Beginning Feb. 21, Ricky Martin will be giving major concerts in La Paz, Querétaro, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Chihuahua, León and Mérida. (Ricky Martin)
Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin will return to Mexico in March as part of his “Ricky Martin Live 2026” international tour, which will include seven cities across the country.
On his social media, the song-and-dance man expressed that he is “so happy” to return to his “beloved Mexico” in March 2026. In that same message, he revealed he would perform in the cities of Querétaro, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Chihuahua, León and Mérida.
One minute: backstage in Bratislava getting ambushed by my son holding the cake and my band playing Happy Birthday.
Next minute: Puerto Rico, cake, hugs, Christmas, soul reset.
Plot twist approved. 🎂✨
Martin also announced that before the tour begins he would be performing at the La Paz Carnaval in Baja California Sur, on Feb. 21.
Here are the dates and venues for the Mexican leg of the tour:
Querétaro – March 12, Querétaro Racetrack
Mexico City – March 14, Fray Nano Stadium
Guadalajara – March 18, Pan American Stadium
Monterrey – March 20, Walmart Park Stadium
Chihuahua – March 22, Monumental Stadium
León – March 24, Poliforum Esplanade
Mérida – March 28, Kukulkán Baseball Park
According to organizers, the show is expected to last an hour and a half and include a live band, backup dancer and large-format visuals.
Tickets start at 690 pesos (US $38) and reach up to 4,990 pesos (US $279) depending on the city and section selected. Tickets are now available through funticket.mx and at official box offices.
Ricky Martin rose to fame with the Latin pop children’s group Menudo in the ’80s before launching his career as a solo artist, becoming one of the most influential figures of Latin music in the ’90s.
His album “Vuelve” (1998) and the global success of the English-language album “Ricky Martin” (1999), with singles like “Livin’ la Vida Loca”, established him as one of the singers responsible for the so-called “Latin explosion.”
He has sold more than 70 million albums as a solo artist, and won numerous awards including two Grammy awards.
GM México has more than a 12% overall market share and a whopping 78.8% market share in large SUVs, driven by sales of the Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.
(General Motors)
General Motors announced on Wednesday a US $1 billion investment in its Mexican production operations over the next two years, underscoring the automaker’s long-term commitment to the country where its market share is higher than 12%.
The announcement came soon after U.S. President Donald Trump seemingly expressed scorn for the Mexican automotive industry, calling the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) “irrelevant” and asserting that the U.S. does not need cars manufactured in Mexico.
Francisco Garza (right), CEO and president of General Motors México, said the investment will allow the automaker to “continue working on future projects focused on domestic demand, reinforcing our long-term commitment to Mexico.” (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro.com)
GM President Mark Reuss countered by saying that the company’s supply chain remains integrated across the three countries involved in the USMCA, which is currently the subject of a formal review
In an official statement, Francisco Garza, president and CEO of GM México, said the automaker’s “solid results” in 2025 reaffirm its commitment to offering innovation, quality and value in every vehicle.
While anticipating a challenging year ahead, Garza said GM México “will adapt our strategy to respond to the evolving needs of our customers.”
He added, “As part of this new strategy, and in line with the Mexican government’s efforts to strengthen the domestic market, we will invest US $1 billion over the next two years in our local manufacturing operations and continue working on future projects focused on domestic demand, reinforcing our long-term commitment to Mexico.”
GM’s strategy aims to align with President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Plan México whose goal is to strengthen the domestic market by fomenting a strategy based on assembly and infrastructure tailored to the needs of the Mexican consumer.
The company did not identify specific manufacturing projects in Mexico, saying they will be announced later.
Illustrating the solid results mentioned by Garza, in December alone GM México sales registered an increase of 11.2% compared to December 2024.
The company also finds itself as the leader in key market segments:
A 78.8% market share in large SUVs, driven by sales of the Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.
Its Chevrolet Tornado Van leads sales for small vans with a 52.7% market share.
Its large luxury SUVs — Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade IQ/IQL and GMC Hummer EV — boast 39% of market share.
Its compact pickups, led by the Chevrolet Montana, have a 38.5% market share.
GM is the largest manufacturer of combustion and electric vehicles in Mexico and is the main exporter. It sold 198,153 units in 2025, second only to Nissan (274,661 units sold).
A small chunk of worked gold and dozens of ancient pots and vases were among objects extracted by the influencer Yaotzin Nell Mejía, also known as Señor Blue. (Señor Blue/Facebook)
A Facebook post about an archaeological find in the southern state of Oaxaca led to a simmering dispute and a flurry of accusations about how Mexico safeguards its heritage.
