“The survey also shows important advances in what people observe and hear in their communities,” García Harfuch said in a social media post, adding that those surveyed reported fewer robberies and fewer instances of gunfire.
The quarterly security survey is carried out by INEGI in approximately 28,000 homes across 91 cities spanning all 32 states. Individuals aged 18 years and older who permanently reside in private housing units within designated urban areas are asked about the principal problems affecting their neighborhood.
García Harfuch said the results showed that, compared to September 2025, residents in 28 of the 91 cities felt that there were significant improvements.
The survey reflects the public’s perception of security and does not, in itself, constitute a measurement of crimes committed in the country.
Instead, the survey measures how safe or unsafe citizens feel in their cities generally as well as in specific public spaces, such as at ATMs, on public transit or in the streets.
In general terms, the survey found that 68.7% of the population reported feeling unsafe at ATMs located on public roads, 61.8% felt unsafe on the street, 61.1% felt uneasy on public transport and 55.3% felt unsafe on the highway.
Irapuato, Guanajuato, holds the ignominious claim to being the least safe city in Mexico, as 90.5% of its adult population consider it unsafe. Residents of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, followed with 86.9%, and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, was next with 85.8%.
At the other end of the spectrum, San Pedro Garza García (an affluent suburb of Monterrey, Nuevo León), registered the lowest percentage, with 5.8%, while the borough of Benito Juárez in Mexico City reported reduced levels at 13.8%.
With regard to comparative statistics, cities that saw a significant increase in the perception of public insecurity between June and September 2026 were Hermosillo (the capital of Sonora), which rose from 43.2% to 53.2%; Lázaro Cárdenas (a major port city in Michoacán), from 33.0% to 42.3%; and Ciudad Victoria (the capital of Tamaulipas), from 47.5% to 56.5%.
De acuerdo con la Encuesta Nacional de Seguridad Pública Urbana #ENSU, en septiembre 2026, 58.1% de las personas de 18 años y más, residentes en 91 áreas urbanas de interés, consideró que era inseguro vivir en su ciudad:
🚺 64.2%
🚹 50.6%
Las ciudades con mayor percepción de inseguridad pública fueron:
▪️ 90.5% Irapuato
▪️ 86.9% Chilpancingo de los Bravo
▪️ 85.8% Mazatlán
Con menor percepción de inseguridad pública fueron:
▪️ 5.8% San Pedro Garza García
▪️ 13.8% Benito Juárez
▪️ 14.3% San Nicolás de los Garza y Piedras Negras, cada uno
📄 Consulta el comunicado de prensa: https://t.co/56AiAQzHdW
📊 Explora el reporte de resultados: https://t.co/VMRSfBZiLs
In contrast, the urban areas with the most statistically significant reduction compared to the previous quarter were San Francisco de Campeche (the capital of Campeche), which fell from 65.9% to 49.6%; Tlalnepantla de Baz (México state), from 73.1% to 59.3%; and Ciudad Obregón (Sonora), from 82.4% to 69.8%.
Beyond crime, 83.1% of those surveyed considered potholes in streets and avenues to be a significant issue, while 61.2% cited failures and leaks in the drinking water supply, and 57% complained about clogged storm sewers.
Jaime Maussan has carved out a successful career as Mexico's go-to ufologist for confirming alien sightings. He stops short of identifying his new "Creature of the Juárez Valley" as extraterrestial but did say, in tune with the season, that "it is something scary." (Jaime Maussan / Facebook)
A camera-trap video from the Juárez Valley in Chihuahua has given Mexico’s best-known ufologist, Jaime Maussan, a new mystery: a pale, long-limbed creature that he describes as an agile, intelligent, humanlike predator capable of walking on two legs.
To online commenters, the figure looks more like a pigment-deficient iguana, an albino lizard or an escaped exotic pet.
😱 De acuerdo con los investigadores algunas de las imágenes fueron obtenidas mediante cámaras trampa 🫣🔍
https://t.co/p10Wwp3s6b
Maussan’s team said the footage was recorded Oct. 14 between 7 and 8 p.m. in the rural farming area southeast of Ciudad Juárez, along the Rio Grande near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The images show what the group describes as a hairless, reptilian-looking creature with a long tail and elongated limbs.
The team says it has documented or received reports of three sightings since July. In the latest images, the creature appears to climb a brick wall and descend a tree.
Researchers working with Maussan estimated it measured about 1.8 meters (nearly 6 feet), including a tail they said was about 90 centimeters (3 feet) long. However, their estimates were reportedly based on the comparative size of the wall in the video.
