Terminal 1 of the country’s busiest airport. (AICM/Twitter)
SICT is currently preparing a decree outlining the details of the handover of control of AICM to the navy. The transfer of control will officially take place 60 days after the publication of the decree in the federal government’s official gazette, which is expected to happen in the coming days.
“The Ministry of the Navy will be in charge of the Mexico City airport,” López Obrador told reporters at his morning press conference.
He noted that the navy is already in charge of security at AICM and asserted that it has a done a “very good job.”
“… There is no theft of suitcases as happened before, and care is taken so that contraband doesn’t come in, so that drugs don’t come in,” López Obrador said.
A marine supervises airport staff at a screening area. (Semar)
He asserted that the AICM was controlled by drug traffickers while previous governments were in office and Mexico was a “narco-state.”
López Obrador also announced that the navy will take control of the airports in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche; Ciudad Obregón, Sonora; and Guaymas, Sonora.
He noted that the Defense Ministry – the army – will have responsibility for the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), which opened at a location north of the capital in March 2022; the airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo, that is currently under construction; and the airports in Campeche, Puebla and the Tamaulipas border city of Nuevo Laredo.
AICM general director Carlos Velázquez Tiscareño, a former navy pilot and vice-admiral, said Tuesday that the airport will benefit from navy control in a range of ways.
There will be “greater security, certainty, adherence to rules, order and discipline,” he told reporters at an International Air Transport Association event in Mexico City.
The current government has used the military for a wide range of non-traditional tasks including public security, the construction of major infrastructure projects including AIFA and the administration of ports and customs.
Aviation sector expert Rosario Avilés said that the military should be focused on national security rather than the management of airports.
“The armed forces have a mission to fulfill in security, but their efforts are being distracted by managing infrastructure and building hotels, and that’s not their role,” she said.
As industry and manufacturing expand with nearshoring, some wonder if it will adversely affect Mexico's water supply.(Shutterstock)
It’s hard for me not to be excited about the nearshoring boom that is happening in Mexico. Significant investments in new facilities and existing plant expansions are pouring in from companies from around the globe – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, India, the U.S., Canada and China.
I recently wrote about my perspective on nearshoring through previous experiences with the impact of NAFTA on this economy. Most of the investment is concentrated in Mexico’s northern states, closest to the U.S. border, and others are focused on the central “El Bajío” region. All of these states have something in common, aside from being manufacturing hubs – they have dry climates and are water-stressed regions.
Low levels of rainfall across Mexico have caused drought in many states, including in Campeche (seen here). (Michael Balam/Cuartoscuro)
How can such significant investment in industry and manufacturing, along with the massive amounts of new people moving to these areas, not create major water issues? President López Obrador even said Tesla should consider building its new factory not in Monterrey, but in the southern part of the country, “where water is plentiful.”
I have worked in the water business globally – including in Mexico and Latin America – for over 15 years. I do not consider myself a water expert, but given my years of experience in the region and in the business of solving industrial water problems, I have some perspective on assessing the risks and concerns related to water in relation to increased nearshoring development.
First of all, it’s important to remember how water is used. Although it varies by country, state and city, the general mix of water usage globally tends to be ~70% agriculture, ~20% industry and ~10% domestic.
Most people are shocked when they first hear these statistics, as they tend to assume higher amounts for industry and domestic use. Nearshoring will most impact the 20% related to industrial use, and with an influx of new residents into some municipalities, the 10% related to domestic usage will be affected as well.
Automotive manufacturing in Mexico. (Courtesy of Entrada Group)
Industry is a very broad category as many different subsegments have different water usage levels. Heavy industry segments like paper and steel mills and power plants use the most water.
That said, even these industries are investing in creative solutions to reduce their water footprint. This past week, Ternium, an Argentine steel company, announced a US $3.2 billion investment in their plant in Nuevo Léon, that will use recycled wastewater in production processes.
