Soaring temperatures have become more common in Mexico, especially in the last year and a half. (Windy)
Mexico is warming up faster than the rest of the world, according to researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
In an articlerecapping the recent event Climate Change in Mexico: Trends, Risks and Policies, the institution noted that temperatures in Mexico have risen by 1.8 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial period (before 1800) to 2024. That increase is more than the global average of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which itself inched slightly higher last year, the hottest year on record globally (and an especially torrid one in Mexico).
While global temperatures are rising by approximately 2 degrees Celsius per century, Mexico is heating up at a rate of 3.2 degrees. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro.com)
“We’re warming up faster than the global average with a greater warming rate,” the UNAM article said.
That 1.5-degree increase over pre-industrial global temperatures is the threshold set by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Yet according to Francisco Estrada Porrúa, senior climate researcher at UNAM, Mexico has seen average warming above that figure for the last year and a half. Estrada mentioned that Mexico also surpassed the average 1.5°C mark in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
The trend has real-life consequences. In 2006, Estrada and his team predicted that coffee production in Veracruz would register an estimated 24% loss in 2020 due to climate change. Now, the estimate is around 48%.
“This only indicates how serious the consequences of [climate change] are,” the UNAM article noted.
Naxhelli Ruiz Rivera, chair of the Seminar on Socioenvironmental Risks of the UNAM’s Geography Institute said that climate-related social risks should go hand-in-hand with social rights. She noted that there are 35.3 million homes in Mexico with serious deficiencies in the face of climate change, including dampness or leaking foundations.
In November 2024, the country saw the relocation of its first climate refugees.
The families of El Bosque, a fishing community in the southern state of Tabasco, were relocated to new homes after rising sea levels swallowed their land. The state government officially recognized them as relocated “due to climate impact,” and the federal government provided them with 51 homes. By January this year, 60 families had been relocated with 20 others pending relocation.
The approval of the tax, within the budget bill, would have a significant impact on Mexican immigrants in the United States, who send over US $60 billion to Mexico each year in remittances. (Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash)
President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday rejected a legislative proposal in the United States to impose a 5% tax on remittances sent out of the country by non-citizen immigrants.
The proposal is outlined in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a budget bill put forward by the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, whose chair is Republican Party Congressman Jason Smith.
According to the bill, “in general” the proposed tax “shall not apply to any remittance transfer with respect to which the remittance transfer provider is a qualified remittance transfer provider and the sender is a verified United States sender” — i.e. a U.S. citizen.
The Associated Press reported that the proposed tax “would cover more than 40 million people, including green card holders and nonimmigrant visa holders, such as people on H-1B, H-2A and H-2B visas.”
The bill could be approved by the United States House of Representatives as soon as next week, after which it would be sent to the Senate.
💸 Mexico received $66B in remittances last year, but some countries rely on them much more. pic.twitter.com/ZD1aP1ECgx
At her morning press conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum indicated that she shared the view on Mexican senators that the proposal to impose a 5% tax on remittances is an “injustice” and “discriminatory.”
She noted that the Senate on Tuesday released a statement expressing its opposition to the proposed tax.
Sheinbaum said that “all the political parties” condemned the proposal, and questioned why it is being considered when Mexicans in the United States “already pay taxes.”
“All the Mexicans who live in the United States pay taxes, whether they have documents or not,” she said.
“All [the Mexican senators] said ‘no, … we don’t agree with this injustice,’ which is discriminatory,” she said before reading out the Senate statement.
Senate: Proposed tax is ‘contrary to the spirit of economic freedom’
In its statement, the Mexican Senate said that a federal tax on remittances in the United States would amount to “an unjust double taxation” of “migrant workers.”
The Senate sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives saying their intentions to impose taxes on remittances were “arbitrary” and “unjust.” (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
The Senate highlighted that 80% of the earnings of immigrants “stays in the United States economy, improving the well-being of those who live there.”
