The capital, led by the ruling party’s Clara Brugada, is also proposing a record high budget for its subway system, planning for 23 billion pesos in investment. The public works budget will increase 12.5% to 13.5 billion pesos, and includes investments in the historic Tlalpan causeway to facilitate access to the games, de Botton said.
Texas is launching a visceral billboard campaign in Mexico and Central America to deter illegal immigration by highlighting sexual assault and other dangers, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Thursday, the Republican’s latest move to stem crossings.
“How much did you pay to have your daughter raped,” one of the signs read. Another warned that migrants will be arrested if they enter Texas illegally.
“Our goal right now, immediately, is not only to discourage them from coming, but to help them understand the consequences,” Abbott said.
The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border soared to record highs after President Joe Biden took office in 2021, fueling criticism by Abbott and other Republicans.President-elect Donald Trump recaptured the White House in November pledging mass deportations and aggressive border security efforts.
Biden toughened his border policies earlier this year, leading to a steep drop in migrants caught crossing illegally in recent months.
Abbott said the billboard campaign costs about $100,000 and aims to turn back migrants thinking of crossing illegally before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
“There are many people who may make a last-gasp effort,” Abbott said.
Texas officials said in November that the state would offer 1,400 acres (567 hectares) of land near the border to the incoming Trump administration for its mass deportation initiative.
‘You’re either with Beijing or you’re with Washington’: Ford says to Mexico in CNN interview
“Mexico has to make a decision: you’re either with Beijing or you’re with Washington. I’ll tell you what Canadians are with. They’re with Washington,” Ford said in an interview on CNN Tuesday night.
Ford has previously accused Mexico of becoming a “backdoor” for Chinese imports, including cars and other products, after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (formerly NAFTA) was signed.
“Cheap Chinese products going through Mexico. They’re slapping the ‘made in Mexico’ sticker on, shipping it up through the US and Canada, and costing American and Canadian jobs,” he said.
The premier’s remarks come under the continuing threat of a 25 per cent tariff by Trump on all goods from Canada and Mexico until both countries secure their borders against the flow of illegal drugs and migrants.
On Tuesday, the federal government announced it’s five-point approach (opens in a new tab)to bolstering border security, including detecting and disrupting the fentanyl trade, new tools for law enforcement, enhancing operational coordination, increasing information sharing, and minimizing unnecessary border volumes.
Ottawa earmarked $1.3 billion for the six-year plan in Monday’s fall economic statement, though Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the plans had been in the works long before that and were not made in an attempt to meet Trump’s demands.
At a premiers meeting on Monday(opens in a new tab), Ford called on the federal government to do a better job including the province’s leaders in its trade negotiations with the U.S. and called on Ottawa to meet its two per cent NATO spending commitment, something Trump and lawmakers south of the border have long been pushing for.
Ford has also said he wants to negotiate a bilateral U.S.-Canada deal directly.
Cutting off Ontario energy to U.S. the ‘last thing’ Ford wants to do
Last week, Ford said he was prepared to cut off Ontario-made energy(opens in a new tab) to 1.5 million homes in the U.S. if Trump follows through with his tax.
While Ford has maintained that he is “not backing away whatsoever” from potential retaliatory tariffs, he told CNN Tuesday that cutting power to homes in New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin is the “last thing” he wants to do.
“Again, we are the closest trading partner, closest allies. We do $1.3 trillion in two-way trade. That’s more than Japan, China, UK and France combined. I just feel we aren’t the enemy. The big problem, in my opinion, is China.”
Ford has also threatened to restrict the LCBO from buying American-made alcohol, stop the export of critical minerals, and cut the U.S. out of the provincial procurement process if Trump makes good on his threat. He said he hopes he and all the premiers will travel to Washington in February following Trump’s inauguration in January.
Mexico’s Congress Approves Labor Protections for App-Based Workers
Mexico City – On Tuesday, Mexico’s lower house unanimously approved a sweeping labor reform to enhance protections for delivery workers and drivers employed by digital platforms like Uber, DiDi, and Rappi. The legislation promises access to social security, a Christmas bonus, and other benefits for thousands of gig workers across the country.