Lighter industry segments, like general manufacturing and assembly – the segments most likely to expand with nearshoring – tend to use significantly less water. In many of these facilities, the most significant water use can be in the restrooms or cafeteria for the employees!
Having worked in the water industry with thousands of industrial companies as clients, I have seen firsthand that almost all of these companies have sustainability goals in place in which they constantly strive to use less water and energy each year. Most of these companies share best practices across their facilities globally, even best practices between competitors, to use less water.
Many invest in tools and technologies that better control, monitor, reduce, reuse, and recycle water throughout their facilities because it’s in their best interest to save water. Why? In most parts of Mexico, water is expensive!
Many municipalities or industrial parks charge industrial customers significant amounts for clean water and even more to receive dirty water.
In almost every multinational industrial operation I have seen, long gone are the days when companies just waste water indiscriminately. It just doesn’t make financial or business sense for them to do so.
GDP growth and improved living standards bring increased water usage, that’s a fact anywhere in the world. An increasingly wealthy Mexico most certainly will need more water. Fortunately, there are societal and financial incentives for industry to use less water and there are many technologies that help companies to reduce, reuse, and recycle their water usage. The business case for companies to invest in this technology is quite compelling and in most cases quickly pays for itself.
With the rapidly changing climate and its unpredictability, I don’t think anyone can feel completely comfortable about water these days. It seems like almost everyone is either struggling with too little or too much water at any given time period.
I think that if we as a society continue to prioritize this issue it will pressure industry to invest to use as little water as possible in their operations. It will not be a completely painless process, but I believe the nearshoring boom will not have a significant direct impact on water resources in most regions.
We welcome and encourage letters to the editor to share your perspective and experience – let’s start a conversation on this important topic!
The 2022-23 school year - the first full year back since the COVID-19 pandemic, has been interrupted by heat waves and volcanic ash clouds. Here, pupils in Puebla wear masks after the eruption of Popocatépetl. (Mireya Novo/Cuartoscuro)
On Monday, the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) released its schedule for the upcoming school year. Parents, start planning your vacations for the next year!
The first day of classes will be Aug. 28 and the last will be July 16, 2024.
The 2023-24 school year calendar. (SEP)
The calendar applies to all preschools and primary and secondary schools, both public and private, that are part of the national education system. Developed by SEP and the educational authorities of each federal entity, the school year will comprise 190 days of activities.
Seasoned parents in Mexico’s education system know that the School Technical Council’s sessions take place the last Friday of every month and school activities are canceled on these days. Throughout the 2023-24 cycle, the council will have 8 ordinary sessions.
Major dates for the 2023-2024 school calendar include winter break (December 18-29) and spring break (March 25 – April 5). School will be adjourned on Nov. 2 and 20, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, Feb 5., March 18 and May 1 and 15 to observe official holidays.
Schools will also be closed for students on the “administrative workdays” days when teachers carry out certain administrative activities. In the upcoming academic year, the administrative discharge will happen on November 14, March 15 and July 12.
SEP also shared the pre-registration dates for the 2024-2025 school year for preschool, elementary school and secondary school. These will take place from February 1 to 15, 2024.
Although this year’s school calendar ends on July 26, several northern states, including Sinaloa, Coahuila and Nuevo León have decided to end mandatory classes sooner due to the high temperatures currently affecting the region.
Thieves smashed the windows of a high-end jewelry store in Polanco, escaping on motorcycles. (Screen capture)
One person has been arrested in connection with an audacious robbery of a Mexico City jewelry store in which thieves used sledgehammers and axes to smash windows before making away with luxury watches.
The robbery occurred Monday evening at the Berger jewelry store in Plaza Antara, an upscale shopping center near the affluent Polanco neighborhood.
Mexico City security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch shared a photo of one of the suspected thieves, who was detained last night. (Twitter)
Video posted to social media shows four men participating in the robbery. One apparently armed man stands guard as his accomplices bash at the store’s glass windows.
