National Guard troopers adopted Comando as a humanitarian rescue but he turned out to be a valued recruit. (El Observador de Chihuahua/Facebook)
A small dog resembling a Chihuahua has become the newest — and perhaps unlikeliest — face of Mexico’s National Guard, after troopers in the northern border state of Chihuahua adopted him from an elderly couple who could no longer care for him.
The mixed-breed dog, named Comando, has spent the past four months living at the National Guard’s state coordination headquarters in Chihuahua, where he now follows officers’ routines and responds to their orders.
🇲🇽🐕 ¡Mordidas por la patria!: un perro adoptado luce el uniforme de la Guardia Nacional de México
🪖 Su nombre es “Comando”, un cachorro de raza pequeña que se ha convertido en el integrante más querido de la Coordinación Estatal de la Guardia Nacional en Chihuahua (norte),… pic.twitter.com/XHA60Zq9ZA
In videos and photos shared on social media in recent weeks, Comando trots alongside National Guard members in a miniature uniform complete with helmet, sunglasses, booties and a custom shirt.
He even appeared at a recent ceremony marking the National Guard’s seventh anniversary in the state.
Authorities said Comando, whose name is the Spanish spelling for “commando,” originally lived with an elderly couple who “could not provide him with the necessary care” and put him up for adoption.
The National Guard decided to step in — not for an operation, but a rescue of their own.
From there, the dog quickly became “the most beloved and viral member of the Chihuahua National Guard,” according to a report from Sopitas.com, a Mexican digital media outlet.
Officers describe him as one of their most “intelligent and dedicated” elements, the outlet added. They say he adapted immediately to barracks life, enjoys teamwork and has become a kind of emotional support companion for those who patrol and protect the state.
Beyond the novelty of his tiny uniform, Mexican news sources framed Comando’s story as a reminder of the value of responsible pet adoption, as well as the bond between security forces and the animals that work alongside them.
In May 2026 — our third focus month — the MND Economy Index™ scored 68.61. (Mexico News Daily)
THE MND ECONOMY INDEX™
Providing broad insight into the Mexican economy
MND Intelligence · Third edition
Welcome to the third edition of the MND Economy Index™, part of the MND Intelligence™ suite of data products from Mexico News Daily.
The MND Economy Index™ is a 10-pillar, 19-indicator composite index that compiles a broad range of economic data into a single score between 0 and 100, giving Mexico News Daily readers a clear, accessible picture of how the Mexican economy is performing across multiple dimensions.
The inaugural edition of the index — using data mostly from the month of March — was published in late May. The second edition of the index, which yielded a score of 67.55 for the Mexican economy, was published in late June.
In the inaugural MND Economy Index™ article, we not only analyzed the index score — 63.39 out of 100 — but also explained what the index is, why we developed it and how it works. Click here to read (or re-read) those explanations.
In this July edition of the MND Economy Index™ — which uses economic data primarily from the month of May — the index score increased by just over 1 point compared to the second edition to reach 68.61. That score is above the neutral benchmark of 60, but there is still significant room for improvement.
(Mexico News Daily)
Before we look more closely at the latest index result, and the index trend in early 2026, here is a short guide to what the overall index score means.
85–100: Exceptional — the economy performing at a high level across nearly all indicators.
75–84: Strong — broad-based performance with only minor areas of concern.
60–74: Above neutral — meaningful strengths, but with notable room for improvement.
50–59: Mixed — passing marks overall, more indicators above benchmark than below.
Below 50: Broad underperformance — more indicators below benchmark than above.
The MND Economy Index™ trend between February and May
The first two MND Economy Index™ scores we calculated for 2026 — both corresponding to the first quarter of the year — were very similar.
The first index score we calculated for 2026 was 63.69, a number derived mainly from economic data for the month of February. The index score declined slightly to 63.39 based on a calculation using data that was primarily for the month of March.
(Mexico News Daily)
While there was little variation in the index score across those two editions, there were some significant changes in individual pillar scores, including the Inflation one and the Sovereign Risk one (see more details here).
In April, we saw the first significant movement of the year in the overall MND Economy Index™ score. In the space of a month, the score rose 4.16 points to 67.55, a clear indication that the Mexican economy was gaining strength. What was particularly encouraging was that the biggest contributor to the increase was the Economic Growth pillar, as the Mexican economy expanded 2.2% in April compared to just 0.5% in May.
While economic growth moderated to 2% in May, there were encouraging signs in other data related to the Mexican economy for that month, allowing the MND Economy Index™ score to increase for a second consecutive month to approach 70.
The July edition of the MND Economy Index™ (based mainly on May data)
As noted above, the MND Economy Index™ score for this July edition — based mainly on data for May 2026 — was 68.61, an increase of 1.04 percentage points compared to the previous month. Below you will see the score for each of the ten pillars that make up the index, expressed out of 10 to reflect each pillar’s exact contribution to the final composite score.
Pillars are color-coded using a traffic light system: green (a score above 7.5) indicates strong performance; yellow (5.0–7.5) signals decent performance but with room for improvement; and red (below 5.0) flags a pillar that is falling short of its benchmark. Where a pillar score has improved compared to the previous month, an upward arrow appears alongside its corresponding traffic light; a downward arrow indicates deterioration; and a pause symbol denotes no change.
(Mexico News Daily)
As you’ll see below, scores for five of the ten MND Economy Index™ pillars increased in May compared to the previous month. Scores for three pillars declined while two stayed the same.
There are only three green light pillars in this edition of the index whereas there were four in the previous one. A lower Bank of Mexico interest rate in May and lower inflation were among the factors that contributed to the improvement in the MND Economy Index™ score.
Weaker economic growth in May compared to April was one factor that stopped the improvement from being greater.
