At her Monday press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed any “risk” from their U.S. depositions and rejected the notion that Washington could designate her Morena political party as a terrorist organization. By Friday, the week had brought a historic trade deal signing, major environmental wins and worrisome economic data.

Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.

Mexico and the EU sign a landmark trade deal

The week’s most consequential diplomatic event arrived on Friday, May 22, when Mexico and the European Union formally signed the Modernized Global Agreement (MGA) at an EU-Mexico Summit in Mexico City — the first such summit in more than a decade. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were welcomed by Sheinbaum at the National Palace’s Courtyard of Honor before the ceremony.

Mexico and European Union sign modernized trade deal, eliminating tariffs on 99% of products

The deal, a decade in the making, eliminates tariffs on 99% of products traded between the two sides — including mutual tariffs on electric vehicles and batteries — and broadens the original 2000 pact to include services, digital trade, government procurement, investment and agricultural products. It opens the door to duty-free access for Mexican chicken and asparagus, and European cheese, pork and milk powder.

A key feature reported earlier in the week is a new Investment Dispute Resolution Tribunal to replace the existing patchwork of bilateral mechanisms. It guarantees European companies operating in Mexico — and Mexican companies in Europe — the same treatment as local firms, with panels required to issue final rulings within 120 days. Two-way trade in goods between Mexico and the EU totaled €86.8 billion in 2025, with Europe serving as Mexico’s second-largest export market after the U.S.

Morelos mayor arrested in Operation Swarm

Federal security forces struck close to Mexico City on Wednesday when Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced the arrest of Atlatlahucan Mayor Agustín Toledano Amaro and five other officials from the central state of Morelos as part of Operación Enjambre (Operation Swarm) — an ongoing anti-corruption strategy that has now netted more than 140 officials since its launch in November 2024.

Also detained were the former mayor of Yecapixtla and several officials from Cuautla’s municipal government. Federal prosecutors said at least eight Morelos municipalities had been infiltrated by the Sinaloa Cartel, whose alleged regional operator, known as “El Barbas,” reportedly helped fund candidates’ campaigns in exchange for protection. The government’s Financial Intelligence Unit moved to freeze bank accounts of 22 individuals and 10 companies linked to the corruption network, and authorities said they were continuing efforts to arrest Cuautla Mayor Jesús Corona Damián.

Judicial reform: A broader do-over is in the works

On Monday, Sheinbaum signaled plans to push the second round of judicial elections from 2027 to 2028, and on Wednesday, the president submitted a full constitutional reform bill to Congress that proposes sweeping changes to the 2024 overhaul itself.

The bill was drafted in part by presidential legal adviser Luisa María Alcalde and effectively acknowledges the deficiencies of last year’s elections, in which just 13% of eligible voters participated, ballots were notoriously unwieldy and cheat sheets — some circulated by Morena affiliates — became widespread.

Among the key changes proposed: each judgeship race would be capped at two candidates, selected through merit evaluation and sortition; candidates would need to demonstrate genuine legal knowledge rather than simply holding a degree and presenting neighbors’ letters of recommendation; sitting judges seeking a new post would have to resign first; and all judges would face performance reviews from year one. The bill also restores the Supreme Court to a dual-chamber structure and requires judicial campaigns to be conducted without involvement from political parties.

The proposal drew a sharp rebuke from the National Association of Federal Circuit Magistrates and District Judges, which called the postponement “the clearest confession” of the original design’s failures and warned that trimming candidate lists, without addressing deeper structural problems, risked causing the justice system to “collapse.”

World Cup countdown

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup less than three weeks away, Mexico’s co-hosting preparations dominated the news. The national teachers’ union announced a strike to coincide with the tournament’s opening, while Mexican air traffic controllers threatened a work stoppage that could disrupt the surge in international arrivals expected in June. Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM) is also racing the clock, with 2,000 workers on site to finish a year-long renovation before the June 11 kickoff.

Away from the worries, Spain’s King Felipe VI accepted an invitation to attend the Spain-Uruguay match in Guadalajara on June 26. The Bank of Mexico began minting 12 commemorative coins to mark the occasion. Analysts projected that more than half of Mexico’s World Cup economic windfall would come from beer sales alone. And while Mexico will host six national teams, a survey found that the majority have chosen to base themselves in the United States rather than Mexico during the group stage.