“We call for restraint in the face of this proposal given that technical projections that have been carried out show that the imposition of a tax or fee on remittances would only disincentivize the use of regular and formal ways [to transfer funds], leading many migrants to seek alternatives outside the financial system to send money to their families,” said the statement endorsed by the Senate leaders of all major Mexican political parties.
José Iván Rodríguez Sánchez, a research scholar at the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, also said that immigrants would seek ways to get around a federal tax on remittances.
“We know that if you have to send money for your relatives and they need that money, you will try to find ways to send $100 and not $95,” Rodríguez said.
In its statement, the Senate described remittances as “the fruit of those who through their honest work strengthen not just the Mexican economy but also that of the United States.”
“For that reason we consider this [proposed tax] measure as arbitrary and unjust, and we call on the U.S. legislature to thoughtfully reconsider this proposal, which would harm the economy of both countries,” said the upper house of Congress.
“In addition, [the proposed tax on remittances] is contrary to the spirit of economic freedom the United States government says it defends, and which permeates in the agreements on free trade in North America,” the statement said.
“From our point of view, relations between brotherly peoples are strengthened through dialogue and mutual understanding, building bridges and not erecting walls or economic barriers,” the Senate said.
The Mexican Baseball League was born a century ago this year, but the history of Mexican baseball stretches back to the mid 19th century. (Liga Mexicana del Beisbol)
Here’s a curveball: baseball, which is said to have been born in 1839 in the pastures of Cooperstown, New York — a humble farm town in the Yankee state — isn’t as strictly American as it’s made out to be. In tracing its murky origins, we find the game is far more international than our tobacco-chewing forefathers would have you think, particularly for a game dubbed “America’s pastime.”
Sports historians have long contested baseball’s alleged U.S. origins, suggesting it instead began in the United Kingdom as a sport known as rounders. For three years in the early 20th century, a commission of baseball executives and president of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs deliberated the issue of the game’s beginnings.
Club México, founded in 1887, was the first all-Mexican team to officially be formed in the country. (Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano)
To further complicate matters, Canadians claim to have recorded the first baseball game in Ontario in 1838 — one year before the sport supposedly debuted in Cooperstown. But wherever and whenever the game was invented, it’s certainly no longer confined to U.S. borders, and it’s especially popular in several Latin American countries, in places no one would otherwise associate with star-spangled pinstripes and maple wood.
The Mexican-American war brings baseball to Mexico
The Battle of Cerro Gordo opened the door for the U.S. occupation of Mexico City. (Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot / Carl Nebel)
Just over a decade after baseball’s roughly documented global origin in the late 1800s, the sport had already reached Mexico by way of militaristic expansion. Since then, “béis” as it’s colloquially known, has swung its way to the top of Mexican sports fandom, behind only soccer as the country’s second-most watched team sport. Iconic Mexican players like Beto “Bobby” Ávila and Fernando Valenzuela have all donned uniforms in Major League Baseball, helping establish the sport’s popularity among Mexican sports aficionados.
The game’s origins in Mexico can allegedly be traced back to Xalapa, Veracruz in April 1847, during the Mexican-American War. A 1909 travel guide may have been the first book to print the story that a group of U.S. soldiers belonging to the Fourth Illinois Infantry Regiment were stationed in a central part of the city.
Santa Anna’s leg: The first baseball bat in Mexico?
Santa Anna flees Cerro Gordo, missing his prosthetic leg. (Richard Magee / Library of Congress)
At the Battle of Cerro Gordo, U.S. Army forces under General Winfield Scott and Captain Robert E. Lee had defeated troops led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna, decisively outflanking their entrenched position just outside of Xalapa. The victory helped to open a strategic path from the coast of Veracruz towards Mexico City, with Santa Anna’s routed troops abandoning munitions at the site along with various resources and miscellaneous items, including Santa Anna’s wooden leg, one of several prosthetics he had worn since losing his lower left leg in the First French Intervention.