🟢 ⬆️ MONETARY POLICY (9.86):
The score for this pillar improved to 9.86 in May from 9.35 in April. The Bank of Mexico’s benchmark interest rate fell to 6.50% in May after a 25-basis-point cut to that level took effect on May 8.
The score for this pillar also improved as Mexico’s real interest rate — i.e., the Bank of Mexico’s benchmark interest rate minus the annual headline inflation rate — moved further toward the 2.7% neutral midpoint. The real interest rate in May was 2.56%, up from 2.30% in April.
The improvement in the overall score for this pillar ensured that Monetary Policy remained the index’s top-performing pillar in May 2026.
🟢 ⬆️ INFLATION (9.06):
The score for this pillar increased to 9.06 in May from 8.55 in April.
Inflation eased to 3.94% in May from 4.45% in April, causing an increase in the score for the current inflation component of the pillar.
The score for the pillar component that considers the 12-month forward inflation forecast remained steady — and perfect — as the Bank of Mexico anticipates an annual rate on par with its 3.0% target in the second quarter of 2027, which, of course, includes the month of May.
The inflation pillar score is poised to improve in the next edition of the MND Economy Index™ as inflation fell again in June, settling at 3.37%.
🟢 ⬆️ INVESTMENT CLIMATE (8.25):
The score for this pillar increased to 8.25 in May from 7.65 in April.
The top contributor to the pillar in April was the S&P/BMV FIBRAS Total Return Index, which tracks the performance of Mexico’s listed real estate investment trusts. The index grew 44.2% annually to the end of May, up from a 32.9% year-over-year increase at the end of April.
The score for the foreign direct investment component of the pillar remained steady as the data published by the Economy Ministry in May — i.e., the most recent available data — was also used for the previous edition of the MND Economy Index™. That data showed that FDI increased 10.4% annually in the first quarter of 2026, a result that is marginally weaker than the 10.8% growth recorded in 2025.
🟡 ⬇️ MANUFACTURING SECTOR HEALTH (7.48):
The score for this pillar declined in May, falling to 7.48 from 8 in April. Thus, the pillar’s performance was downgraded into yellow light territory.
However, a narrowing in Mexico’s 5-year credit default swap spread effectively canceled out the decline in the sovereign credit ratings score. The credit default swap spread fell to 86.03 basis points in May from 89.70 basis points in April. The decline reflected a decrease in the market-implied cost of insuring against a Mexican sovereign default.
🟡 ⬇️ CURRENCY STABILITY (6.77):
The score for this pillar fell to 6.77 in May, down slightly from 6.8 in April.
The deterioration in the score occurred despite decreased volatility of the Mexican peso in May.
The standard deviation of daily exchange rate movements fell to 0.42% in May from 0.47% in April, leading to a slight increase in the score for that component of the pillar.
Thus, the decline in the pillar score in May was entirely due to a lower spot rate score. The score for that component declined as the peso strengthened against the US dollar in May to trade at 17.34 to the greenback at the end of the month, an appreciation of 0.7% compared to the end of April.
The exchange rate thus moved further away from the index’s 19.00 USD:MXN baseline, which is based on the 2025 average rate. This pillar penalizes significant deviation from the 19.00 USD:MXN baseline in either direction, recognizing that a peso that has strengthened too far from this benchmark can erode export competitiveness and reduce the purchasing power of remittances, just as a weakening peso raises import costs.
🟡 ⬆️ LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (6.02):
The score for this pillar increased slightly to 6.02 in May from 5.95 in April.
Nominal wages rose 6.6% year-on-year in May — down fractionally from 6.9% in April, but still well above the 3.5% benchmark.
The overall pillar score improved as the year-over-year growth in Mexico’s informality rate was only 0.3 percentage points in May, down from an annual increase of 0.5 points in April. Still, over 55% of all Mexican workers worked in the informal economy in May. Lowering that rate is a major challenge for the Mexican government.
🟡 ⬆️ EXTERNAL INCOME (5.53)
The score for this pillar also increased in May, rising to 5.53 from 5.2 a month earlier.
Incoming remittances grew 3.8% year-on-year — an increase compared to the 3.7% increase in March.
Thus, the score for the remittances component of the pillar increased slightly.
The pillar score also improved in May compared to April as the year-over-year decline in tourism revenue was lower. The decline in May was 0.3%, which is undoubtedly bad news. However, compared to a 2.3% annual contraction in tourism revenue in April, the result looks a little less depressing.
🟡 ⬇️ ECONOMIC GROWTH (5)
The score for this pillar fell to to 5 in May from 5.4 in April.
The decrease was due to a month-over-month decline in Mexico’s annual economic growth rate. The annual growth rate in May was 2%, according to final data published by INEGI last week, whereas the rate in April was slightly higher at 2.2%
While Economic Growth remains one of the index’s worst-performing pillars, the fact that growth reached the 2% benchmark in May can be seen as a positive, especially given the weak growth rates earlier in the year.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has predicted that economic activity will pick up in the second half of 2026 as new public and private investment projects commence. World Cup-related spending, including by international tourists, could also increase Mexico’s growth rate in June, and also possibly in July. Thus, the economic growth pillar is one to watch when we publish the next edition of the MND Economy Index™ in late August.
🔴 ⏸️ PRODUCTIVITY (3.2):
The score for this pillar remained at 3.2 in May after plummeting to that level in April from an already low 4.8 in March.
Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI in June showed that the IGPLE — INEGI’s quarterly productivity measure — increased only 0.1% annually in the first quarter of 2026. That level of productivity growth was significantly weaker than the 0.9% reading in the final quarter of 2025.
An annual productivity growth rate of 0.1% is well below the 1.0% neutral benchmark, and thus, the score for this pillar is very low.