Maussan has called the being “El Ser del Valle de Juárez” — the Creature of the Juárez Valley. His team has linked it to reports of dead chickens, rabbits, roosters and other animals, including two horses in the Samalayuca area.
He compared it to “El Ser de Metepec,” a purported alien creature said to have been caught in a rat trap near Toluca in 2007 — and later identified as a taxidermy-altered squirrel monkey.
All of this has revived talk of the chupacabra, a folkloric creature blamed for attacking animals, especially livestock. The name means “goat sucker” in Spanish, although no scientific evidence has established the existence of such a being.
Maussan also floated the unsupported possibility that the being in the footage is an interdimensional being.
In one of his frequent public appearances last March, Maussan teamed with technology researcher Rodolfo Garrido to present the so-called Buga Sphere, the embedded fiber optics in which the two consider beyond human technology, leading them to conclude the sphere was manufactured by aliens. (Camila Ayala Benabib / Cuartoscuro.com)
“It’s a predator,” he told NetNoticias.Mx, according to the El Paso Times. “I’m not saying it’s extraterrestrial, but it is something scary.”
However, publicly available evidence so far consists only of blurry video, photos and unidentified witness accounts. No carcass, DNA sample or other biological evidence has been released for independent examination.
Juárez Civil Protection director Sergio Rodríguez said his agency had received no official reports or evidence of a mysterious animal attacking livestock or pets in the valley. The department’s recent responses in the area have been related to rain damage, not animal attacks.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office told the El Paso Times it had received no reports on the Texas side of the border involving unusual farm-animal deaths or sightings of a strange creature.
Maussan, a journalist and self-described ufologist, has spent decades promoting UFO and paranormal claims. His fame in Mexico is such that Mexican pop star Belinda enlisted him this week for a mock emergency broadcast from a “spaceship” to announce that her annual Beliween Halloween party will have an extraterrestrial theme this year.
In 2023, he appeared twice before the lower house of Mexico’s Congress, the Chamber of Deputies, with mummified remains he claimed were nonhuman. Experts challenged the extraterrestrial claim, pointing to studies of similar specimens that found assembled human and animal remains.
As the U.S. decouples from China, Mexico faces a chance to capture the investment that follows, AmCham's CEO argues. (Shutterstock)
In the last couple of months, I had the great opportunity to moderate three conversations about trade in international forums. The first was with Kate Kalutkiewicz, who served as Special Assistant to President Donald Trump and Senior Director for International Trade at the National Economic Council. The second, with Daniel Watson, who until very recently was Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere (USTR). The third, with Michael Pettis, professor at Peking University and co-author of the well-known book Trade Wars Are Class Wars.
I won’t disclose what any of them said specifically. I will, however, share some of the ideas we discussed and my conclusions in the following lines.
AmCham CEO Pedro Casas participates in a fireside chat with Michael Pettis, during the AmCham’s October 2026 Economic Forum in Mexico City. (Courtesy photo)
Let me start with a few “stylized facts”. First, the new era in trade policy is built on economic security. The free movement of goods and services is no longer the guiding principle.
The easiest way to understand this new dynamic is as a managed trade system that limits non-aligned countries (read: enemies) from accessing the supply chains of critical industries and favors local production, or at least production among allies, of those goods and services.
In plain English: separating as much as physically possible from China and its allies, and from their exports of steel, aluminum, critical minerals, energy, vehicles, and technology, while bringing that production back to the neighborhood.
Which leads me to the second stylized fact: China is the enemy of the United States. Every conversation about trade comes down to how, when, and who is going to decouple from China, and what they can do to support re-industrialization and job creation in the United States. That is, of course, if your interest is to stay close to the Americans.
The third and last one is tariffs. They’re not the answer. Tariffs on countries such as Mexico and Canada have the immediate effect of increasing the overall deficit the United States absorbs. They have even become unpopular among American voters and will most likely play a significant role against Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. As a tool to reach the first two objectives, economic security and decoupling from China, tariffs are, besides being erratic, a misguided policy.
China and the opportunities ahead
When we look at the numbers, China isn’t as strong as some might think. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is above 300%, and debt continues to grow at more than 10% per year. Its unemployment rate is in the double digits (the exact number is hard to know), wages are suppressed, productivity is artificially boosted by subsidies, and the country lacks the capacity to consume what it produces. So the excess supply gets shipped at very low prices all over the world. That’s basically their growth model. But when the biggest consumer market in the world and its allies are looking for ways not to buy China’s excess production, the conditions for a collapse get closer, and fast.
This is a serious threat to China and to the world’s economy. We’ve all relied on this system for the past three decades. The sirens are on, and it’s up to the rest of us to get ready.