The reform, passed with all 462 lawmakers in favor after a two-hour debate, now moves to the Senate for review. Once enacted, it would align Mexico with nations like Chile and Spain, which have implemented similar laws to secure basic labor rights for app-based workers.
“This is a monumental step forward that balances flexibility with labor rights,” said Labor Minister Marath Bolanos on X, emphasizing that the reform strengthens both worker protections and the sustainability of the app-based business model.
Currently, around 658,000 people in Mexico work through digital platforms, with 41% earning above the minimum wage, according to tax authority data. The reform would ensure that those earning at least the minimum wage – approximately $414 per month starting in 2025 – can unionize and receive benefits such as social security, accident insurance, pensions, maternity leave, profit-sharing, and a Christmas bonus.
For workers earning below the minimum wage, the legislation guarantees protections for work-related accidents, acknowledging the risks inherent in the gig economy.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, who introduced the proposal earlier this month, prioritized the reform for a vote ahead of Congress’ Christmas recess on December 15. This decisive legislative action underscores Mexico’s commitment to ensuring fair treatment and security for its growing gig workforce.
An Ancient Pyramid Resurfaces in Mexico—Only to Be Reburied
The 1,300-year-old pyramid was found during roadworks in Hidalgo.
Back in June, construction workers in Hidalgo, Mexico were hard at work adding a third lane to the Pachuca-Huejutla highway when they stumbled upon a 1,375-year-old pyramid.
Their historic discovery was not announced to the public until December 5, when Mexico’s Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) issued an update on the pre-Columbian structure’s partial excavation—but it’s not exactly the news that history buffs might have hoped for.
Structure 1, as the pyramid is officially known, stands more than 1,000 feet tall. It is the center of a larger site that also encompasses 10 mounds for temples that have not survived the passage of time. Smaller artifacts have survived, though; archaeologists recovered more than 155 items, ranging from shells and ceramics to obsidian fragments and rock paintings of faces and arrows, which are currently under scientific examination.
The archaeologists suggest the pyramid and the settlement surrounding it may have been built by the Metzca lordship, a multiethnic society that lived in Hidalgo’s Sierra Alta region between the Epiclassic (650 to 950 C.E.) and Late Postclassic (1350-1519 C.E.) eras.
View of “Structure 1” before reburial.
Little is known about the Metzca compared to other pre-Columbian societies like the Aztecs or Toltecs, making the discovery of Structure 1 equal parts exciting and puzzling. According to Héctor Labra Chávez, director of tourism for the nearby town of San Agustín Metzquititlán, “No known remnants of pre-Hispanic civilizations in this immediate era” had previously been found, adding “deeper studies are essential to uncover the cultural context of this significant find.”
Whether these studies will be carried out remains to be seen. On December 6, Mexico News Daily reported that the freshly uncovered pyramid will be reburied to ensure its preservation, though not before archaeologists are done taking photos and creating 3D models that will allow them to continue studying the structure virtually.
The stratigraphic profile of a pyramidal base was analyzed and reburied as a conservation measure.
The decision to rebury the pyramid did not result from a lack of scholarly interest; as Chávez said, Structure 1 may hold the key to exposing a hitherto unknown chapter of Mexican history. Nor was the decision made primarily out of a desire to keep the pyramid intact—a consideration that has justified reburial of ancient structures around the world.
Mexico’s $42 cruise passenger tax delayed. Here’s when it will take effect
A new tax on cruise ship passengers visiting Mexico has been delayed following pushback from the industry.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association said the $42-per-guest charge is now expected to take effect on July 1, 2025 rather than Jan. 1 following a meeting with Mexican government officials. “While the proposed postponement provides a temporary reprieve, FCCA stresses that more comprehensive measures are required to address broader concerns about the tax’s devastating impact on cruise tourism, Mexico’s economy, and the livelihoods of its coastal communities,” the trade organization said in a news release on Sunday.
Mexico’s National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the delay.
Mexico’s Senate approved the measure last week after it passed in the lower house, the Associated Press reported. Two-thirds of funds collected will be earmarked for the country’s army.