INEGI will publish productivity data for the second quarter of 2026 in early September. We will use that data for the September edition of the MND Economy Index™.
Mexico's bilateral relationships with the United States and Peru were among the most important topics discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum's Wednesday morning press conference. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
📍USMCA tensions and Peru rapprochement: President Sheinbaum’s Wednesday press conference included a focus on Trump’s latest USMCA remarks, Economy Minister Ebrard’s response and signs of a possible diplomatic thaw with Peru.
🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦Ebrard downplays Trump’s USMCA remarks: Responding to Trump’s comment that he doesn’t “really want” to update the USMCA, Ebrard noted that USTR Jamieson Greer had recently been in Mexico and said the two governments are working “very closely” as they seek to settle differences over trade.
🥇Mexico is the top U.S. customer: Ebrard highlighted that Mexico is the world’s largest importer of U.S. goods, saying “we’re the number 1 customer.”
📊Ebrard: “As of today we’re doing well”: The economy minister acknowledged there are “warnings every week” regarding USMCA. Still, Mexico is “doing well” and waiting to see what happens in the coming months, Ebrard said.
🌐Integrated economies: Later in the conference, Sheinbaum said the U.S. has been “setting a new vision” for trade since Trump’s return to office, but stressed that Mexico remains an “extremely important trade partner” and that the two economies “are very integrated because of the many years of free trade.”
☎️Foreign Minister speaks with Fujimori: Sheinbaum said Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco had spoken with Peru’s new president, Keiko Fujimori, following her Tuesday inauguration.
🛂Sheinbaum requests safe passage for Chávez: Sheinbaum said her government wants former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez — who has been at the Mexican Embassy in Lima since being granted asylum — to be given “safe passage” to come to Mexico, adding “we’re going to see how this develops.”
🇲🇽🇵🇪No rupture desired: Despite Mexico’s continued objection to the 2022 removal of former President Pedro Castillo, which Sheinbaum has previously called a “coup,” Sheinbaum said “we obviously don’t want a rupture of relations.”
Why today’s mañanera matters
Mexico’s bilateral relationships with the United States and Peru were among the most important topics discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference.
Mexico’s relationships with both countries are currently strained for different reasons.
On the Mexico-United States trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday added his voice to the ongoing USMCA negotiations, and, unsurprisingly, it wasn’t to offer an endorsement of the three-way trade pact that superseded NAFTA during his first term as president.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard was on hand at today’s mañanera to offer a response to the latest remarks from Trump, who said in January that he didn’t “really care” about the USMCA and that the United States doesn’t need Mexican and Canadian products.
Beyond Ebrard’s response to Trump’s latest USMCA comments, today’s mañanera was significant as Sheinbaum indicated that a rapprochement between Mexico and Peru might not be far off.
Peru broke diplomatic relations with Mexico last November, but the South American country now has a new president, providing the opportunity for a clean slate in the bilateral relationship, even though the Mexican and Peruvian governments sit on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Ebrard responds to Trump’s latest USMCA remarks
A reporter asked Ebrard his opinion about Trump’s remarks on Tuesday about the USMCA.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked whether he was looking to update the trilateral trade pact.
“I don’t care. I mean I don’t really want to. I’d rather be independent. Here’s the thing — Mexico and Canada need us. We don’t need them. The deal is important for them. It’s not important for us,” the U.S. president said.
Ebrard pointed out that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was recently in Mexico and declared that the Mexican government is working “very closely” with his team as they seek to settle differences over trade, including ones related to U.S. tariffs on Mexican products such as vehicles and steel, and to rules of origin for the North American automotive sector.
He noted that in “the overall table of countries, Mexico has the best [trade] deal” with the United States.
The economy minister also highlighted that Mexico is the world’s largest importer of U.S. goods.
“We’re the number 1 customer,” he said.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard was on hand at today’s mañanera to offer a response to Trump, who reiterated earlier this week that he “doesn’t care” about the USMCA. (Hazel Cárdenas/Presidencia)
Ebrard subsequently appeared to downplay Trump’s remarks on Tuesday.
“Obviously there are warnings every week, there are a lot of things. We’re going to see what happens in the coming months but as of today we’re doing well,” he said.
Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum said that the United States has been “setting a new vision” for trade since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
Despite increased protectionism from the U.S., the fact remains that Mexico “is an extremely important trade partner for the United States,” the president said.
“… Our economies are very integrated because of the many years of free trade,” Sheinbaum said.
Chávez served as prime minister under former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office by the Peruvian Congress in late 2022, angering then Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who put diplomatic relations with Peru “on hold” and issued a statement with other Latin American leaders expressing “profound concern” at the treatment of Castillo.
Sheinbaum said that Fujimori, whose deceased father was president of Peru from 1990 to 2000, “knows that we have a position related to President Castillo.”
Sheinbaum said that “beyond” the Mexican government’s dissatisfaction with the treatment of Castillo, “we obviously don’t want a rupture of relations” with Peru.
“Within that framework we’re talking [with the Peruvian government] and we hope to be able to provide more news soon,” she said.
Fátima Bosch became the fourth Mexican woman to be crowned Miss Universe in November 2025. (Miss Universe/Instagram)
The reigning Miss Universe is from Mexico. Fátima Bosch, a native of Tabasco, qualified for the “Super Bowl” of beauty pageants by winning Miss Universe Mexico in September 2025, and was then crowned with the South Sea pearl-adorned “Lumière de l’Infini” tiara as the 74th Miss Universe in Bangkok, Thailand, in November of last year, beating out Thai runner-up Praveenar Singh after a highly publicized bullying episode by a pageant offcial.
