The national statistics agency INEGI conducted the survey at 46,000 homes in late 2025 and the results were published in May.

In this “Mexico in Numbers” article, we look at where in Mexico people are most and least likely to encounter corruption when interacting with municipal, state and federal authorities. One of the main ways people experience corruption in Mexico is by being asked to pay a bribe.

We also present survey results on:

• The situations in which corruption directly affecting citizens is most prevalent.
• The institutions that are considered the most and least corrupt.

Where is corruption most and least prevalent? 

The state where people most commonly experience corruption is Hidalgo. Around 21.5% of residents from that state who came into contact with authorities last year experienced an act of corruption, according to the ENCIG results.

The states with the next highest percentages of people who were victims of an act of corruption last year were:

• Oaxaca: 20.3%
• Sinaloa: 19.8%
• Chihuahua: 18.4%
• Sonora: 18.3%

The states with the lowest percentages of people who were victims of an act of corruption last year were:

• Colima: 7%
• Nayarit: 8.9%
• Zacatecas: 9.4%
• Querétaro: 9.5%
• Tamaulipas: 10.8%

In what situations is corruption most prevalent? 

According to the ENCIG results, the five most common situations in which acts of corruption occurred last year were:

1. When people came into contact with public security authorities, such as police: 63.5% of respondents who experienced corruption said it occurred in this context.
2. When people were applying for property-related permits: 32%
3. When people were making “other payments,” submitting bureaucratic paperwork (trámites) or submitting “requests”: 29.3%
4. When people were submitting trámites to open a business: 23.5%.
5. When people were submitting trámites to the Federal Attorney General’s Office or a State Attorney General’s Office: 22.3%

Of the five most common situations in which acts of corruption occurred last year, the only one whose incidence declined compared to 2023 was No. 4.

Which institutions are seen as most and least corrupt? 

ENCIG respondents were also asked their opinions about the frequency with which various institutions engage in corruption.

Police forces are seen as the most corrupt institution. (Note: The survey didn’t differentiate between municipal police forces and state police forces.)

Almost nine in 10 respondents — 86.5% — believe that police engage in corruption “very frequently” or “frequently.”

According to survey respondents, the next most corrupt institutions are:

• Political parties: 83.9% of respondents believe they engage in corruption “very frequently” or “frequently.”
• Prosecutor’s Offices: 75.3%
• State governments: 74.1%
• Houses of Congress: 73%.

According to survey respondents, the least corrupt institutions in Mexico are:

• Public schools: 31.8% of respondents believe they engage in corruption “very frequently” or “frequently.”
• Public autonomous organizations: 36.9%
• Civil society organizations: 41.2%
• Religious institutions: 43%
• The Army and Navy: 46.1%

INEGI also asked respondents their opinions about the frequency with which families, neighbors and work colleagues engage in corruption. The results were as follows:

• Families: 18.7% of respondents believe they engage in corruption “very frequently” or “frequently.”
• Neighbors: 19.1%
• Work colleagues: 21.8%

Mexico News Daily 

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In remarks to reporters outside the U.S. Embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Rubio also asserted that narco-terrorist organizations — i.e. drug cartels that the U.S. government has designated as foreign terrorist organizations — control large parts of Mexico.

SECRETARY RUBIO: There are territories, vast territories in Mexico, that are not governed by the state. They are controlled by these narco-terrorist organizations. pic.twitter.com/udRGZXv0xU

— Department of State (@StateDept) September 9, 2026

The secretary of state, who traveled to Quito to speak with President Daniel Noboa about security cooperation between the United States and Ecuador, had been speaking about criminal threats in the Western Hemisphere when a reporter put it to him that if he was “talking about groups that are stronger than the state and fracturing the states, it sounds like a pretty similar situation to Mexico.”

“Mexico’s bad. It’s a bad situation,” Rubio responded.

The reporter then asked the secretary of state what the U.S. government’s plan was for combating organized crime in Mexico “given the fact that the Mexican government isn’t welcoming, or draws a pretty bright line about what it will accept in terms of U.S. military involvement.”

“How can you overcome that and have this kind of more tough approach that you’re describing?” she asked Rubio.

“The case of Mexico … [is] an even graver challenge because of the size of the country, because of the power of the cartels that are there,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s any mystery to anybody that there are territories, vast territories in Mexico, that are not governed by the state; they are controlled by these narco-terrorist organizations,” Rubio said.