What are tourist taxes?:Why travelers are expected to pay up
Cruise passengers were previously exempt from tourist taxes under the Non-Migrant Rights policy because they were considered in transit, according to the Mexican Association of Shipping Agents (AMANAC).
Mexico, home to marquee ports like Cozumel, is a massively popular cruise destination. More than 10 million passengers are expected to visit in 2025, according to the FCCA, and industry players have warned of the tax’s potentially dire ripple effects.
The group said the resulting loss in income would mean a decrease in available jobs and tax revenue. The statement continued, “Mexico will lose its competitiveness, becoming one of the most expensive cruise destinations in the world.”
US President-elect Donald Trump has said one of his first acts will be to slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a move which would cause havoc for two of America’s key economic partners.Canada and Mexico are grappling with US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to place 25% tariffs on exports into their most important trade market, with both governments weighing their approaches.
Trump said he would sign executive orders putting the tariffs in place on his first day back in office. He linked the issue to what he says is Mexico and Canada’s failure to prevent illegal migration and drug trafficking at US borders.
Economists say tariffs would be very damaging for both Canada and Mexico, with the latter particularly vulnerable.
“Mexico is really tied to the US economy, and any trade dispute will hurt both economies a lot, but it will hurt Mexico much deeper than the US,” Jeffrey J. Schott, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told DW.
Trump plans new tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico
“It seems like a very unrealistic and damaging proposition to have 25% import tariffs into your main export market,” she told DW.
Divide and conquer
The tariff threats have caused tension between Mexico and Canada.
During a meeting with Trump at his Florida base last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly tried to convince Trump that Canada should not be lumped in with Mexico on drugs or border issues.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Canada has “a very serious problem with fentanyl,” adding that “Mexico should not be used as part of electoral campaigns,” referring to forthcoming Canadian elections.
Sheinbaum had a phone call with Trump, after which she claimed, “There will not be a potential tariff war.” She said she had made assurances to Trump regarding migration initiatives and drug trafficking.
Schott said he believes Trump’s strategy is to deal separately with the countries and undermine the so-called United States-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) — a free-trade deal brokered during his first term and that succeeded the former NAFTA pact.
“Trump likes to deal bilaterally,” he said. “So he’s not going to treat this as a North American issue.”
A new deal or no deal?
Politicians in some Canadian provinces argued that Canada should strike its own deal with the US, cutting out Mexico. For his part, Trudeau said he supports the USMCA and that maintaining it is his “first choice.” But he hinted at alternative options “pending decisions and choices that Mexico has made.”
Bill Reinsch, a senior economics adviser with the Center for Strategic & International Studies, said he thinks tariffs on Canada and Mexico remain in the “threat category” and emphasized that the USMCA is up for renegotiation in 2026.
“It’s unavoidable. They have to deal with it anyway,” he told DW. “At best, Trump’s going to move negotiations up a year, but it’ll still be the same negotiation. It’s complicated because the threat is about drugs and migrants. It’s not about trade.”
From threat to reality
If the tariffs moved from the threat category into reality, there’s little doubt that they would present huge challenges for the Canadian and Mexican economies.
Almost 75% of Canadian exports went to the US in 2022, according to the MIT Observatory of Economic Complexity index, underlining how costly tariffs could be for Canada.
“That’s a very high figure, but it’s made more important by the fact that Canada is an exporting economy,” said Wagner. “There’s not a huge domestic market. Most Canadian companies go into business with the expectation that they will be exporting.”
Canada exports a wide range of goods and commodities to the US, from petroleum to gas turbines and timber to cars. Wagner said an added factor in the relationship is how interlinked their supply chains are, particularly in the automobile industry.
Mexican dependency
Mexico is even more dependent on the USA as an export destination, with 77% of its goods going there in 2022, according to the MIT index.
The automobile sector is especially embedded and Schott emphasized that tariffs would make cars more expensive for consumers in the United States.
“It’s not going to be a boon for US production because the companies that are going to be hurt by the tariffs affecting Mexico are the companies also producing in the United States. Those costs are going to be passed on to the US consumer,” he said, adding that tariffs on Mexico could make one of the issues Trump is trying to resolve — which is migration — even bigger.