The thieves, who weren’t confronted by mall security, reportedly stole at least 15 watches before fleeing the shopping center on motorcycles. El Financiero newspaper reported that Berger sells Rolex timepieces worth hundreds of thousands of pesos and Patek Phillipe watches worth as much as 10 million pesos.
Mexico City Security Minister Omar García Harfuch Tweeted Tuesday morning that a suspect was arrested after “several operation actions” were carried out overnight.
“There are still more people to arrest,” he wrote, adding that the crime will not go unpunished and all suspects will be detained. The security minister’s post included a photograph of the detained suspect.
Asalto en Antara: cuatro ladrones roban con mazos una joyería en un centro comercial de Ciudad de México. El espectacular robo se llevó a cabo en Polanco cuando todavía había clientes. No se han registrado heridos, según el alcalde
Video footage of the robbery has gone viral on social media
A similar robbery occurred at the same jewelry store in December 2017. On that occasion, a man in a motorcycle helmet used a sledgehammer to break windows before stealing valuable watches. He was pursued by security guards but managed to escape via the mall’s main entrance before fleeing on a motorcycle with an accomplice.
The town of Candelaria becomes Campeche's third Magical Town. (Francisco Farias/Facebook)
The Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) program has added 45 new towns, Tourism Ministry (Sectur) chief Miguel Torruco Marqués reported on Monday. This makes for a total of 177 designated Pueblos Mágicos in the country.
Located in 25 states, the newly added cities have been recognized for their “natural, cultural and culinary richness.”
The former mining town of Huasca del Ocampo became the first to be designated a Pueblo Mágico in 2001. (Gob. de México)
The initiative, which launched in 2001 to promote tourism as a driver for local economic growth, granted the first designation to the former mining town of Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo. San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, was a Pueblo Mágico from 2002 to 2008, until it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mexcaltitán, Nayarit was stripped of its title in 2009 after failing to uphold conservation standards.
This year’s selection process, which took place between May 8 and June 2, was carried out by a technical evaluation and verification committee. Out of 123 aspiring towns, only 45 met the requirements for the coveted designation.
“This is a very important day for tourism activity in Mexico,” said Miguel Torruco. “The new towns will attract greater tourist flow, increasing the economic revenue, investment and employment rate for the benefit of our local populations.”
Sectur will also continue to promote the “Magic Color Routes” program launched in 2022, to drive the development of Pueblos Mágicos through public art installations.
Representatives of the new Magic Towns were presented with certifications by Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco. (Gob. de México)
Juan Enrique Suárez, president of the Association of Ministries of Tourism, said that the Pueblos Mágicos are a testament that Mexico is more than a beach destination. “Mexico is much more than sun and sand, and these Pueblos Mágicos provide that,” he added.
In the first four months of the year, tourism revenue reached US $10.74 billion from international visitors – 17.5% percent higher than figures reported in 2019 and 17% more than last year.
The new Pueblos Mágicos are listed below by state:
Capital goods include heavy equipment, manufacturing machinery and tools used in industry. (Shutterstock)
As the nearshoring phenomenon grows so too does demand for goods such as manufacturing machinery, tools and heavy equipment.
The value of capital goods imported into Mexico in May exceeded US $5 billion for the first time in a single month.
In response to increased nearshoring or relocation of manufacturing, developers like Fibra Prologis are investing in expanded facilities in Mexico. (Prologis/Twitter)
The national statistics agency INEGI published preliminary data on Tuesday that showed that imports of capital goods increased 24.1% in annual terms to just over $5 billion in May.
Imports of products in that category – which also includes electronic equipment, vehicles, renewable energy equipment and oil rigs – has now increased during 28 consecutive months. All but one of those 28 increases were double-digit ones, the newspaper El Economista reported.
INEGI’s data also shows that imports of capital goods rose 22.2% in the first five months of the year to $22.61 billion.