Bosch’s reign won’t officially come to an end until Nov. 26, 2026, when she crowns her successor in San Juan, Puerto Rico. But in the meantime, she’s helping to publicize this year’s Miss Universe Mexico, the competition from which the next national contender will emerge. Los Cabos will be the official site of the Aug. 29 event, Bosch recently announced on the Mexican morning television show, “Sale el Sol,” with Corazón Cabo Resort & Spa on Playa El Médano in Cabo San Lucas named as the host.
Miss Universe Mexico and other upcoming events in Cabo San Lucas
Bosch was recently in Los Cabos to unveil the destination as the host of the 2026 Miss Universe Mexico beauty pageant. (Fátima Bosch/Instagram)
Cape cities San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas each crown pageant queens at their annual fiestas tradicionales. But Miss Universe Mexico brings a national spotlight to the region, and to Baja California Sur’s contestant this year: Selene Zazueta of La Paz, who also represented the state at the Mexicana Universal pageant in 2023. That, incidentally, was the last Mexicana Universal to act as a qualifier for Miss Universe, as a new organization — Miss Universe Mexico, backed by Raúl Rocha Cantú — was subsequently recognized.
Contestants representing all 32 states are expected to begin arriving in Los Cabos in mid-August for filming and promotional shoots, as well as a preliminary competition featuring interviews and swimwear and evening gown assessments, before the actual event is broadcast live on Aug. 29. For those unable to attend, Mexico’s Imagen Televisión has the broadcast rights.
Miss Universe Mexico will cap a busy month — especially by “low season” standards in Los Cabos — as it follows closely on the heels of two other high-profile events: the 10th anniversary edition of the ATP 250 Los Cabos Tennis Open, which is taking place July 25 to Aug. 1; and the Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore (ECO), the first of three annual Bisbee’s sponsored fishing tournaments in Los Cabos featuring million dollar plus prize pools, with the most lucrative of these, the Black and Blue and Los Cabos Offshore, following in October.
The ECO is a major event in its own right, however. The 2026 edition is scheduled for this week, July 28 to Aug. 1 in Buenavista, with the tournament aiming to top last year’s prize pool of US $1.52 million.
The next resort to open in Los Cabos
By the time the Los Cabos Tennis Open and Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore wrap up, a new resort will also have opened in Los Cabos. That’s Amanvari from Aman, an ultra-luxury brand noted for its intimate and exclusive accommodations in gorgeous natural settings. Amanvari, which officially opens Aug. 1, qualifies on all counts, with only 18 casitas — each with a private heated pool — available at Costa Palmas, the La Ribera-based development that’s also home to the East Cape’s other luxury option: Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas.
It’s the first Aman property ever to open in Mexico, and at US $3,000 per night and up, immediately slots in among the very top tier of local ultra-luxury resorts. Restaurants specializing in Mexican, Italian and Japanese cuisine will offer first-class dining experiences, while the on-site spa specializes in Mexico’s traditional sweat lodge-style temezcal therapies.
Amanvari opens this week, offering exclusive resort accommodations on Los Cabos’ East Cape. (Aman Resorts)
Other scheduled resort openings in 2026
When the St. Regis Los Cabos at Quivira was first announced in 2017, the estimated open date for the resort and residences project was early 2021. After the many delays that have followed, any forecasts at this point — such as the late 2026 timeline offered by the Los Cabos Tourism Board — must be taken with several grains of salt.
Soho House Los Cabos, the brand’s second private club-style resort in Mexico following the opening of a property in Mexico City in 2023, is still expected to open by November in Cabo del Sol, with 15 available accommodations (in 12 casas and 3 casonas), plus on-site residences, a 50-meter swimming pool, spa, seafood restaurant and beach club. Soho Club also boasts a “200-meter private beach,” although this is a misnomer, since all beaches in Mexico are, by law, public.
The 301-room resort Grand Hyatt Los Cabos, Golf and Spa at Oleada on the Pacific Coast of Cabo San Lucas, meanwhile, is also estimating a late 2026 opening (in December), by which time the development’s new golf course will also be playable.
The next golf course to open in Los Cabos
The Ernie Els-designed Oleada Golf Links has opened for preview play and remains on track to officially premiere in November. It’s the first course in Mexico for “The Big Easy,” a four-time major champion who has now designed over a dozen worldwide, and according to him, easily the best natural site he has had to work with.
Mario Navarro, a Ciudad Juárez native who played collegiately at the University of Texas El Paso and who has worked for several years in Los Cabos at Querencia and Cabo del Sol, including helping to organize the annual Cabo Collegiate tournament, has been announced as the golf pro at Oleada.
Campo Alto and Legacy Club updates
Campo Alto at Querencia, the second design at the upscale residential community from Tom Fazio, is also scheduled to open by the end of the year. Tiger Woods’ Legacy Club at Diamante, however — his third project at the Cabo San Lucas development, following El Cardonal, host of Los Cabos’ only PGA-sponsored tournament, and the 12-hole Oasis Short Course — has seen its opening date pushed back to early 2027.
Campo Alto golf course at Querencia is scheduled to open by the end of 2026. (Querencia)
When these three open, the inventory of local golf courses will increase from 18 to 21. The Campo Alto and Legacy Club courses will be private, while Oleada is expected to “initially allow limited outside play,” per Forbes, before transitioning to a private course for residents and resort guests (both those at Grand Hyatt Los Cabos, Golf and Spa, and the Conrad Los Cabos, anticipated to open at Oleada in 2027).
Chris Sands is a writer and editor for Mexico News Daily, and the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He has also contributed to numerous other websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.