This past weekend, Señor Blue, a history and archaeology social media influencer, shared a video of the discovery of roughly 60 pre-Hispanic artifacts in San Pedro Jaltepetongo, a rural town in the mountains about 140 kilometers north of the state capital, Oaxaca city.
Pobladores encuentran un tesoro, y desatan muchas criticas en las redes.
The post was accompanied by photographs showing dozens of vases, pots and a piece of gold extracted from a well, prompting the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to warn against irresponsible reporting.
INAH issued a statement urging citizens, journalists and content creators to “exercise due care when disseminating information about archaeological sites not open to the public,” lest they facilitate looting by revealing their location.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to care for and preserve our heritage for future generations,” the statement said, “and to avoid misinformation that … promotes looting and the destruction of the pre-Hispanic legacy of the people of Oaxaca and Mexico.”
As the story spread, some criticized the amateur excavation for destroying the archaeological context of the find, while others thanked Señor Blue for his offer of legal support to keep the artifacts in the local community.
In response to one social media comment that “If you have so much love for the past, … you should know this: it’s a serious mistake to dig pieces out of that hole,” Señor Blue wrote: “The most serious thing is when INAH removes everything, cleans it up and takes the items away, storing them in a warehouse, in the best of cases, or selling the pieces.”
Señor Blue claims to have infiltrated Facebook groups where pieces are offered for sale, saying some individuals even display INAH employee credentials to “authenticate” the pieces being sold. INAH did not respond to the allegations.
The influencer said the residents of San Pedro — who he’d worked with before — contacted him for fear that INAH would sell the artifacts on the black market.
He also defended his actions, arguing that the townspeople should have a say in what happens to the artifacts, citing the removal of treasures from the village of San Francisco Caxonos in Oaxaca’s Northern Sierra.
An INAH dig there in the late 1990s uncovered six tombs with valuable Zapotec pieces — including a gold pectoral — from the Late Postclassic period (1300 to 1521 AD). The archaeologists removed all the pieces without informing the community, which, only years later, discovered the objects were housed in a Mexico City museum. They have since been returned and can be viewed at the local community museum.
“I prefer that people safeguard their local treasures,” Señor Blue wrote, “I hope INAH will provide them with a museum, but they will say there are no resources.”
INAH has confirmed that the collection of artifacts found in San Pedro — discovered after a local woman gathering epazote in the fields outside the town came across a hole in the ground — are part of a pre-Hispanic funerary context that corresponds to the Late Postclassic period and exhibits distinct characteristics of the Mixtec cultural tradition.
Monterrey is one of Mexico's largest cities, and also one of its most welcoming. (Unsplash/Steven Fernandez)
When you dream about living in Mexico, you may think of beach resort towns like Playa del Carmen or the historic cities of Mexico City and Guadalajara. But if you ask us at Mexico News Daily, there’s one city you may not have thought of that definitely deserves to be on that list: Monterrey in the northern state of Nuevo León.
Surrounded by the Sierra Madre mountains, the gleaming, modern industrial city of Monterrey is a place defined more by ambition and industry rather than mass tourism. The city made it into international news a few years ago when Elon Musk announced he would open a Tesla gigafactory there, a plan that has since been put on hold due to US tariffs. But there were plenty of reasons Musk was interested in expanding into Monterrey.
Monterrey is the business capital of Mexico
Monterrey is considered the business capital of Mexico. (Unsplash/David Liceaga)
The city calls itself “the business capital of Mexico,” and with good reason: it has a thriving aerospace, tech, biotech and automotive industry and several major companies are based there — along with a younger demographic of Mexicans who have moved there to take well-paying jobs at these companies. Driving this seemingly never-ending investment is Nuevo León’s affable young governor, Samuel García, who travels the world regularly to talk up Nuevo León as a base for Latin American expansion for U.S., Asian and European manufacturers and tech companies.
Perhaps emblematic of Monterrey’s modern, ambitious vibe is the city’s Torre Obispado, the tallest skyscraper in all of Mexico. Not content with that status, Monterrey is also building the Torre Rise, which aims to become the tallest skyscraper in all of Latin America, featuring luxury condos, business offices, hotels, bars and restaurants.
Unlike Mexico’s older urban hubs, Monterrey doesn’t promote its history and tradition; its youthful vision is pointed firmly forward toward the future.
‘Dallas, but in Spanish’
The city’s economic success is partly due to its location near the U.S. border, which has also resulted in plenty of cross-pollination with the U.S., both economically and culturally. In Mexico, Monterrey has the reputation of being the most Americanized city in Mexico.