An increase in orders and shipments of capital goods to Mexico is a sign that companies based here expect demand for their products to grow, El Economista said.
Ternium steel is set to expand its industrial facilities in Pesquería, Nuevo León. (Ternium)
Increased demand for imported heavy equipment could be related to the construction of new manufacturing plants, especially in the Bajío region and northern border states such as Nuevo León, where electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and steelmaker Ternium are among the companies currently undertaking or planning major projects.
Numerous foreign firms from countries including the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, India and China have recently announced investment plans for Mexico.
Manufacturing, as INEGI’s latest export data shows, is a major contributor to the Mexican economy, which grew 3.1% last year and continues expanding in 2023.
Mexico’s total exports increased 5.8% in annual terms last month to reach $52.86 billion, while they rose 4.6% to $240.17 billion in the first five months of the year.
General Motors is one of the leading automakers exporting from Mexico. (General Motors Mexico)
Manufacturing exports contributed to just under 90% of those totals, increasing 9.5% last month to $47.45 billion and 6.9% to $212.87 billion between May and June.
The increase in automotive exports was the driving force behind the strong results.
Automakers with plants in Mexico, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota and Kia, and other auto-sector companies shipped vehicles and parts worth $17.52 billion abroad in May, a 26.3% increase compared to the same month of 2022. Automotive exports increased 15.2% in the first five months of the year to $73.57 billion.
Non-automotive manufacturing exports – a broad category that includes sectors such as aerospace, medical devices and electronics – rose by a much more modest 1.5% in May to $29.93 billion and 3% in the first five months of 2023 to $139.29 billion. Within that category, the value of exports of professional and scientific equipment increased by an impressive 26.8% in May.
Agricultural exports rose by 4.9% to $2.13 billion last month and 4.1% to $10.46 billion between January and May.
The only export categories that declined in May were oil and mining, which fell by 28.2% to $2.73 billion in the former case and 29.8% to $550.1 million in the latter.
Mexico’s oil exports have declined 22.1% from January to May this year, despite increased oil refining. (Refinería Olmeca-Dos Bocas/Facebook)
Exports of oil declined 22.1% in the January-May period, while the value of mining sector shipments was down 0.2%. Although more oil is being refined here as Mexico aims to reach self-sufficiency for fuel, the main reason for the drop in the value of exports is an annual decline in the per-barrel price for Mexican crude.
INEGI data also showed that 83.2% of Mexico’s non-oil export revenue in the first five months of the year came from shipments of goods to the United States, while the remaining 16.8% came from shipments to the rest of the world. Non-oil exports to the U.S. increased 8.3% in that period while those to other countries declined 0.8%.
While total exports increased 5.8% last month and 4.6% in the January-May period, they failed to catch up with the value of imports. Mexico’s trade deficit was $74.1 million in May and $6.38 billion in the first five months of the year. Those figures were 96.7% and 27.6% lower than the deficits recorded in May 2022 and the first five months of that year, respectively.
Mexico’s total exports have been steadily increasing, but the country still has a trade deficit of US $6.38 billion in the first five months of the year. (Depositphotos)
Total imports increased 1.4% to $52.93 billion last month even as oil imports fell by just over 40%. In addition to the annual increases in imports of capital goods last month and in the January-May period, the value of inbound shipments of non-oil consumer goods and non-oil intermediate goods also rose.
Imports of non-oil consumer goods, including food, clothes and homeware, increased 28.5% to $5.99 billion in May and 21.6% to $26.41 billion in the first five months of the year.
Imports of non-oil intermediate goods such as wood and glass rose 3.3% to $37.75 billion last month and 1.6% to $173.24 billion in the January-May period.
Blocks of wood recently discovered during the construction of a new trolleybus line are believed to date back to the early colonial period. (Guillermo Hernández García / INAH)
Seven blocks of wood discovered in Chalco, México state, could be part of a boat that sailed Lake Chalco more than 400 years ago, archaeologists believe.
