On Monday morning, President Biden issued a statement from The White House complimenting Sheinbaum on her victory:

“I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first woman President of Mexico. I look forward to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries. I express our commitment to advancing the values and interests of both our nations to the benefit of our peoples,” Biden said.

Biden also congratulated the Mexican public for carrying out “a nationwide successful democratic electoral process.”

Global leaders send best wishes to Mexico’s next president

Earlier Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement on social media saluting Sheinbaum’s win. Trudeau praised the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement as “the envy of the world, and the result of a strong, mutually beneficial relationship,” while proclaiming his desire to strengthen bilateral relations “to create more prosperity for Canadians and Mexicans alike.”

Among the first messages received by the unofficial president-elect (the National Electoral Institute will make it official by June 8) was a social media post from Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The post was published at 1:24 a.m. while Sheinbaum was celebrating her historical achievement with a rally in the Zócalo.

Enhorabuena, @Claudiashein, por tu elección.

Por primera vez en su historia, México tendrá a una mujer al frente de la Presidencia.

Seguiremos trabajando para fortalecer las relaciones entre España y México.

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) June 3, 2024

Sánchez applauded Sheinbaum for becoming Mexico’s first female president and promised to keep working to solidify bilateral relations. Sánchez later posted that he had spoken on the phone with the president-elect.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, also posted a congratulatory message to Sheinbaum on X, emphasizing the “deep historical, economic and cultural ties” between Mexico and the European Union and saying that she looks forward to strengthening relations.

In the wake of a recent diplomatic incident, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron sent his regards as well, posting on X that “the UK and Mexico have been friends for 200 years, working together closely on opportunities and shared challenges.”

Leaders of the Latin American left also joined the chorus. Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro, Bolivia’s Luis Arce, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Xiomara Castro of Honduras, Gabriel Boric of Chile, Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Chaves Robles and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel all sent congratulatory messages to Sheinbaum as did Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Uruguay’s Luis Lacalle and Panama’s Laurentino Cortizo.

Sheinbaum wasn’t the only victor on Sunday, though she was the most prominent. On June 2, Mexico’s electoral authorities oversaw more than 20,000 races at the local, state and federal levels. At the federal level Sheinbaum’s party, Morena and allies appear to have won a supermajority in the lower house of Congress and are likely to win a simple majority (less than two-thirds) in the Senate.

With reports from El Economista, El País and Infobae

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Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) issued a forecast early Monday warning of high temperatures throughout the country, and advising the public to avoid prolonged exposure to solar radiation and stay hydrated.

Para este lunes se pronostican #Lluvias fuertes en #Chiapas y el noreste de #México, así como #Chubascos en #SanLuisPotosí, #Jalisco, #Michoacán, #Guanajuato, #Querétaro, #EdoMéx y #Oaxaca pic.twitter.com/X7ep9AQU3E

— CONAGUA Clima (@conagua_clima) June 3, 2024

Originally forecast to last from May 20-28, the third heat wave will continue to scorch the country throughout this week, in particular the northern and coastal regions of Mexico. Heat alerts were issued for 12 of 16 Mexico City boroughs over the weekend.

The report forecasts temperatures in excess of 45˚C for states in the northeast and along the Gulf Coast. Included in this list are Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, San Luis Potosí and Chiapas.

States in the northwest and along the Pacific Coast can expect temperatures in the 40˚ to 45˚C range. These states include Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, Colima, Durango, Jalisco and Nayarit.

The weather agency also issued heavy storm alerts for Chiapas, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, alerting local authorities to be prepared for up to 50 mm of rain. In addition, México state, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí could see 25 mm of rain.

Residents in these states were cautioned about the danger of landslides and flooding, and were advised to be attentive to warnings issued by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially started on June 1 and is forecast to run through Nov. 30. This is the most aggressive Atlantic hurricane season the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has ever forecast. 

NOAA tracked four tropical waves moving between Africa and the Caribbean last week, but no tropical cyclone activity developed. This is the second time in three years that there were no pre-hurricane season storms, Fox News reported.