Culturally, it boasts a strong norteño identity, thanks to its proximity to Texas cities like Laredo and San Antonio, so it’s not unusual to see cowboy hats on Monterrey’s streets, and hear the norteño sounds of Los Tigres Del Norte and Ramón Ayala at parties. Many Monterrey natives have family in the U.S. and have spent extensive time there, which means a big demand for U.S.-style amenities and culture. The city’s young, well-educated population, if not fluent in English, tends to speak at least some.
Mexico’s Tec de Monterrey actively recruits English-speaking foreign students, with classes conducted in both Spanish and in English. (Tec de Monterrey)
Thanks to Monterrey’s highly Americanized environment, it can be an appealing option for well-educated, younger workers from the U.S., who know Spanish, whose English can be a boon for international companies looking for workers who are fluent in the business world’s lingua franca.
Monterrey’s reputation for high-ranking universities also attracts young foreigners from the U.S. and other countries seeking to earn a less-expensive but still well-regarded university degree in an environment with plenty of good jobs. An undergraduate degree from even one of Mexico’s most prestigious, and most expensive, private universities, the Tec de Monterrey, can cost well under US $20,000 a year, significantly cheaper than in the U.S. At the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, a public university, international students can pay as little as US $1,000 in yearly tuition.
Mexican-American Kata Lucia, a Mexican American engineering student at Tec de Monterrey, sees the city as a good option for Mexican-American students who want to connect with their roots in an environment that doesn’t feel entirely foreign.
“Although I like to call Monterrey ‘Dallas, but in Spanish’ due to how Americanized it is, I’ve really fallen in love with the feeling it gives me,” she said. “It’s like being home in Texas, but also being in the unknown at the same time.”
A welcoming environment
Other expats in Monterrey we interviewed pointed to the warm sense of community they encountered there. Andrea Zavala, a local radio announcer for Monterrey’s Classic 106.9 FM and former Spanish immersion teacher in Ohio, highlights how kind the Monterrey community is towards outsiders, particularly to those with kids in the school system.
Expats who’ve moved to Monterrey, especially from the U.S., say they find the city welcoming and even a bit like home. (Unsplash/Gabriel Tovar)
“There’s a WhatsApp group for each of our kids’ classrooms. The parents and kids from each class even meet up to celebrate Christmas, Halloween and Mexico’s Independence Day. They use anything as an excuse to get together,” she said.
Also, she said, she encountered a “lot of support from the start.”
“If your kids need a ride or help with homework, parents from the community are there with a sincere and helping hand.”
After the gentrification protests in Mexico City last summer, a would-be foreign migrant to Monterrey might wonder if outsiders will be welcome. But since Monterrey doesn’t have many tourists or many temporary foreign residents, foreigners who settle in Monterrey are viewed more as new members of the community.
“I truly like how friendly the people are. Being from the southeast U.S., there are many similarities in the [two] culture[s]: greeting strangers, smiling, and making eye contact,” said April Bounds, an American who moved to Monterrey with her family last September. “The wealth inequality is stark here, but it’s important to remember that there are generally kind, hardworking people who are trying to get by like the rest of us.”
There are, of course, some challenges, especially if you don’t have a great command of Spanish, says Steen Kirby, an American expat who has lived in Monterrey for almost two years. Adapting to Monterrey also means adapting to life in a major urban center and all that comes with it, including sitting in rush-hour traffic jams.
Tecate Pa’l Norte is one of Monterrey’s biggest annual music festivals, attracting major international acts. (Wikimedia Commons/Joo Murga)
But Kirby finds Monterrey to be a part of Mexico filled with unexpected gems.
“There are companies like [outsourcers for] Tesla, Hyundai and Cemex here, so it makes for an interesting place to be in Mexico,” he says. “The skyscrapers and mountains also make for a wonderful backdrop to the city I call home.”
Kirby also cites “the amenities and infrastructure in Monterrey, such as the fantastic malls and shopping plazas” and the phenomenal music scene Monterrey has compared to other parts of Mexico, with two major festivals a year — Tecate Pa’l Norte and Machaca Fest. These festivals draw artists like Karol G, J Balvin, 50 Cent, Blink 182, and Kings of Leon to the city as an easy stopover from southern U.S. cities. If you also include Festival San Lucas in the equation, a cultural event with more traditional noteño music, it makes for a year-round, music paradise for those who enjoy concerts.