The blocks were found between the municipalities of Chalco de Díaz Covarrubias and Ixtapaluca, during an archaeological rescue project preceding works on the Chalco-Santa Martha trolleybus, which will connect Chalco to Mexico City via Iztapalapa.
Lake Chalco was one of five interconnected lakes, including Lake Texcoco, that occupied much of the surface of the Valley of Mexico. (Guillermo Hernández García / INAH)
The National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH), which coordinated the project, saidin a statement that the blocks are each one meter long, 25 centimeters thick and between 30 and 40 centimeters wide.
They are curved on the outside, with a less pronounced curve on the inside edge and a straight section at the end. Based on their shape, one hypothesis is that they formed part of a brigantine-type ship that was used on Lake Chalco after the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Brigantines were first used in the Valley of Mexico during the siege of Tenochtitlan, when Tlaxcalan laborers under Spanish direction built 13 of these ships to attack the Mexica capital.
An alternative theory is that the blocks formed part of a dam or bank for docking canoes, called an acalco in Nahuatl. Fragments believed to come from a canoe and a wooden oar were also discovered nearby.
The blocks were found 2.5 meters underneath a building that will house the terminal building for the new trolleybus system. Archaeologists believe the site was once a village on the northeast shore of the ancient Lake Chalco, which was almost entirely drained in the centuries following the Spanish conquest.
The INAH speculates that these fragments probably formed the handle of an oar. (Guillermo Hernández García / INAH)
Ceramic material was also uncovered that suggests the village was occupied in the late Postclassic period (1325-1521 AD) and in the early colonial era.
Archaeologist Hervé Monterrosa Desruelles, who codirected the dig with Ricardo Arredondo Rojas, said all the remains are now in the project’s laboratory in Chalco, where they will undergo conservation and further study in collaboration with the INAH’s National Coordination for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (CNCPC).
The site of the village has been registered and will be covered again to allow construction on the Chalco-Santa Martha trolleybus, which is projected to becompleted in July.
The opposition coalition, including the PAN, PRI and PRD, has formed the "broad front for Mexico" and announced their selection method for a presidential candidate on Monday. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)
The alliance of Mexico’s main opposition parties unveiled on Monday the method it will use to select its 2024 presidential candidate, and said that the winner will be announced Sept. 3.
The National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), which together form the Va por México coalition, will back a single candidate to contest the June 2, 2024 election.
The PAN-PRI-PRD coalition at a June 5 press conference. (Marko Cortés/Twitter)
Six aspirants to the candidacy of the ruling Morena party are already campaigning to become “the coordinator of the defense of the transformation” of Mexico that President López Obrador asserts his government is carrying out. Morena is set to announce its new standard bearer on Sept. 6.
At an event in Mexico City on Monday, the three-party opposition alliance presented a video outlining the process it will use to select “the person responsible for the construction of the Frente Amplio por México” (Broad Front for Mexico), which will also include citizens’ groups, such as those that opposed the government’s recently-invalidated electoral reform laws.
The Frente Amplio will apparently supersede the Va por México brand in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
In an attempt to avoid violating established timeframes for “pre-campaigns” for the presidential election and thus evade sanctions, both Morena and Va por México are using alternative terms to describe the person who will become their presidential candidate.
Alejandro Moreno (center), leader of the PRI, flanked by Marko Cortés (left), PAN president, and Jesús Zambrano (right), PRD president. (Alejandro Moreno/Twitter)
The Va por México video explains that the opposition’s selection process will be carried out in three stages.
In the first stage, which will commence July 4, aspirants to the Va por México candidacy will be required to register their interest with one of the alliance’s three parties.
The registered participants will subsequently be required to collect signatures of support via an “electronic platform” to be set up by Va por México. Those who reach the minimum level of support required – which wasn’t announced Monday but is believed to be 150,000 signatures – will be permitted to advance to the subsequent stage of the selection process.