The CIA has a long history in Mexico, including as a "shaper" of art and culture, particularly during the 1960s. (CIA)
For months now, the same argument has played out in the press on both sides of the border: American voices floating military intervention against the cartels, Mexican officials answering back that nobody sorts out our house but us. This year alone, from The Atlantic to CNN to El País to President Claudia Sheinbaum’s own morning press conferences, the question of where cooperation ends and interference begins has been hard to avoid, sharpened by the Trump administration’s indictment of 10 Mexican officials on cartel-related charges.
It’s not a new argument, even if the vocabulary feels urgent. In security terms, it’s close to a century old. Carlos Pérez Ricart, who studied at El Colegio de México and later worked as a postdoctoral researcher and professor at Oxford, spent years combing archives to write “Cien Años de Espías y Drogas,” a chronicle of the U.S. narcotics agents who have operated inside Mexico for 100 years, and the uncomfortably close relationships some built with the cartels they were sent to dismantle.
The CIA and the ‘shaping’ of Mexican art and culture
Outsized U.S. influence over Mexican art and culture became a hot-button topic at the Museum of Modern Art’s Salón Esso competition in 1965. (José Luis Cuevas/Bond Latin Gallery)
There’s a quieter chapter to that history, one that never needed a wiretap because it operated in plain sight, dressed up as good taste. For roughly two decades, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) worked to shape Mexican culture from the inside — funding fellowships for painters, bankrolling literary magazines and cultural supplements and quietly steering the museums that decided whose work counted. It ran through galleries instead of embassies, critics instead of attachés, paintbrushes instead of sidearms.
Call it interference, call it soft power, call it the ordinary behavior of a powerful neighbor with strong opinions about its own image — it is what it is, and it has a long paper trail.
The playbook was built at home first
The method was tested in New York first. Thomas Braden, who later ran the CIA’s cultural operations division, spent the late 1940s as executive secretary of the Museum of Modern Art under Nelson Rockefeller — at various points MoMA’s board president, wartime head of U.S. intelligence for Latin America, and the man who called Abstract Expressionism, apparently without irony, “free enterprise painting.” Braden joined the CIA in 1950 and later admitted, without much regret, that covertly funding cultural organizations abroad had largely been his idea. Writing in the Saturday Evening Post in 1967, after journalists had already exposed the program, he argued that asking Congress to approve it would have gone about as well as asking the John Birch Society to endorse Medicare.
Rockefeller himself helped send the museum’s touring show “The New American Painting” through nearly every major European capital in 1958-59, with no mention that it doubled as a project of the CIA-created Congress for Cultural Freedom. MoMA already had history in Mexico by then: Its Latin American collection dates to 1935, and its 1940 show “Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art” had Mexico’s own institutional backing.
The local front: A magazine in disguise
By the early 1960s, Fidel Castro’s revolution had energized a generation of Mexican writers and intellectuals, and Washington’s anxiety had a specific address: ¡Siempre! and its cultural supplement, La Cultura en México, edited by Fernando Benítez — described in the CIA’s own internal paperwork as sympathetic to Havana. A memo dated June 24, 1963, proposed a rival magazine, code-named Crítica.
It launched in December 1964 as Diálogos, co-edited by philosopher and poet Ramón Xirau alongside a man calling himself “Enrique P. López.” In reality, CIA officer Edward G. Tichborn, operating under a cover so deep his real name barely surfaces in the record. Xirau was chosen, the agency’s own files show, for being too intelligent to be a Marxist and for a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship that already had him in the right rooms. He believed his American benefactor was a sympathetic lawyer with money to spend. He never learned otherwise.
Nobel Prize-winning author Octavio Paz was one of several notable writers to publish in Diálogos, little knowing that one of its editors was a CIA officer. (Gobierno de Mexico)
The magazine ran for two decades, eventually finding a home at El Colegio de México, and published Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag. It was built, in part, by people who never knew what they were part of.
Painting over politics: The night the Salón Esso exploded
If Diálogos shows how the method worked in print, the Salón Esso shows how it played out in a gallery: in public, with fists. By the mid-1950s, Mexican muralism — the state-sponsored, politically committed art of Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros — had become an irritant to U.S. interests for the same reason it had once been celebrated at home. It was explicitly revolutionary. Around the same time, Abstract Expressionism and its European cousin, Informalism, offered something the Escuela Mexicana didn’t: an art without an obvious political message, easy to present as pure, apolitical freedom of expression.
Art historian Shifra Goldman argued, in “Contemporary Mexican Painting in a Time of Change,” that the shift was no accident of taste. She pointed to the CIA and USIS’s documented involvement in cultural programming, and to the OAS’s Visual Arts Unit, run by Cuban-born critic José Gómez Sicre, as a vehicle for promoting abstraction over social realism. Standard Oil’s Mexican subsidiary, Goldman noted, sponsored the very competition that bore its name: the Salón Esso.
The Esso salon, held at the Museo de Arte Moderno on Feb. 2, 1965, was an open competition for young painters and sculptors, with winners advancing to a showcase at the OAS in Washington. Only about 30% of the works submitted were figurative; the top prizes went to two abstract paintings, by Fernando García Ponce and Lilia Carrillo, and García Ponce’s own brother sat on the jury.
A fistfight over art
The opening turned into a brawl. Muralist loyalists confronted Tamayo, the García Ponce brothers and José Luis Cuevas — mocked for years as having sold out to the OAS ever since Gómez Sicre sponsored his first solo show in Washington in 1954. Writer Raquel Tibol recalled one socialite fleeing the scrum in her mink coat, taunting that the communists had nothing left but hammers and sickles. Cuevas and critic Francisco Icaza came to blows. Tamayo used the moment to declare that Mexican art no longer needed nationalism as a shield.