There are varying accounts of what happened next. But the mythic retellings involve a wooden leg, a group of homesick American soldiers and an open area in Xalapa being turned into a makeshift baseball field. In its simplest form, the story goes that this group of soldiers, which included military officer Abner Doubleday of Cooperstown, New York — the man who would later be credited as the inventor of baseball — used Santa Anna’s wooden leg to play the first ever baseball match in Mexico.
Who really invented baseball?
Did the inventor of baseball bring the game to Mexico himself?
Sports historian Eric Nusbaum, whose extensive book about the dark history of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ stadium winds all the way back to Mexico during the 1800s, disagrees with the claim, writing “It’s a myth. It did not happen.” And in 1983, American Heritagemagazine wrote an extensive profile on Doubleday titled “The Man Who Didn’t Invent Baseball.” As with many things surrounding American origin stories, particularly one so far removed beyond U.S. borders, there are conflicting reports, particularly with Doubleday’s involvement in baseball at-large, let alone his presence in bringing it to soldiers in Xalapa.
The claim around Doubleday as the progenitor of the sport has been heavily contested over time and involves none other than Albert Goodwill Spalding, the founder of Spalding sports equipment, best known as the manufacturer of the official NBA basketball. Spalding wrote what is believed to be the first comprehensive history of baseball, titled “America’s National Game.” He also advocated in defense of baseball’s Cooperstown origins by publicly vouching for Doubleday’s involvement in it all. Nowadays, much of this story is seen as a farce and as Spalding’s way to promote a new sporting business and tourism to Cooperstown, where the Baseball Hall of Fame stands today.
Regardless, Mexico has definitely had a longtime relationship with the sport. In 2024, MLB writer Carlos Molina traced the sport’s history in the country, concluding that, despite the difficulties of historical precision, Guaymas, Sonora, likely hosted the earliest documented baseball game in Mexico in 1877, three decades after the alleged peg leg game would have taken place in Veracruz. In this rendition, a group of sailors aboard the USS Montana landed in the Pacific port, hosting a pick up-style game that grew to include sailors from other ships.
Mexico leaves its stamp on baseball
Baseball is the second most popular team sport in Mexico, and the Mexico City Diablos Rojos are its premier franchise. (Diablos Rojos/Cuartoscuro)
As the game became rooted in its new home, Mexicans left their own stamp on baseball. In 1933, Baldomero “Melo” Almada became the first known Mexican national to join the MLB’s ranks as a member of the Red Sox, where he played as a center fielder for five seasons.
Outside of the Majors, Mexico has developed its own leagues and baseball lore, too. The Liga Mexicana de Béisbol was created in 1925; early on, the league recruited players from the Cuban and U.S. Negro leagues as a way to position itself as a competitive system. LMB’s success is highlighted primarily by the Diablos Rojos del México, a team founded in 1940 which is considered to be Mexico’s royal baseball dynasty on par with the New York Yankees. The Diablos Rojos currently boast former Yankee star Robinson Cano on their roster, and the Mexico City-based team also went head-to-head with the Bronx Bombers in an exhibition series last year that was aired on ESPN.
Looking back at the sport’s mercurial beginnings, you’d never know how long it took for the game to reach Mexico’s home plate, so to speak. It’s been a hit since then, and with the World Baseball Classic only one year away, Mexico will have another chance to celebrate its storied baseball lineage and show that its players belong among the best baseballers in The Show.
Alan Chazaro is the author of “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album,” “Piñata Theory” and “Notes From the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and a former Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His writing can be found in GQ, NPR, The Guardian, L.A. Times and more. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he is currently based in Veracruz.
A drug bust in Janos, Chihuahua, resulted in the seizure of 100 packages containing nearly 500 kilograms of methamphetamine. (FGE)
The Security Ministry’s crackdown on criminal gangs in Mexico’s northern border region continues to yield results.
On Monday, the government reported that Operación Frontera Norte (Operation Northern Border) had dismantled two drug warehouses in Sinaloa over the weekend, seizing 200 kilograms of methamphetamine and 20 kg of marijuana as well as chemical substances and other drug precursors. Officials estimated the value of items confiscated at 1.9 billion pesos (US $99.5 million).