The presidential hopefuls who reach the second stage will be required to participate in a “great forum” to “discuss and analyze” their vision for Mexico. The aspirants will subsequently be included in “public opinion studies” – polling, in other words – that will determine the three contenders with the greatest support.
The leaders of the three parties at a “meeting with civil society” held on Saturday. (Marko Cortés/Twitter)
The three “finalists” will progress to the third stage, during which five “regional forums” will be held to give the would-be candidates another opportunity to present their ideas and sell themselves to voters.
New public opinion studies will be carried out to gauge support for the three aspirants and the results will be published on Sept. 3.
A “direct” vote in which registered citizens can participate will be held on the same date, with the results to be announced that night.
The results of the third stage public opinion studies and the vote will be given equal weighting to determine the “person responsible for the construction of the Frente Amplio por México.”
The entire process will be run by an “organizing committee” and overseen by a “citizens’ observatory,” according to the video presentation.
“The presidential candidacy will be decided by all Mexicans,” said PAN national president Marko Cortés, perhaps forgetting to use the alternative moniker for the future Frente Amplio leader.
Marko Cortés, national president of the PAN, at the Monday announcement. (Marko Cortés/Twitter)
Among the citizens who have expressed interest in representing the PAN, the PRI and the PRD at the 2024 presidential election are:
Senator Claudia Ruiz Massieu, a former PRI national president and cabinet minister in the 2012–18 government led by Enrique Peña Nieto.
Senator Beatriz Paredes, a former ambassador to Brazil who has also served as PRI national president.
Enrique de la Madrid, tourism minister in the Peña Nieto administration and son of former president Miguel de la Madrid.
José Ángel Gurría, a cabinet minister in the 1994-2000 government led by Ernesto Zedillo and secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development between 2006 and 2021.
Deputy Ildefenso Guajardo, economy minister in the Peña Nieto government.
Deputy Santiago Creel, interior minister in the 2000-2006 government led by Vicente Fox.
Senator Lilly Téllez, who defected from the ruling Morena party to join the PAN’s congressional team in 2020.
Senator Xóchitl Gálvez, a former mayor of the Mexico City borough of Miguel Hidalgo.
Silvano Aureoles, Former governor of Michoacán
Gustavo Hoyos, former head of the Mexican Employers Federation.
Senator Miguel Ángel Mancera, a former mayor of Mexico City.
All those aspirants – bar Mancera – attended the Va por México event, held in a hotel in the capital. Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila announced Sunday that he had decided not to seek the opposition alliance’s candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Former president Vicente Fox and businessman Claudio X. González, a leading figure in the opposition movement, were among the distinguished guests at the event.
Businessman Claudio X. González (left) and former president Vicente Fox (right) were guests at the event. (Daniel Augusto / Cuartoscuro.com)
President López Obrador sought to discredit the opposition’s candidate selection process even before it was officially announced.
The “corrupt, looting oligarchy” led by González is “coming to an agreement” to decide the opposition candidate, he said at his Monday morning press conference after dismissing the selection process as a “sham.”
“… The top magnates are consulted, the conservative political leaders are also consulted. What do [former presidents] Fox, Calderón and Salinas think? They do that consultation then they interact with organic intellectuals, writers, journalists and after that [the candidate] is known,” López Obrador said.
“[The selection process] is a sham, and the conservative bloc candidate, regardless of who it is, … [will] continue with the same classist, racist, discriminatory politics,” he asserted.
Jesús Zambrano, national president of the PRD, assured aspirants that there will be no “simulation” in the selection process, but rather “democratic decisions” taken by citizens.
Most polls suggest that Morena – which was founded by López Obrador – will win a second consecutive term in government at the 2024 elections, at which the federal Congress will also be renewed.
