounds of 7.62×39 ammunition in another. The 7.62×39 ammunition is used in assault weapons such as the AK-47.

Johnson said the U.S. operation “demonstrates the value of advanced non-intrusive inspection technology for identifying and stopping illicit activities.”

These technologies allow for the inspection of vehicles and goods without the need for an initial physical inspection, facilitating the detection of weapons, ammunition and other illegal products.

“No matter what method is used, criminals should know that we will find them,” Johnson said, adding that cooperation between Mexico and the United States contributes to strengthening the security of both nations.

The Mariposa port of entry is one of the main trade crossings between Mexico and the United States, primarily comprising freight transport operations. It is among the strategic checkpoints used by U.S. security agencies to identify activities related to cross-border trafficking.

This month’s bust comes three months after CBP reported that members of the Nogales Contraband Enforcement Team seized more than 47,000 rounds of ammunition headed to Mexico during four weeks in February. 

Just a few weeks later, CBP officers at the same port of entry seized more than 120 pounds of methamphetamine in two separate enforcement actions. 

With reports from La Jornada, Uno TV and La Silla Rota

Semarnat promises permanent environmental oversight of controversial Topolobampo ammonia plant

By
MND Staff
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a protester seen looking left with large plant equipment in the background
The Environment Ministry said it will establish clear control, supervision and restoration measures that ensure that the ammonia plant's development adheres to the strictest environmental criteria established by the law. (Armando Quiroz/Cuartoscuro)

In response to long-standing protests against the construction and operation of an ammonia plant along the Sinaloa coast, the Environment Ministry (Semarnat) has announced that it will maintain permanent surveillance over the construction and future operation of the factory.

Construction — which is 80% complete — will continue.

‘We will defend this territory with our lives’: Activists blockade Topolobampo ammonia plant

Protesters oppose the construction and operation of the plant along Ohuira Bay in Topolobampo, arguing that the project is unviable for social, environmental and economic reasons. 

The Save Ohuira Bay organization claims that the ammonia plant will destroy the fragile balance of the ecosystem with chemical pollution and destructive dredging.

Semarnat officials say authorization was granted by the federal government according to standards meant to prevent, mitigate and address any possible environmental impact. 

Ohuira Bay is a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance designated under the intergovernmental environmental treaty known as the Ramsar Convention) which is vital to thousands of migratory birds, dolphins, whales and local fisheries.

Critics accuse the government of illegally confiscating 200 hectares of land by fraudulently registering private property as federal land and cutting down mangroves. They also allege that the Indigenous Yoreme peoples that have lived in the region for thousands of years were not properly consulted.

As a result of the often passionate protests, Semarnat this week said it will establish clear control, supervision and restoration measures that ensure that the project’s development adheres to the strictest environmental criteria established in the law.

Gas y Petroquímica de Occidente (GPO) — the company that has been building the plant since 2014 — is required to monitor and prevent wastewater discharges, and control emissions into the atmosphere. It will also take action to protect and restore the mangrove, while also implementing conservation programs for flora and fauna in Ohuira Bay.

The plant is projected to produce 2,200 tonnes of ammonia a day as well as 6,000 tonnes of methanol per day. It will also store 75,000 tonnes of ammonia and features a floating unit that would liquefy 15,000 tonnes of fracking gas, carried by Texan pipelines across a coastal lagoon.

GPO acknowledges that it will suck up 2,000 cubic meters of seawater per hour and return it hot to the bay, such that it will increase the temperature by 3°. Save Ohuira Bay says such action will devastate marine life when combined with the increase in salinity from the plant’s brine discharges.

Researchers at the Sinaloa campus of the National Polytechnic Institute estimate that the plant will cause the destruction of 60% of shrimp production in the bay, more than 500 tonnes annually.