In other actions from May 9-11, the SSPC seized nearly 116,000 kg of cocaine, 25 kg of marijuana and more than 3,000 kg of fentanyl, while also capturing semi-automatic rifles, a dozen guns, several magazines and cartridges.
Authorities arrested 16 people across the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora and Tamaulipas, and impounded three properties. They also dismantled 36 unauthorized video cameras installed in public areas, confiscated five cell phones, seized 11 vehicles and confiscated over $662,000 in U.S. currency.
All actions of the operation “were carried out in the strictest adherence to the rule of law and with full respect for the rights” of those apprehended, the government said.
Last Thursday, García Harfuch said more than 100 dangerous criminals have been released as a result of controversial judicial rulings. Mexico’s top cop even identified several judges by name. The Federal Attorney General’s Office is reportedly preparing charges against some of the judges.
The government of Mexico launched Operation Northern Border on Feb. 5 to crack down on drug trafficking, human trafficking and weapons smuggling. Since then, the SSPC has netted 3,219 arrests and decommissioned 2,717 weapons. Officials have also seized 437,619 cartridges of varying calibers and 13,441 magazines.
Additionally, officials have destroyed more than 31,600 kilos of drugs, including nearly 178 kilos of fentanyl. The operation has also seized 2,515 vehicles and appropriated 412 properties.
Many hikes in Mexico end with the reward of a lookout, but to get there in one piece, you'll need to be looking for poisonous plants along the way. (John Pint)
Most trails in Mexico are undeveloped. Made by ordinary people trying to get from one place to another, they may be centuries old. Very few of these trails are signposted and there is nothing to warn you that the shady tree under which you’re taking a breather is poisonous and not to be touched. Below, you will find descriptions of a few plants and trees (some of them poisonous) you need to recognize before you get too close to them.
The swollen-balls tree
Every part of the machineel tree is poisonous, including its fruit, leaves and bark. (Hans Hillewaert/CC BY-SA 3.0)
Perhaps the worst plant to run into in the wild is the manchaneel tree. Hippomane mancinella is popularly known in Mexico as the hincha-huevos: the swollen-balls tree.
We were hiking up a hill in Paso Real, located 50 kilometers from the Pacific Coast in Jalisco. My thoughts were on keeping up with our guide, don Ginio, who was taking us to the entrance of a 50-meter-deep pit no one had gone into before. Although don Ginio was wearing flip-flops and swinging a machete to clear the way, all the members of our caving group were having a hard time keeping up with him.
The hill got steeper and steeper and I helped myself along by grabbing onto every tree I came across. One of them, unfortunately, was an hincha-huevos, whose deadly fruit resembles small green apples.
It’s hard to believe, but even the hincha-huevos’ bark is poisonous— so poisonous, locals say, that simply standing downwind of the tree can get you infected. Even worse is the fate of those who stand under the tree to get out of the rain.
“The bark contains the toxin phorbol,” says poison-plant researcher Dr. Raul Ibarra. “It’s far more irritating than poison ivy.”
This was something I discovered upon arriving home. In the process of taking a shower, I managed to spread the toxic substance all over my body. It was a perfect storm of blisters and pus.
A flurry of phone calls asking for help got me an answer: “Jugo de limón!” Apparently, I had to put the juice of the ubiquitous Mexican lime all over my body.That worked. But getting rid of it was not exactly a speedy process.
An evil woman on the trail
Mala mujer’s tiny needles. (John Pint)
Mala mujer, or evil woman, presents much less of a problem but it’s far more common than the swollen-ball tree.
“People give the name mala mujer to several different plants,” says Raúl Ibarra.” All of them have hairs or needles on their leaves and if they brush against your skin, you will suffer a very irritating rash—but it only lasts a few minutes.”
If you see a plant whose leaves sport little hair-like needles, it is probably a variety of mala mujer.