So, how do we get ready?
Each country has to do its part, and there are two sides to it: one international and another national.
On the international front, it’s about picking sides and coordinating. This is not a party where two superpowers “fight” while the rest of the world sits and watches. Everyone plays a part. This is a continental battle. The U.S. and its allies should present a united front to bring the production of semiconductors, medical devices, drugs, critical minerals, energy, data centers, ships, and vehicles back to “safe harbor.” Just to state the obvious: the opposite is happening.
At the national level, at least in Mexico, the opportunity is to be ready for the hit. Let me put it less dramatically and more as an opportunity. When China collapses, if it does and as it does (it won’t be overnight), Mexico should have the installed capacity to absorb part of the production China will no longer be able to deliver. Mexico must focus on domestic policies that would enable it to welcome a tsunami of investment: sufficient energy, first-class infrastructure, a trained workforce, and a seamless, trustworthy bureaucracy.
The United States should match this with its own industrial policy, ideally twinned with or planned alongside Mexico and its other allies. That way, those policies get reinforced and multiplied with resources from its partners.
I’ll say it one more time: you don’t win a trade war alone, and even less by beating your allies and friends. The way forward is together, or it simply isn’t.
Pedro Casas Alatriste is the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AmCham). Previously, he has been the Director of Research and Public Policy at the US-Mexico Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the Coordinator of International Affairs at the Business Coordinating Council (CCE). He has also served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank. Follow his Substack here.
The new parks comprise a total surface area of 4.6 million square meters, with the capacity to house approximately 175 companies. The latest 20 parks have the potential to create 32,127 jobs. Half of them are in the northern states of Coahuila and Nuevo León. (Shutterstock)
Less than two years after its launch, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Plan México has delivered 40% of the 100 industrial parks projected in the economic and industrial strategy’s six-year blueprint.
Alongside representatives of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP) at the National Palace on Thursday, Sheinbaum announced the delivery of 20 new industrial parks, with a reported investment of between US $670 million and US $763 million.
Among those standing with President Sheinbaum at the announcement of the new industrial parks is David O’Donnell, president of the Board of Directors of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks, who said that such parks are a key part of the infrastructure that makes it possible to attract capital, strengthen supply chains and connect workers, suppliers, universities and communities. (Carlos Ramos Mamahua / Presidencia)
This brings to 40 the total number of these factory districts completed since Plan México was launched in January 2025.
The new developments are located in eight federal entities (the states of Baja California, Coahuila, Nuevo León, México state, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato and Querétaro, along with Mexico City) and 17 municipalities.
The new industrial projects are distributed in four strategic corridors, with a greater concentration on the northern border and the region linked to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport located outside of Mexico City. Ten of the new properties are located in Coahuila and Nuevo León.
The new parks comprise a total surface area of 4.6 million square meters, with the capacity to house approximately 175 companies. President Sheinbaum said the new projects hold the potential of creating 32,127 jobs.
David O’Donnell, president of the AMPIP Board of Directors, said the industrial parks are a key part of the infrastructure that makes it possible to attract capital, strengthen supply chains and connect workers, suppliers, universities, communities and markets.
“Mexico’s industrial base is a great strategic asset for the country,” he said, adding that the country’s geographic location, talent and manufacturing experience allow it to participate in global value chains.
The new parks — all 20 of which already have companies installed and in operation — will house industrial activity in key markets such as electronics, medical devices, logistics and e-commerce, sectors that have been expanding in Mexico.
O’Donnell said the AMPIP and its associates will have invested US $4.6 billion this year in the development of industrial infrastructure.
The investments are expected to increase Mexico’s competitiveness, as well as boost formal employment, training, security and development opportunities for families.
“We believe that industrial growth should translate into well-being for Mexican families and opportunities for young people,” he said.
With this second delivery, AMPIP now has 40 industrial parks in operation, developed by 26 industrial real estate companies and distributed across 14 states.
Together, they represent an investment of over US $1.4 billion and more than 8.2 million square meters of industrial infrastructure.
After a multi-year delay, Uber has begun operating in the Quintana Roo tourist destinations of Tulum and Playa del Carmen. (Shutterstock)
Uber has begun offering rides in Tulum and Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, expanding its operation in the state beyond Cancún and Chetumal.
According to reports from news outlets Uno TV and Excelsior, the ride-hailing app began operations on Oct. 20, offering introductory promotions including rides at zero cost.
Playa del Carmen visitors and locals now have a choice between a variety of transportation services, including rideshare apps like Uber and DiDi, as well as traditional taxis. Pictured: Punta Esmeralda beach in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. (Shutterstock)
The company’s website confirms that rides can now be booked via its app.