With reports from La Jornada, Milenio and El Sol de Mazatlán

‘I, Claudia’: The Guardian profiles Sheinbaum as ‘the world’s most popular leftwing leader’

By
MND Staff
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President Sheinbaum greets supporters outside a rally on May 31 to mark the second anniversary of her election in June 2024.
President Sheinbaum greets supporters outside a rally on May 31 to mark the second anniversary of her election in June 2024. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)

The British newspaper The Guardian recently published a long-form profile of President Claudia Sheinbaum, adding to the heightened international focus on Mexico as the country co-hosts the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup.

The article was published on The Guardian website on June 11 — the opening day of the World Cup — under the headline “How did Mexico’s president become the world’s most popular leftwing leader?” It was also published as the feature story of the June 19 edition of The Guardian Weekly magazine, whose cover carried a photo of Sheinbaum along with the headline “I, Claudia: How Mexico’s president became the world’s most popular leftwing leader.”

Written by Rachel Nolan, an assistant professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, the article is one of numerous Mexico-focused pieces published by leading international media outlets this month.

Among them are an opinion piece published by The New York Times under the headline “Mexico Can’t Go On This Way“; an article published by The Economist under the headline “The World Cup will test Mexico’s control over its territory“; and a story published by The Wall Street Journal under the headline “World Cup Puts Mexico’s Cartel Crisis on the Global Stage.”

Compared to those pieces, The Guardian’s profile slants positive, although it does note that Sheinbaum has major problems and major challenges to deal with.

A ‘statistics person’ who has ‘changed relatively little despite her rise to power’ 

After a lengthy introduction based largely on an interview with Sheinbaum’s Mexico City-based dressmaker Olivia Trujillo, The Guardian’s profile notes that Mexico’s president — the country’s first female president — “is one of the most popular democratically elected leaders in the world,” with an approval rating hovering “about 70% or above.”

Here is a summary of 10 other key points in the article, which notes that Sheinbaum has a background as both an academic and an activist.

‘Confidently Wrong about President Sheinbaum’s Performance’: A new podcast episode by Mexico News Daily

  • The Guardian highlights that Sheinbaum is “an inspiration” for many leftists around the world. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “has signalled his admiration for Sheinbaum on many occasions, saying she ‘has shown what can be won when you’re willing to fight,'” Nolan writes.
  • The Guardian writes that “[d]eftly running down the clock during tariff negotiations with Donald Trump last year was a demonstration of [Sheinbaum’s] signature attitude, which she calls cabeza fría, coolheadedness under pressure.”
  • The Guardian notes that Sheinbaum is a very different leader to her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “Where AMLO, as he is known, was flamboyant, she is subdued. Where he was impulsive, she is cautious. Where he was a politician to the bone, she is a former professor,” Nolan writes.
  • The Guardian seeks to dispel the assertion (by government critics and others) that Sheinbaum is a puppet of AMLO. “According to those inside Morena, AMLO has not been picking up the phone to bother his protege, though a common debate among the chattering class in Mexico is whether the continued dominance of his loyalists means that Sheinbaum holds little power,” Nolan writes.
  • While Sheinbaum’s leadership style and background are different from those of AMLO, their politics are very similar, The Guardian notes. “Sheinbaum has so internalised AMLO’s politics that interventions from him are unnecessary,” Nolan writes.
  • The Guardian says that Sheinbaum’s two biggest challenges as president “are tightly linked.” The “first is tackling what is usually – but somewhat misleadingly – called the war on drugs,” Nolan writes. “The second is handling Mexico’s relationship with its overbearing neighbor to the north.”
  • The Guardian describes Sheinbaum as a “statistics person” who is “universally agreed to be a detail-obsessed micromanager.” The president is “a statistics person and the statistics surrounding this epidemic of violence are very, very bad,” Nolan writes. “Between 2018 and 2020, an average of one person in Mexico was killed every 15 minutes. Things have improved slightly, but the homicide levels, and the fact that more than 1 million people are internally displaced, are more typical of a country actively at war than one that is not.” The assertion that “things have improved slightly” undersells the reduction in homicides this year, per government data, although it should be noted that there is skepticism about the accuracy of the official statistics.
  • The Guardian notes that the ruling Morena party has remained popular despite the persistence of problems such as the missing persons crisis. “Morena’s lack of progress on disappearances has not dented its popularity. For many voters, rather than focusing on an intractable problem, it makes more sense to pay attention to the truck, painted with Morena colours, that drives into your remote town to install solar panels for free,” Nolan writes.
  • The Guardian notes that Sheinbaum is simultaneously accessible and inaccessible to the media. “The president has not given a single sit-down interview since taking office. Instead, journalists are all cordially invited to the mañanera, a daily press briefing created by AMLO and continued by Sheinbaum, which is broadcast on television and online, and widely watched across the country,” Nolan writes.
  • The Guardian contends that Sheinbaum — who served as Mexico City mayor before becoming president — has not changed much as a person despite her political ascension. “Those who know her told me that Claudia has changed relatively little despite her rise to power,” Nolan writes. “In a video two years ago, her husband, Jesús María Tarriba, noted that he met her in university and ‘she is the same to this day.'”