Spiked by the cat’s claw
Cat’s claw is named for its hook-shaped thorns. (John Pint)
It’s important to recognize cat’s claw from a distance, before you are pushing your way through it. The leaves of the cat’s claw come in sets of six which are very easy to spot. If you’re wearing shorts or short sleeves, you’ll have to proceed slowly and carefully to avoid getting your arms or legs shredded.
The painful agave spine
(John Pint)
Some routes may require you to cut through an agave field. Note that if you are stuck by an agave spine, you’ll be getting something more than a needle jab: as soon as the sharp tip of the leaf penetrates your skin, it releases calcium oxalate which forms bundles of needle-like crystals called raphides. These cause sudden pain and long-lasting soreness.
With time, the swelling and pain may get worse instead of better, and in some cases the victim may end up in the hospital.
So, if you have to walk through a field of agaves or magueys, walk in the same way you would move through cat’s claw: very slowly, paying careful attention to every step you take.And, sorry to say, neither long sleeves nor long pants will be much of a help.
The deadly castor oil plant
The seed pods of the castor bean. (Acabashi / CC BY 4.0)
Castor bean is called higuerilla or ricino in Mexico, and you’ll find it growing everywhere, typically in empty lots or on the fringes of a forest. Touching it presents no problem, but you should be aware that its seeds are highly toxic. Chewed and swallowed, six seeds are said to be enough to kill an ox. The castor bean is the source of the biological warfare agent ricin.
Planning a hike in Mexico
Should you wear short sleeves and pants when hiking in Mexico?If you’re hiking on an established trail — especially one you’ve been on before — shorts may pose no risk.
However, it is not uncommon for hikers who have reached their destination via an established trail to opt for an atajo, or shortcut, on the way back.Beware of them!
Shortcuts are the principal reason why I wear long sleeves and long pants on most hikes, no matter what the weather.The Mexican shortcut is sure to turn whatever you’re doing into an adventure. You may be slip-sliding on loose rocks hidden beneath a knee-deep layer of dry leaves, following a machete-swinging leader through a wall of underbrush or doing a wild dance to shake off red harvester ants.
A similar situation may develop when a ranchero offers to take you to a local attraction like a hidden spring or a picturesque lookout point. Walking to the spot might easily put you into direct contact with pernicious plants, güinas (chiggers), jejenes (gnats), zancudos (mosquitoes) or a hollow log filled with very aggressive Africanized bees. That’s when long sleeves and pants may make all the difference.
John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.
The president said on Tuesday that she had asked the commander of the National Guard to contact a representative of Los Ángeles Azules to get to the bottom of the robbery targeting the artists. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The revocation of the Baja California governor’s U.S. tourist visa and a robbery on the Puebla-Mexico City highway that affected one of Mexico’s most successful bands were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Tuesday morning press conference.
Sheinbaum also fielded a question about the economic impact of the temporary ban on Mexican cattle exports to the United States, a measure aimed at preventing the spread of the New World screwworm.
Still no clarity on why Baja California governor’s US visa was revoked
“The only thing they informed was what they publicly informed — that it was a private matter, that it was a personal matter. That’s what the United States Embassy in Mexico said and we haven’t received more information,” Sheinbaum said.
“So we can’t comment further until we receive more information,” she said.
“I do want to make a clarification because some media outlets reported yesterday that there was a freezing of [bank] accounts. We spoke to the governor and the governor told us that she doesn’t have accounts abroad. That is the information from the governor,” Sheinbaum added.
“No le busquen, no hay nada que esconder, no hay nada que averiguar para dañar mi imagen o la de mi persona”, palabras de la gobernadora de Baja California, Marina del Pilar, durante una conferencia de prensa, luego de que se le retiró la visa para entrar a Estados Unidos.… pic.twitter.com/94TzYBH4AT
Ávila, governor of Baja California since late 2021, announced last weekend that the United States had revoked tourist visas for her and Torres, who, like his wife, is a Morena party-affiliated politician.
She said on Monday that the revocation of her visa “doesn’t mean I’ve done something wrong.”
“It’s an administrative decision, not an accusation,” Ávila said. “There is no crime, there is no offense.”