Whether the Salón Esso was a CIA operation with a paintbrush or an art-world grudge match that happened to have American money in the room is exactly what Goldman’s critics still argue about, and that ambiguity may be the most honest way to leave it. What isn’t in dispute is that the money, the institutions and the timing all pointed the same direction.
The CIA preferred abstract art to the social reality of Mexican Muralism, seen in works like David Alfaro Siqueiros’ “Del Porfirismo a la Revolución.” (INEHRM)
Fernando Gamboa, a senior National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBA) official, spent the 1950s and 1960s denouncing American cultural influence and dismissing abstraction as decorative and second-rate. In 1972, he was named director of the Museo de Arte Moderno — the same institution at the center of the Salón Esso affair — and defended the art he had spent two decades attacking.
What this is and isn’t
None of this means every Mexican abstract painter was a witting or unwitting asset. Artists like Gunther Gerzso and Lilia Carrillo pursued serious, original work with little to do with Washington’s Cold War anxieties. Goldman’s thesis remains contested among art historians, not a settled verdict. What the documented record does show is that, for roughly two decades, U.S. agencies and U.S.-linked institutions treated Mexican museums, magazines and art prizes as worth a memo, a grant or a quiet word to the right curator.
Three vignettes, three decades: Braden built the model in a New York museum, Xirau ran it out of a Mexico City magazine office without knowing it, and Gamboa ended up defending it from the director’s chair of the very institution where it once nearly came to blows. None of it required a single mastermind, just money, prestige and institutions patient enough to let the shift happen slowly.
Pérez Ricart’s century of spies worked the border and the cartels; this article worked the galleries and the newsstands. Neither settles the argument still playing out in this year’s headlines, over where cooperation ends and interference begins. That’s a question with room for real disagreement. What both suggest is that the motive shifts by the decade: sometimes ideology, sometimes economics and sometimes simply a tighter grip on the region. In the years this piece covers, it came down to something as specific as whose paintings got hung on the wall.
Maria Meléndez writes for Mexico News Daily in Mexico City.
Typical of Mexico’s domination at Santa Domingo, Dalia Berenice Moreno Velasco and Yuritzi Salgado González finished 1-2 in the women’s open water swimming competition, bringing in a gold and a silver for Mexico. Paola Pérez of Venezuela (at right in red) finished third. Overall, Mexican open water swimmers won three gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes. (gob.mx)
Mexico is off to a commanding start at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in the Dominican Republic, reinforcing its status as the region’s powerhouse as the century‑old competition enters its second week.
The Games opened Friday with a music‑ and fireworks-filled ceremony at Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in the nation’s capital, Santo Domingo.
Las grandes celebraciones deportivas también son una oportunidad para unir a todo un país.
Así vivimos la inauguración de los XXV Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe Santo Domingo 2026, una edición histórica que marca el centenario de esta competencia y reúne a los mejores… pic.twitter.com/qbT12Gdozl
They are the oldest regional multiple-sports competition in the world recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
Running through Aug. 8, this year’s edition marks the centennial of the Games, first held in Mexico City in 1926. More than 6,000 athletes from 37 countries and territories are competing in 40 sports.
Mexico is the only nation to have appeared in all 25 editions and is the two-time defending champion, with 13 championships overall.
Mexico’s best haul all-time was winning 375 medals in the 2010 Games in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
So far in 2026, the Mexican team is delivering again, surging up to 106 total medals as the competition moved through day 5 on Tuesday — a haul that includes 38 gold medals with 11 days still to go.
Mexico sits atop the overall table, more than 40 medals ahead of Colombia with 63 and Cuba with 38. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela rank fourth and fifth, respectively.
Mexico’s lead has been built on familiar strengths, such as the taekwondo team registering 14 podium finishes, including gold medals for Daniela Souza and Iker Casas.
In skeet shooting, flag bearer Gabriela Rodríguez — the silver medalist at the 2025 ISSF Shotgun World Championships — delivered as expected, taking the women’s crown, while teammate Luis Gallardo won the men’s event.
Open water swimmer Paulo Strehlke won gold in the 10‑kilometer race, part of a four‑medal haul for Mexico’s open water swimmers over the weekend.
Rowers Melissa Márquez and Aylin Ibarra each won three gold medals, with other gold medals coming in badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.
Other sports being contested include basketball, figure skating, soccer, baseball, cycling and diving, along with netball, basque pelota (similar to racquetball and jai alai), billiards, chess and esports — high‑level video‑game competitions making their debut at these Games.
Mexico sees its performances in Olympic‑core sports in Santo Domingo as a stepping stone toward the Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028.
In 2024, tequila exports achieved a value of almost US $4.2 billion, solidifying the product’s position as Mexico’s second most important agro-industrial export behind beer. (Unsplash)
Mexico will introduce stricter trade tariff measures for imported alcohols to encourage other countries to reduce tariffs on Mexican tequila, Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced during National Tequila Day celebrations on Friday.
National Tequila Day, celebrated annually on July 24, recognizes the world-famous spirit for its economic and cultural value. Tequila production is a source of employment for thousands of families dedicated to agave cultivation and distillation.
Reconocimiento a la industria del Tequila y plan de acción conjunto para aumentar exportaciones a todo el mundo. pic.twitter.com/R06kE34c6N
In a presentation, Ebrard emphasized the need to review and dismantle all trade restrictions facing tequila exports to achieve more balanced treatment for Mexican products.“If another country applies 150 tariffs on me, I will say, ‘Hey, I’m going to impose restrictions on your products too,’” explained Ebrard. “It’s going to have to be more balanced.”
The economy minister said that while Mexico is one of the most open countries to international trade, some markets continue to impose tariffs of up to 150% or regulatory restrictions on tequila imports. Meanwhile, Mexico imposes few restrictions on the import of similar products from other countries.