The leading contenders for Morena’s nomination are Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard and Adán Augusto López Hernández, who left their respective positions as Mexico City mayor, foreign affairs minister and interior minister earlier this month to focus on winning the ruling party’s candidacy and defending and building on López Obrador’s political and social legacy.
The national statistics agency INEGI reports that economic activity grew 0.8% from March to April, the best month-on-month growth for over a year. (Shutterstock)
Mexico in April recorded its strongest month-over-month economic growth in more than a year, official data shows.
The national statistics agency INEGI reported Monday that the Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE), which measures gross domestic product on a monthly basis, increased 0.8% in April compared to the previous month.
Economic activity in the primary sector (including agriculture) increased 1.2% from March to April. (Secretaría de Trabajo)
It was the best result since March 2022, following a 0.2% month-over-month contraction in March. The 0.8% growth figure easily exceeded the expectations of analysts from Citibanamex, who forecast a 0.4% month-over-month increase.
Seasonally adjusted figures show that primary sector economic activity increased 1.2% in April compared to March, secondary sector activity grew 0.4% and tertiary sector activity expanded 1%.
The annual increase on the IGAE based on seasonally adjusted figures was 3.3%, INEGI said.
Andrés Abadia, chief Latin America economist at the U.K.-based Pantheon Macroeconomics, attributed the strong economic result in April to a range of factors, including the strength of the labor market, the decline in inflation, the federal government’s welfare spending and the growing nearshoring phenomenon.
A factory in Salinas Victoria, Nuevo León – seen here under construction in 2022 – is part of a wave of nearshoring by manufacturers looking to strategically access the North American market. (Hofusan Industrial Park/Twitter)
“These drivers [of economic growth] have completely offset the impact of tighter financial conditions and the weakening of external demand,” he said.
The publication of the final economic data for April comes a week after INEGI released preliminary figures for May showing month-over-month and annual growth of 0.1% and 2.5%, respectively.
Mexico’s economy grew 3.1% in 2022, while President López Obrador recently asserted that GDP will expand by 4% this year. Earlier this month, the World Bank updated its 2023 growth forecast for the Mexican economy to 2.5%, a significant improvement from the 0.9% prediction it made in January.
Navigating tipping can be difficult anywhere, but in an unfamiliar country, it can be even harder - especially where there is a large informal economy. (Blaser)
The bagger at the grocery store, the man helping you park outside the store, waiters, the porter at the airport who helps with your baggage, the receptionist checking you in at the front desk, the maids cleaning your room every day, the woman in the ladies’ bathroom handing you toilet paper. And there’s that ubiquitous tip jar sitting on counters everywhere.
Who should be tipped? When? How much?
You might see a charge labeled “IVA” on your final bill, which is Mexico’s 16% value-added tax. That goes to the government, not the waitstaff or owner. (Shutterstock)
The tipping landscape has changed so much in recent years that many of us are experiencing what’s been dubbed “tip fatigue.” It seems that everyone wants a tip (propina in Spanish), even without direct or personal service.
Trying to figure it out in another country is even more overwhelming, with a different culture, currency, language and customs. Mexico’s informal, cash-driven economy adds another layer to an already confusing set of expectations—you can’t assume, for instance, that waiters will ever see the tip you add when paying with a credit card (it is better to leave the gratuity in cash if you can.)
Sure, there’s lots of information online—from reputable places like TripAdvisor, Frommer’s, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, etc.—but recommendations differ widely as to what’s proper and expected, and don’t necessarily cover the fine points of tipping in everyday life, like what to tip the baggers at nearly every Mexican grocery store.
Veteran travelers and agencies say a good rule of thumb when traveling is to budget for gratuities as you would in your home country—unless you’ve learned otherwise. That means 15% to 20% in restaurants, where workers rely on tips for a good portion of their take-home pay. (Bartenders should be tipped 10-15% of the entire bill or $20 pesos per drink.) Some countries though, have very different parameters; this world map shows estimated international tipping norms, based on Tripadvisor data, for restaurants, hotels and taxis.