Mexico News Daily 

Intergenerational transmission of Maya language in Yucatán facing steep decline

By
MND Staff
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Etapa Final de la XXVI edición del Concurso del Himno Nacional Mexicano en Lengua Maya
Students participate in the 26th Annual Mexican National Anthem Contest in the Maya Language. (Segey)

The Maya-speaking population in Yucatán has a language loss rate of nearly 60%, even though the state remains one of the main strongholds of the Maya language in Mexico.

During the Southeast-Gulf meeting of the National Network for Research on Indigenous Languages ​​(Renili), officials warned that Yucatecan Maya is experiencing a significant process of linguistic shift, with six out of 10 children of Maya-speaking mothers no longer learning the language as their mother tongue. 

Speaking at the event, Violeta Vázquez-Rojas, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (Secihti), explained that currently, use of the language is concentrated mainly among adults aged 30 to 40 or older, while in many rural communities the proportion of children who speak it is minimal.

Although in the broader state context, Maayat’aan (the Peninsular Maya language) is spoken by more than 500,000 people, this only accounts for 23% of Yucatán’s population. 

The same pattern is seen across the peninsula — Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo – in which authorities estimate that over 750,000 people — mostly adults — speak this Indigenous language. 

This decline in intergenerational transmission is reflected in specific municipalities, such as Acanceh, a small town near Mérida where the percentage of the population that still uses the Maya language remains below a quarter of the total. 

 

Locals in Acanceh, whose population of approximately 17,000 is predominantly made up of older people, communicate in the native Maya among their age group, but not with their children or grandchildren.  

Participants at the Renili encounter offered that some of the reasons driving the decline are stigma, as parents often choose not to teach the language to their children to avoid discrimination; migration and urbanization; and low literacy rates. 

In an interview with the local news organization Por Esto!, expert Aurelio Caamal said that the increase in women working out of their homes to help support their families has also led to a decline in their focus on childcare, negatively impacting intergenerational transmission of the Maya language. 

According to Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI, the number of Maya speakers in the state of Yucatán fell from 537,618 in 2010 to 519,167 in 2020, a drop of more than 18,000 people in one decade. Although a 2019 constitutional reform in Yucatán made Maya-language instruction mandatory at the elementary educational level, only 651 of the state’s 1,612 schools actually comply, according to the newspaper La Jornada. 

With reports from Por Esto!, La Jornada and Tinta Pública Noticias

From Times Square to Brooklyn, Mexico fans turned NYC into a party for El Tri match with South Korea

By
Kiana Noury
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A crowd of fans filling 42nd Street in Times Square, New York City, surrounded by the buildings and giant digital screens Times Square is known for. One fan in the center of the photo is waving a huge Mexican flag.
Mexico's fans showed up in force in Times Square on Thursday evening before Mexico's match against South Korea. (Kiana Noury)

World Cup Mexico team fans — including many who had traveled from Mexico — descended upon New York City Thursday night, transforming the streets into a sea of green, white and red as they watched their team clinch a 1-0 victory over South Korea. 