In 2024, tequila exports achieved a value of almost US $4.2 billion, solidifying the product’s position as Mexico’s second most important agro-industrial export, behind beer, according to Agriculture Ministry (Sader) data. Mexican tequila is exported to over 120 countries, with annual exports exceeding 400 million liters.
It was the only spirit to register growth during the past year, with an increase of 1.2%. Global tequila volumes increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2019 and 2025, and are expected to expand at a CAGR of 2% to 2030, according to the global beverage data company IWSR.
Tequila was granted Denomination of Origin (DO) status in 1974, for its historical connection to specific Mexican regions and traditional production practices, making it the first Mexican product to gain this certification.
The Director General of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), Vidal Llerenas Morales, said that the status guarantees that only tequila produced in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Tamaulipas can legally use this designation, which helps preserve the alcohol’s traditional characteristics and quality.
Other Mexican alcohols have since been granted DO certification, including mezcal, bacanora, sotol, charanda and raicilla.
The question should not simply be, “How do we move more cars or buses?” It should be, “How do we help more people reach more places more easily, while making the city quieter, healthier, safer and more enjoyable?" (sanmigueldeallende.gob.mx)
When Mexico News Daily recently asked how San Miguel de Allende can remain the “Best City in the World,” one recommendation stood out: improve the buses. That is an excellent, perhaps obvious, place to start — but it should not be the city’s only transportation priority. San Miguel’s larger challenge is deciding what kind of city it wants to become over the next decade and beyond, as well as what kind of transportation system will support that vision.
Transportation decisions shape far more than how quickly people travel. They affect air quality, noise, safety, neighborhood vitality, economic opportunity, public health and the simple pleasure of walking the streets. The most successful historic cities understand that transportation is not primarily about moving vehicles. It is about helping people reach the places they need or want to go to, while preserving the qualities that make a city worth living in and visiting.
San Miguel has already achieved something extraordinary. Residents and visitors enjoy walking its streets, lingering in its plazas, gathering in cafés and experiencing a vibrant public life. As the city grows, transportation investments should strengthen those qualities — not gradually erode them. That requires a different way of thinking. The question should not simply be, “How do we move more cars or buses?” It should be, “How do we help more people reach more places more easily, while making the city quieter, healthier, safer and more enjoyable?”
The city’s buses remain the backbone of mobility for thousands of residents and handfuls of visitors, connecting neighborhoods with schools, workplaces, markets, hospitals, churches and Centro. But today’s network reflects decades of incremental change rather than deliberate planning. Neighborhoods have expanded, employment centers have shifted and travel patterns have evolved. Tourists have grown in number and diversified in the variety of places they want to visit. Route redesign should begin with understanding how San Miguelenses, expatriates and visitors actually travel today. Rider surveys, passenger counts, GPS data, employer input and travel analysis could identify where people are going, when they travel and where the current system fails them. Bus service should reflect current travel patterns while avoiding unintended consequences — such as increased noise, congestion or safety concerns — that could diminish quality of life on particular streets or in specific neighborhoods.
The city should also consider whether a system focused primarily on Centro still reflects current demand. Direct cross-town routes connecting residential neighborhoods with employment centers, hospitals, schools and shopping areas could shorten trips without necessarily adding more buses. Frequent service on key corridors, coordinated transfers and reliable schedules may serve riders better than infrequent service spread across too many streets.
But better bus routes are not enough; the experience of using transit must also improve. Replacing aging diesel buses with quieter, cleaner electric or low-emission vehicles would reduce noise, improve air quality and make transit more attractive to everyone — not only residents who depend upon it, but also expatriates and visitors who often choose to drive because the system seems unfamiliar, unattractive or unsafe.
Making transit easy to understand is equally important. Clear route branding, well-designed stops, digital maps, QR codes, real-time arrival information and integration with Google Maps can transform uncertainty into confidence. The goal should be simple: riding a bus should feel as intuitive as taking a taxi.
As transit improves, the city has an opportunity to rethink its streets. Historic cities around the world have adopted Complete Streets — streets designed to accommodate pedestrians, transit riders, people with disabilities, deliveries and automobiles rather than prioritizing cars alone. Wider sidewalks, safer crossings, accessible design, better bus stops and carefully managed loading areas can allow transportation and public life to reinforce one another. Cities such as Copenhagen, Curitiba, Pontevedra and San Antonio have shown that giving more space to people can support local businesses, improve safety, reduce pollution and create more vibrant public places.
San Miguel already has examples of its own. Calle San Francisco near the Jardín illustrates how reducing automobile traffic can transform a street from a transportation corridor into a destination. As public transportation improves, the city should identify additional streets where pedestrian activity already exceeds automobile demand. This should lead to identifying opportunities to expand pedestrian-priority corridors while maintaining access for residents, deliveries and emergency services.
Parking should also be part of the discussion. Building more parking rarely solves congestion and often encourages more driving. A better strategy would be to develop mobility hubs at strategic locations outside the most constrained parts of the city. These facilities could combine parking with frequent transit, bicycle parking, taxi services, visitor information and public restrooms. Commuters into and visitors to the city could leave their cars once and continue their journey without adding traffic to the historic center.
Over time, the hubs might also connect with low-speed, electric, autonomous circulators. Pilot programs around the world are testing autonomous shuttles that connect transit stops, pedestrian districts, shopping areas and major destinations. They would not replace buses, but they could eventually provide another option for reducing automobile dependence while preserving San Miguel’s pedestrian character.
None of these ideas requires overnight implementation. The city could begin with demonstration projects: one redesigned bus corridor, a small fleet of cleaner vehicles, improved passenger information, a mobility hub, a temporary pedestrian-priority street or others. Pilot projects allow residents, visitors, businesses, existing transportation providers and public officials to see what works, identify unintended consequences and make adjustments before committing to larger investments.