Uber’s arrival occurs amid dissatisfaction with the costs of traditional transport in Tulum and Playa del Carmen.
In Tulum, a merchant named Mauricio Morales told Uno TV that he viewed the competition as a positive development, noting that the apps offer an affordable alternative to taxis. He said a 10-minute taxi ride from town center to the archaeological site ranges between 150 and 200 pesos (US $8 and about $10.70). Meanwhile, apps like DiDi — which was already operating in the area along with inDrive and Itaxi — charged between 60 and 80 pesos (US $3 and $4).
Among traditional transport operators, however, the reaction was different.
Brigadier Hernández, a taxi driver with the “Tiburones del Caribe” union in Tulum, told newspaper Excélsior that the sector is struggling due to a lack of passengers and warned that new platforms could further diminish their work opportunities. The driver recounted that on the day of the interview, he had gone about an hour without securing a fare.
His concern highlights the contrast between the expectations of users — who seek to pay less — and those of workers who rely on every single trip to sustain their income.
Reports also revealed that the company is preparing to expand into Tulum and Playa del Carmen with Uber Taxi, which connects app users to tradtional taxis, and the ultra-low-cost Uber Moto, where users can hop on the back of a driver’s motorcycle. The combination of services would replicate the model that is already in place in Cancún, as well as in cities like New York and Paris.
The ride-hailing company has already opened driver registration for both options, El Heraldo de México reported.
Some departed souls returning for Mexico’s annual Día de Muertos celebrations have expressed a desire to see more diverse culinary offerings, per a recent trans-dimensional survey. (This image was generated using AI tools)
Ancestral spirits traveling across the spiritual plane for Mexico’s annual Día de Muertos celebrations expressed growing fatigue Thursday with the repetitive selection of altar items, requesting that surviving relatives consider modernizing their ofrendas for the upcoming holiday.
According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Trans-dimensional Cultural Ministry, over 78% of visiting souls reported that while they appreciate the sentiment of marigolds, water and salt, three consecutive centuries of pan de muerto and cold tamales have left the spirit realm desiring more culinary variety.
Although many still appreciate tamales and pulque, more recently deceased spirits are increasingly asking for items like avocado toast and Wi-Fi passwords. (This image was generated using AI tools)
“Look, I love my great-great-granddaughter, and the copal incense smells lovely, but I died in 1994, not the Middle Ages,” said former Oaxaca resident Héctor Morales, speaking through a spiritual medium in Mexico City. “Every November 2, I make a 12-hour journey across the void only to find the exact same clay bowl of mole and a bottle of cheap tequila. Just once, I’d like to cross over and find a sparkling water and some avocado toast.”
The study noted that while traditional symbolism — such as papel picado representing wind and candles lighting the pathway — remains popular among older generations of the deceased, spirits who passed away in recent decades are requesting items that reflect their actual earthly habits.
“My family still puts out a pack of unfiltered cigarettes and a glass of warm pulque every single year,” said Sofia Reyes, who passed away in Guadalajara in 2011. “I spent the last years of my life drinking oat milk lattes and listening to podcasts. If they really want to honor my memory, they can leave some Starbucks coffee and an active Wi-Fi password on the second tier of the altar.”
Cultural historians observe that the mismatch stems from a misinterpretation among the living, who often view ofrenda guidelines as rigid doctrine rather than dynamic personal tributes. This has led to widespread spiritual dissatisfaction regarding what are often perceived as outdated mementos.
“Tradition is vital, but we are seeing a clear structural divide between living expectations and deceased preferences,” said Dr. Elena Vasquez, a researcher in folkloric logistics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “The living treat the altar as a museum exhibit, while the dead view it as a room service menu.”
As the holiday approaches, municipal authorities have advised families to consider minor adjustments to their customary setups, suggesting that an occasional craft beer or artisanal pastry placed beside the traditional sugar skulls could significantly improve spirit satisfaction scores across the country.
Last year at this time, 7.5% of Mexican territory was suffering from moderate to severe drought conditions while this year it's 12.7%. That's almost a 70% increase year-over-year. (Adolfo Vladimir / Cuartoscuro.com)
Despite above-average rainfall in much of the country during the first half of October 2026, the overall area affected by moderate to severe drought increased compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to Mexican Drought Monitor data through Oct. 15, a dry spell has impacted Mexico’s southeast and just over 35% of the country’s territory registered abnormally dry conditions (tagged as “D0”), moderate drought (D1) or severe drought (D2). A small area in northeasternmost Mexico is experiencing extreme drought (D3).