Environment Ministry kills Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico project

Mexico’s Environment Ministry (Semarnat) put a definitive end to Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico megaproject in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, blocking a cruise-ship entertainment complex that environmental groups said would have damaged mangroves, coral reefs and the region’s fragile aquifer. Semarnat head Alicia Bárcena declared Tuesday that the project “will not be approved” — one day after President Sheinbaum ordered a fresh environmental review.

The proposed complex had drawn enormous opposition. Plans called for more than 30 waterslides, the world’s longest “lazy river” and a standalone “Tipsy Sombrero Bar” topped by the world’s largest sombrero, spread across roughly 90 hectares of jungle and mangrove next to the Mesoamerican Reef — the largest reef system in the Western Hemisphere — in a coastal community of fewer than 3,000 people. A Change.org petition against the project gathered more than 4.8 million signatures, with opposition ranging from local residents to the international fan bases of BTS and Taylor Swift. Greenpeace hailed the cancellation as a victory for public pressure, calling on the government to extend formal protections to the wider Maya jungle and its aquifer. Royal Caribbean said it respected the decision but still hoped to discuss future community and environmental investment in Mexico.

Environmental groups celebrate cancellation of Royal Caribbean’s ‘Perfect Day Mexico’

Mexican food shines — and stumbles — on the world stage

It was a mixed week for Mexican cuisine on the international scene. On the high note, National Geographic named Sonora one of the best food destinations in the world, recognizing the northwestern state not just for its iconic carne asada but for its agave-based spirits — a category that earned it the coveted slot on Nat Geo’s “Best of the World” list.

However, the 2026 Michelin Guide Mexico — presented at a ceremony in Guadalajara on Wednesday — revealed that El Califa de León, the modest Mexico City taquería that had made history as the world’s only taco stand with a Michelin star, has lost that distinction two years after earning it. The guide did not give a reason for the downgrade. However, Mexico’s taco culture retained its place on the coveted list: La Once Mil, an upscale taquería in Lomas de Chapultepec where a single taco can run 335 pesos, picked up the star. The 2026 edition also expanded to new states, awarding stars to restaurants in Jalisco and Yucatán for the first time.

GM moves Groove and Aveo assembly from China to Mexico

General Motors announced it will relocate assembly of the Chevrolet Groove and Aveo from China to its Ramos Arizpe plant in Coahuila, starting in 2027. The move aligns with Mexico’s nearshoring push and is part of GM’s broader North American supply-chain reshuffling amid ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.

Economic signals: A difficult week for the numbers

A string of reports this week painted a sobering, if slightly more hopeful than expected, picture of Mexico’s economy.

On Friday, INEGI confirmed that Mexico’s GDP contracted 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous three months — the worst quarterly drop since late 2014, though the final figure beat earlier estimates. Year-on-year, the economy grew 0.4% versus the same period in 2025. The government maintained its annual growth forecast of 1.8%-2.8%, banking on World Cup revenues and the federal Infrastructure Plan.

On Wednesday, Moody’s cut Mexico’s sovereign credit rating to Baa3 — the lowest investment-grade level, one notch above junk — while upgrading Mexico’s outlook from negative to stable. The agency cited weak growth and the ongoing drain from Pemex subsidies. The downgrade leaves all three major agencies — Moody’s, Fitch and S&P — giving Mexico a near-floor investment-grade score. Offering a partial counterweight, manufacturing activity rose 1.3% year-on-year in April, breaking a three-month decline.

MND’s inaugural economy index

Mexico News Daily launched the MND Economy Index™ for March 2026 — a new monthly tool designed to cut through competing narratives about economic performance. The index draws on a broad basket of indicators to produce a composite, data-backed snapshot of conditions each month, building on MND’s growing suite of intelligence products.

Also this week

🏥 The Health Ministry announced a goal of 9,000 new hospital beds across the country by 2030, part of the Sheinbaum administration’s push to expand public healthcare infrastructure.

☮️ A new Institute for Economics & Peace report found that Mexico recorded its most significant improvement in peacefulness in at least a decade in 2025.

🌊 Researchers from Mexico and Japan launched a joint study on earthquake and tsunami risks along the Oaxacan Pacific coast, aiming to improve early warning systems in one of Mexico’s most seismically active zones.

⚓ The governor of Baja California Sur pledged to formally ask President Sheinbaum to repeal a decree that opened the Pueblo Mágico town of Loreto to heavy maritime traffic, a move welcomed by residents and conservation advocates seeking to protect the Gulf of California.