“Damage to the Mexican economy only makes economic conditions in Mexico worse and encourages more illegal migration to the United States,” Schott said. “I’m not sure that factor is being adequately addressed in the proposals of the incoming Trump administration.”
Idle threat or serious risk?
In the event of tariffs, retaliation from both Mexico and Canada would be likely, according to Reinsch, who noted that Mexico’s president already said she would put tariffs in place.
“I think the political situation in Canada would probably compel them to do the same which would be enormously disruptive to all three economies and would be enormously inflationary,” said Reinsch.
There is still some optimism that Trump’s style of negotiating, by making threats in advance of striking a deal, means the tariffs will not come to pass.
Wagner said she is hoping for a different solution to the problem, noting that “tariffs are really a very imperfect solution.”
Yet the fact that Trump placed tariffs on steel and aluminum from both Canada and Mexico prompted Schott to take the fresh threat seriously: “He did it, and he would be willing to do it again under the right circumstances.”
The burden of heat-related death could shift from the elderly to young people by century’s end, according to a new study.
In a future scenario that sees average global temperatures go at least 2.8 degrees Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) beyond pre-industrial levels by 2100, people under 35 would likely suffer the effects of a warming world more than older adults.
The analysis, published in the journal Science Advances, inspected mortality data from Mexico.
The data enabled the researchers to take age and dates of death, compare it with environmental conditions and calculate how often humid heat exposure resulted in premature death.
Scientists have long thought that excessive heat in a warming climate would have a higher impact on older populations.
Surprisingly, it appears to be a silent killer of young people in certain climates.Extreme heat a silent killer of young people
According to the study, three out of four heat-related deaths in Mexico occurred in people aged under 35 between 1998 and 2019.
In contrast, more older people accounted for cold-weather mortality events.
Looking ahead to a scenario when the global population and carbon emissions continue growing, the researchers projected a 32% increase in temperature-related deaths in those aged under 35 would occur by 2100.
A near-identical decrease in mortality rates was seen in older groups.
The explanation for why younger people may be shouldering more heat-related deaths than anticipated likely comes down to social reasons.
Younger people may be more likely to find themselves exposed to heat outdoors, while a warming climate could cut cold-related impacts on their elders.
“Younger people have higher activity levels, they are more likely to be exposed to heat in outdoor work environments,” study leader Andrew Wilson, from the Center on Food Security and the Environment at Stanford University, told DW.
Wilson’s group also found the amount of heat exposure that could lead to death is lower than scientific literature suggests.
Many environmental variables, including air temperature and humidity, are used to indicate heat stress. These are sometimes called “real feel” or “wet bulb” temperatures.
Older studies put a temperature limit for human heat stress at 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).
Prolonged exposure to this 35-degree wet bulb limit theoretically means the body would be unable to cool its core temperature, resulting in heat-related death.
But this limit was calculated in lab conditions where a person would be resting in the shade, in gale-force winds, doused in water and naked — hardly a realistic scenario.
Wilson said in some cases, limits could actually be in the mid 20s. Studies like his have since tried to account for real-world conditions.
“We find even in the mid-20 [degrees Celsius], there’s already quite a bit of mortality, especially for the youngest people,” Wilson said. “That’s probably because they’re moving … working outdoors … they’re in the sun.”
Simply put: a hot day is a hot day, and it takes its toll on people’s bodies.
Heat-related deaths a global issue
While the study only looks at Mexican health data, it provides a concerning glimpse at a potential future for other nations on the front line of a warming world.
Experts say mortality is a huge part of the cost of climate change.
“We think many fewer people will die from cold, many more people will die from heat. We think most of those additional deaths from heat are going to happen in low- and middle-income countries,” Wilson said.
“Most of the reduction in cold-related deaths will be in Europe and North America, right? So this is already an inequality picture,” he added.
Such conditions have long been forecast, given the pace at which carbon emissions have increased in recent years. The world has already temporarily breached the 1.5-degree Celsius lower threshold set in the Paris Climate Agreement.
In 2017, studies anticipated as much as 70% of India’s population could be exposed to unlivable heat by 2100.