He added that, “in fairness, the Mexicans have done more than they’ve ever done before to go after these groups.”

Indeed, the current Mexican government has captured or killed significant numbers of alleged cartel members and leaders, including Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) kingpin Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera, sent scores of prisoners to the United States to face justice and seized more than 500 tonnes of drugs and over 34,000 firearms.

However, in Rubio’s view, what the Mexican government has done is “still not nearly enough.”

“They know that, we’ve expressed that to them,” he said.

“And we hope to work cooperatively with them to do more because … the head of the snake are these cartels in Mexico,” Rubio said.

“And they are a threat to the Mexican state, and the people of Mexico will tell you that. The number one issue in Mexico, poll after poll shows, is security. Political candidates are routinely assassinated in Mexico; judges — routinely assassinated; journalists who report on the cartels — routinely assassinated by these groups. So these groups pose an enormous threat right on our border. They have drones now. They’re using drones to try to traffic drugs and people across the border,” he said.

“These groups are very dangerous, they’re very well financed, they need to be confronted,” Rubio said, referring to criminal organizations such as the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel.

“Our hope and our intent is to do it in partnership with Mexico. That’s the ideal. But eventually, that threat will have to be confronted, one way or the other. But our hope is to do it cooperatively with Mexican authorities,” he said.

Rubio’s “one way or the other” remark alluded to the possibility of the United States taking unilateral action against cartels in Mexico. Asked about his comments at her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum characterized them as electorally motivated given that the U.S. midterms are coming up in November.

The secretary of state is by no means the first Trump administration official to suggest that the United States could act on its own against cartels in Mexico. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said in June that the United States “would take military action” in Mexico “if we feel like we have to to protect our people.”

Like Rubio, Vance said that the United States wants “to work with the Mexican government,” but he asserted that the U.S. has to “reserve the right” to take unilateral action against cartel threats.

For his part, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson told U.S. senators in March 2025, shortly before he took up his post, that on “any decision to take action against a cartel inside Mexico, our first desire would be that it be done in partnership with our Mexican partners.”

However, he added that, “should there be a case where the lives of U.S. citizens are at risk, I think all cards are on the table.”

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump said himself that the United States — whose military has targeted suspected drug boats at sea — was going to start “hitting” cartels on land. No confirmed U.S. attacks on Mexican criminal groups in Mexico have occurred since then, although CNN reported in May that the CIA facilitated a “targeted assassination” of an alleged Sinaloa Cartel member in México state in March.

Trump: The US will ‘now’ start hitting Mexican land targets

Is Rubio’s cartel control claim true?

In asserting that cartels control “vast territories in Mexico,” Rubio echoed claims made by Trump and other current U.S. government officials, such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. In 2021, General Glen D. VanHerck, commander of the United States Northern Command at the time, asserted that criminal organizations operate in “ungoverned areas” of Mexico that account for 30% to 35% of national territory. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promptly rejected his claim.

Sheinbaum has also rejected claims about cartel control in Mexico. However, there is, according to Ioan Grillo, a Mexico-based British journalist who specializes in organized crime, a “duopoly of power” in parts of the country.

A 2024 article published on Grillo’s site CrashOut is headlined “How Much of Mexico is Governed by Cartels?”

The subheading reads, “A: None 100%. But there is a duopoly of power in chunks of the country.”

“Cartels certainly exert an amount of control in chunks of Mexico. This can be seen in squads of gunmen operating openly, running checkpoints, ordering curfews, dictating what journalists can report, charging quotas on sales of avocados, moving votes for candidates, and controlling (or assassinating) mayors,” Grillo wrote.

“Yet unlike with the Islamic State caliphate, the Mexican government still operates in those turfs. It provides electricity, sends teachers and collects garbage. And the army can still go in (while the cartel gunmen hide) and then leave (and they come out again),” he wrote.

Later in his article, Grillo wrote that in his “subjective judgement,” about “a third of Mexican states have a severe cartel presence and high levels of violence; another third have a medium (but still important) level of cartel problems and bloodshed; and a last third have levels of violence compared with regular U.S. cities, and less serious problems from gangsters.”