“But the biggest thing for me is how welcoming the norterños of Monterrey are towards people who are visibly not Mexican,” Kirby says. “I’ve lived in other parts of the north, like Tijuana, and felt less welcome there compared to being in Monterrey as a gringo.”
Stories like these demonstrate how foreigners can flourish in Monterrey, a rare middle ground between cultures where Americans, Mexicans, and virtually anyone who settles there can feel welcome. Maybe, with Monterrey set to host four World Cup games next June, others will start to fall in love with this unique gem in Mexico.
What has been your experience in Monterrey? Let us know in the comments below.
Ian Ostroff is an indie author, journalist, and copywriter from Montreal, Canada. You can find his work in various outlets, including Map Happy and The Suburban. When he’s not writing, you can find Ian at the gym, a café, or anywhere within Mexico visiting family and friends.
Tecuichpo Ixcaxochitzin was her original first name, which translates from ancient Náhuatl to "Divine Lady" and "Cotton Flower," respectively. (ProtoplasmaKid/Wikimedia Commons)
She was born amongst the royalty. In her blood, she bore the lineage of the highest kin in Mexico-Tenochtitlán, the imperial capital of the Mexica Empire. When the invaders from abroad took the city, however, her noble title meant nothing. Nor did her political career as a Tenochca leader: with the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, she lost everything. Not even her name survived.
Recent historiographical research by theRoyal Academy of History, in Spain, has traced her profile back to the archives of Conquest documents, in which she is referred to as Isabel Moctezuma: the last Mexica princess who, despite having direct noble blood, was stripped of her power, her land and her identity upon being baptized in the Christian rite.
Doña Isabel Moctezuma Tecuichpo Ixquixóchitl: the empire’s ‘Cotton Flower’
A Mexica princess and encomendera of the conquistadors, Isabel Moctezuma’s life was, at the very least, an example of colonial syncretism. (Public Domain)
Tecuichpo Ixcaxochitzin was her original name. According to the UNAM’sInstitute of Historical Research, the Náhuatl name translates to “Divine Lady” and “Cotton Flower,” respectively. The —tzin suffix was an extremely reverential way of referring to the royal family — and even goddesses and gods. However, as part of the scorching process of Conquest, this record lost its validity in the territory that was once under Mexica rule. Although her birth name was changed to Isabel Moctezuma, this political figure has been revisited in film, theater and various historical novels.
She was the daughter of Moctezuma II and Empress Consort Teotlacho. For this reason, she was a powerful and respected woman from birth, around 1509. Among her descendants, it is known that Moctezuma Xocoyotzin had a particular fondness for his daughter Tecuichpo. While the city-state was free, they built a strong father-daughter relationship. Given that she was born to such influential figures, in the highest rank of the Mexica royalty, some authors consider her the last empress of Mexico-Tenochtitlán.
A change of sides
The imperial capital was under siege. When Moctezuma II was taken prisoner by the Spanish, Tecuichpo Ixcaxochitzin was the only one who visited him at Cortés’s headquarters.
After nights of torture, the emperor was very weak. He asked the Spanish general to take care of his three daughters, because the Mexica reign had come to an end. If he didn’t leave them in the care of the new rulers, a grim future awaited them. Cortés kept his word, and to protect them, he changed their names to Christian ones.
Now known as Isabel Moctezuma, she was a woman of many men. Ancient codices suggest she was married five times — twice to Mexica emperors and thrice to Spanish generals — and even had a bastard daughter with the invader Hernán Cortés, whom she refused to recognize as her own kin. So yes, harsh, but Doña Isabel Moctezuma knew what she wanted in life
Thus, a new chapter began in her life. Instead of being a lady among Mexica royalty, Tecuichpo assumed the identity of Isabel Moctezuma, in honor of her deceased father. She even took the name of the ruler of Castile across the sea. With the blessing of the colonizing priests, she completed the process of Catholic baptism and secured a few years of peace as a new member of the ruling group.
After the Conquest of Mexico, Isabel Moctezuma had an illegitimate child with Hernán Cortés. (Public Domain)
Her best man was Cortés himself. This was the first marriage recognized by the Spanish. However, before the invasion, she had already been married to Cuitláhuac, the lord of Iztapalapa. After the death of her first husband, the Spanish administrators cared little for her widowhood and arranged another political union with Cuauhtémoc, the last Mexica tlatoani (ruler).
Feathers and precious stones
Cuauhtémoc was accused of treason. Without further ado, the Spanish soldiers executed him in cold blood, after a night of torture. Thus, Isabel Moctezuma was widowed once again. A few months later, Cortés arranged her third marriage with one of his trusted representatives. By then, in 1528, Tecuichpo Ixquixóchitl had become pregnant with his daughter.