How can progress — and ultimately success — be measured? Traditionally, this begins with a baseline needs assessment, followed by continuous monitoring as initiatives are implemented. Success can then be evaluated by whether workers can reach jobs more easily, children can travel to school more safely, neighborhoods become quieter and more livable, businesses become more vibrant and more people choose to walk, use public transit or spend time in the city’s public spaces.
San Miguel’s transportation decisions over the next decade will determine whether it becomes more congested — or more livable. Cleaner buses, smarter routes, Complete Streets, expanded pedestrian districts and mobility hubs are not separate projects. They are pieces of a single vision for preserving what makes San Miguel extraordinary. The world’s most admired historic cities are not remembered because they accommodated the most automobiles. They are remembered because they created places where people want to live, work, visit, and resettle.
San Miguel is already one of those cities. Now it has the opportunity to build a transportation system worthy of that distinction.
Johanna Zmud and her husband, Carlos, owned a transportation research consultancy in the U.S. They now live in San Miguel de Allende, where they own and manage a boutique hotel. Johanna continues transportation consulting.
Mexico shut down limestone operations by a Vulcan subsidiary in Quintana Roo on the grounds that it was causing extensive environmental damage. But was Mexico's action in violation of the existing trade agreement? A World Bank-affiliated arbitration panel says yes, but what happens next is unclear. (Vulcan Materials Company/LinkedIn)
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) — an arm of the World Bank — issued a mixed ruling in the arbitration process initiated against Mexico by U.S.-based Vulcan Materials Company.
Vulcan had already filed a trade-related complaint against Mexico when, during the López Obrador administration, its subsidiary’s work area was designated a nature reserve. The dispute is only now being resolved. (Cuartoscuro)
In that regard, the ICSID ruled that Mexico violated the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was still in effect when the complaint was filed in 2018, by shutting down quarrying operations managed by Calica, a Vulcan subsidiary.
Although Vulcan sought US $1.53 billion in damages plus interest and costs, the tribunal awarded the company only negligible monetary damages.
The final decision remains confidential until officially released. Vulcan said it will discuss the ruling during its Q2 earnings call on Wednesday.
Mexico’s Economy Ministry (SE) said the government is “carefully analyzing the ICSID decision to determine what legal actions are available.”
The government had been negotiating with Vulcan to permanently end limestone extraction in what is now a protected natural area in the state of Quintana Roo. Earlier this month, President Claudia Sheinbaum said any agreement would require the company to relocate operations to an environmentally viable site and fund environmental remediation of the affected zone.
In a statement, the SE said that Mexico “reaffirms its commitment to foreign investment that brings innovation, good wages and environmental protection, as well as to respecting the rules and procedures contained in international treaties as a fundamental element to provide the legal certainty that makes economic development possible.”
Vulcan, a producer of ready-mixed concrete and asphalt, filed the complaint with the tribunal in 2018, accusing Mexico of violating NAFTA by repudiating an agreement to unlock a portion of Vulcan’s aggregates reserves and arbitrarily shutting down its quarrying operations in the state of Quintana Roo.
Mexican environmental authorities closed parts of Calica’s limestone operations in Quintana Roo in 2018. The government canceled deepwater port access and shipping privileges even though Vulcan’s concession over the property is valid until 2037.
Operations were completely shuttered in May 2022 (the government claimed underwater limestone extraction was causing environmental damage) and Navy personnel seized the company’s port in March 2023.
In September 2024, the government designated 53,000 hectares between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, encompassing the port and limestone operations, a protected natural area.
Between 2024 and 2030, CFE is implementing a program exceeding 244 billion pesos to strengthen distribution across Mexico with new poles, meters and conductors. (Victoria Valtierra/Cuartoscuro)
The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported that power outages fell 39% during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2024, attributed to a “historic investment” in the expansion and modernization of the country’s transmission and distribution networks.
Speaking at the Industrial Exhibition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Mexico section, head of CFE Emilia Calleja said that system restoration times were also “significantly reduced,” typically resolved within one to three hours.
Head of CFE Emilia Calleja said the improvements are a direct result of a US $14-billion investment (244 billion pesos) in the country’s electrical grid. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
Calleja noted that improvements in electricity coverage respond to CFE’s updated strategy to enhance and modernize distribution network capacity, as attention had long been focused primarily on generation.
The head of CFE explained that “modern, robust and intelligent grids” allow for the integration of new energy sources, remote operation, anticipation of failures and, above all, a better response to natural disasters.
The latter has a direct precedent in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, which in October 2023 devastated much of Guerrero’s electrical infrastructure, leaving more than 500,000 customers without power. It took the CFE a record time of seven days to restore service in that region.
“This experience showed us the importance of having a resilient infrastructure, qualified and well-trained personnel, and above all, technology that allows us to respond quickly,” Calleja said.
For this purpose, between 2024 and 2030, CFE is implementing a program exceeding 244 billion pesos, including 15 billion pesos (US $859 million) in 2025-2026 alone, to strengthen distribution with new poles, meters and conductors.
The move is enhanced by the renewable energy plan recently presented by Energy Minister Luz Elena González. In June, González explained that the government aims to add 32,475 megawatts of generation capacity to the national electricity system by 2030, of which approximately 22,376 megawatts — roughly 70% — will come from renewable sources.
Speaking at Sheinbaum’s mañanera, Calleja also highlighted the emblematic project of the Rafael Galván Maldonado Solar Park in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, which upon completion of its four stages will reach 1,000 megawatts, becoming the largest solar installation in the Americas.