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On December 4, 2024, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare announced an increase to the daily minimum wage that will be applicable in Mexico for 2025.Quick Hits
- Effective January 1, 2025, Mexico’s daily minimum wage will increase by 12 percent.
- The applicable daily minimum wage will be MXN $278.80 (approximately USD $13.76) and MXN $419.88 (approximately USD $20.72) for the Free Zone of the Northern Border.
The National Commission on Minimum Wages (Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos or CONASAMI), based on the consensus of the employment sector and the government, decided on a total 12 percent increase for 2025.
Effective January 1, 2025, the applicable daily minimum wage will be MXN $278.80 (approximately USD $13.76)and MXN $419.88 (approximately USD $20.72) for the Free Zone of the Northern Border (Zona Libre de la Frontera Norte, ZLFN).
The increase is composed of a 6.5 percent fixed increase to the 2024 applicable minimum wage and an independent recovery amount (Monto Independiente de Recuperación (MIR)) in accordance with the following:
- MIR for the ZLFN: $19.36 pesos
- MIR for the rest of the country: $12.85 pesos
The increase for 2025 is a reflection of Mexico’s continuous commitment to taking steps toward improving the standard of living to bridge the income gaps between employees’ earnings and their needs and promoting social equality. The increase also complies with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The increase to the daily minimum wage will be published in the Official Federal Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación, DOF).
Mexico doing all it can to protect trade agreement with US, Canada, official say
Flags of the U.S., Canada and Mexico Mexico is doing everything it can to protect a regional trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada, the Latin American nation’s deputy economy minister said in an interview published on Friday.The three neighboring nations, and major partners in commerce, have entered a trade tussle after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on the countries to the north and the south if they did not clamp down on drugs and migrants coming into the U.S.
Mexico is working on both issues in order to “come to the table” to negotiate without obstacles, Luis Rosendo Gutierrez told outlet Inside U.S. Trade., opens new tab
Since Trump’s tariff threat, Mexico has launched an offense on contraband goods from Asia coming into the country, and officials seized a record amount of fentanyl. They have also detained thousands of migrants, vowing to prevent them from making it north.
In a statement issued late Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the country’s military and law enforcement officials for seizing over twenty million doses of illicit fentanyl.
Mexican officials have been in touch with Trump allies, Gutierrez added, though they have not met with incoming administration officials. The exception is Jamieson Greer, Trump’s tapped trade representative, with whom Gutierrez met before his nomination.
Trump, as well as some U.S. industry leaders, have accused Mexico of being a “backdoor” to Chinese goods and investment, which Mexico has denied.
SCREENING INVESTMENTS
Mexico is looking to take a cue from the U.S., however, in screening investments coming into the country, Gutierrez said. Mexico is looking to develop a process similar to the U.S.’ Committee on Foreign Investment, he explained.
When asked if that would affect Chinese automaker BYD’s plans to build a factory in the Latin American country, Gutierrez responded that Mexico wants “to play with the same rules” as its trade allies.
Trump had threatened to put a 100% tariff “on every single car coming across the Mexican border” in response to BYD’s plans, though the carmaker has repeatedly said its plant would serve the local market and not the United States.
Mexico is considering doling out incentives to draw manufacturing investments, Gutierrez said, suggesting Mexico could produce batteries that the U.S. wants to be made regionally.
CORN COMPLICATIONS
Mexico is also awaiting the result of a dispute panel under the USMCA trade deal regarding Mexico’s restrictions on imports of genetically-modified corn.
Mexico will comply with the panel’s ruling even if unfavorable toward the nation, Gutierrez said. And depending on the outcome, Mexico will weigh whether it must make changes to a proposed constitutional reform that would bar the use of GM corn for human consumption, the official added.
California governor promotes trade with Mexico after Trump threats
California Governor Gavin Newsom walks near the wall on the United States and Mexico border, in San Diego, California, U.S. December 5, 2024.
Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s policies would benefit American workers and rejected Newsom’s suggestion that prices would rise.
One area that’s taken us a considerable amount of time to learn from Artemis I is how the heat shield performed during the mission.
“The impacts of mass deportation on the cost of food in this state, in this nation, are off the charts,” he said.
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