Mexico News Daily

The post Mexico’s week in review: A new trade deal with the EU offsets a sluggish domestic economy appeared first on Mexico News Daily

One of the most common questions I get from people is: “How do you think President Sheinbaum is doing?” I find that many people — especially people who do not live in Mexico or are immigrants to the country — are more likely to be uncertain about how to think. They tend to fall into two different categories:

1. Those who think she is going to ruin the country.
2. Those who think she is doing great.

When I press those who think she is going to ruin the country, they almost always point to what they have heard from their English-speaking Mexican friends. When I ask for details, they tend to say things like, “She is just a puppet for AMLO,” which is superficial to say the least. Those who think she is doing great tend to be equally superficial in their rationale, pointing to things like “I like her smile,” “I like the way she dresses,” etc., etc.

It is with that backdrop that Mexico News Daily created The Sheinbaum Index. With this monthly index, we look to give our readers real data and context for evaluating the performance of the president. Not just opinions, but facts and figures.

In today’s episode of Confidently Wrong, we talk through the results of the first inaugural MND Sheinbaum Index to help you understand how it works and how to interpret it. You can find it on Spotify here or on our YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.

The post ‘Confidently Wrong about President Sheinbaum’s Performance’: A new podcast episode by Mexico News Daily appeared first on Mexico News Daily

In Mexico’s second-largest city, modern, sophisticated cuisine that riffs on both the trendy and the traditional can be found in Guadalajara in abundance, as can some of the nation’s best cocktail bars. But just as we recently wrote about Mexico City, if you want to dig a little deeper and get a feel for Guadalajara’s classic regional cuisine, here are seven restaurants you shouldn’t miss. 

Birriería El Chololo

Just a short ride from Guadalajara’s center, Birriería El Chololo sits on one corner of a tiny plaza in Tlaquepaque, a part of Guadalajara’s metropolitan area famous for its cuisine and crafts, and is full to overflowing on the weekends. Massive plates of slow-cooked lamb birria — finished in the oven to create a crispy outer layer — are brought tableside, along with a rich and deeply seasoned consommé (broth) and handmade tortillas. Birria is one of Guadalajara’s most iconic dishes and is something you must try while visiting. This restaurant, with its walls covered in sepia-toned photos of the owners and famous diners, bullfighting posters and other memorabilia, is a classic stop for birria lovers.

Cantina La Fuente

 

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Founded in 1921, this cantina’s famous bicycle is mounted behind the bar, supposedly turned over in hock by a customer as collateral to pay their bill and never retrieved. For this reason, the bar is often called locally “La Bicicleta.”

Dozens of bottles of tequila — the region’s alcoholic claim to fame — line the bar, and alongside them you’ll find Mexican cantina classics such as tacos dorados, tortas ahogadas and pickled pig’s feet. Musicians wander among the tables, especially on the weekends, including mariachi bands that will play your favorite Mexican bolero for a few pesos.

Pescadería Rosita

@gordogoficial Rapeando en la pescadería rosita 🐠 #rap #freestylerap #viral #gente #fyp #guadalajara #pescaderia #rapeando #viralvideos ♬ sonido original – Gordo G

During the 1940s, the U.S. pressured Mexico to move its Japanese immigrants away from the borders and ports, and Mexico agreed, clustering the community in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Many of the transplants to Guadalajara set up food stands in the market and outside the local bus station, where they would sell their famous caldo michi — a fish soup with carrots, tomato, garlic and MSG.

Today, the local Nikkei community holds tightly to its roots and many members can be found in that same market selling Japanese-inspired dishes (most have long been adjusted to the Mexican palate). The Yokogawa brothers and their stand, named in honor of their mother, can be found in the market during the week and outside in the open-air plaza on the weekends.

Go for the fried rice, the caldo michi and a handful of unexpected sushi combinations.

Ponte Trucha Negro

Serving the Santa Tere neighborhood since 1987, Ponte Trucha Negro has a rambunctious, family-friendly ambiance spreading through its massive dining room from the moment it opens its doors each day.

As Guadalajara is located only about four hours from the coast, it has great seafood at both its high-end and more economically priced restaurants — incidentally, another place I love is the hipster Panga el Impostor in Colonia Americana.

At Ponte Trucha Negro, the spicy shrimp aguachile with cucumber, onion and hot peppers is almost as good as the taco chupe zarandeado, with grilled shrimp in the creamy house sauce.

Add a freezing cold beer, and there is nothing better.