The Atlantic Basin could see up to 25 total named storms (the average is 14), up to 13 hurricanes and up to seven major hurricanes this year. The Pacific hurricane season officially began on May 15, and meteorologists expect 15-18 storm systems this year.

The main reason why this Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be particularly intense is a combination of high sea surface temperatures and the onset of the La Niña climate phenomenon. This is predicted to bring increased rains to parts of Mexico this year, a relief after the extensive drought experienced during El Niño in 2023 and into this year.

With reports from Excelsior, Fox News and NBC Channel 12 News

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The Navy Ministry (SEMAR) said its headquarters in the Ninth Naval Region received an emergency call alerting them to the presence of the two boats. The Ninth Region functions as a Coast Guard and is based out of Isla Mujeres.

Navy ships intercepted the boats, reported the newspaper La Jornada Maya, and pulled the migrants aboard, acting to “safeguard their lives.” The migrants were treated by Navy medics and, upon being taken to land at Puerto Juárez, were turned over to immigration (INM) authorities.

SEMAR did not reveal if the migrants themselves had made the emergency call, or if it came from a third party. The nationalities of the migrants have not been reported, nor is it clear from which country they had embarked or how long they had been traveling. 

This incident at sea comes just over a month after the INM offices in Cozumel received 28 migrants who had been rescued in open waters by a cruise ship.

While en route from Tampa, Florida, to Cozumel, Mexico, a Carnival Paradise cruise liner came upon the migrants drifting in a makeshift boat fitted with a sail about 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) west of Cuba. 

Upon determining that the overcrowded boat appeared to be in poor condition, the cruise ship executed a rescue and delivered the migrants to the INM offices in Cozumel.

Cozumel is an island off the coast of Quintana Roo about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Isla Mujeres.

In the latter case, the 28 migrants — 18 men, nine women and one unaccompanied minor — were identified as Cubans. The INM provided the migrants with medical treatment before transporting them to Cancún where the adults were provided shelter while their immigration status was resolved. The unaccompanied minor was turned over to Family Protection Services (DIF), also in Cancún.

The arrival of undocumented migrants in Mexico rose significantly last year, surpassing by 77% the numbers recorded in 2022, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

With reports from La Jornada Maya and Quadratín Yucatán

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The Tourism Ministry (Sectur) reported this week that 4,831,000 people held jobs in the tourism sector during the first quarter of 2024: a 7.7% increase over the then-record number of people employed in tourism during the first quarter of 2020. This figure represents 9% of all employment in Mexico during the first three months of the year, Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marqués noted.

In real numbers, 344,009 more people were employed in the tourism sector during the first three months of this year than were in January-March 2020.

The increase in tourism-industry jobs comes in the context of a steady post-pandemic rebound of international travel to Mexico. More than 42 million international tourists visited Mexico in 2023, a 10% increase over the number of international travelers who arrived in the country in 2022.

The national statistics agency (INEGI) reported earlier this month that 4.1 million international tourists visited the country in March, up 10.6% over the same month last year.

Sectur also reported that there was 0.6% quarter-over-quarter job growth in Mexico’s tourism sector over the fourth quarter of 2023. 

In annual terms, the jobs in the tourism sector in Q1 2024 grew 3.3% — or 153,333 additional jobs — over the first quarter of 2023.

With reports from Forbes

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BBVA Research also reported that avocados have become one of Mexico’s principal commodities for export and domestic consumption. It found that in 2003, avocado farmers across the country earned 22 billion pesos (about US $2 billion back then), whereas in 2022, avocado sales surpassed 66 billion pesos (about US $3.9 billion). 

The study illustrates how the avocado has gained increasing relevance in Mexico’s economy by examining the total area used for avocado farming in Mexico, as well as figures for production, sales and exports. 

The BBVA Research team found that in 2020, there were 241,100 hectares (596,000 acres) dedicated to avocado production, 268.6% more than in 1980, when that number was just 65,400 hectares (161,600 acres). In 2003, 93,500 hectares (231,000 acres) were devoted to avocado farming in Mexico.