Luis Chaparro — a journalist who revealed on Monday that 17 members of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s family had crossed the Mexico-U.S. border and handed themselves over to the FBI — asserted on Tuesday that Ávila and her husband are under investigation in the United States “for being part of a money laundering network formed by businesspeople from the region [of Baja California].”
“In other words, Marina del Pilar probably says it’s a personal issue due to her relationship with Carlos Torres Torres, her husband, someone who has a direct relation with this money laundering network,” Chaparro said.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the governor declared that she didn’t have any bank accounts revoked in the United States “simply because they don’t exist.”
“I don’t have any bank account abroad. Since yesterday, journalists and media outlets have disseminated a lie. I reiterate for them and the people, THERE ARE NO ACCOUNTS ABROAD. I will continue walking on the right side of history, with my head held high and my heart forward, serving where it is most needed,” Ávila wrote.
Sheinbaum responds to robbery of vehicle transporting instruments and audio equipment of famous musical group
A reporter mentioned to the president that the Los Ángeles Azules cumbia group had reported that they were victims of a robbery on the highway between Puebla and Mexico City.
Los Angeles Azules, a beloved Mexican cumbia band, said that a vehicle transporting their instruments and audio equipment was stolen at a “fake checkpoint” on their return to Mexico City following a concert in Tabasco. (Cuartoscuro)
In a statement, the Mexico City-based band said that a vehicle transporting their instruments and audio equipment was stolen at a “fake checkpoint” on the Puebla-Mexico City highway last Friday. The vehicle was returning to the capital after a Los Ángeles Azules concert in Tabasco.
Sheinbaum told reporters that she had asked General Hernán Cortés, the commander of the National Guard, to get in touch with a representative of the Los Ángeles Azules or a member of the group to find out “exactly” what happened.
She said that authorities would seek a range of information about the robbery, including details about “the modus operandi” of the thieves, as part of the efforts to detain “the culprits.”
Sheinbaum noted that the National Guard is in charge of “highway surveillance” and would carry out “all the preventive actions” required on the section of the Mexico City-Puebla highway where the robbery occurred.
“A lot of progress has been made, but there are still robberies on highways,” she said.
Sheinbaum downplays economic impact of US suspension of livestock imports from Mexico
The suspension took effect on Sunday and is scheduled to last 15 days. The United States Department of Agriculture acknowledged that the suspension on imports would have an economic impact on both Mexico and the U.S., but made the decision after the screwworm was detected in Mexican states, including Oaxaca and Veracruz.
Sheinbaum highlighted that “the exportation of cattle” from Mexico to the United States is scheduled to resume in 15 days.
Therefore, export revenue that is lost during this period will be recouped after the suspension ends, she said.
“Investigations have revealed that Pemex may be linked to multiple allegations or suspicions of corruption in Mexico in the period 2004-2023,” the fund’s ethics watchdog, the Council on Ethics, said in a statement. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Norway’s US $1.8-trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has sold all of its fixed-income investments in Mexico’s state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), it announced on Sunday. It cited a lack of transparency over corruption as the main reason for the divestment.
“Investigations have revealed that Pemex may be linked to multiple allegations or suspicions of corruption in Mexico in the period 2004-2023,” the fund’s ethics watchdog, the Council on Ethics, said in a statement.
“The Council attaches importance to the fact that a significant number of company employees, including a former senior executive, are alleged to have received bribes on several separate occasions,” it added.
The watchdog’s report cites investigations such as the Odebrecht scandal and the imprisonment of former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya for the fraudulent sale of a fertilizer plant in Veracruz, as well as other high-profile Pemex corruption cases from the past 20 years.
Norway’s Wealth Fund operates under guidelines set by Norway’s parliament and is viewed as a leader in environmental, social and governance practices.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a small stake in more than 8,500 companies across most countries and industries, and is well-respected for its investment in companies that minimize negative effects on the environment and society. (Norges Bank)
As of last June, the fund held Pemex securities with a value of approximately $138 million.