From the heart of Times Square to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, supporters in El Tricolor jerseys recast some of New York City’s most iconic landmarks as makeshift grandstands for their home team, where renditions of the Mexican national anthem and shouts of “¡Viva Mexico!” echoed across the crowds. Mexican fans could also be found at watch events throughout the city in bars, restaurants, and more — often bonding with South Korea fans.  

A from-above photo of Mexico World Cup fans celebrating in Times Square before the June 18, 2022 Mexico v. South Korea match happening that evening.
In Times Square, fans played Mexican music, held impromptu line dances and ate churros Thursday. It was just one of several sites for World Cup fans across the city that day. (Kiana Noury)

‘Making it feel like home’

In Times Square – under the glare of digital screens — hundreds of fans — some wearing sombreros and lucha libre masks — filled the busy streets, waving Mexican flags, banging on instruments, blaring air horns and blowing whistles and chanting in a pre-match gathering early Thursday evening.

“People are going crazy, and fans are buzzing,” Enrique, a fan from Mexico City, told Mexico News Daily. “The energy is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. It’s amazing to be in New York for this match.” 

At the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center – home of the U.S. Open – spectators packed into the stadium to watch the match on giant screens, the clamor growing as the night went on. Organizers estimated about 4,000 people attended.

Beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, supporters with Mexican flags draped over their shoulders gathered to watch the action on large broadcast screens at a fan event set up at the Emily Warren Roebling Plaza in Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

Other watch parties appeared at sports bars and restaurants throughout the city. Lines of fans in team jerseys formed around various blocks as they waited to get inside — many streamed the game on their phones while they waited.

Korea World Cup soccer fans in Times Square New York. Three Korea fans holding small South Korean flags pose for the camera. In the background are skyscrapers and advertising billboards typical to Times Square, as well as a Mexico team fans holding different large Mexican flags.
South Korea fans could often be found in the same spaces as Mexico fans, and both teams’ fans celebrated together, quick to acknowledge the two countries’ close connections. (Kiana Noury)

“There are so many Mexican fans in the city right now,” said Hugo, a fan who had come from Jalisco and said he’d been waiting in line for an hour to get into a viewing party. “All I see are our jersey colors. It’s really unbelievable how many fans showed up here.” 

“With the amount of people here, and the fans at the stadium in Guadalajara, I really hope the team feels the love,” he said. 

The match also offered a brief sense of home for fans living abroad. Valentina — who moved earlier this summer from Mexico City to Manhattan for a new job — said she’d been feeling homesick since arriving in the United States. 

“It was important for me to come and support my team,” she said. “All the people and the fans being here are making it feel like home.” 

She also noted that she has enjoyed sharing the atmosphere with South Korean fans.

“It’s funny because I ran into a group of South Korean fans on the subway on my way here, and they told me, ‘Today we are enemies. Tomorrow we will go back to being friends,’” she said with a smile. 

Korean, Mexican fans unite in Brooklyn for World Cup showdown

 

Long before the match’s opening whistle was blown, the two nations had already produced unexpected moments of camaraderie between both camps. In a series of social media videos, Mexican and South Korean supporters could be seen celebrating their opening-match victories together, erupting into the iconic “Gangnam Style” dance. Other clips captured fans laughing, singing along to live DJs and making the most of the festivities. 

“I’m Mexican, I’m proud to be Mexican. And my girlfriend is Korean,” Daniel said while shopping for jerseys in Queens. He chose a classic Mexico fan jersey, while his girlfriend picked out a purple South Korean kit shirt. “We’re excited to watch the game together and have some fun with the community.”

The atmosphere carried into Thursday night where Mexican and South Korean fans in the city posed for photos and videos, danced to music from their home countries and proudly waved their respective flags high. Many had bonded over the long journeys that brought them to the World Cup in the Big Apple.

Sun-young, who traveled here with her family from Seoul, said it took her 14 hours to reach New York.

“We are having so much fun dancing all day,” she said. “The Mexican fans are unlike any other fan base. They’ve welcomed us to celebrate the game with them. Win or lose, this has been an incredible experience.” 