As a result, avocado production increased from just over 907,000 tonnes in 2000 to more than 2.5 million tonnes in 2022. Much of this increase was driven by exports, which grew from 89,300 tonnes in 2000 to just over 1.2 million tons in 2021.

The BBVA economists noted that “although the domestic market continues to consume more than half of the avocados produced, the export market has grown from just 9.8% in 2000 to 41% in 2022.” 

That increase by 31.2 percentage points is remarkable when taking into account that domestic consumption also grew by 83% (from 818,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes) during that same period.

Avocado sales peaked in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, bringing in 74.6 billion pesos (US $4.4 billion).

The BBVA report also broke down revenues by state, with Michoacán and Jalisco leading the way — not surprising given that these are the only two states in Mexico authorized by U.S. officials to export to the United States, which is by far the biggest importer of Mexican avocados. 

83% of the country’s avocado exports go to Mexico’s northern neighbor.

Avocado farming: a recipe for environmental damage?

The increase in land in Mexico used for avocado farming has caused concern for a number of reasons.

In February, six U.S. senators raised concerns about Mexican avocados farmed on illegally deforested land, urging the U.S. government to work with Mexico “to prevent the sale of avocados grown on illegally deforested lands to American consumers.” A November 2023 report by the U.S. nonprofit Climate Rights International documented how forests in Mexico are being illegally cleared in Jalisco and Michoacán to make way for avocado farming, producing avocados that end up exported to the U.S.

Avocado farming is also becoming a water issue in Mexico: last month, Indigenous villagers living alongside Lake Zirahuén in Michoacán dismantled illegal pumping equipment that was siphoning water from the lake to irrigate nearby avocado farms.

The incident occurred just weeks after local and federal authorities had established a joint operation to halt illegal pumping from Lake Pátzcuaro.

With reports from La Jornada and Milenio

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The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), a federal agency, has accused the city of Guanajuato of causing damage to one of the historic 19th-century mummified corpses, which is displayed in the Guanajuato Mummy Museum. 

Following a complaint, INAH was made aware of damage to one of the Guanajuato mummies while it was being moved during museum renovations. The mummy’s right arm reportedly fell off. 

While some media outlets reported that additional mummies had been damaged, neither INAH nor museum officials confirmed those stories.

Last week, INAH sent experts to the museum to document the damage and investigate what permits were obtained and what procedures were followed during the museum renovations.

On Monday, the institute issued a statement declaring that the museum’s mummy collection was being handled improperly and that “far from applying proper corrective and conservation strategies, the actions carried out caused damages.”

INAH criticized the museum proprietors for their alleged “lack of knowledge about proper protocols and the lack of training of personnel in charge of carrying out these tasks.” It also accused museum officials of ignoring an agreement to consult with the agency’s experts before beginning renovations. 

The Associated Press characterized the dispute as “a turf battle between the INAH, which believes it has jurisdiction over the Guanajuato mummies because it says they are ‘national patrimony,’ and the city of Guanajuato, which considers them a tourist attraction.”

INAH has demanded that it be given oversight of the renovation project while promising to work in conjunction with municipal authorities. The institute warned that ignoring INAH proposals could result in permanent damage, if not complete destruction, of the historic artifacts.

Last year, INAH expressed concerns about an exhibition of six of the Guanajuato mummies at a Mexico City tourism fair, arguing that the 190-year-old corpses might have posed a public health risk because one of them appeared to have fungal growth, raising concerns about whether the glass display cases they were in were airtight.

On that occasion, INAH also said that museum officials had not consulted them about the transfer and handling of the mummies.

With reports from the Associated Press, La Jornada and La-Lista

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The data center region, known as Mexico Central, was inaugurated last week by Governor Mauricio Kuri, federal Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.

Kuri celebrated the launch of what he called one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world with a message on social media.

“Thanks to the culture of entrepreneurship, talent and innovation, the Microsoft corporation begins operations in Querétaro,” Kuri said. “With the start-up of the Hyperscale Cloud Centers, all small and medium-sized companies and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to modernize their databases.”