Pemex addressed the Council on Monday, saying that it had responded promptly to requests for information from the wealth fund. However, the watchdog upheld its recommendation to withdraw investments.
While the watchdog acknowledged that Pemex had an anti-corruption system in place, it said that the oil firm could offer little information on how the system works in practice.
The report stated, there is not “sufficient information, specifically on acts of corruption in 2017, reported in the media.”
In addition, the report exposed accusations of favoritism toward certain suppliers and bribes from other companies in exchange for assistance with contracting processes. Multiple former Pemex employees were implicated, and several cases have resulted in legal settlements in the United States.
Will Pemex thrive under new leadership?
Pemex’s debt stands at around $100 billion at present. The previous López Obrador administration pledged economic support to help alleviate the financial burdens, a move that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has continued.
In October, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla was appointed as the new CEO of Pemex, heralding a new era. An internal Pemex document at the time stated plans for the firm to develop new business models to attract investment during Sheinbaum’s 2024–2030 administration and ramp up deepwater oil exploration.
Pemex reported a net loss of 43.3 billion pesos (US $2.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2025 and a fall in oil output.
The Mexican auto parts industry’s production value surpassed US $100 billion in each of the past two years. (Media Digital/Unsplash)
The National Auto Parts Industry (INA) reported that 92% of the Mexican auto parts sector will not be subject to new tariffs from the United States, as nearly all manufacturing complies with current trade rules.
Gabriel Padilla, general director of Mexico’s National Auto Parts Industry (INA), told reporters on Monday that only about 8% of the nation’s parts manufacturers are not in compliance with U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) regulations. As a result, they will be hit by an average tariff of 27% to export to the U.S.
The director of Mexico’s National Auto Parts Industry (INA), Gabriel Padilla, said the organization is consulting with Mexico’s Economy Ministry to help those companies not in compliance. (@inaoficialmx/X)
On May 2, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice confirming that the new rules would take effect the following day. Shortly after, Sheinbaum announced that the 25% tariffs would not apply to auto parts made in Mexico that comply with USMCA rules.
With the new tariff rules in effect, INA is consulting with Mexico’s Economy Ministry to help those companies not in compliance. Such firms face the 25% tariff plus the Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff — which ranges from 2% to 3% — because they initially import specialized component parts into Mexico, Padilla said.
The MFN tariff is the standard tariff rate a country applies to imports from other World Trade Organization members, unless a preferential trade agreement is in place.
During the first two months of the year, auto parts production declined 10.5%, though Padilla expects March figures to improve due to the increase in production and sales of automobiles in the United States. This increase has been attributed to consumers’ desire to buy cars before the original tariffs were due to take effect on April 3.
Although Mexico’s auto parts industry — comprising more than 2,000 factories — has an extremely high compliance rate with the USMCA, the sector faces several challenges.
Padilla said regional integration must be strengthened, while the supplier development program must increase regional content. INA is working to diversify markets and suppliers to reduce dependence on single sources by expanding commercial alliances and diversifying suppliers.
The Mexican auto parts industry’s production value surpassed US $100 billion in each of the past two years, with INA attributing the growth to the nearshoring trend and the expansion of domestic manufacturing clusters.
Titled “Tech-Community Driven Living Labs: Fostering Care Ecologies,” the project was one of approximately 300 selected and is the only university-led initiative from Latin America featured in this year’s main exhibition.
The Venice Architecture Biennale — held every two years in grand locations such as the historic shipyard Arsenale and the pavilion park Giardini — has brought together more than 760 individuals and teams who are exploring the future of the built environment.
The 2025 edition, curated by the Italian-born architect, engineer and MIT professor Carlo Ratti, revolves around the theme “Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective.”
The event, which opened on Saturday, serves as a “dynamic laboratory,” organizers said, uniting experts from diverse fields to address pressing global challenges such as climate change and social resilience.
Organizers are especially excited that this year’s event includes not only the standard lineup of architects and engineers, but also “mathematicians and climate scientists, philosophers and artists, chefs and coders, writers and woodcarvers, farmers and fashion designers.”