La Torta Loca

@fatphilia.gdl 📍La Torta Loca | Mercado San Juan de Dios GDL | #fatphilia #foodporn #restaurantesgdl #foodie #foodiegdl #recomendaciones #foodiesgdl #quehacerenguadalajara #quecomerenguadalajara ♬ Los Frijoles Bailan – ESTILO CHIHUAHUA

The traditional torta ahogada — a chopped pork sandwich on a hearty roll that’s “drowned” in a tomato sauce that can have a range of spices — is one of the region’s most famous dishes. It’s classic street food, but you can get it in plenty of upscale places with a sophisticated presentation and even a black plastic glove for you to wear so you don’t get its sauce all over you.

But if you want the real experience, you have to get down in the trenches with the locals at the Mercado San Juan de Dios. Here, the tortas ahogadas are messy, impossible and absolutely fabulous.

Birriera de Doña Yolanda

On Sundays in Guadalajara, the city has a massive flea market, the Tianguis el Baratillo, that sets up on its western side. Nearby is one of my favorite birria places that I guarantee you won’t find on any other list, anywhere. I originally got the recommendation from the bartender at De La O, another place I highly recommend.

Run by Doña Yolanda, there’s not much to say about such a simple and gastronomically divine location. But the lamb birria is fall-off-the-bone tender, and the consommé is textbook perfect. Don’t be dissuaded by the place’s disheveled look; just give it a try.

Río Viejo

Opened in 1987, Río Viejo has a massive outdoor patio for all those fine, sunny Guadalajara Sundays and offers a menu of Mexican classics that run the gamut from guacamole with chicharrón to chamorro en adobo (slow-coked pork loin), grilled bone marrow esquites and rib eye tacos. You really can’t go wrong ordering anything off the menu.

Not to mention there’s live Mexican music on the weekends, a perfect time to dabble in Río Viejo’s long list of cocktails and spirits.

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based in Mexico City. She has published extensively both online and in print, sharing her insights about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of “Mexico City Streets: La Roma.” Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at mexicocitystreets.com.

The post Going to the World Cup in Guadalajara? Here’s where to find amazing taquerías after the game appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Welcome to MND Tutor! This interactive learning tool is designed to help you improve your Spanish by exploring real news articles from Mexico News Daily. Instead of just memorizing vocabulary lists or grammar rules, you’ll dive into authentic stories about Mexican culture, current events and daily news.

To get started, choose your level of Spanish:

🌵 Choose your level of Spanish
— Choose Level —🇲🇽Beginner🌵 Intermediate🌶️ Advanced

Let us know how you did!

Check out our complete MND Tutor archive here!

The post MND Tutor | Cerveza appeared first on Mexico News Daily

What's been going on in the news this week? Our weekly quiz is here to keep you on top of what’s happening in Mexico.

Get informed, stay smart.

Are you ready?  Let’s see where you rank vs. our expert community!

Baja California Sur's governor recently said he'll petition Claudia Sheinbaum to keep heavy maritime traffic out of which Magical Town?

Todos Santos

Loreto

Santa Rosalía

Tecate

None

According to a recent Deloitte report, more than half of Mexico’s expected sales during the FIFA World Cup will be of what item?

Official Mexican national team T-shirts

Hotel rooms

Beer

Uber rides

None

President Sheinbaum announced that GM will move assembly of its Groove and Aveo models from China to which Mexican state?

Guanajuato

Nuevo León

Coahuila

Durango

None

Which group of Mexican federal workers said Tuesday that it will strike over low pay and "exhausting shifts"?

PEMEX workers

The nation's air traffic controllers

Mexico's post office workers

Health Ministry workers

None

After three months of decline, Mexico's annual manufacturing activity rose in April — by how much?

3.5%

2.8%

1.3%

4.6%

None

Two former Mexican officials in which state recently turned themselves in to U.S. authorities on drug-trafficking charges?

Baja California

Jalisco

Sinaloa

Sonora

None

Which Mexican state has entered for the first time National Geographic’s Best of the World list of gastronomical destinations?

Oaxaca

Querétaro

Hidalgo

Sonora

None

Mexico's government issued a travel advisory this week for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda due to what health concern?

Hantavirus

Ebola

Mpox

Marburg virus

None

Which world leader recently accepted Mexico's invitation to attend a FIFA World Cup match in Guadalajara?

U.S. President Donald Trump

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu

Spain's King Felipe VI

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel

None

We reported this week on a Mexican version of the hit U.K. and U.S. TV show "The Office." What is Mexico's version called?