Although Cortés did recognize the child, for the former Mexica ruler, the birth of her first daughter always represented an inner conflict. They named her Leonor, and she adopted her biological father’s surname. Although they were in close contact, they lived in different places. While the general managed his conquests from his villa in Coyoacán, Leonor lived with her mother in the perpetual encomienda of Tlacopan.
Daughter of Cortés
Although she shared a home with her mother’s husband, the explorer Alonso de Grado, she never acknowledged him as her father. On the contrary, the young girl was very clear that she was Cortés’s daughter, and understood the social standing that this guaranteed her. At the same time, Tecuichpo Ixquixóchitl retained the respect of her former Mexica subjects, now subjugated by the Spanish armed forces.
Thus, until the end of her days, she earned the respect of the Spaniards for her skill in navigating their circles of power. Shortly after turning 40, however, the former Mexica leader died at her estate in Tlacopan. She was buried according to the traditions of her people, with precious stones and feathers crafted in Coyoacán. In her will, she granted freedom to the Mexica slaves who worked her land and allocated one-fifth of all her wealth to pay off the debts of her servants.
President Sheinbaum took a question on Wednesday about a paper released by the credit rating agency Moody's asserting that "a premature easing" of interest rates in Mexico "has eroded the central bank's credibility." (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
President Claudia Sheinbaum faced questions on a range of topics at her Wednesday morning press conference, including the Bank of Mexico’s monetary policy, a report by The Wall Street Journal and Mexico’s representation at the upcoming World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland.
She also responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that the USMCA free trade pact provides “no real advantage” to the United States. (Read Mexico News Daily’s report on Trump’s remarks and Sheinbaum’s response here.)
Here is a recap of Sheinbaum’s Jan. 14 mañanera.
Sheinbaum praises Bank of Mexico governor, as Moody’s asserts that Mexico’s monetary policy has ‘lost credibility’
Asked about the importance of maintaining a “healthy distance” between the federal government and the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and its formulation of monetary policy, Sheinbaum said that the autonomy of the central bank is “very important.”
She went on to praise Banxico governor Victoria Rodríguez, saying that she has done a “very good” job as governor of the central bank.
“She’s a very professional woman, very studious,” Sheinbaum said.
Banxico governor Victoria Rodríguez Ceja. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
The president subsequently noted that Rodríguez, “with the support” of Banxico’s deputy governors, has been lowering the central bank’s benchmark interest rate.
Sheinbaum’s remarks about Rodríguez and Banxico came two days after the economic research subsidiary of credit rating agency Moody’s released a paper asserting that “a premature easing” of interest rates in Mexico “has eroded the central bank’s credibility.”
“Building credibility requires a significant amount of time and effort, but losing it is relatively easy,” states the Moody’s Analytics document, authored by the company’s director for Latin America, Alfredo Coutiño.
“Unfortunately, Mexico’s monetary policy has lost credibility in recent years. Neither the market nor analysts believe that the current policy is effective in achieving the inflation target,” Coutiño wrote.
“… To achieve inflation convergence and, consequently, restore credibility, the central bank needs to manage monetary policy with a strong commitment to price stability. This means making a decisive shift: reversing monetary easing,” he wrote.
Sheinbaum: US has never pressured Mexico to arrest Morena politicians with suspected cartel ties
A reporter asked the president about a Wall Street Journal report that, citing unnamed sources, said that high-level Mexican security officials “have held a series of private meetings since [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro was deposed where they discussed the possibility of untenable demands from Trump beyond U.S. military action, including the potential arrests of politicians from Sheinbaum’s party the U.S. believes have cartel ties.”
Sheinbaum said that the idea of arresting Morena party politicians has “never” been raised by the U.S. government, not in security meetings between Mexican and U.S. officials nor in her numerous telephone conversations with Trump.
Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila and her husband Carlos Torres both lost their U.S. visas in 2025. (@MarinadelPilar/X)
On Wednesday morning, a reporter noted that it has been said that the U.S. government is pressuring Mexican authorities to investigate people such as Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and former Tabasco governor Adán Augusto López Hernández, currently Morena’s leader in the Senate.
Sheinbaum said that only “some media outlets, and not the media” in general, “say that.”
“… The Wall Street Journal report, [although] I don’t know exactly what it said, … has nothing to do with what was spoken about in [Monday’s] call [with Trump],” she said before reiterating that the detention of Morena party politicians has “never” been raised in talks with the U.S. government.
