Protesters hang posters outside a Ciudad Juarez detention center where 39 migrants were killed in a fire on Monday. (Photo by Graciela Lopez Herrera/Cuartoscuro.com)
A judge ruled that the five suspects – three immigration agents, a security guard employed by a private company, and a Venezuelan migrant accused of starting the blaze – must remain in preventive detention as they await trial. The accused face charges of homicide and causing injury.
An additional security guard suspected by authorities has not yet been detained.
According to reports, migrants set fire to mattresses after being informed they would be deported. (Photo by Juan Ortega/Cuartoscuro.com)
The arrests came aftera fire broke out late Monday at a provisional detention center run by Mexico’s National Immigration Institute (INM). The 39 men killed were migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Venezuela.
The detained Venezuelan citizen, identified as Jason “N,” is accused of setting mattresses alight after he and other migrants learned they were going to be deported or moved to another INM facility. Jason “N” was not seriously injured in the fire, federal security minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Thursday.
A video posted to social media showed that the male migrants being held in Ciudad Juárez wereleft in a locked section of the detention center while the fire raged. A security guard and an INM agent appear to evacuate the building without unlocking the door to the section where the migrants were detained.
In addition to the 39 deaths, around 30 other migrants were injured in the blaze.
The five suspects – four men and a female INM agent – are being held in a state prison in Ciudad Juárez and will face another preliminary hearing next week.
President López Obrador asked Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero to personally attend to the case and pledged that those responsible for the tragedy won’t go unpunished.
Informal workers, like street vendors, make up over half of the labor force in Mexico. ( Moisés Pablo Nava / Cuartoscuro.com)
Mexico’s unemployment rate hit a historic low of 2.7% in February, according to figurespublished today by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
The INEGI’s National Employment and Occupation Survey (ENOE) shows that unemployment in February was a full percentage point lower than the same month in 2022, and 0.1% lower than in January this year.
A strong peso and low unemployment rate are positive signs in Mexico’s post-pandemic rebound (Depositphotos/Photo by kmiragaya)
Underemployment – the number of people who do not work enough hours – was also down to 7.4% in February, compared to 9.2% in February 2022.
These figures are despite the fact that Mexico’s economically active population (of working age) grew by 1.7 million people over the previous year. It reached 60 million people in February 2023, of whom 58.3 million were actively employed.
Mexico’s unemployment rate has beensteadily declining after spiking at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, employment in the informal economy remains strong.
Informal labor made up 55.5% of total employment in February 2023, a 0.9% increase from February 2022. Notably, the proportion of men in informal employment dropped slightly during this period, while the proportion of women in informal employment jumped, from 53.7% to 56.4%.
Of those who found formal work in the previous year, 60% did so in the services sector. (Depositphotos/Photo by Kasto)
Although these informal figures include those working in subsistence agriculture, a similar trend was observed in non-agricultural informal employment, which rose from 28.5% to 29% overall, and from 28.1% to 29.7% for women.
Of the 2.29 million people who started new jobs since February 2022, only 23% entered the formal economy. This is concerning given that those employed in the informal economy are more economically vulnerable and generally lack social security.
Of those who found formal work, 60% did so in the services sector, particularly in trade. 35.6% entered the industrial sector, mostly in manufacturing, and the remainder took up work in the primary sector.
Free high-speed internet on the beach? Quintana Roo's government and provider GigNet have signed an agreement to implement this in parts of Cancún, Tulum, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen. (Tulum Circle)
GigNet, a Wi-Fi provider with a regional broadband network from Costa Mujeres to Tulum, has partnered with the State of Quintana Roo to bring high-speed wireless internet to some of the state’s most popular tourism hotspots.
Signed by Quintana Roo Tourism Minister Bernardo Cueto Riestra and President of GigNet Mexico, Mark Carney, during Mexico’s national tourism fair this week, the agreement seeks to promote technological development in the tourism industry across the Mexican Caribbean.
Cancún International Airport recorded traffic of over 30 million passengers last year. (Arkadiusz Warguła/iStock)
In the first phase of the agreement, GigNet will install public high-speed Wi-Fi zones in the Cancún hotel zone, Playa del Carmen’s 5th Avenue, Puerto Morelos city hall and Tulum’s coastal area, eventually covering additional tourist areas of the Mexican Caribbean. According to reporting in the Cancun Sun, the project could be operational as soon as next month.
According to the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council, 64% of tourists who visit the Mexican Caribbean are under 39 years of age, and technology plays an important role in attracting younger demographics.