The Monitor did in fact report that recent rains helped reduce the affected areas in some “abnormally dry areas and areas with moderate to extreme drought in portions of the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas,” particularly in Tamaulipas where the elimination of extreme drought was notable.
It attributed the above-average rainfall during the first half of October to the steady arrival of low pressure troughs and monsoon troughs. Additionally, the influence of Hurricane Simon and Hurricane Trudy in the Pacific and Tropical Storm (later Hurricane) Isaias in the Gulf of Mexico was significant.
However, the rains were “not enough to reverse the accumulated precipitation deficits from previous months in the south and southeast.”
In the state of Tabasco, 56.1% of the surface area registered moderate drought and another 19.3% is suffering from severe drought, while 35.9% of the state of Chiapas registered moderate drought and 8.4% is seeing severe drought.
In Guerrero, 15.9% of the state experienced moderate drought and 2.1% severe drought, whereas in Oaxaca, the proportions were 17.5% and 4.8%, respectively.
The Monitor also reported below-average rainfall in the east and in specific areas of the northwest.
The data for the first half of October showed slight improvement when compared to the second half of September. September ended with 64.6% of Mexico’s territory free from drought and by Oct. 15 that figure had inched upto 64.9%.
But using year-on-year comparison, the moderate to severe drought categories — D1 to D2 — that covered 12.7% of the national territory as of this October 15 represented an increase of 5.2 percentage points compared to the 7.5% reported on Oct. 15, 2025. The affected proportion was almost 70% higher than a year earlier, the Monitor said.
The conditions are in keeping with the projections that the El Niño phenomenon would produce increased temperatures in northern regions of the country in September and increased oceanic heat content in the Mexican Pacific between September and December.
President Sheinbaum used her Friday presser to respond recent comments by Chihuahua Gov. Maru Campos. (Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
🗯️ Sheinbaum recounts tense conversation with Chihuahua governor: The president said she met last month with Governor Maru Campos, and that both raised their voices. Their talk focused on the alleged participation of CIA agents in an April drug lab raid in Chihuahua that the Mexican government did not authorize. Sheinbaum said Campos asked why she had accused her of treason. She replied that she hadn’t, but that an investigation must determine why foreign agents entered Mexico without complying with the National Security Law. Sheinbaum said Campos blamed her ex-attorney general, César Jáuregui, who was arrested last week on state and federal charges including treason.
🛡️ Sheinbaum defends Morena president against Campos’ allegations: Sheinbaum said Campos accused Morena president Ariadna Montiel of having “links to drug trafficking.” The president said she told the governor to present proof if she has it, and noted she hasn’t yet done so. Sheinbaum called Montiel “an honest woman who leads Morena very well.”
🗳️🔍 Sheinbaum says there must be “no hint of corruption” at INE: Responding to a reporter’s question about National Electoral Institute (INE) president Guadalupe Taddei, Sheinbaum expressed support for audits of the electoral authority. Media reports say Taddei has a close personal relationship with businessman José Alfredo Hernández Casillas, whose family’s companies have received lucrative INE contracts.
Why today’s mañanera matters
At her Friday morning press conference, President Sheinbaum disclosed details of a private conversation she had with Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos last month.
Sheinbaum revealed that a key focus of their conversation was one of the biggest news stories of the year in Mexico — CIA agents’ alleged participation in a drug lab raid that took place in Chihuahua in April without the Mexican government’s knowledge or authorization.
Governor Maru Campos met with President Sheinbaum in September to discuss her government’s allegedly illegal involvement with the CIA. (Cuartoscuro)
The president’s remarks about the conversation came almost a week after the former attorney general of Chihuahua, César Jáuregui, was arrested on state and federal charges, including treason, related to the CIA’s alleged participation in the anti-narcotics operation.
Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s response to a controversy involving National Electoral Institute president Guadalupe Taddei and her ties to a businessman linked to companies that were awarded lucrative contracts by the electoral authority.
Sheinbaum recounts heated conversation with Governor Campos
In the interview, Campos said she and the president “yelled at each other for 10 minutes. She also accused Morena president Ariadna Montiel of drug trafficking ties.
Sheinbaum confirmed that she met with Governor Campos last month at the Ciudad Juárez International Airport.
“She began the conversation by complaining to me,” she said before noting that both she and Campos raised their voices during their discussion.
Sheinbaum said that the governor asked her why she had accused her of treason.
“I told her I didn’t, I told her that an investigation must be conducted into why foreign agents entered Mexico without permission and without complying with the National Security Law,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that Campos denied that she had authorized the entry of CIA agents to Chihuahua.
“She told me, ‘It wasn’t me, it was my ex-attorney general,'” the president said.