Another fan, Abril, traveled from the Mexican state of Coahuila alongside her parents to be part of the moment. Asked how she felt about Mexico’s chances of winning the World Cup, Abril responded: 

Embed from Getty Images

Midfielder Luis Romo celebrates Thursday with his Mexico teammates during the knockout match with South Korea. (Manuel Velasquez/FIFA via Getty Images)

“We’re going to win it all,” Abril said when asked about Mexico’s chances of winning the World Cup. “It really is possible.”

On Thursday, Mexico, a cohost of this year’s Cup, became the first team to secure a spot in the tournament’s knockout stage, a decisive turnaround from its group-stage exit from the last World Cup in 2022, which ended with midfielder Luis Romo scoring Mexico’s only goal in the 50th minute. 

Mexico’s Thursday win guarantees the team, affectionately nicknamed El Tri, will play at least its next two matches at home. Fans here in the U.S. insist that El Tri can continue to rely on their support, no matter the distance. 

Mexico News Daily

Sheinbaum thinks Mexico has best World Cup vibe: Monday’s mañanera recapped

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MND Staff
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Sheinbaum June 22, 2026
"What people experience in Mexico isn't experienced in the United States or Canada," the president said on Monday. (Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🗣️ Sheinbaum defends AMLO over El Mayo claims: Asked about former U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar’s memoir allegation that ex-President López Obrador fears testimony cartel boss “El Mayo” Zambada could provide to U.S. authorities, Sheinbaum said AMLO’s only concern was potential U.S. agency involvement in Zambada’s capture — a sovereignty issue — not anything Zambada might say. She added that she herself has “absolutely none” of her own concerns about his testimony.
  • 🛢️ Sustainable fracking decision imminent: Sheinbaum said a government-appointed scientific panel is close to issuing its first recommendation on whether “sustainable fracking” is feasible in Mexico, with a public presentation at the mañanera expected soon. An announcement in favor of fracking would represent a notable policy break from López Obrador, who paused fracking during his administration.
  • ⚽ Mexico’s World Cup vibe beats the U.S. and Canada: Sheinbaum claimed the atmosphere for the tournament in Mexico surpasses that of co-hosts the United States and Canada, citing the country’s warmth, jubilation and El Tri’s back-to-back victories over South Africa and South Korea.

Why today’s mañanera matters

In 2022, the now-deceased politician Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, a man who represented the ruling Morena party in federal Congress, accused then President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of colluding with narcos and wanting to entrust that collusion to his successor.

In January 2024, ProPublica, Deutsche Welle and Insight Crime all published reports that said that people working for López Obrador’s 2006 presidential campaign received between US $2 million and $4 million from drug traffickers affiliated with the Beltrán-Leyva Organization and the Sinaloa Cartel.

The next month, in February 2024, The New York Times published allegations that people close to AMLO, including his sons, received drug money after the ex-president took office in late 2018.

Now, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has weighed in on the speculation that López Obrador colluded with drug traffickers by claiming that the ex-president is worried about testimony cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada could provide to authorities in the United States, where he is incarcerated.

President Claudia Sheinbaum’s defense of AMLO — her erstwhile political mentor — when asked about Salazar’s comments was a significant moment at today’s mañanera. While Sheinbaum’s defense of her predecessor was not surprising, renewed focus on López Obrador’s alleged cartel ties could create an additional headache for the president at a time when Mexican authorities are assessing whether there is sufficient evidence to arrest and extradite Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and various other politicians affiliated with the ruling Morena party who U.S. prosecutors accuse of drug trafficking in league with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was the president’s indication that the government will soon announce whether it has decided to allow a form of “sustainable fracking” to take place in Mexico.

Mexico weighs ‘sustainable fracking’ to cut dependence on US natural gas

Fracking has already taken place in Mexico, but the practice was largely paused by López Obrador. Sheinbaum’s apparent push to launch a “sustainable fracking” initiative in Mexico represents a major break with the policy of her predecessor.