Using their phones to look for routes, restaurants, shops and activities during their travels, this new generation of tourists wants to stay connected during their trip. This is also true of digital nomads moving to the area who require high-speed access to the internet for their work.
At a press conference in Cancún, Carney said that GigNet “truly believes the quality of life of the Mexican Caribbean has all the elements to attract investment, businesses, and now – with access to GigNet high-speed internet – tech entrepreneurs and established technology companies seeking to relocate to this attractive business environment.”
GigNet believes that the Riviera Maya could become the Silicon Valley of Latin America, and lure big companies like Amazon or Google to establish operations in the region.
“One of the most important elements in making this vision possible is access to reliable high-speed internet, which, until recently, was the only missing piece,” Carney said.
The company’s says it is also going to promote social benefits like online learning, improved medical services, remote work opportunities, a diversified economy and access to public services.
The properties included in the industrial real estate portfolio are located in 11 states. (Courtesy)
Real estate investment firm Fibra Monterrey signed a purchase agreement with real estate developer Finsa and Walton Street Capital México to buy Zeus, a 46-property industrial portfolio in northern Mexico. The properties are located in 11 states and comprise 822,000 square meters of construction plus 882,000 square meters of land for development.
The agreement, worth US $662 million, is the second largest industrial real estate transaction made in Mexico, after Fibra Uno purchased a 74-unit industrial real estate portfolio for US $841 million in 2019.
Finsa head Sergio Argüelles González, left, and Fibra Monterrey Director of Operations and Acquisitions Javier Llaca García marked their deal at an event on Wednesday. (Courtesy)
Twenty-seven developers and investment trusts participated in the selection process. Sixty percent were national companies, with the remaining 40% coming from abroad. According to the newspaper El Economista, a key factor was Fibra Monterrey’s reputation in the market.
The Zeus portfolio was developed and acquired with funds from Development Capital Certificates (CKD), a structured private equity security that’s traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
Developed by Mexico in 2009, they are designed to raise sources of capital for Mexican companies and projects involved in sectors such as infrastructure, real estate, business and mining, among others.
“For a second time, we have achieved a successful sale with CKD capital. We are excited about the good results that we have attained during a key moment for Mexico, when nearshoring is so relevant for the country,” Sergio Argüelles González, president of Finsa, said.
He stressed that this agreement proves the “good performance and liquidity of the Mexican real estate market,” and said that with the sale, “the three stages of this type of vehicle conclude: investment, stabilization and divestment.”
Last week, Fibra Monterrey reported it signed a syndicated loan for up to US $300 million and a revolving credit line that would allow it to complete the acquisition of the Zeus portfolio.
Finsa now seeks to take advantage of the nearshoring wave to develop a new fund that will boost the company’s growth in Mexico over the next few years.
The artist performed a show to tens of thousands of fans at Foro Sol, Mexico City. (@Biltracking/Twitter)
Pop sensation Billie Eilish gave an electrifying performance at her rescheduled Mexico City concert in Foro Sol stadium on Thursday.
The 21-year-old was forced to postpone her concert on Wednesday after a severe rain and hail storm in the city, although she and her brother Finneas provided an intimate 20-minute acoustic set to thank fans who braved the weather.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas entertained the crowd after the cancellation of the concert on Wednesday night. (@CesarTheSecond/Twitter)
The Mexico City date of her “Happier Than Ever” world tour was canceled as a precautionary measure.
Some fans to the general admission show had reportedly camped outside the entrance to the circuit for up to 48 hours to ensure that they would be in the front row.
The 51,000 people who packed into the stadium Thursday night for the rescheduled show were treated to Eilish’s signature whispers and ethereal vocals that made her the first 21st-century artist to score a No. 1 single.
Draped in a Mexican flag, the Californian said she was exhausted from the rigors of touring but felt happy to be back performing in Mexico.
“I feel familiar. I’ve only been here once, but I feel like I know them, that we’re old friends and we’ve met again,” she told the crowd.
As is tradition, she ended her set with her multi-platinum selling hit “Bad Guy”.
Eilish will appear at the Pa’l Norte festival in Monterrey later Friday before heading to Arena VFG, Guadalajara on April 2.
The protests caused traffic blockages for much of the morning on Friday. (Twitter)
Protesters blockaded a number of key roads from Mexico City earlier today, affecting traffic leaving for the Semana Santa (Easter) holidays on the Mexico-Querétaro, Mexico-Pachuca, and Toluca-Atlacomulco highways.
The organization had originally said that the blockades would be canceled, but traffic reports this morning showed that the action had gone ahead at the last minute.