Since that article was published in late January 2024 — around nine months before Sheinbaum took office —  homicides and other high-impact crimes have declined, according to official statistics, suggesting that Mexico’s overall security situation has improved. Nevertheless, cartels continue to operate, fight turf wars and pose major challenges to authorities in various parts of the country.

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On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo reviewed the logistics for the capital’s Sept. 16 Independence Day parade.

In Mexico, Día de la Independencia commemorates the start of the rebellion against Spanish rule in 1810, although the nation’s War of Independence didn’t end until 1821.

The parade will include Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard personnel, cadets, pilots, military engineers, medical workers, communications specialists, military police and special forces. It also will include horses, dogs and even eagles, according to El Heraldo de México.

Contingents will be designated “Justice and Peace,” “Sentinels of the Nation,” “Crucible of Patriots” and “Roots of Honor,” among other names, Trevilla Trejo said during his briefing on a military base in Naucalpan, México state.

The roughly 5-kilometer parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 16 with a flyover of nearly 100 Air Force and National Guard airplanes and helicopters above the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central plaza — including F-5 fighters performing a  fleur-de-lis maneuver.

The ground procession will start near the Zócalo, pass the Palacio de Bellas Artes, continue along Juárez Avenue and Paseo de la Reforma, and end at the Campo Marte military complex near Chapultepec Park.

The capital’s celebrations begin the night before, when President Claudia Sheinbaum leads the traditional Grito de Independencia  (“Shout” or “Cry” of Independence) from the National Palace balcony.

In conjunction, the Grammy-winning Texas-based band Intocable, whose Norteño-Tejano sound has landed them 21 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart, will headline a free concert in the Zócalo.

Free concerts, food fairs and municipal Grito ceremonies are also planned across Mexico City’s 16 boroughs. The musical lineup includes norteño-banda group Calibre 50 (a record 27 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s regional Mexican chart) and Sinaloan balladeer Pancho Barraza (a headliner since the 1990s).

The observances will reach beyond the capital, as well, as the Grito tradition is replicated by governors and mayors nationwide.

In present-day Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato — then known simply as Dolores, where priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called on residents to rise against Spanish rule in the early hours of Sept. 16, 1810 — Independence Day festivities are running nearly all month.

In nearby San Miguel de Allende, Sept. 16 observances include a reenactment of the start of the independence movement in 1810.

This year, the Sept. 16 national holiday falls on a Wednesday, meaning there will be no three-day weekend. Public schools and banks will close, as will many government offices and private workplaces, as it is a mandatory day of rest under federal labor law. Employees required to work are entitled to premium holiday pay.  Sept. 15 remains a regular work and school day.

With reports from Milenio, Infobae, El Informador, El Heraldo de México, N+, El Sol de Bajío and ADN Noticias

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Speaking in Mexico City during the opening of National Days of Traditional Games, Delgado expressed doubt that the results amount to a comprehensive evaluation of the Mexican educational system, though he did concede that the sample was “statistically representative.” 

Mexico ranked 64th out of 91 countries evaluated, with a drop in math and reading scores to the lowest levels since 2009.

Before promoting team games as a partial remedy, Delgado defended the New Mexican School — the official public education model implemented under the previous presidential administration — though without providing specific pedagogical strategies.

Delgado said the Education Ministry (SEP) simultaneously implemented formative assessment programs under the New Mexican School scheme, including 7 million integrative learning exercises during the past year.

Still, officials sought to put Mexico’s poor scores in a global perspective, insisting that international reading and math scores declined by 27 points and 22 points, respectively. Such emphasis ignores the fact that the lower scores are equivalent to losing a year of learning.

Although President Claudia Sheinbaum has often criticized what she calls “the structural limitations of the PISA test (saying “it applies the same exam across countries with vastly different local characteristics”), she initiated a public debate about the excessive use of screens and the early access of children and adolescents to digital platforms. This led to new national guidelines restricting cell phone use in schools. 

Delgado said that with cell phone regulation in place, new activities — such as team games — can be used to effectively get the attention of students and build cooperative learning skills.  

Unlike mobile phones, which promote isolation and limit social skills, Delgado said games like yo-yo, marbles, spinning top, and cup-and-ball encourage teamwork, shared fun and the formation of new friendships.

The aim is to encourage students to spend more time playing and socializing, Delgado said, insisting that being in front of a phone limits opportunities to connect with other people.