Sheinbaum: AMLO not concerned about information US authorities could obtain from ‘El Mayo’

A reporter asked the president about an assertion by Salazar that López Obrador is worried about information U.S. authorities could obtain from Zambada, a Sinaloa Cartel leader who was arrested in the U.S. in July 2024 after he was kidnapped by a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and flown to a New Mexico airport on a private plane.

Salazar makes the assertion in a soon-to-be-released memoir, citing information he received from a Mexican businessman who was said to be a confidant of AMLO. The newspaper Reforma published excerpts from the book on Sunday.

Even though Reforma includes translated quotes of Salazar’s writing, Sheinbaum said that “exactly” what the former ambassador says won’t be established until his memoir is released.

“In any case, I can tell you that if President López Obrador had any concern, … it was about the [possible] participation of a U.S. government agency in the capture of “El Mayo” Zambada in Mexico,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that AMLO didn’t have any concerns about “what this person, this head of a criminal group” might testify to U.S. authorities.

Mugshot of Sinaloa Cartel cofounder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, wearing a blue Boss brand polo shirt as he stares into the camera unsmiling
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the alleged cofounder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in New Mexico in July 2024. (Cuartoscuro)

In Federal District Court in Chicago last December Joaquín Guzmán López said that he orchestrated the July 2024 kidnapping of Zambada, but Sheinbaum said on Monday that it was “never made clear” how the transfer of “El Mayo” to the United States took place.

“It’s not that he shouldn’t have been arrested because at the end of the day he was subject to arrest warrants in Mexico. But what was the participation of a U.S. agency or the U.S. government … in this capture? That was [AMLO’s] concern … due to the [possible] interference and violation of sovereignty in Mexico,” she said.

As president, López Obrador asserted that the United States carried out the “operation” that resulted in the arrest of Zambada in the United States. With his use of the word “operation,” he apparently meant a negotiation with Joaquín Guzmán López that he believed resulted in the delivery of Zambada to U.S. law enforcement authorities at a New Mexico airport near El Paso, Texas, on July 25, 2024.

Sheinbaum noted that the López Obrador administration asked U.S. authorities to explain how the arrest of Zambada came about, although it never received a clear response. She said that the Federal Attorney General’s Office continues to investigate how the capture of Zambada occurred and remains in contact with the U.S. Department of Justice as it seeks information about the events leading up to the arrest.

Asked whether she had any concern about what Zambada could say to U.S. authorities, Sheinbaum responded “none — absolutely none.”

A ‘first recommendation’ on the feasibility of ‘sustainable fracking’ coming soon 

Sheinbaum told reporters that a group of scientists tasked with assessing whether “sustainable fracking” is feasible in Mexico has made progress in its work.

“I don’t remember whether it’s this week or at the start of next week, [we have] a meeting with the group of scientists, which is very advanced [in the work toward making] a first recommendation. So we’ll bring the recommendation to the mañanera, we’ll bring the scientists again so they can provide the information publicly — information about what they have researched, what they have seen, what they have worked on,” she said.

On repeated occasions, Sheinbaum has expressed her openness to allowing a form of “sustainable” fracking in Mexico.

She has acknowledged her previous opposition to fracking, but now asserts that it can take place safely via the use of new technologies.

Sheinbaum: World Cup atmosphere in Mexico is better than in US and Canada 

Mexico is hosting just 13 of the 104 matches at the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup, but Sheinbaum asserted that the atmosphere here is superior to the atmospheres in the United States, which is hosting 78 matches, and Canada, which is also hosting 13 matches.

“Sorry, what people experience in Mexico isn’t experienced in the United States or Canada,” she said.

Mexico’s week in review: El Tri advances and visiting fans fall in love with Mexico

In Mexico, there is “happiness,” a very warm welcome for World Cup visitors and great “jubilation related to the World Cup,” Sheinbaum said, referring to celebrations on the streets, in public squares and elsewhere.

“In addition, obviously [we’ve had] two victories of the national team,” she said, acknowledging El Tri’s wins over South Africa and South Korea in its first two group matches.

“So today Mexico is in the global spotlight,” Sheinbaum said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

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