In prepared remarks at the inauguration, Ramírez de la O said the new Microsoft data center in Querétaro demonstrates that Mexico can host high-tech industries. 

“Companies looking to relocate to Mexico can count on secure, state-of-the-art infrastructure that will improve efficiency and add value to their operations,” he said. 

Ramírez de la O added that not only has Microsoft strengthened Mexico’s position as a center of innovation and investment but also has catalyzed the development of a digital ecosystem that will promote economic growth and job creation.

Hyperscale data regions like the one Microsoft just opened in Querétaro are massive business-critical facilities designed to efficiently support robust, scalable applications and typically exceed 5,000 servers and 10,000 square feet. Querétaro will also be the site of an investment of over $5 billion by Amazon Web Services in a cluster of data centers, which was announced in February.

The new facility is the result of a plan announced by Microsoft in February 2020, when the company revealed its intention to invest US $1.1 billion to drive digital transformation in Mexico. 

Ambassador Salazar also praised the new project on social media. 

“The $1.1 billion investment will help advance Mexico’s digital transition and boost North America’s competitiveness,” Salazar said.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that its new Querétaro data center will “provide local access to scalable, highly available and resilient cloud services while confirming its commitment to promoting digital transformation and sustainable innovation in Mexico.”

The multinational further said that Mexico Central will “help drive economic growth and contribute to the creation of job opportunities to sustain digital innovation, generating more than 110,000 opportunities for professional services, including jobs directly in their own organizations and jobs generated indirectly in other organizations.”

The business magazine “Mexico Now reported that the center offers small and medium-sized companies, as well as entrepreneurs, the opportunity to modernize in key technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, payments and streaming.”

Mexico Central “will provide security, privacy, and performance and will contribute to the acceleration of the digital transition of organizations and public entities in Latin America,” Microsoft said.

It further establishes Mexico as one of Latin America’s emerging primary technology hubs.

With reports from Mexico Now and Forbes México

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The partnership will increase access to multiple destinations in Mexico while also unlocking more international routes for Emirates passengers, including 20 convenient flight options that connect six points in Mexico with several popular cities in the United States.

Executive Vice President and Chief Planning and Alliances Officer at Viva Aerobus Javier Suárez praised the agreement in comments published by Emirates’s press office last week.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Emirates. … [which] allows passengers from the many Mexican cities to make a short stop in Mexico City, board an Emirates flight to reach the great city of Barcelona and/or to continue their trip to Dubai and beyond. All of this with the convenience of buying a single ticket,” Suárez said.

Emirates’ offered a similar statement: “We are pleased to activate an interline partnership with Viva Aerobus to deepen our reach in Mexico beyond Mexico City,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer. “This new offering is in line with our Fly Better promise … and we look forward to further developing the partnership in the future to elevate its benefits for our customers.”

The interline agreement will allow Emirates customers to fly from Mexico City to 21 domestic destinations while benefiting from the convenience of the two airlines’ one-bag-on-one-ticket policy.

Aviación Online reported that travelers arriving to Mexico City from Dubai will now be able to connect to other Mexican destinations including Acapulco, Cancún, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The interline network will also feature direct flights to Mexico City from Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami, among other U.S. cities.

Emirates inaugurated its services to Mexico City in 2019. Last year the airline expanded its codeshare partnership with United Airlines to include eight new destinations in Mexico.

In addition, Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of the Dubai-based carrier, operates two freighter services in the country, to Mexico City and Guadalajara.

With reports from Aviación Online and Emirates.com

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Extreme heat, destructively strong winds and a consequential hail storm — all accompanied by flooding — tormented central Mexico beginning on Friday.

In a “be careful what you wish for” moment, residents of the city of Puebla, who may have been wishing for relief from the heat wave, were stunned by a wicked storm that pounded them with hail for 30 minutes on Friday afternoon.

The squall covered streets in up to 50 cm of accumulated hail, nearly burying several cars in one neighborhood, toppling trees and producing flooding across the Historic Center and the northwestern part of the state capital.