With reports from Vanguardia, Animal Político and El Universal

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The national statistics agency INEGI reported Wednesday that the annual headline inflation rate was 3.26% in August, up from 3.12% in July.

Month-over-month inflation was 0.20% in August, while the annual core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 3.88%, down from 3.95% in July.

Both the annual headline rate and the core rate came in just below the median estimates of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The increase in Mexico’s annual headline rate came after inflation slowed on a month-over-month basis in each of April, May, June and July. The headline rate thus fell from 4.59% in March to 3.12% in July, a decline of 1.47 percentage points. During the same period, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points on two occasions, lowering it to 6.75% in March and 6.50% in May.

The central bank, which targets 3% inflation, appears unlikely to make any additional cuts to its key rate this year. Banxico is currently forecasting that inflation will be 3.5% at the end of 2026. It anticipates that the headline rate will gradually decline in 2027 to converge to its 3% target in the final quarter of next year.

Services inflation remains above 4%

Of the four broad categories monitored by INEGI, services recorded the largest year-over-year increase in prices in August. Annual services inflation was 4.33%, down slightly from a 4.36% reading in July. Education fees, one of the services sub-categories, rose 6.04% annually in August, the month in which students across Mexico returned to school.

Annual inflation for goods was 3.41% in August. Within that category, inflation was 4.68% for processed food, beverages and tobacco, and 2.32% for non-food goods.

Energy prices, including those for electricity and gasoline, rose 3.33% annually in August, while prices for agricultural products fell 1.53% year-over-year. The overall deflation for the agricultural products category was the product of a 5.22% decrease in meat prices and a 4.1% increase in fruit and vegetable prices.

Other need-to-know economic data 

• The USD:MXN exchange rate was 16.97 at midday Thursday, according to Bloomberg.
• Mexico’s economy grew 1.4% on a quarter-over-quarter basis between April and June and 1.9% in annual terms.
• Mexico’s unemployment rate was 2.9% in July, unchanged from June, while the informality rate was 56.2%, up 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.
• Mexico received US $34.96 billion in foreign direct investment in the first half of 2026, an annual increase of 2.1%.

Mexico News Daily 

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The Pacific Coast states received the brunt of the storm system, although the Gulf-side municipality of Coatzacoalcos suffered extensive flooding after being pounded by an intense storm on Wednesday.

Cooler temperatures are expected on Friday, but for Thursday the National Meteorological Service (SMN) issued a heat alert for residents in north and northwestern Mexico. Temperatures above 45 C (113 F) were forecast for parts of Baja California and Sonora, with temperatures between 40-45 C (104-113 F) in parts of Sinaloa, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.

“Stay hydrated, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun and take precautions against the heat,” the SMN advised in a social media post.

The heat wave extended south to Guanajuato and Guerrero, while some regions along the Gulf Coast saw temperatures hitting 38 C (100 F) on Wednesday.

At the same time, the rainfall map showed persistent heavy rains across the length and breadth of the country, accompanied by lightning and hail in some instances.

While Sinaloa was projected to get the most rainfall through Friday, the SMN said Guanajuato could expect to see the most intense midweek rains.

The SMN said rainfall produced by the Mexican monsoon could reach 150 millimeters in Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima through Thursday. Very heavy and locally intense downpours were also forecast for Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa.

The Friday forecast also calls for continued heavy rain storms in central Sinaloa, with heavy to very heavy rainfall in Baja California Sur, Sonora, Durango and Nayarit. 

The SMN said Tropical Wave 37 has been met by the arrival of Tropical Wave 38, which has crossed into the Yucatán Peninsula and southeastern Mexico from the east, increasing the likelihood of heavy rain in those regions through Sunday.

The SMN said the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo will register heavy to very heavy rainfall with electrical activity during the initial approach of the new weather system.

Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero will also experience an increased probability of heavy rains with electrical discharges as the system moves west, while Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit will be affected by the passage of the phenomenon throughout the weekend.

With reports from El País, El Financiero, Milenio, Diario del Istmo and El Sol del Chilpancingo

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The drop doesn’t come as a surprise.

In July, an analysis by the Center for Advanced Research in Sustainable Tourism (STARC) of the Anáhuac University of Cancún, anticipated that U.S. airlines would offer nearly a million fewer seats to Mexican beach destinations in July and August, a trend industry experts attributed to rising jet fuel prices, sargassum-covered beaches and safety concerns, among other issues. Cancún, Cozumel and Tulum alone were expected to lose over half a million seats.