Protestors were upset about extortion by members of the police. (Twitter)
The protesters are from the Organization of Merchants, Carriers and Civil Associations of México state. Members are concerned about working rights and extortion by local police.
“What we ask for is justice, that they take care of us as carriers, that our rights not be trampled on,” said one.
According to federal highways agency Capufe, the protesters gathered at kilometer 20 of the Mexico-Cuernavaca highway, the El Dorado toll booth on the Toluca-Atlacomulco highway, and at the Tepotzotlán toll booth on the Mexico-Querétaro highway. Authorities said that traffic on at least two lanes of the Mexico-Queretaro highway was flowing freely as of Friday morning.
Protesters told the newspaper El Universal that they were prepared to open up access to all the roads they had blocked, and they claimed that it was only through the blockades that they got the attention of authorities.
It is believed that the blockades will be fully dismantled before the end of the day, though there are delays as a result of the protests. Police say they are working to resolve the dispute.
A Chinese cargo flight departs Felipe Ángeles International Airport earlier this month. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Despite only beginning to receive cargo earlier this month, operations at the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) have reached a level of moving 2,000 tonnes and 12 aircraft per week.
The figure is equivalent to 624 flights and 104,000 tonnes of cargo per year, as the México state airport establishes itself as the primary cargo destination for imports in the capital.
The first cargo flight to land at AIFA, was a DHL plane from Cincinnati, Ohio. The logistics company will run the route six days a week, DHL Express México officials said. (Photo: Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The enormous facilities – which have capacity for up to 300,000 tonnes of cargo per year – measure the same as 48 soccer fields. There is also space for an additional 36 warehouses, which officials are optimistic will be required when AIFA is designated as the primary cargo terminus later this year.
Airport officials anticipate to be prepared for this change in June – when cargo operations are expected to cease at the Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM), Mexico City’s main airport and the busiest one in the country, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport.
The new customs facilities – the first built in Mexico for 12 years – are now operational, allowing the military (who are tasked with customs and excise at ports of entry) to quickly process arrivals.
DHL, AeroUnion, and Awesome Cargo became the first cargo airlines to officially announce operations from AIFA at the end of 2022, and all three are now regularly scheduling flights between Mexico City and the north of Mexico. U.S.-Canadian hauler Cargojet recently joined the list of operators.
The airport, in the town of Zumpango, in northern México state, is taking advantage of new transport links designed to accommodate large numbers of passengers and cargo more comfortably than at AICM.
“In the AICM, we already have a load saturation that may not be seen right now; perhaps we will endure it until 2024, but in a few years, it would no longer be manageable,” said Carmen Sánchez, commercial director at Aaacesa, the construction specialists tasked with building the infrastructure that will facilitate the move from Benito Juárez to AIFA.
AIFA’s location — near Pachucha, the state capital of Hidalgo — allows for better haulage once cargo arrives when compared to the congested roads in the center of the capital, says the government. Recent upgrades to existing ring roads also mean that the México state capital Toluca is easily accessible by road.
A striking hallway leads to a swimming pool inside Luis Barragán's Gilardi House, built in Mexico City between 1975 and 1977. (Luis Barragán Foundation)
A friend of mine and I recently visited Casa Gilardi in Mexico City’s leafy and tranquil San Miguel de Chapultepec section. Casa Gilardi was the final project of Mexico’s lauded architect, Luis Barragán. He completed it when he was 80 years old.
The house is hard to miss, with its bright pink facade contrasting greatly with the otherwise muted pastel dwellings that line the street. A giant jacaranda in full blossom erupts from what appears to be the roof, which, upon further inspection, is actually a courtyard separating the living quarters from the indoor pool.
Luis Barragán, was the first Latin American to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered by many to be the “Nobel Prize for architecture.” (Wikimedia Commons)
In the true style of Barragan, colors play an important role, and their shades dramatically shift according to the dancing rays of the sun. It’s a true masterpiece, and this is coming from someone with little to no appreciation or understanding of architectural genius.
More memorable was the passing comment that my friend, Mexican through and through, made as we entered the house with a group of about 18 rather trendy and noticeably eager visitors.
“I’m the only Mexican here.”
I didn’t even need to scan the crowd before nodding my head in agreement. That undeniably perky North American accent pierced my eardrums from every single angle. We’re simply everywhere,front row and center.
Even pop star Dua Lipa has been hit by Barragan fever; she visited the Museo Luis Barragán last year while doing concerts in Mexico City. (Dua Lipa/Instagram)
But I knew this would be the case. Because…Barragán.
When did Barragán fever sweep the expat art nation?
