Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
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✈️ State airline hits 1 million tickets: Mexicana has sold 1.02 million tickets and carried 953,624 passengers since launching in December 2023, boasting a 95% passenger satisfaction rate. Seven new Embraer planes arrive this year, with new AIFA routes planned to Acapulco (June) and Hermosillo (July).
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🎙️ Sheinbaum slams opposition’s U.S. media appearances: The president criticized Mexican politicians who appear on U.S. television to “speak badly of Mexico” and call for U.S. intervention, calling the behavior unpatriotic and a threat to national sovereignty.
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🗳️ Right returning to power? Very unlikely, says Sheinbaum: Asked about the political opposition’s chances at upcoming elections, Sheinbaum cited polling and improvements in living standards as evidence that Morena’s grip on power remains firm.
Why today’s mañanera matters
The director of Mexicana got the opportunity to talk up the state-owned commercial airline at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference.
While Mexicana has evidently made progress since its launch (or re-launch) just over two years ago, data shows that it is a minor player in domestic aviation in Mexico.
Also of note at today’s mañanera were Sheinbaum’s criticism of politicians who speak ill of Mexico, and her assessment of the future electoral prospects of Mexico’s political right.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
Mexicana has sold more than 1 million tickets in 2 years
Two years and three months after the state-owned commercial airline Mexicana began operations, director Leobardo Ávila Bojórquez provided an update on the carrier’s “situation.”
He said that since December 2023, the airline has sold 1.02 million tickets, transported 953,624 passengers and flown 14,473 flights. Data presented by Ávila showed that Mexicana has a 95% satisfaction rating among passengers. In 2025, Mexicana was Mexico’s fifth most popular airline for domestic flights with over 434,000 passengers.
Ávila noted that Mexicana flies to 14 destinations around Mexico, with the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in México state serving as the airline’s hub. Among the destinations the airline serves are Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Mérida, Campeche, Ciudad Victoria, Ixtepec, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana.
Ávila said that Mexicana will receive seven new Embraer planes this year, and add new routes from AIFA to Acapulco in June and AIFA to Hermosillo in July.
Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum said that Mexicana offers “more affordable prices” than other airlines and declared that “its vision is not about profit per se.”
“Obviously, all companies have to be profitable because it’s not about subsidizing state-owned companies,” she added.
Sheinbaum highlighted that Mexican flies to airports that other commercial airlines don’t fly to, and declared that traveling with the state-owned carrier is an “extraordinary experience.”
“I invite you to use Mexicana de Aviación,” she said, adding that the operations of the airline are going “very well.”
Sheinbaum takes aim at politicians who speak badly of Mexico on US television
Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexico is a “free and democratic” country and people can “freely” express their opinions.
However, “what we constantly say here is that not agreeing with the government is one thing … and another very different thing is to speak [badly] about Mexico,” she said.
“I’m very critical of the deputies and senators who go to the U.S. television stations to speak badly of Mexico and to request the intervention of the United States in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
Senator Lilly Téllez again took the opportunity to criticize the Sheinbaum administration in the context of the World Cup on Fox News.
“What is that?” she questioned with visible exasperation.
“When had this occurred before? The nerve of it,” Sheinbaum said before accusing politicians who speak badly of Mexico of being unpatriotic and failing to stand up for the country’s sovereignty.
One Mexican politician who has appeared frequently on Fox News is National Action Party Senator Lilly Téllez, who has declared herself in favor of a U.S. military intervention in Mexico to combat drug cartels.
Sheinbaum: Low chance of the political right returning to power in Mexico
Asked whether there was a “risk” that the political right could return to power in Mexico, Sheinbaum said she saw the possibility as unlikely.
“From my perspective, the probability is very low,” she said.
“We see it in the polls, it’s not just a subjective perception — the polls show it,” Sheinbaum said.
“And people live better today than they lived before,” she added.
That — in part at least — was apparently a reference to the significant reduction in poverty that has been achieved in recent years, the increase in the minimum wage and the increase in government support for citizens via the provision of various welfare and social programs.
Sheinbaum — who was backed by the leftist Morena party at the 2024 presidential election — is an extremely popular president, with many, but not all, polls consistently finding that she has an approval rating of around 70% or higher.
Since Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected president in 2018, Morena has been Mexico’s predominant political party. It governs a majority of Mexico’s 32 federal entities and holds majorities in both houses of federal Congress.