A more recent report by STARC revealed that CUN’s decline began early this year after losing 845,714 international passengers between January and August, falling from 13.7 million to 12.9 million passengers — down 6.1% compared to the same period last year.

Although the decline was greater in the international market, the domestic market also fell 4.8% in the same period, from 6.6 million passengers to 6.3 million.

In total, Cancún International Airport served 19.2 million domestic and international passengers so far this year — 5.7% less than the 20.4 million passengers CUN mobilized during the same period last year.

STARC’s figures show that Cancún has now seen six consecutive months of decline, with the steepest drops being registered in May (down 11.1% compared to 2025), June (down 13%), July (down 12.7%) and August (down 15%).

Including national and international travelers, CUN handled 2.1 million passengers in August, compared to 2.3 million the previous year — a 9.3% total drop.

CUN’s Director Carlos Trueba Coll told El Economista that the drop in international traffic is partly due to the bankruptcy of U.S. airline Spirit. 

However, he noted that the lost seat capacity has been gradually recovered through airlines such as JetBlue, and expressed confidence that the resumption of seasonal flights in December would help reverse the negative figures recorded between May and August.

Other airports across Mexico saw more moderate declines: Southeast Airport Group (ASUR), which operates Cancún’s airport, said in a statement that on average, its airports in Mexico reported a 13.6% year-on-year decrease in international traffic. One exception to the trend: Mérida, ASUR’s second-busiest airport in Mexico, reported a 4.5% increase in international traffic, serving just over 280,000 international travelers so far this year.

Mexico News Daily

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Coming up: South Korean culture takes over the capital, the city pauses for a national earthquake drill, coveted tickets for the NFL Mexico City Series 2026 go on sale, and President Claudia Sheinbaum leads the country in its annual Independence Day celebration.

K-EXPO takes over Mexico City, Sept. 25-27

From bibimbap to gamja hot dogs, and BTS to “Squid Game,” South Korean culture shows no sign of slowing its march across Mexico. Now, the South Korean government and one of the country’s leading creative-content agencies are bringing K-mania to Mexico City with K-EXPO 2026, a three-day celebration of Korean food, music, entertainment and lifestyle.

The free public events run Sept. 25-27 at the Centro Internacional de Exposiciones y Convenciones (CIEC) WTC in Colonia Nápoles, roughly 15 minutes driving from Chapultepec Park. Visitors can meet some of Korea’s leading tastemakers in food, content creation and lifestyle, while taking in a K-Pop All-Star cover-dance performance, a live cooking show and an idol makeup workshop.

Then comes the main event — and this one isn’t free. On Sept. 26, K-Pop acts Winner, Dayoung, Soyou, Touched and Alpha Drive One will perform at Pepsi Center WTC. Ticket details are expected to be announced soon.

50,000 fans gather in Mexico City’s Zócalo to catch a glimpse of K-pop superstars BTS

For the latest updates, check K-EXPO Mexico City’s official website or Instagram page.

What: K-EXPO Exhibition and Events
Where: CIEC WTC, Filadelfia s/n, Nápoles, Benito Juárez, CDMX
When: Sept. 25-27
Price: Free

What: K-EXPO Concert
Where: Pepsi Center WTC, Dakota s/n, Nápoles, Benito Juárez, CDMX
When: Sept. 26
Price: To be announced

Don’t be alarmed — this is only a test

It may not be the most exciting item on the calendar, but anyone in Mexico City on Sept. 19 — especially visitors — should know what’s coming.

At noon, the city’s loudspeakers, cellphones, radio and television broadcasts will erupt with an earthquake alarm, marking the start of Mexico’s second national earthquake drill of the year. The simulated scenario: a magnitude 7.7 quake.

Earthquake monitoring is coming to Mexico’s historically underserved northern states

According to the National Coordinator of Civil Protection, the exercise is designed to strengthen government preparedness and coordination while encouraging the public to play an active role in reducing disaster risk.

If you live here, consider it a good excuse to finally put together that go-bag. If you’re visiting, take a deep breath, remember it’s a drill and don’t freak out.

The date itself carries some serious significance. Several of Mexico City’s most devastating earthquakes have struck on Sept. 19, including the disasters of 1985 and 2017. To mark the solemn occasion, President Claudia Sheinbaum will raise the national flag in the Zócalo at 7:19 a.m. in honor of the victims.