Las impactantes declaraciones de la gobernadora Maru Campos en la entrevista que le hice esta noche en @latinus_us :
⏺️La presidenta y yo nos gritamos durante diez minutos en nuestra reunión de hace un mes. No hay pacto con la presidenta.
⏺️La presidenta me acusó de estropear su relación con Estados Unidos y de meter a agentes americanos a México
⏺️A gritos, le dije a la presidenta que Ariadna Montiel estaba vinculada con el narco. Y ella me respondió que la que estaba vinculada con el narco era yo.
⏺️ No voy a entregar el estado a Morena. No voy a ser embajadora. El PAN va arriba 6 puntos en la contienda por la gubernatura.
⏺️ Estados Unidos le quitó la visa al fiscal chihuahuense Guillermo Arturo Zuany.
Sheinbaum said that Campos also told her that authorities in Chihuahua had detected “corruption that the ex-attorney general had committed.”
“She told me the ex-attorney general has casinos,” she added without providing details about how his ownership of such establishments was related to acts of corruption he allegedly committed.
Sheinbaum said she told Campos that law enforcement authorities must take action against Jáuregui just as they do when they detect illegal acts committed by any other person.
She also said she facilitated a meeting between Campos and federal Attorney General Ernestina Godoy.
“The attorney general can say what the governor of Chihuahua told her,” Sheinbaum said.
“Based on what the attorney general tells me, she told her exactly the same thing” — that Jáuregui authorized the entry of CIA agents to Chihuahua and that authorities in the northern state had detected “acts of corruption” allegedly committed by him.
Sheinbaum defends Morena president after Campos alleges she has organized crime links
Ariadna Montiel, president of the Morena party. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
During her conversation with Campos, the president said she asked the governor about her description of the federal government as a “government of death” due to its alleged failure to adequately combat violence and protect citizens, including public officials who have been murdered.
“I asked her, what is that?” Sheinbaum said, adding that a “moment of tension” ensued.
Sheinbaum: ‘There must be no hint of corruption at the INE’
A reporter asked Sheinbaum about the controversy involving the president of the National Electoral Institute (INE), Guadalupe Taddei.
According to recent media reports, Taddei has a close personal relationship with a businessman whose family’s companies have received lucrative INE contracts. That businessman, José Alfredo Hernández Casillas, is under investigation by the federal government’s Financial Intelligence Unit “for fraudulent practices,” the newspaper Reforma reported.
In response to the reporter’s question, Sheinbaum said:
“There must be no hint of corruption at the INE, that’s what I think.”
Sheinbaum expressed her support for audits of the INE before declaring that “there mustn’t be any hint of corruption anywhere in the country.”
This building on Del Pueblito in Centro is decorated with cempasúchil (marigolds) to celebrate Día de Muertos. (Cathy Siegner)
Hotel projects are in the news once again in San Miguel de Allende, along with a federal bypass safety warning, more local restaurant changes and an update on a controversial golf course proposal. Find all the details below.
Hotel project fined following noise complaints
Construction of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on El Cardo in Centro was temporarily halted after neighbors complained about late-night noise from the operation of heavy machinery. The work was reportedly allowed to continue after a fine of about 100,000 pesos (US $5,361) was paid to the city.
A neighbor confirmed there had been a lot of after-hours disruption from the project, which is going in at the site of a former parking lot. Work has been occurring there since shortly after the announcement in December 2022 that it would be a Waldorf Astoria with 120 rooms and 24 residences.
The Waldorf Astoria hotel project on El Cardo was recently fined after neighbors filed noise complaints. (Cathy Siegner)
The hotel is scheduled to open in about a year, after the date was pushed back from October 2025. It will be the company’s third property in Mexico. The others are in Cancún and Cabo San Lucas. Owned by Peakair Group, the hotel is being developed by Mexico City-based Skyplus Developments Corp. and will be managed by Hilton.
Bypass lane configuration draws federal safety warning
Municipal modifications to the José Manuel Zavala bypass near El Caracol have prompted federal transportation officials to issue a safety warning due to hazard potential. Officials from the Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation Ministry said the current layout doesn’t meet the original project standards, and that the changed design limits maneuvering space and could cause turning problems for heavy vehicles and freight trucks.
Changes to the Jose Manuel Zavala bypass have prompted a dispute between federal transportation officials and the municipal government. (Google Maps)
They plan to restore the original design with two uphill lanes and one downhill lane. However, they said that layout was modified by the city with painted pavement signs and concrete safety barriers instead of widening the road itself. Reports state that federal and municipal officials are working to resolve the issues.