Aside from the architect’s celebrity status within Mexico itself, he was the first Latino to win the Pritzker Prize in 1980. And a quick Google search reveals a long-term love affair between the New York Times and Barragán’s revered role in contemporary architecture.
The artist Jill Magid’s tenacious and ongoing attempt to access his archives (held under lock and key by the Swiss furniture company Vitria) was chronicled in her documentary “The Proposal,” released in 2018 at the Camden International Film Festival, .
And with the country’s surge in expat popularity during the pandemic, it’s no surprise that the foreign creative crowd would flock to the doors of what has effectively come to be known to internationals as Mexico’s version of Frank Lloyd Wright.
And for good reason. His work, like all good art, gets you thinking. By toying with varying hues, light, angles and the flirtatious interplay between design and nature, Barragan’s masterpieces promote a lifestyle threaded with intimacy and tranquility, one that must have had an especially high appeal to people fleeing the chaos of Covid-19.
Barragán also designed public spaces, like the Faro del Comercio in Monterrey, Nuevo León. (Wikimedia Commons)
Nor is his clear and obvious respect for the surrounding nature lost on the viewer. Like the aforementioned jacaranda, he worked boldly with Mother Nature’s elements by incorporating them into his projects, and often used her geography as his focal point.
So who is the mysterious man behind Mexico’s structural gems?
Barragán was born in Guadalajara in 1902. He earned a civil engineering degree but bolstered his knowledge with the skills he needed to dive into an architectural career. Throughout his 20s and early 30s, Barragán traveled throughout France, Spain and Morocco, where his penchant for Mediterranean and North African design would make a lasting impact.
In 1936, he moved to Mexico City, where he stayed until his death in 1988. Considering himself a landscape architect, Barragán’s draw to nature and landscapes stemmed from a deep devotion to religion and beauty.
His private life is just that, private, and while there are speculations as to his sexuality, it’s difficult to track down concrete evidence of any value.
And perhaps that’s apropos for an introverted man whose life was seemingly dedicated to the honing of his untouchable craft.
The Torres de Satelite in Naucalpan, México state. (Wikimedia Commons)
If you find yourself in the World Design Organization’s World Design Capital of 2018, here is a list of Luis Barragán’s properties that are open for public perusal:
Casa Pedregal (formally Casa Prieto Lopez, designed in tandem with Diego Rivera): Av. de Las Fuentes 180, Jardines del Pedregal, CDMX. To set up an appointment, email visitas@casapedregal.com
Jardines del Pedregal: Calle Fuentes, Agua y Cráter, Pedregal, CDMX. Entry is free during the park’s opening hours.
Casa Barragán (his former house and studio): Gral. Francisco Ramírez 12–14, Ampliación Daniel Garza, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX. Reserve entry ticket ahead of time on the website.
Casa Gilardi: General León #82 entre Rafael Rebollar y Tiburcio Montiel, Ampliación Daniel Garza, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX. Reserve entry ahead of time on the website. Cash payment only.
Casa Cuadra San Cristóbal: Look familiar? This sweeping private ranch hosted a Louis Vuitton photoshoot in 2016. Located at Cda. Manantial Ote. 20, Mayorazgos de los Gigantes, 52957 Cd López Mateos, Municipio Atizapán de Zaragoza, México state. Accessible only by private tour. To schedule, contact The Traveling Beetle at trips@thetravelingbeetle.com
Capilla de las Capuchinas: Miguel Hidalgo 43, Tlalpan Centro I, 14000, Tlalpan, CDMX. Call for opening hours: +525555732395
Bethany Platanella is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. With her company, Active Escapes International, she plans and leads private and small-group active retreats. She loves Mexico’s local markets, Mexican slang, practicing yoga and fresh tortillas. Sign up for her (almost) weekly love letters or follow her Instagram account, @a.e.i.wellness.
Inflation has gone down since February, but the central bank isn't yet ready to end its fight against rising consumer prices. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has voted to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a record high of 11.25% as it continues its fight against inflation.
The central bank’s key rate has now risen 725 basis points in the current tightening cycle, which began in June 2021.
Banxico has raised its benchmark rate at its last 15 monetary policy meetings. (Wikimedia Commons)
Thursday’s unanimous vote by the five members of Banxico’s governing board comes a week after the national statistics agency INEGI reported that annual headline inflation was 7.12% in the first half of March, down from 7.62% in February.
While inflation also declined in February, the headline rate, or raw inflation rate, is still well above the central bank’s target of 3%, with tolerance of one percentage point in either direction.
Banxico has raised its benchmark rate at its last 15 monetary policy meetings, with Thursday’s increase being the smallest since November 2021.