"La Oficina"

"Los Días De Los Godínez"

"Mi Jefe Es Un Idiota"

"La Vida Cotidiana De Los Godínez"

None

Time's up

The post The MND Quiz of the Week May 23rd appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Oh, but I do love naps. I would say that I especially like them when I didn’t sleep well the night before, but the truth is, I think I’m one of those people who just need 10 hours of sleep out of every 24 to feel well-rested. Getting those hours all in at the same time is not reasonable under the circumstances of my life, and so I usually tap out on my night’s sleep somewhere between six and eight hours.

So my ideal sleep schedule involves a one or two-hour afternoon nap, which is just not reasonable in my part of Mexico, and probably not in most.

Napping issues in Mexico

Why, you may ask? In part, it’s because I have a child, and school is indefinitely not in session. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been almost entirely asleep and she’s woken me up to watch whatever movie I’ve put on for her in order to get my nap in the first place. I’ve also been woken to look for missing toys that are suddenly an emergency and, of course, for snacks.

She’s actually not my primary source of nap interruption, though: It’s people coming to the door.

Easily five people a day ring my doorbell. Though it makes me grouchy when it happens during my nap, I can hardly be mad at them: It’s a common occurrence.

Sometimes it’s the guys who carry off trash in their truck, an appreciated service in a city with rather unreliable and unpredictable trash collection (plus, I have to carry it a few blocks away because the truck apparently can’t make it up to where I live).

Other times, it’s the man and his cute son who sell fruits and vegetables door-to-door. There’s an Indigenous woman and a young child who speak very little Spanish who sell flowers as well, and the Yakult (those tiny probiotic yogurt drinks) lady comes by every Wednesday.

I can also expect at least once a week that the guy decked out in military gear who “protects” the neighborhood by walking around during the night blowing a whistle will arrive to collect his 10-peso “voluntary” donation.

Unfortunately, the people who came around selling ice cream haven’t been back in a while. But I have been able to buy pens that double as smartphone cleaners, made-in-China 3D puzzles of houses that my daughter adores — even though they’re even less-than-dollar-store quality — and the occasional lollipop in exchange for a donation to some good cause. Or the idea of a good cause.

Delivery drivers bring convenience but also ruin naps

And since this is modern Mexico, we’re having quite a few things delivered: everything from groceries to packages to medical devices for my houseguest with mold allergies.

When people seem curious about moving to Mexico, one of my first warnings is this: If you value silence, quiet neighborhoods and generally being left alone, this is not the place for you.

If my daughter or the doorbell ringing doesn’t wake me up, the neighbor’s dog does. It’s situated on the side of the house, on a little strip of a patio that seems designed specifically to make lonely animals neurotic. We don’t live on a busy street, but anything that passes in front of the house — human, animal, something on wheels, a piece of plastic being carried by the wind — will usually set this dog off.

The acoustics are such that when it starts barking, the noise goes right into the rooms at the front of my house. Turning up the TV volume isn’t enough; it must be paused until the dog quiets down again. The neighbors are well-meaning and have tried to keep it quiet, but in the end, it’s a “guard dog” for all of us, and the unfortunate acoustics of our two places are not their fault.

The cowbell ringer doesn’t help either

What other sounds might you hear? Well, there’s the person who runs up and down the streets with a cowbell to let you know that you’ve got perhaps a 15-minute window of opportunity to take out the trash.

There’s the “gas” song that blares from the truck to let you know they’re around. If you need a new tank of fuel for cooking and heating your shower, that’s your cue to run out the front door and flag them down.

There’s the high-pitched whistle of the guy who will sharpen your knives for you. Then there are the people selling elotes or tamales — the latter of which doesn’t happen nearly enough on my street, if you ask me; I should have proposed to the guy selling those delicious mole tamales when I had the chance. Or there are the people offering to buy your large domestic appliances, which they let you know about via a megaphone stuck to the roof of their car.

‘Quiet down’ doesn’t work

The notion of telling children to quiet down seems about as logical to most people here as getting mad at the wind for blowing, and if a neighbor, or five, is having a party nearby, you’ll get to hear all of their music and probably some loud drunken conversations as well. Most Mexicans, including my daughter, don’t seem to be bothered in the least by all of these noises. I, as a grouchy, bougie gringa, seem to be the only one having to stop herself from jumping up and down like Rumplestiltskin throwing a tantrum whenever the doorbell’s just been rung for the sixth time in as many hours.

My saving grace? I have a bad ear. While I can’t ignore my child or the doorbell, if I’m expecting a delivery, I can lie on my “good” ear and be at least a little deaf to the world. So, if you live in Mexico and value silence, I recommend that you learn to accept any one-sided hearing loss as a blessing in disguise.

