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Annual inflation rate climbs to 4.02% in February, with fruit and vegetable prices soaring

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Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate rose above 4% in February, exceeding the Bank of Mexico’s 2-4% target range. The national statistics agency INEGI reported Monday that the annual headline rate was 4.02% last month, up from 3.79% in January . The rate — the highest since last June — exceeded the 3.94% consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. INEGI reported that month-over-month inflation was 0.50% in February, while the annual core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 4.50%, down from 4.52% in January. The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) targets 3% annual inflation, give or take one percentage point. At its Feb. 5 monetary policy meeting, the central bank’s board voted to maintain Banxico’s benchmark interest rate at 7%. The bank said in a statement that the board took into account “the need to continue evaluating the impact of the fiscal adjustments implemented at the beginning of the year, as well as the behavior of the exchange rate , the we...
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MND Local: Fire put out quickly at San Miguel de Allende’s El Charco del Ingenio

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Local volunteer firefighters quickly extinguished a spreading fire on Wednesday at the El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden on the western edge of San Miguel, but not before the flames scared onlookers. San Miguel resident Barbara Pardue, who lives just a few minutes’ walk from El Charco, posted photos and videos of the fire on Facebook. Birds flying out through smoke “Thanks, bomberos [firemen]!!!” Pardue wrote. “They acted fast and had it under control in an hour.”  She saw birds flying out of the area through the smoke, she said. Ben Webster, a visitor from the United Kingdom who was exploring El Charco that day, said the fire started in the west and spread very quickly into the gardens due to a strong breeze.  Webster said it reached the area around “The Starship” sculpture in the northern reserve. “I spoke to a member of staff, who told me the gardens had been previously affected by minor fires, but nothing this bad,” Webster said. “To see lovely, tranquil, b...
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Short circuit blamed for blaze that destroyed dozens of businesses in Puerto Escondido

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Over 70 shops in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, were destroyed by a fire that broke out in the early hours of Friday, with no casualties or deaths reported.  According to preliminary reports from authorities, the fire started around 1:15 a.m. in the restaurant area located on Avenida del Morro, along the beach strip of Punta Zicatela , a coastal destination popular among surfers and tourists looking for a laid-back atmosphere.    Head of Oaxaca’s Heroic Fire Department Jorge Arturo Rivas Fernández del Río said that his station received the fire report at 1:30 a.m., after which emergency services arrived at the scene immediately. Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire until 7:30 a.m.   Because the affected area was mostly made up of palapas — shelters with thatched roofs made from dried palm leaves and wood — Rivas said the fire spread rapidly.  “It was a large-scale fire due to the high number of flammable materials found in the area. We’re talking abo...
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Mexico’s week in review: El Mencho’s burial, a sinking peso and the World Cup countdown

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In the aftermath of a landmark anti-cartel operation, normalcy began to return to Mexico the first week of March. Drug lord “El Mencho” was laid to rest Sunday, a week after his death — and his cartel’s response — brought everyday life to a halt across the country. Throughout the week, an escalating war in the Middle East rattled markets and stranded citizens abroad, while back at home President Sheinbaum fought headwinds as she and the Morena party attempted to push their electoral reform forward. Through it all, World Cup preparations continued apace for a competition now less than 100 days away. Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed. The end of El Mencho — and what’s next for the CJNG The week opened with the burial of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the founder and longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), fatally shot by soldiers on Feb. 22. His body arrived in Guadalajara on Sunday for burial and was interre...
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Mexico after El Mencho: The ‘Confidently Wrong’ podcast shares insider perspectives

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We are well into our second season of our “Confidently Wrong” podcast. As most of you know, in this second season we are deep diving into the confidently wrong assumptions about raising and educating kids in Mexico. So far, we have interviewed parents from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Mexico, as well as the leader of an international school in San Miguel de Allende. In upcoming episodes, we will be interviewing school leaders in other cities, teachers from large and small schools, and of course, kids. Stay tuned for those informative episodes coming soon! This week, given recent events in Mexico, we are taking a break from Season 2 and instead sharing with you two new episodes related to the theme from Season 1 — “Confidently Wrong about Mexico.” In the first one, I take on the topic of crime and cartels in the country. I recently wrote an article on what to expect in the aftermath of the killing of cartel leader “El Mencho” and I laid out my case as to what might happen next. ...
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Mexico City’s Zócalo will glow in purple Sunday for International Women’s Day

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A monumental lighting display will adorn Mexico City’s Zócalo on Sunday, March 8, as part of commemorations for International Women’s Day. The special lighting will be primarily purple, a color associated with women’s rights movements around the world.  Deputies from the Morena party demonstrate on the Chamber floor their support for the goals of Sunday’s International Women’s Day commemoration. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro.com) The official X account of Webcams de México shared an AI generated rendering of how the Zócalo will look on the day. The image shows a woman’s face in silhouette on the surface of the square, with her hair blown around her and what seems to be leaves flying from her hand. With it, a projected message will read: “Women, always alive, always free, always equal.” This sign will be built by women on the evening of March 7. Buildings surrounding the Zócalo will also be illuminated to create a purple atmosphere in and around Latin America’s largest public s...
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2 more Vizsla Silver miners identified as 3 remain missing in Sinaloa

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The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced March 5 that forensic specialists have genetically identified two additional victims in the case of 10 employees of Canadian mining company Vizsla Silver who were abducted in Concordia, Sinaloa. Seven of the ten workers who went missing on January 23 have now been confirmed dead, with three remaining unaccounted for. According to the FGR, the two newly identified bodies were recovered from El Verde, a small community in the municipality of La Concordia — the same clandestine grave site where earlier remains were found in early February. After government forensic geneticists identified the bodies, they were returned to the families. Embed from Getty Images In a statement released the same day, Vizsla Silver confirmed the findings. President and CEO Michael Konnert extended condolences to those affected and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the long-term development of its Panuco silver-gold project and to the community ...
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