Environment minister to represent Mexico at WEF meeting
Sheinbaum told reporters that Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena will represent the Mexican government at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, later this month.
She said that Bárcena will speak about “development with justice” as well as the “Mexican model” and environmental issues at the meeting.
The environment minister has plenty of experience on the world stage, having served as foreign affairs minister between 2023 and 2024 and Mexico’s ambassador to Chile before that.
Bárcena also served as executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean between 2008 and 2022.
The Brazilian data center firm OData has inaugurated four data centers in Mexico in just three years. (X)
As we all try to figure out how to use some version of GPT to answer emails, Nano Banana to make our Google Slides look prettier and Grok to turn photos into videos — or answer questionable political questions on X — it’s easy to forget that the AI conversation tied to global power and national security is far more complex.
Beneath the memes, prompts and productivity hacks lies a serious geopolitical race. And in that space, the U.S.-Mexico relationship may be one of the most important — and underappreciated — dynamics shaping trade and economic policy in the years ahead.
At its core, AI leadership isn’t just about algorithms. It’s about hardware, energy, data, talent, resilience and national security.
Models don’t train themselves in the cloud — they require massive computing power, physical servers, advanced chips, secure supply chains and uninterrupted infrastructure. In that sense, AI looks a lot more like manufacturing than software. And that’s where North America — and especially Mexico — enters the picture. The USMCA’s digital trade framework is becoming a national security tool, not just a trade one — governing data flows, infrastructure and trust in ways that directly shape AI competitiveness (Inter-American Dialogue).
As tensions with China persist and export controls on advanced chips tighten, the United States faces a simple challenge: how to scale AI infrastructure fast, securely and close to home. This is a race where the digital world is moving more quickly than the physical one. AI leadership ultimately rests on semiconductors, and today roughly three-quarters of global chip manufacturing capacity remains concentrated in East Asia, with advanced production highly exposed to geopolitical risk (US-Mexico Foundation). (No need to revisit what happened during COVID).
One concrete example: Mexico is now home to major investments in AI server and “superchip” assembly. Nvidia’s next-generation GB200 servers are being assembled in Jalisco through Foxconn, alongside a growing ecosystem of suppliers relocating from Asia. These facilities aren’t designed for the Mexican market — they’re built to serve North American strategic needs. This is nearshoring not as a buzzword, but as an AI supply-chain strategy. To understand why infrastructure location matters so much, it helps to look at where the physical backbone of the digital economy actually lives.
AI doesn’t live in the cloud — it lives in data centers. And those data centers are highly concentrated geographically, making location, energy and connectivity strategic assets.
Hardware, however, is only half the story. AI also runs on data centers — lots of them. Mexico is rapidly becoming an extension of the North American digital backbone. Multibillion-dollar investments from Microsoft, AWS and others are turning cities like Querétaro into critical nodes for cloud and AI workloads. Enabled by USMCA digital trade rules, these data centers operate within compatible regulatory and privacy frameworks, allowing U.S. firms to expand capacity, improve latency and build redundancy without leaving the region.
This distributed infrastructure matters for resilience. AI systems can’t afford downtime.
In scenarios ranging from cyberattacks to natural disasters or energy stress, having computing capacity spread across the continent strengthens continuity. Mexico and Canada aren’t alternatives to the United States — they are fail-safes. And Mexico’s comparative advantage in this ecosystem isn’t about replicating advanced chip fabs, but about strengthening the assembly, testing, packaging and integration layers that make AI hardware scalable and resilient across North America (U.S.-Mexico Foundation). This isn’t happening by accident. Mexico’s next phase of industrial and digital policy is explicitly aligned with this opportunity.
Mexico’s industrial and digital infrastructure plans — including data centers, energy, and advanced manufacturing — are increasingly aligned with North America’s AI and nearshoring strategy.
Then there’s talent. AI leadership ultimately depends on people, not just machines. Mexico produces thousands of engineers and computer science graduates every year, many already embedded in North American firms and research ecosystems. Mexican universities graduate over 130,000 engineers annually across degree levels, along with nearly 3,000 master’s graduates in computer science or related fields — the highest number in Latin America. Talent mobility under the USMCA, combined with shared standards and regulatory coordination, accelerates innovation while keeping critical capabilities inside the region.
Seen through this lens, AI becomes a familiar story. Just like manufacturing, trade and energy, the United States doesn’t need to “do it all alone.” It needs a trusted, integrated regional system that lowers risk, increases scale and preserves strategic autonomy. Mexico is not a competitor in the AI race — it is an enabler.