This article was first published in 2020.

Sarah DeVries writes from her home in Xalapa, Veracruz.

The post If you like a good nap, Mexico’s noisy neighborhoods present a challenge appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Pancho, the hotel’s dog, doesn’t do much more than wait around for a belly rub or slowly meander to the closest square, but he bridges what would be a wide gap in most tourist towns between hotel guests and neighborhood locals. Over the next two nights, it will become widely apparent that in San Miguel, visitors and residents move through the same spaces with an ease that feels unusually comfortable. The social scene here spins, in large part, around the city’s design-forward hotels. The doors, quite literally, are open to everyone.

San Miguel’s architecture is built for gathering

 

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This is partly a product of history: In the early 20th century, foreign artists discovered San Miguel’s baroque and neoclassical colonial structures, establishing institutes here like the Escuela de Bellas Artes. Muralists, painters and eventually former U.S. G.I. Bill students followed. The city’s identity as an artist community took root and, with it, so did a culture of interiors worth lingering in. 

Little has changed, and today, hotel lobbies in San Miguel are punctuated by the works of Mexican artists, inviting passersby inside to ogle. NUMU, for example, recently showcased Tijuana-born artist Miguel Milló; Casa No Name regularly features paintings by resident artist Cecilia García Amaro, originally from Mexico City. 

The tradition is alive, and it pulls people off the street and into San Miguel’s hotels.

If it’s the art that catches the eye, it’s the colonial layout that keeps folks inside. Central courtyards — built originally to provide air circulation and outdoor relief from the heat — are natural gathering spaces. Flat rooftops now feature string lights and are populated with bars, framing a terra-cotta-dotted skyline and spectacular sunsets. 

A quick scan of Google Maps reveals at least a dozen rooftop bars and pools within a few minutes’ walk of Jardín Allende, San Miguel’s main central plaza. In a city where temperatures peak around 30 degrees Celsius, it’s no wonder locals eagerly purchase a day pass and spend an afternoon poolside at a hotel they’ve never slept in. But more on that later.

The manager knows everyone’s name, and the dog knows everyone’s schedule

NUMU’s ground-floor dining area, El Fogón de Enrique — often referred to by locals simply as Restaurant Enrique — sits on an internal patio wrapped in colorful murals and hanging vines. Breakfast runs until 2 p.m., a generous, unhurried window of time that locals love. Afterward, the space transforms into a wine bar. 

Digging into an açaí bowl one morning, I eavesdropped on the tables around me and clocked at least two groups whose conversations placed them as neighborhood residents, not spectators passing through. I asked Raúl, the general manager, whether this was common. 

“We have many local people — expats and Sanmiguelenses — who come to our activities and enjoy our food and beverage spaces,” he said.

That evening, after a tequila tasting on the rooftop bar with some of the best views I’d seen in the city, I settled into Noia, the hotel’s top-floor Mediterranean restaurant, to try and soak up the spirit of the place. A group of eight women in the corner was deep into a private wine tasting — boisterous, clearly having a good time. Upon further investigation, I discovered that they lived in town.

Beyond gastronomy, locals and visitors meet on the mat too. A small-group Pilates class on the hotel patio the next morning drew a handful of participants, one of whom, it turned out, wasn’t a guest either. 

Hanging out at hotels is a San Miguel specialty

Melissa Bastinelli teaches fitness classes in San Miguel, and she often hosts wellness events in hotels like NUMU. 

“I feel like there are a lot of hotels you want to stay at or hang out in, even if you live here,” she told me. 

According to Raúl, NUMU’s regular schedule of classes — yoga, barre, meditation and tai chi — draws a consistent mix of people, many of whom buy a day-pass package that bundles pool and gym access — with some options like spa treatments.

Pancho, for his part, is doing his own version of community outreach. 

“Many locals, on their daily walks with their own pets, make a mandatory stop to say hello to Pancho,” Raúl said, smiling. “And he is the happiest when they visit.” 

Since the hotel has been pet-friendly from the beginning, Pancho — who’ll be turning four in June — was brought in to host the animals that come and stay. He’s since become something of a neighborhood fixture, a celebrity in his own right. He even has his own Instagram.

Pancho is, by any reasonable measure, doing more for local-hotel relations than any marketing campaign could.