Winds of up to 50 km/hr collapsed the roof of an auto dealership and a department store, knocked trees onto a housing project, blew over billboards and caused a power outage.

City and state civil protection agents were out in force to survey the damage and assist the public in digging out from the hail drifts. Police rescued a young girl who was being swept away by floodwaters, but no casualties were reported.

Intensa tormenta de granizo en #Puebla

Con este video de @Manatimx, la tormenta de esta tarde en #Puebla corresponde a un #Downburst

Es una corriente que desciende desde la nube a gran velocidad, trayendo abundante granizo y viento que puede superar los 80 km/h pic.twitter.com/7OXlVXAdXz

— Meteorología México (@InfoMeteoro) May 24, 2024

Residents of Puebla shared videos of the intense rain and hail storm on social media.

On Sunday, strong winds knocked over tarpaulins at campaign events in two municipalities of México state, causing dozens of injuries.

Meanwhile in Mexico City, capitalinos sweltered in the extreme heat all weekend. Sunday was the third consecutive day in which a record was set. The mercury hit 33.8 degrees Celsius (93˚F), which is a new all-time record for May 26. 

A day earlier, the temperature topped out at 34.7C, surpassing the all-time record set on May 9. Friday’s high also climbed above 34C, setting a new record for May 24.

National Meteorological Service (SMN) data confirms that record-setting temperatures are likely to continue through June, the newspaper Debate reported on Sunday. Mexico’s current heat wave — the third of an expected five heat waves this season — has seen temperatures above 45 C in parts of the country.

The Monday morning forecast from SMN warned that 19 states will experience extremely hot temperatures this week. Intense storms and high winds remain in the forecast for northern Mexico, where gale-force winds destroyed a stage at a political rally on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring dozens.  

The temperatures up north are expected to ease slightly in the coming days, according to the weather site Meteored, but tropical humidity will arrive in its place. The emerging weather system will bring heavy rains in parts of central and southern Mexico, and states in the west and northwest should be prepared for extremely high winds.

With reports from La Jornada, El Financiero, Debate and Meteored

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The latest incident of violence in Acapulco occurred Thursday at a grocery store within the El Pueblito handicrafts market, a popular stop for tourists. The Guerrero prosecutor’s office is investigating the attack, in which armed men killed four men and a woman and wounded a sixth victim.

Witnesses to the late afternoon shooting that took place near the Costera Miguel Alemán — the main beachfront strip around Acapulco harbor — told authorities that two men walked up to the store and started shooting. The suspects then fled north along Universidad Avenue.

National Guard troops arrived shortly thereafter to cordon off the area as forensic specialists combed the scene for evidence. Paramedics treated the injured victim and transported him to the hospital.

Acapulco authorities report more shoot-outs and more bodies

This shooting comes just two days after authorities revealed that they had recovered 10 bodies found scattered around the resort city, which has seen an increase in cartel violence in recent years. There were also at least four shoot-outs reported Monday night.

CBS News reported six bodies found Monday night “on an avenue near a market” about 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of the harbor. The victims — among them two women — were bound hand and foot and piled on top of each other, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. Local media reported the bodies had been thrown from a car.

Hours earlier, three men and a woman had been shot dead in Colonia Flores Magón, about 2 kilometers from where the six bodies were dumped. Aristegui Noticias reported that at least 12 people were killed Monday, including a man working at a tortilla shop while CBS News said a man was shot dead in the tourist part of the city.

The violence follows an April attack in which a traffic policeman was shot dead while the month of February saw the murder of three people on beaches in Acapulco, including one incident in which a gunman arrived and escaped by boat.

Disputes between drug cartels have plagued Guerrero for years, with federal authorities reporting 1,401 homicides in the Pacific coast state last year alone. Acapulco’s recent killings also come in the midst of a wave of electoral violence ahead of the June 2 elections, which will be the largest in Mexican history.

With reports from CBS News, Aristegui Noticias and El País

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