Monterrey Tech’s project stands out for its applied research and community-driven approach.
The Living Labs initiative showcases sustainable solutions in Jalisco, Querétaro and Chihuahua. (Tec de Monterrey)
In Julimes, a rural municipality of about 5,000 on the Conchos River, arsenic and fluoride water filters and solar-powered greenhouses with drone monitoring were co-developed with local residents to address health risks.
In Jalisco, a portion of the Las Tortugas River was invigorated by using small, nature-based interventions that combine sanitation strategies, environmental education and regenerative ecotourism, such as creating public spaces that allow communities to reconnect with the river and its ecosystems.
In Querétaro, the focus was on responsible tourism and forest management models in the biosphere reserve.
“Our labs integrate collective, natural and artificial intelligence to generate replicable solutions,” said Emanuele Giorgi, a project lead.
“Our participation is aimed at showing how architecture, from a university perspective, can be a critical tool for exploring new ways of living in the face of climate and social challenges,” said Alfredo Hidalgo, national dean of Monterrey Tech’s School of Architecture, Art, and Design.
The team at the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. (Tec de Monterrey)
Monterrey Tech’s project involved some 280 students and collaborators, though only five are listed on the official entry: Giorgi, Hidalgo, Carlos Cobreros, Maria Elena de la Torre Escoto and Maximillian Nowotka.
The biennale’s top honor, the Golden Lion, this year went to Bahrain for its innovative “Heatwave” installation, which offers climate-responsive cooling for public spaces. In all, there are 65 national pavilions being showcased at three locations in Venice.
The exhibition will continue highlighting architecture’s vital role in addressing global environmental and social issues through Nov. 23.
Regarding the agreement, the president said, "We are taking care of the popular economy." (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and business leaders renewed the national Package Against Inflation and High Costs (PACIC) on Monday to maintain the price of Mexico’s basic food basket, or canasta básica.
Under the agreement signed by Sheinbaum and Mexico’s major food and grocery companies, a “basket” of the 24 most essential pantry items will be capped at 910 pesos (US $46.8) for the next six months.
Essential groceries like eggs, rice and beans remain affordable under Mexico’s anti-inflation agreement. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
“We are taking care of the popular economy,” Sheinbaum said in a post on her official X account.
The canasta básica includes vegetable oil, pork chops, rice, apples, beans, chicken, canned tuna, soup pasta, eggs, plantains, canned sardines, brown sugar, soap, sliced bread, beef steak, tomatoes, carrots, corn tortillas, toilet paper, onions, milk, potatoes, jalapeños and lemons.
The PACIC is a move that began under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration (2018-2024), following the COVID-19 pandemic, to control inflation.
Cabinet members attending the signing ceremony included Finance Minister Edgar Amador Zamora, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, Energy Minister Luz Elena González, and the coordinator of the Business Advisory Council of the Mexican Government, Altagracia Gómez, among others.
Energy Minister Luz Elena González praised“the willingness of supermarkets and agricultural producers to join this action for the benefit of the people of Mexico” on her social media channels.
The agreement comes amid ongoing inflationary pressures that are impacting low-income families.
At the end of April, inflation in Mexico was 3.93%, marking its third consecutive monthly increase, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The Bank of Mexico’s target inflation rate is set at 3%, plus or minus one percent.
The federal government has not provided further details about the companies that renewed the agreement signed in November 2024. Companies listed in the previous agreement include Walmart, Chedraui, Soriana, La Comer, Merza, Calimax and Aprecio, HEB, Smart, Casa Ley, SuperKompras and Super AKI.
Agribusinesses in the agreement include GrupoMar, Minsa, Lala, Bimbo, SuKarne, Kimberly Clark, Pilgrims, Schettino, Pinsa, Maseca, Verde Valle, Ragasa, Alpura, San Juan, Bachoco, La Moderna, Sigma, Opormex and Grupo Porres.
To prevent rising fuel prices, the government said it will remain committed to keeping prices below inflation, including electricity rates and other public prices.