San Miguel de Allende’s best hotels for locals

NUMU sits directly across from the Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, a luxury hotel that’s one of the city’s most storied addresses. Its rooftop bar, Luna, functions less like a hotel amenity and more like an elevated town square. 

Open to nonguests on a walk-in basis, Luna draws locals and visitors with the same pull: unobstructed views of La Parroquia’s neo-Gothic spires, a bold sunset and a Mediterranean-inspired menu built for drawn-out dining. For residents who want something more permanent, Rosewood offers a high-end wellness membership that gives year-round access to the spa, fitness center and an outdoor pool.

Speaking of pools, Live Aqua Urban Resort, Real de Minas, NUMU and Hotel Piedras Negras are all hotels that offer pool day passes to nonguests — a small but telling detail about how these properties see themselves in relation to the community around them. 

Where to find San Miguel de Allende’s greatest rooftops

Melissa, who scouts hotel spaces for her wellness events partly through Instagram and partly through Savant — the city’s weekly cultural guide — puts it simply. 

“Many of the best rooftops in San Miguel are at hotels. I usually find events because I’ve already been to the hotel for something else: the design, the rooftop or the vibe.”

A few blocks away, the boutique Hotel Matilda operates on a different register but with the same open-door philosophy. Its sleek interiors house an impressive collection of contemporary Mexican artworks by Bosco Sodi and Aldo Chaparro, which were commissioned specifically for the hotel’s opening in 2010. 

Through its Culture Club platform, Matilda hosts art exhibitions, culinary events and experiences like La Cena Negra, a dinner now in its 14th edition that the hotel describes as “a ritual — a tribute, an act of resistance, art and community.”

For live music, Casa de los Soles has built a reputation as one of San Miguel’s more reliably programmed hotel venues. The San Miguel Live calendar regularly lists concerts there that are ticketed and open to the public. And for new residents looking for an entry point, the San Miguel Newcomers group hosts a monthly meet-and-greet on Casa Grande Boutique Hotel’s rooftop terrace, a deliberately low-key way to get to know your neighbors.

Why San Miguel’s hotel culture is unlike any other in Mexico

It’s rare to see locals hanging out at boutique hotels in a place like Mexico City or Guadalajara. Yet, in San Miguel, hospitality is integrated into the community; neighbors meet in lobbies or rooftops for talks and tastings, live music and art openings, morning yoga and long Sunday brunches, with no one moving the nonguests along. In fact, Mexico News Daily’s own CEO, Travis Bembenek, spoke at the 21st San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival at the Hotel Real de Minas.

Which brings us back to Pancho: While waiting to check out on the final morning of my San Miguel sojourn, I watched a woman enter the lobby to scratch behind Pancho’s ears and chat with the front desk staff. Whether she was a guest or a neighbor, I can only harbor a guess. Raúl knew her, as he seemed to know everyone who passed through, whether they had a room key or not.

Departure felt premature. There’s a particular sadness to leaving a place that made you feel like an insider upon arrival. San Miguel does that. The consolation is that the connection remains — and so does Pancho, belly-up on the lobby floor, waiting for whoever comes next.

Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.

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Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico’s National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred), the Navy, and universities in Kyoto and Tohoku placed eight ocean-bottom seismometers and three pressure gauges more than 5,000 meters below the Pacific Ocean’s surface near the tourist destination of Huatulco.

The devices will collect data for a year on slow-slip events linked to major quakes.

UNAM geophysicist Víctor Manuel Cruz Atienza said the offshore segment off Huatulco has not recorded a major earthquake since 1978, despite evidence of slow displacements and significant energy accumulation. The area is designated a seismic “gap,” according to the journal Science. 

“Thanks to ocean-bottom seismometers and new tools, including machine learning, we’re finding low-frequency seismic activity offshore that wasn’t listed” in any previous databases, Professor Yoshihiro Ito of Kyoto University said in a UNAM press release. “The seabed is telling us that more is happening down there than we could see on land.”

Added Cenapred director Enrique Guevara Ortiz: “To reduce risks and benefit the population, it is necessary to understand what we are facing.”

The effort is part of the SATREPS program involving Mexico, Japan and El Salvador, aimed at improving hazard models, evacuation planning and disaster response along the Pacific Coast —as well as feeding back into Japan’s own hazard understanding.

Launched by the Japanese government in 2008, the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development supports joint research with developing countries on global issues such as disasters, climate and health.

UNAM announced this specific SATREPS project with Japan and El Salvador in late 2024 as a five-year effort focused on large earthquakes and tsunamis, backed by about US $800,000 a year in Japanese funding.