NFL tickets are coming. Good luck.

Football fans, get your clicking fingers ready.

The NFL is bringing the 2026 Mexico City Series to Estadio Banorte on Nov. 22, when the Minnesota Vikings face off against the San Francisco 49ers.

The game is still more than two months away, but if previous NFL games in Mexico City are any indication, waiting until the last minute for tickets is probably not the move. When the league last played here, in 2022, presale tickets reportedly disappeared within an hour, while general-sale tickets are also said to have sold out almost immediately.

Here’s the schedule for the 2026 ticket rush, with sales taking place through Ticketmaster:

• American Express Presale: Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. CST — limit of 6 tickets per person
• Banorte Presale: Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. CST — limit of 4 tickets per person
• General Sale: Sept. 22 at 10 a.m. CST — limit of 4 tickets per person

And, of course, El Grito

MND Local CDMX will always aim to point you toward the things happening below the radar. But considering our inaugural edition lands just ahead of El Grito, we’d be remiss not to give you the quick-and-dirty guide to one of the biggest nights on Mexico’s calendar.

The official celebration of Mexican Independence is held Sept. 15 and draws enormous crowds to Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitución — better known as the Zócalo — in the historic center.

The festivities begin well before the main event, with people arriving hours in advance to stake out a spot with a view of the Palacio Nacional. Then, at 11 p.m., President Claudia Sheinbaum steps onto the main balcony and delivers the iconic Grito de Dolores, or Grito de la Independencia, officially kicking off the celebrations.

What follows is exactly what you’d expect from Mexico City on one of its biggest nights: street food, music, fireworks, flags, an abundance of green, white and red, and a whole lot of people. This year’s musical lineup is headlined by Tejano superstars Grupo Intocable.

If you don’t shy away from crowds, we highly recommend experiencing the spectacle at least once. It’s loud, chaotic, deeply patriotic and very, very Mexico City.

If, on the other hand, the prospect of being packed into a square with millions of people sounds less than appealing, fear not. Hundreds of smaller celebrations will be happening across the city, offering plenty of Grito energy, with plenty more breathing room.

Welcome to MND Local CDMX. We’ll see you next week.

Drew Pittock serves as Mexico News Daily’s features director. He is based in Mexico City. Have an idea for a feature story or unique event in CDMX? Send an email to drew.pittock@mexiconewsdaily.com.

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• 💬Sheinbaum hits back at Rubio: Responding to the U.S. secretary of state’s claim that “vast territories” of Mexico are controlled by cartels rather than the government, Sheinbaum said Rubio’s remarks were electorally motivated ahead of November’s U.S. midterms. “They shouldn’t use Mexico in their campaign,” she said.
• 🗳️ “Proposals, not insults”: As Mexico’s 2026-27 electoral process officially begins, Sheinbaum urged political parties and aspirants to comply with the law and focus on “proposals” rather than hurling insults at each other ahead of the June 6, 2027 elections, which will fill 500 federal deputy seats and 17 governorships.
• 🕵️ FGR shares initial results on deputy’s death: Sheinbaum said the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has made some progress in its investigation into the death of Morena Deputy Zenyazen Escobar García, who was found dead with a gunshot wound last Friday, and will announce findings in due course. She offered condolences to his family and colleagues.

Why today’s mañanera matters

President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about issues of international and national importance at her Thursday morning press conference, namely U.S. officials’ alleged use of Mexico for electoral gain, upcoming municipal, state and federal elections and the death of a federal lawmaker.

At today’s mañanera, Sheinbaum once again demonstrated her willingness to stand up to the United States government even as she seeks to maintain a relationship of respect with the Trump administration and resolve a range of bilateral tensions, including ones related to trade.

Sheinbaum responds to Rubio’s remarks on Mexican cartels 

A reporter asked the president about U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments about Mexico during his visit to Ecuador.

Speaking outside the U.S. Embassy in Quito on Wednesday, Rubio said “there are vast territories in Mexico that are not governed by the state,” but rather “controlled by narco-terrorist organizations” — i.e. drug cartels.

The secretary of state said that “the Mexicans have done more than they’ve ever done before to go after these groups, but it is still not nearly enough.” He also said that the United States’ “hope and intent” is to combat Mexican cartels “in partnership with Mexico.”