(Just as a footnote, AI related to physical security enforcement, arms and potential war is a huuuge topic, of which I’m not capable of writing about, but keep that in mind as well.)
AI dominance won’t be decided by who writes the best prompt. It will be decided by who controls the full stack: chips, servers, energy, data, talent and trust. The upcoming 2026 USMCA review isn’t just a procedural milestone — it’s a narrow strategic window to lock in North America’s AI advantage before other models define the rules instead (Inter-American Dialogue).
In AI, just like in trade, the future isn’t about decoupling from your closest partners.
It’s about building with them.
Catch up on parts 1-4 of Could Mexico make America great again? here:
Pedro Casas Alatriste is the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AmCham). Previously, he has been the Director of Research and Public Policy at the US-Mexico Foundation in Washington, D.C. and the Coordinator of International Affairs at the Business Coordinating Council (CCE). He has also served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank.
While the forecast of 1.3% growth is down from the October estimate of 1.4%, Mexico can hope for the same resilience the Bank predicts for the rest of the world, which is expected to catch a break by 2027. (Shutterstock)
The World Bank’s latest estimate is that the Mexican economy will grow by 1.3% in 2026, a decrease from its 1.4% October forecast and a more significant reduction from the 1.6% growth it predicted for 2026 in January 2025.
According to the World Bank’s semi-annual Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday, the lower forecast is largely owing to the upcoming review of the USMCA free-trade agreement, which puts its trade with the U.S. under threat.
On a global level, the World Bank expects output growth to slow slightly to 2.6% in 2026, compared to 2.7% in 2025, but shows resilience by rising back up to 2.7% in 2027.
The organization revised its 2026 GDP forecast upwards by two-tenths of a percentage point from June estimations, which still puts it in the slowing category, since the final 2025 growth will be four-tenths of a percentage point higher than previous forecasts.
The recent global improvement reflects better-than-expected growth in the United States despite tariff-driven trade disruptions, according to the World Bank. It expects the U.S. to achieve a GDP growth of 2.2% in 2026, an improvement on its 2.1% in 2025.
Nevertheless, the sum of the forecasts implies that the current decade is performing weakly and could end with the slowest global growth since the 1960s. That possibility carries with it real-world pain, with higher levels of unemployment in emerging markets and developing countries, according to the World Bank.
Global GDP per person in 2025 was 10% higher than it was on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank’s chief economist, Indermit Gill, said in a statement. This marks the fastest recovery from a major crisis in the past 60 years.
However, many developing countries are being left behind.
“While nearly all advanced economies will be richer in per capita income than they were before the pandemic, one out of four developing countries — and more than a third of all low-income economies — will be poorer than they were five years ago,” stressed Gill in his own italics.
Even though growth in emerging markets and developing economies is forecast to decrease from 4.2% in 2025 to 4% in 2026, those percentages mark a two-tenths and three-tenths of a percentage point increase from June forecasts.
Meanwhile, China’s economic growth rate forecast for 2026 remains unchanged from 2025, at 3.7%, according to the World Bank.
Macario Martínez, 23, was working in sanitation for Mexico City when a song he recorded, "Sueña lindo, corazón," went viral. Now he's a budding star. (macariomartinez_/Instagram)
The singer — whose video of his song “Sueña lindo, corazón” (“Sweet dreams, sweetheart”) went viral earlier this year with more than 14 million views — is scheduled to perform on the same bill with Latin Grammy winner Paloma Morphy and indie rock band Little Jesus.
The León (Guanajuato) State Fair naturally has its local importance, but it has evolved into a major festival venue, where the Foo Fighters have already packed the 20,000-capacity house in this year’s edition. (@guanajuato/on X)
Tickets range from 920 to 1,265 pesos (US $52 to $71) and the concert will be held at Foro del Lago, a venue at the Guanajuato state fairgrounds.
His first large-scale, ticketed, festival-style show will mark a new milestone for Macario, who has been on a rapid rise from an unknown 23-year-old when his song went viral a year ago.
His León concert is part of a lineup that has already included Foo Fighters, the post-grunge rockers from Seattle who played to a packed house of more than 20,000 on Saturday.
Other big names in the 14-concert slate include Dutch DJ Tiësto and alternative rock band Zoé from Cuernavaca, Morelos, along with cumbia stalwarts Los Ángeles Azules from Iztapalapa (a borough of Mexico City) and regional music stars La Arrolladora Banda El Limón from Mazatlán.
The annual Feria Estatal de León (FEL) — or León State Fair — is celebrating the city’s 450th anniversary this year as well as its own 150th edition. It opened Jan. 9 and runs through Feb. 4.