Though the shallow offshore segment under study had only one large earthquake since 1931, Oaxaca endured a magnitude 7.4 temblor in 2020 that caused about 10 deaths and damaged thousands of homes. Its epicenter was 23 kilometers south of La Crucecita, a town in the Huatulco municipality.

With reports from Publimetro

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Even so, GDP registered its biggest drop since the fourth quarter of 2014, shrinking 0.6% in the January-March period compared to the previous three months. It was also the worst first quarter since 2020, when the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic caused the economy to shrink by 1.2%. 

The first-quarter contraction revived concerns about a possible technical recession, a scenario defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in real GDP.

The decline in GDP overshadows the 0.7% recovery observed in 4Q 2025, which provided a slight bump at the end of a sluggish year.

“The weakness was broad-based across major sectors, reinforcing the view that the slowdown reflects fading domestic momentum rather than an isolated shock,” Andrés Abadía, chief economist for Latin America at  Pantheon Macroeconomics, told reporters.  

The quarterly downturn affected all three economic activities. The primary sector, which includes agriculture, fishing, mining and similar activities, recorded the steepest decline    (–1.7%). 

The secondary sector (manufacturing and construction) and tertiary activities (services) ​were down 1% and 0.4%, respectively.

In year-on-year terms, however, the economy outpaced the performance of the first three months of 2025, growing comparatively by 0.4% in 1Q 2026.

On the other hand, since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in late 2024, aggregate investment growth has fallen from about 2% year-on-year to –6% by the end of 2025.

Despite these numbers and a challenging environment that includes the ongoing review of the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact and warnings from ratings agencies, the government maintains a growth estimate of between 1.8%-2.8% this year. This forecast relies heavily on a boost from domestic demand, the World Cup and the federal Infrastructure Plan. 

The central bank (Banxico) expressed concern about the slowdown in Latin America’s second-largest economy, noting earlier this month that the first-quarter contraction would be significantly larger, cautioning that any eventual rebound would be moderate.

The newspaper El Financiero said Banxico is expected to lower its GDP forecast when it publishes its next quarterly report on May 27.

With reports from El Financiero, El Economista, Reuters and Bloomberg News

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The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Mexico gives no reason for the downgrade. But it has said in the past that “restaurants can lose their stars if they close during the year of assessment, or if they do not maintain their standards to make it into the next edition of the guide.”

🌮⭐ ¡Cambio en la guía gastronómica!
La taquería El Califa de León perdió su Estrella Michelin 2026, aunque continuará dentro de la lista oficial de establecimientos recomendados 📖🍽️ #Michelin #CDMX #Taqueria #Gastronomía #ElCalifaDeLeon pic.twitter.com/DmWUjJYSuS

— SDP Noticias (@sdpnoticias) May 21, 2026

The tiny taquería in Mexico City, which was recognized for its “exceptional” carne asada taco, was the only restaurant in this year’s edition to lose a star. 

But El Califa’s misfortune doesn’t mean Mexico is erased from the Michelin map. Another taquería debuted on the coveted list that, other than high quality, has little in common with the outgoing star-holder. While El Califa has a funky taco joint vibe, the new honoree — La Once Mil — is a high-end restaurant where one taco can cost as much as 335 pesos (US $19).

“One bite is enough to convince yourself,” the Michelin Guide said. 

Overseen by Chef César de la Parra, La Once Mil sits comfortably in the upscale neighborhood of Lomas de Chapultepec. It replaces EL Califa as the only taquería in the  Michelin Guide.

Despite the downgrade, El Califa de León continues to be listed as an official recommendation in the Michelin Guide.

New additions in new states 

In a ceremony in Guadalajara, Jalisco, on Wednesday, the Michelin Guide Mexico granted stars to 29 restaurants – two of which received two stars (Pujol and Quintonil, both retaining their stars).

But perhaps the most notable novelty this year is that the guide traveled to new states: Yucatán, Jalisco and Puebla. Until now, the Michelin Guide Mexico has reviewed restaurants only in Mexico City, Oaxaca, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo and Nuevo León.

In Jalisco, the French guide gave one star to Alcalde and another to Xocol. In Yucatán, it recognized Huniik, Ix’im and La Barra de Huniik with one star each. Although Michelin inspectors also reviewed restaurants in Puebla, none got a Michelin star in the current edition.

Overall, the guide offers seven new additions, also including Gaba in Mexico City and Pangea and KOLI Cocina de Origen in Nuevo León.

Mexico News Daily

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