“That’s the ideal, but eventually that threat will have to be confronted one way or the other,” Rubio said, alluding to the possibility of the United States taking unilateral action against cartels in Mexico.

Rubio doubles down on claims that cartels control large areas of Mexico, hinting at unilateral US action

Sheinbaum said she believed Rubio’s remarks were electorally motivated.

“I think it’s part of the election campaign in the United States. They have an election in November,” she said, referring to the Nov. 3 midterms.

“As we’ve said, they shouldn’t use Mexico in their campaign. The United States has its [own] problems so Mexico shouldn’t be used as part of the election campaign in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

“But I think that recently, they’re wanting to use Mexico again and that’s not right,” she said.

Sheinbaum has previously ruled out the possibility of the U.S. military taking action against cartels in Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that the United States was going to start “hitting” cartels on land, but no confirmed direct attacks on Mexican criminal groups have occurred, although CNN reported in May that the CIA “facilitated” a “targeted assassination” of an alleged Sinaloa Cartel member in México state in March.

Sheinbaum urges electoral aspirants to focus on proposals, maintain civility

A reporter noted that the 2026-27 electoral process period starts today and asked the president “what message” she would like to convey to political parties and aspirants.

Sheinbaum said that parties and aspirants should “comply with the law” and not hurl “insults” at each other.

“There should be proposals,” she said.

“… If they do that, it will be a very good [electoral] process for the country,” Sheinbaum said. “That’s the message.”

Federal, state and municipal elections will be held in Mexico on June 6, 2027. At the federal level, voters will elect 500 deputies, while the governorships of 17 states will also be up for grabs.

Sheinbaum: FGR has ‘some results’ in investigation into death of federal deputy

A reporter asked the president whether she had any information from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) about the death of Morena party federal Deputy Zenyazen Escobar García.

Escobar was found dead in his vehicle on the side of the Veracruz-Xalapa highway last Friday. The 42-year-old deputy, a Veracruz native who represented the 16th electoral district of that state, was found with a gunshot wound to his head and a gun between his legs. There has been media speculation that Escobar may have died by suicide, but the FGR, which assumed responsibility for the investigation, has not disclosed the cause of death.

Sheinbaum said that the FGR has “some results” in its investigation and will announce them in due course.

She subsequently conveyed her condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Escobar, who was elected as a federal deputy in 2024.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

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What was so difficult? Below are a few of the challenges I faced:

• Couldn’t pay utility bills online because government websites don’t accept foreign credit cards or reliably accept e-payments from international money transfer services. (If traveling abroad when the bill comes due, your service may be cut off.)
• Stuck paying high commissions using apps that did work in Mexico, e.g., PayPal, at 3%-plus per transaction.
• Forced to carry around more cash than I was comfortable with, so that I could make payments to local service providers (house cleaners, repairmen, etc.) who only take cash.
• Unable to make purchases on numerous Mexican websites that don’t accept foreign credit cards.
• Required to make several visits to an ATM over multiple days to pay for things that exceeded the daily withdrawal limit. (This was before I knew about money transfer services that allow users to send cash to Mexico for pickup at an Oxxo).

While not an exhaustive list, these inconveniences can add up over time.

The benefits of a Mexican bank account

This decision of whether to get a local account is a personal one, and reasonable people can disagree. However, many daily activities become easier when you have a Mexican bank account.

Here are some of the biggest benefits:

• Paying bills online instead of in person is convenient and saves time.
• Flexibility to make payments even when traveling outside of Mexico.
• Improved safety and reduced stress when carrying less cash.
• Moving money into Mexico from abroad at the lowest commissions.
• Able to access ACH (bank-to-bank) transfers within Mexico at no cost.
• Making purchases on Mexican websites that don’t accept foreign cards.
• Building a credit profile in Mexico (your credit score from abroad doesn’t count).
• Accessing other financial products in Mexico, such as credit cards and peso-based investments that earn you interest.

Is your money safe in a Mexican bank?

Once you are convinced that a local bank account could simplify day-to-day living, you may still be wondering whether your money is safe in a Mexican bank? 

If you know anything about Mexico’s checkered banking history, this is not a paranoid question. Fortunately, bank safety has improved significantly since the Tequila Crisis of 1994. 