Tipping taxi drivers is not customary in Mexico. (Taxistas Cancún)
Once you arrive at your vacation destination, prioritize getting small bills and change so you’re prepared to tip, in cash, in the local currency. Ask at the front desk; they should be able to help you. Don’t think a gratuity in US or Canadian dollars will be more appreciated; it won’t. In Mexico, foreign coins are useless—there’s no way to exchange them—and if you give bills, by the time someone pays the conversion fees at a casa de cambio for an already-low exchange rate, there’s not much left.
“It’s really about what a person’s time is worth,” explained Jamie Alexander, Business Development Manager at PVPVR Real Estate, one of the largest rental agencies in Puerto Vallarta. “When you’re in a foreign country, x-y-z may not be possible, to know where to go or find these things or communicate properly or get a fair price. Service people are local nationals, and they know what things should cost.”
A host of those service workers—drivers, waiters, bellhops, parking attendants, tour guides, housekeepers, the concierge, drivers—are all helping you enjoy your vacation by taking care of the pesky details you don’t want to deal with, so be prepared and be generous.
“If 15-20% is standard in the U.S. or Canada, why is it that in Mexico—where the wages are a tenth of what they are up north—you would tip less?!” Alexander said. “Tip with your conscience; if anybody deserves a tip on your extravagant meal, it’s the waiter while you’re on vacation in Mexico.”
Tipping by card does not guarantee that your tip will make it to your server – cash is often the best way to say thank you. (Blake Wisz/Unsplash)
For full- or part-time foreign residents, it’s a little different; we’re in this kind of situation daily. Those seniors bagging at the grocery store receive no salary and work for propinas only. How much should they be tipped—whether or not they do a good job? And must you allow them to pack your groceries?
It’s these kinds of gray areas that leave us scratching our heads. In this case, watch what locals do and follow suit or tip a little more just because you can; a few pesos or up to $10 pesos is sufficient.
Here are some other tipping guidelines to consider while in Mexico:
Porters: $20 pesos per bag; more for heavy, unwieldy golf or surf bags.
Bellhops: $20-$50 pesos per bag.
Valet parkers: $20-$50 pesos at drop-off or pickup.
Cab drivers: In Mexico, tipping isn’t customary.
Tour guides: $150-$200 pesos a day per person, above the tour cost.
Small, owner-run business? No need to tip more than you’ve already paid, unless you feel they went above and beyond somehow.
Public restroom attendants: $5 pesos per visit.
Home delivery people (water, groceries, drugstores, Amazon): $5-$10 pesos.
Gas station attendants: In Mexico, these folks clean your windshield, check your tires and fluids, as well as pump your gas. A $10 peso tip says thank you.
Many Mexicans, such as parking attendants, work informal jobs and rely on tips as income. (Chris Havler-Barrett)
Tips for hotel or vacation rental housekeeping should be left each day, as schedules change and it won’t be the same person every time.
“We’re always asked about tipping the maid: “When is too little too little?” said Alexander, who suggests $100-$200 pesos per person per cleaning.
Some types of service are time- and energy-consuming and can’t be easily categorized. Alexander tells stories of vacationers forgetting bathing suits and phone chargers, entailing frantic trips to the mall by a concierge. For that kind of “over the top” specialty service, tip well: You’re sitting by the pool drinking a margarita while they fight traffic and stand in lines. How much are those hours—and headache—worth to you? A tip of $250-$500 pesos would be appropriate.
In an all-inclusive resort, tips are usually built into the price.But if someone has made your stay extra-special, a 10-15% tip will show your appreciation.
“The old adage is true: time is money, time is worth money,” Alexander continued. “How much is your time on vacation worth to you? Would you rather spend 30 minutes in an Uber to get to the mall to buy something, trying to communicate in a language you don’t know? Or would you rather relax on the beach or by the pool and have someone do this errand for you?”