In a statement announcing the 25-basis-point hike, the bank said that global inflation “remains at high levels” and noted that most central banks, including the United States Federal Reserve, have “continued raising their reference rates.”
A Banxico table released Thursday showing the central bank’s predictions for headline and core inflation through the first quarter of 2025. (Banxico)
However, the statement said, since Banxico’s last monetary policy meeting in February – at which the bank’s board members voted unanimously for a 50-basis-point hike – annual headline inflation in Mexico “has decreased more than expected.”
That decrease led most economists to correctly predict that the central bank would only lift its key rate by 25 basis points today.
Banxico said that “inflation is still projected to converge to the 3% target in the fourth quarter of 2024” but noted that the forecast is subject to a range of risks, including persistence of core inflation at high levels, foreign exchange depreciation due to volatility in international financial markets and pressures on energy prices or on agricultural and livestock product prices.
For its next monetary policy decision on May 18, Banxico said its board members “will take into account the inflation outlook, considering the monetary policy stance already attained.”
In contrast to previous statements, the bank didn’t specifically mention the possibility of a rate hike at its next monetary policy meeting, suggesting that the 11.25% rate could remain unchanged through May.
Several banks, including Banorte and Scotiabank, predict that the benchmark rate at the end of 2023 will be 11.75%. Interest rate cuts are expected in 2024, provided that inflation is declining toward Banxico’s target rate.
The central bank is currently forecasting that annual headline inflation will decline to 4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023. It predicts the headline rate will continue to fall through next year to reach 3.1% in Q4 of 2024.
Beekeepers reported combined losses of 12 million pesos. (Facebook / Colectivo Maya de los Chenes)
Beekeepers in Campeche are blaming agrochemical testing linked to Bayer-Monsanto for the deaths of more than 300,000 bees in their apiaries.
The mass bee death affected around 100 apiaries and up to 2,500 hives in San Francisco Suctuc and Crucero Oxá, in the municipality of Hopelchén. Beekeepers report combined economic losses of up to 12 million pesos (US $663,000).
#URGENTE#Pronunciamiento#apicultores#abejas
Compartimos nuestro posicionamiento ante la actual situación que enfrentan compañerxs apicultorxs de la comunidad de San Francisco, Suc-Tuc con la muerte masiva de sus colmenas por el uso excesivo de agrotóxicos. pic.twitter.com/PgLua7Hxkm
— Colectivo de Comunidades Mayas (@ColectivoMayas) March 28, 2023
The beekeepers’ collective denounced the mass bee death on Twitter.
The cause of the incident is unconfirmed until laboratory tests are concluded. But some farmers allege it is linked to aerial fumigation of corn, sorghum and soy crops at the Zenit ranch near Crucero Oxá, which they say is operated by agrochemical giant Bayer-Monsanto.
“One of Bayer’s engineers or technicians allowed us to take samples from one of their crops after the bees started to die,” José Manuel Poot Chan, one of the affected beekeepers, told the newspaper La Jornada Maya.
“We are exhausting all possible legal instances, while members of the Welfare Ministry already came to offer humanitarian social aid to cover part of the damages,” he added.
Poot Chan said that the 50-hectare Zenit ranch is on loan to Bayer Monsanto from a local businessman. The beekeepers suspect the multinational is using it to test new agrochemical products.
Beekeepers allege that their bees’ deaths were caused by aerial fumigation at the Zenit ranch, which they say is being used by Bayer-Monsanto. (Wikimedia Commons / Jenni Jones)
However, the Collective of Maya Communities of the Chenes, a nongovernmental organization in Hopelchén, has also reported chemical fumigation by local Mennonite communities. A 2016 study by the Autonomous University of Campeche (UAC) found agrochemicals in the groundwater of 17 Hopelchén communities near Mennonite fields.
The study found traces of the herbicide glyphosate – which is produced by Bayer-Monsanto – in the urine of local farmers. It also reported that Mennonite communities were illegally fumigating with the highly toxic herbicides carbofuran, imidacloprid, chlorphyrifos and atrazine.
“I see no hope; on the contrary, the use of these products has worsened while [also] affecting those of us who are dedicated to beekeeping, and [it’s] harming our bees,” Leydy Pech, a beekeeper and longtime activist leader for Maya beekeepers in Hopelchén who received the international Goldman environmental prize in 2020, told La Jornada Maya following the mass bee death.
In December 2020, President López Obrador announced that glyphosate would bephased out in Mexico by 2024. The move has been praised by many environmental groups, but resisted by Bayer-Monsanto, who argue that the product is safer than its alternatives.