Back then, widespread insolvency across the banking sector, stemming from a sharp peso devaluation and interest rates of more than 50%, led to the worst economic slump in Mexico since the 1930s. Many families lost life savings and their homes.

Beyond the financial shock, the crisis left lasting scars on the collective psyche of the Mexican people. To this day, many Mexicans who lived through it still harbor a deep distrust of traditional banks, unlike the respondents to our recent “Mexico and My Money” survey, where 7 in 10 expressed confidence in the sector.

The Bank Savings Protection Law, passed in 1999, paved the way for funds deposited in a Mexican bank to be insured up to 400,000 UDIs (Unidad de Inversión), an investment unit adjusted for inflation that is linked to the peso exchange rate.

Currently, 1 UDI is valued at 8.812 pesos and deposit insurance protects up to 3.524 million pesos per depositor, per bank. This equates to approximately US $207,412 and CA $288,702. 

Why isn’t the peso at 37 to the US dollar? A perspective from our CEO

The public agency in charge of administering the law is Protección al Ahorro Bancario (IPAB). Their mandate is to rescue depositors up to the covered amount when a Mexican bank fails.

IPAB insurance covers deposits in ordinary savings and checking accounts, payroll accounts, and “term” deposits such as bank CDs.

In addition, regulators have deemed Mexico’s largest banks “too big to fail” (TBTF) due to the systemic risk their failure would pose to the banking system. The TBTF banks in Mexico are BBVA, Santander, Banamex, Banorte, HSBC and Scotiabank. All but Banorte are foreign-owned. 

In the event of corporate malfeasance or an external shock, these very large banks would be bailed out. As for smaller, regional banks, depositors are still covered by IPAB, but recovering your funds from them in the event of failure may not be as expeditious.

Furthermore, IPAB insurance applies only to traditional banking institutions listed on this government website. Deposits at fintech companies, which have been springing up in Mexico lately like mushrooms after a summer rain, are not covered by IPAB. 

Fintech deposits are covered by a separate regulatory framework, with insurance capped at only 25,000 UDIs. This equates to 220,300 pesos, which is about US $13,000 or CA $18,000. This threshold is 94% lower than insurance coverage at traditional banks.

Funds kept at crypto exchanges and brokerage houses inside Mexico are also uninsured. Caveat emptor.

Depositors beware of scams

While I don’t mean to scare you, depositors at Mexican banks covered by IPAB insurance have also lost millions stemming from bank employees’ nefarious activities. In the Banco Monex case of 2018, about US $8 million in deposits across 158 Monex accounts disappeared over several months. 

A large number of depositors were American retirees living in San Miguel de Allende, who relied on a well-connected bank employee to take care of their financial needs. But the employee was making unauthorized transfers of clients’ money to a network of shadow accounts, all while reassuring depositors that everything was in order.

When the scandal broke, the affected Monex clients had difficulty recovering their money, as the employee had moved some of their funds into uninsured brokerage accounts. Following protracted negotiations, a portion of the stolen money was recovered, but some lost their life savings.

Some San Miguel retirees won’t back down in fight over millions in stolen savings

The main takeaway from this disaster is that if you bank at an IPAB-covered institution with serious flaws in its security protocols, you can still lose money, and the regulators won’t be of much help.

The more recent failure of CiBanco and the government intervention at Intercam in 2025 went much more smoothly for depositors, with most receiving their money back in full with minimal delay.

Although the sector is far more secure today than in decades past, there are still plenty of complaints from banking customers about scams being run by bank insiders. These cases, which include personal loan fraud, ATM PIN traps, and unwanted insurance policies, have continued to erode the Mexican people’s trust in traditional banks, as demonstrated by a recent Banxico survey.

Practical tips to keep your money safe in Mexico

• Only bank at institutions covered by IPAB insurance, which you have verified yourself.
• Do not share sensitive account information, e.g. PINs or passwords, or your mobile with bank employees, for any reason. 
• Check your bank statement every month to verify the transactions and charges. Take immediate action, in-person at a bank branch, if you see any suspicious charges or products on your statement. 
• Don’t put all of your financial eggs in one basket. Have a Plan B in the event that you are cut off from deposited funds in Mexico, to ensure that your basic expenses can still be covered.

From tipping to moving money into Mexico from abroad, check out more from MND’s “Mexico and My Money” archive.

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