Mexico, Motivation - understand-culture

Yes, It Can Be Done

¡Sí se puede!, “Yes, it can be done!”, is the chant of Mexican crowds when a result is not going their way. In September 2026, Crónica wrote that fans use it mostly “cuando un resultado no se siente favorable” (when a result does not feel favorable).

The phrase began in the labor movement. In May 1972, César Chávez fasted in Phoenix, Arizona, against a state law that restricted farmworker unions. When local leaders said that it could not be done, Dolores Huerta answered “Sí, se puede.” According to El Imparcial, Mexican fans first used it as a sports chant in 1997, cheering a Little League team from Guadalupe, Nuevo León, at the World Series in Williamsport. (Video in Spanish.)

In 2026, a second chant joined it. Crónica credits ¿Y si sí?, “And what if yes?”, to Efraín Juárez, then coach of Pumas. It spread among the national team’s fans during the World Cup. Xataka México wrote that the phrase does not try to build confidence from nothing. It suggests that there are already reasons to believe.

Let’s Imagine Great Things

Before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández was asked in an ESPN interview with the journalist David Faitelson about Mexico’s chances in a group where Germany was the favorite. His answer spread in memes: “¡Imaginémonos cosas chingonas, carajo!” (Let’s imagine damn great things, damn it!). After Mexico beat South Korea 2-1 in the group stage, he returned to the idea. In 2023, the striker Santiago Giménez revived the phrase in an interview with ESPN. (Video in Spanish.)

Played with Heart

On July 5, 2026, England beat Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16 of the World Cup, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Afterward, coach Javier Aguirre said that any criticism should go to the coach, because the players had given everything on the field. He praised the many players “que jugaron con el corazón” (who played with heart). Then he said goodbye to the national team and to the Estadio Azteca. (Video in Spanish.)

Recognition

In June 2022, IDC Online reported a survey by the job site OCC Mundial for its Termómetro Laboral. According to the report, 28 percent of the people surveyed would quit their job only because they received no recognition at work. Eighteen percent would quit for lack of salario emocional, emotional salary. Sixty percent said that consecutive raises would keep people from leaving. The report gives no sample size.

By Force

A fuerzas, ni los zapatos entran. “By force, not even shoes go on.” The Mexican site Grupo Animal cites the saying in a list of popular sayings about food. It uses it for situations where it is better to wait calmly than to force a process.

The Wage of a Head of Family

Article 123 of Mexico’s Constitution, section A, fraction VI, says that general minimum wages must be sufficient “para satisfacer las necesidades normales de un jefe de familia” (to meet the normal needs of a head of family). They must cover those needs in material, social and cultural terms, and pay for the children’s compulsory education.

The idea goes back to the original text of 1917, which considered the worker as head of a family. Article 90 of the Federal Labor Law now repeats the rule and speaks of a jefe o jefa de familia, a male or female head of family.

Leave for Children with Cancer

Since June 2019, working parents in Mexico whose children have cancer can take leave to care for them. According to the Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS, the leave covers parents of children up to 16 years old. It may last up to 364 days within three years, and each single leave up to 28 days. (Video in Spanish.)

The reform added Article 140 Bis to the Social Security Law and a new cause for suspending work to the Federal Labor Law.

Five Days for Fathers

Article 132 of the Federal Labor Law lists the duties of employers. Fraction XXVII Bis requires them to “otorgar permiso de paternidad de cinco días laborables con goce de sueldo” (grant paternity leave of five working days with pay) to male workers at the birth or adoption of a child. According to El Financiero, the provision has existed since 2012 and was reformed in 2018.

A Day Off for Mothers

On March 23, 2026, the judiciary of Mexico City issued a circular for Mother’s Day. “Todas las madres servidoras públicas” (all mothers who are public servants) received a day off on May 8, together with a cash payment of one to four days’ salary, depending on their level. Mother’s Day in Mexico is May 10. In 2024, Excélsior noted that no legal provision obliges all companies to give this day off, but that some companies choose to.

Under the Same Moon

La misma luna, Under the Same Moon, is a film by the director Patricia Riggen, released in Mexican cinemas in March 2008. Rosario works illegally in the United States “con la esperanza de dar una vida mejor a su hijo” (in the hope of giving her son a better life). Her son, Carlitos, stays in Mexico with his grandmother.