Local restaurant scene serves up more changes
Cafe Rama at Nemesio Diez 7 in Centro has a new owner and has apparently rebranded as simply Rama. (Cafe Rama)
Café Rama, a restaurant, bar and venue for music and other events at Calle Nemesio Diez 7 in Centro, has a new owner. Jon Heintschel, who has a marketing background in Los Angeles, has taken over from long-time owner Cheryl Finnegan. According to the restaurant’s website, this new chapter will involve “renewing the space, refreshing the menu and bringing new energy to the bar and dining experience.” The site uses the name Rama, rather than Café Rama.
This is a preview of how the former Cafe Rama will look. (Cafe Rama)
The former Vivali restaurant at Hernández Macías 66 across from Bellas Artes is available. Vivali suddenly closed about a year ago without any explanation. Meanwhile, Mi Vida, another Italian restaurant just down the street at Hernández Macías 97, has also closed, but that space doesn’t appear to be for rent. Ten Ten Pie al Carbon, which operated for many years at Stirling Dickinson 5 in the San Antonio neighborhood, remains closed, and word is the site will no longer be used for retail purposes.
Hotel holds grand reopening after 3-year remodel
After a three-year remodel, the La Puertecita Boutique Hotel is holding a grand reopening. (La Puertecita Boutique Hotel)
La Puertecita Boutique Hotel at Prolongación Santo Domingo 75, adjacent to the Atascadero neighborhood, is holding a grand reopening this month after three years of remodeling, including new restaurant and bar spaces. The hotel was built in 1990 and is said to be the first boutique hotel of its kind in San Miguel. It had been listed for sale in previous years but appears to have been given new life with this extensive remodel.
Update on proposed golf course near El Charco
The online petition opposing construction of a golf course near the El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden continues to attract support two months after it first appeared. As of Oct. 22, the petition had more than 92,000 verified signatures and 356 comments. Signers are concerned about threats to the environment and water supply, and are advocating for preserving wildlife habitat and green spaces.
EL Charco del Ingenio is a botanical garden and nature preserve on the northeastern edge of San Miguel. (Festival de las Artes San Miguel de Allende)
Although state and local officials have said the project would need to comply with the law and currently lacks authorization, El Charco management recently said there’s no guarantee a permit won’t be issued in the future. In its October newsletter, El Charco also said the project as envisioned is more than a golf course, but a “real estate undertaking of vast proportions” that would include luxury residential zones, vineyards and commercial areas organized as a gated community on land meant for ecological preservation. The proposal emerged about a year ago with the backing of Lorena Ochoa, a World Golf Hall of Famer.El Charco has said the golf course would be in “the worst imaginable location” on a large rural tract of land directly bordering the botanical garden. San Miguel currently has three golf courses: two 18-hole courses (Malanquin and Las Ventanas) and one nine-hole option (Zirandaro). Cathy Siegner is an independent journalist based in San Miguel and Montana. She has journalism degrees from the University of Oregon and Northwestern University.
Dog walkers and pet sitters have a lucrative business in Mexico City — but face challenges other independent workers in the capital don’t deal with. This is their story. (María José Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Haydé has a busy schedule. At 37, she teaches yoga and works remotely for a marketing company. Recently, however, she discovered a new self — “La Wera de los Gatos,” or “The Blonde Cat Lady” — her alter ego as a pet sitter in Mexico City.
After working in audiovisual production for years, Haydé lost her job and “had to learn to regroup,” she tells Mexico News Daily.
That was when she turned to pet sitting to supplement her income.
Just like Haydé, dozens of other freelancers in Mexico City are turning to pet sitting as a steady source of income. (Iván Stephens/Cuartoscuro)
A very busy schedule
On any given day, Haydé can visit upwards of seven homes, meaning she now has to juggle her daily yoga instruction with pet care and her marketing work.
An average morning begins with two yoga classes. By 8 a.m., she’s off to feed and care for Tamago and Spock. Then come Selina and Trixie, followed by Beast, and finally, at 4 p.m., Botas and Bigotes.
Visits last about an hour each. In addition to feeding the animals and changing their water bowls, Haydé says she plays with them and talks to them “in silly voices, so it’s easier for them to warm up to me.”
Some, meanwhile, need medication, which also falls within Haydé’s job description.
The economics of pet sitting
Since Haydé relies on public transit, her rates change depending on the commute.
In theCondesa andRoma neighborhoods — which are closer to her home — rates start at 300 pesos per visit (US $16). If the location is further away, the price goes up a bit.
Either way, it’s similar to what someone pays for an average yoga class.
A dog walk runs the same flat 300-peso rate. However, unlike other dog walkers, who sometimes take out as many as 12 pups at once, Haydé prefers to provide a personalized approach.