More than 6 million visitors are expected, according to the digital news site Líder Empresarial, with about 85% of its shows and activities free of charge.
The fair’s offerings range from family spectacles like Disney’s “Where Dreams Are Born” to “Illusion on Ice Quantum,” a futuristic skating show.
Macario’s highly anticipated debut will be on the same bill as Morphy, a singer-songwriter from Mexico City highlighted by Billboard magazine as a Latin “artist on the rise.” Three years ago, she left her career as a criminal lawyer after gaining popularity for her TikTok song covers, and in 2025, she won a Latin Grammy for best new artist after the release of her debut album, “Au.”
"Actions like these transcend borders," the ambassador wrote. (@USAmbMex/X)
Donald Trump believes that Mexico needs to do more to combat cartels, but his ambassador in Mexico City is full of praise for what is already being done.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson posted twice on social media on Tuesday to acknowledge arrests made by Mexican security forces.
“Actions like these transcend borders,” the ambassador wrote.
“By dismantling transnational criminal networks, regional security is strengthened and communities are made safer. We recognize @GabSeguridadMX for these arrests in Mexico City, which help ensure accountability and contribute to safer nations.”
Los arrestos de individuos vinculados al CJNG realizados por @FGRMexico en Jalisco golpean a esta organización narcoterrorista que genera violencia y envenena con sus drogas a nuestras comunidades. Colaborando haremos que la justicia prevalezca y juntos construiremos un futuro… pic.twitter.com/Idg87QIUNy
“The arrests of individuals linked to the CJNG carried out by @FGRMexico in Jalisco strike at this narco-terrorist organization that fuels violence and poisons our communities with its drugs,” he wrote on X.
“By working together, we will ensure that justice prevails and build a brighter future together.”
Both Tren de Aragua and CJNG were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government last February. Since the designation early in Trump’s second term, Mexico has come under increased pressure from the United States to do more to combat criminal organizations in Mexico and the drugs they traffic across the northern border.
After the call, Sheinbaum — a staunch defender of Mexican sovereignty and an ardent opponent of any kind of U.S. intervention — said that the possibility of U.S. military action in Mexico could be ruled out.
She noted that Trump recognized her government’s security efforts, including the arrest of more than 40,000 suspects and the dismantlement of almost 2,000 drug labs over the past 15 months. However, she also acknowledged that he told her that more can be done to combat cartels and offered additional U.S. assistance to her government, such as a U.S. army deployment to Mexico.
From Oct. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025, Mexico’s security ministry — led by Omar García Harfuch — arrested 40,735 people, seized more than 318 tonnes of drugs and 21,357 firearms and dismantled 1,887 laboratories. (@OHarfuch/X)
Amid the security-related tension between Mexico and the United States, it is a boon for the Mexican government to have the U.S. ambassador publicly recognizing its anti-crime efforts — as well as its willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration.
In another X post on Monday, Johnson wrote that the relationship between the United States and Mexico is the “most cooperative and mutually beneficial … in decades.”
In the same post, he said that “there’s still much to be done,” but added that “together we can build a brighter future for our citizens.”
Given that a unilateral U.S. strike on cartels in Mexico would almost certainly undermine the “mutually beneficial” bilateral security cooperation, the U.S. ambassador could be a strong advocate within the U.S. government for not risking the relationship with Mexico via an unrequested attack south of the border.
Ten months ago, before he assumed his current role, Johnson — who on Tuesday won praise from Sheinbaum for the support he has provided to the Mexican government — said he believed that on “any decision to take action against a cartel inside Mexico, our first desire would be that it be done in partnership with our Mexican partners.”
However, he also said he was aware that “President Trump takes very seriously his responsibility to safeguard the lives of U.S. citizens and should there be a case where the lives of U.S. citizens are at risk, I think all cards are on the table.”
In sum, Johnson’s remarks last March are indicative of where things currently stand: Trump, for now at least, appears to have backed away from his declaration that the U.S. would begin targeting cartels in Mexico, favoring instead ongoing bilateral security cooperation while continuing to push the Mexican government to authorize the entry of the U.S. military.
While security collaboration between Mexico and the United States may deepen as a result of the U.S. president’s threat last Thursday, and the Mexican government appears likely to further ramp up its anti-crime efforts given that Sheinbaum admitted on Monday that her administration could do more, some semblance of the status quo looks set to remain in the near term.
But as we saw on Jan. 3 in Venezuela — where President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a swift U.S. military operation — situations can change very quickly.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