“My friends tell me I’m like an ‘Uber Premium’ service,” she says with a laugh.
Although there are multi-pet services in Mexico City, in which dog walkers can manage about 12 dogs at once, some people prefer more personalized care for their pets. (María José Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Capital residents can find dog walkers for as little as 80 pesos (US $4.50) per animal — like the one who looks after Miroslava’s dogs. She also teaches yoga and needs help with her three medium-sized pooches.
The individual cost might not seem significant, but “when the days add up, it really takes a toll,” Miroslava says.
For Haydé, although her clients fluctuate throughout the year, she says the work provides a solid financial foundation.
The new hydras of Mexico City
Given her build and physical capacity, Haydé considers it irresponsible — and even dangerous — to walk more than two dogs at a time.
However, it is common to see dog walkers in the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods handling a dozen dogs at once — chihuahuas, rottweilers and labradors, all linked by one (or several) leashes, as if they were the new mythical hydras of Mexico City.
For her own safety and peace of mind, not to mention that of her clients, Haydé usually makes a free visit to meet the animals and see where they live. Families show her the pets’ favorite toys, explain how to administer medication, and point out escape routes in case of an earthquake — since Mexico City is certainly prone to them.
Due to lack of time and packed schedules, people are hiring these private services to better the lives of their pets. (Julio López/Pexels)
Making ends meet in a tough economy
Just like Haydé, dozens of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s have found that pet sitting and dog walking in Mexico City can be a steady source of income, as formal employment in the country is proving more difficult to come by.
Mexico’s unemployment rate has increased this year, reaching 3% in August, according to INEGI, the country’s national statistics agency. That’s nearly 2 million people who are without a job.
Similarly, 7% of the population is underemployed — or working, but not full-time — amounting to some 4.3 million people.
In other words, it’s not a matter of simply being unemployed, but rather having a job with enough hours. With limited formal, regulated employment opportunities, people are looking for ways to supplement their income.
Consequently, more and more people are turning to a growing market that, until recently, went untapped in Mexico City’s traditional, upscale neighborhoods.
Capitalizing on Mexico’s pet ownership boom
It’s safe to say Mexico preserves a family-first culture.
Family, of course, includes our pets, who are undeniably important members of our homes and emotional support networks. At the same time, however, the traditional family in Mexico is changing.
INEGI notes that 7 out of 10 Mexican households own a cat or a dog. Even the term “pet” has been tossed out in favor of the more familial “companion animal.”
Economically, this translates to a notable increase in family spending on pet food, which has grown by 61% in recent years and now outpaces the amount of money spent on diapers, per Latinometrics.
This tendency correlates with Mexico’s recent decline in childbirths, reflecting the growing number of couples who are choosing to raise a pet instead of a child.
Finding work with Mexico City’s furry residents
However profitable this gig work might be, a mere 53 dog walkers are certified by Mexico City’s official Animal Care Agency (Agatan), largely owing to delays in the certification process and minimal awareness of the government-sanctioned option.
Outside Agatan, however, thousands of dog walkers work independently. Some register on digital platforms such as Cuida Mi Mascota or Petme, while others simply operate daily in the capital’s parks and neighborhoods.
These platforms often charge surprisingly low fees and offer other pet care services. However, for people like Haydé, they’re not all that convenient: she prefers to work on her own and avoid promotion fees.
Her business — like many other dog walkers in the capital — runs on word-of-mouth, she tells me.
“Sometimes I pop up in Facebook groups. I’m not sure how, but that’s exactly how a Colombian woman with a kitten found me.”
What’s more, the marketing basically sells itself, Haydé says. Most families love it when she sends them photos of their pets, which in turn keeps her Instagram active and “builds trust with other clients.”
A demanding but rewarding job
While spending your days with adorable cats and dogs might seem like a walk in the park, literally, it’s not all sunshine and roses.
“It’s a demanding job,” Haydé says. “Especially because I have to travel around so much. Plus, it’s work that doesn’t come with insurance. Nobody talks about that.”
When she was bitten by a cat and ended up in the emergency room, Haydé says, “The owner offered to pay for my medication.” She declined the first time around, but when it happened a second time, Haydé says she allowed her client to pay for the antibiotics.
Despite the occasional scratches and the inevitable blanket of dog hair covering her clothes, Haydé has grown very fond of the pets she visits. She knows them by name, knows where they like to hide and what time they take their naps. If that weren’t enough, she adds, the job “even helps you meet people.”
“It’s been a great path,” Haydé says with a smile. “Honestly, it’s a really lovely job.”
