Mexico - understand-culture

Troops for Tariffs

On June 7, 2019, after three days of talks in Washington, Mexico and the United States issued a joint declaration.

Mexico committed to “el despliegue de la Guardia Nacional en todo el territorio nacional, dando prioridad a la frontera sur” (the deployment of the National Guard throughout the national territory, giving priority to the southern border). The US tariffs that were to take effect the following Monday were “suspendidas indefinidamente” (suspended indefinitely). (Video in Spanish.)

Further measures were to be “concluidas y anunciadas en un periodo de 90 días” (concluded and announced within a period of 90 days). A day before the deal, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard had announced that 6,000 members of the National Guard would go to the border with Guatemala. The declaration itself gives no number.

Fourteen Percent

In April 2025, workers at the Volkswagen plant in Puebla backed a wage demand of between 10 and 22 percent, according to Cluster Industrial. Their union’s formal list of demands then asked for 14 percent.

In August 2025, Expansión reported the result. The increase would be “del 4% directo al salario” (4 percent directly on wages), and the plant avoided a strike. (Video in Spanish.)

The Bond Offer

From October 25 to 28, 2018, the incoming government held a public consultation on the new airport for Mexico City, which was under construction at Texcoco. According to Expansión, 69 percent of those who voted chose the alternative plan at Santa Lucía.

The government then offered to buy back 1.8 billion of the 6 billion dollars in bonds issued for the Texcoco airport. Its first offer of 90 dollars for every 100, plus an incentive of 5.75, was rejected.

The revised offer paid 100 dollars for every 100 and an extra 10. On December 19, 2018, La Razón reported that the finance ministry claimed “apoyo abrumador” (overwhelming support) from the bondholders. (Video in Spanish.)

Every Year, Every Two Years

Article 399 Bis of Mexico’s Federal Labor Law states that “los contratos colectivos serán revisables cada año en lo que se refiere a los salarios en efectivo por cuota diaria” (collective contracts shall be reviewable every year as regards cash wages at the daily rate).

Article 399 covers the rest of the contract. For a contract of indefinite term, the request for review must be made at least sixty days before two years have passed.

The Water Debt

Under the water treaty of 1944, Mexico delivers water from the Río Bravo, the Rio Grande, to the United States in five-year cycles. The cycle that ended on October 24, 2025 set a quota of 2,158.6 million cubic meters.

According to Expansión, Mexico sent 1,091 million. The cycle before it, UnoTV wrote, had also “cerró con un adeudo que tuvo que compensarse en el siguiente periodo” (closed with a debt that had to be made up in the following period).

Mexican authorities said the shortfall could be repaid until October 24, 2030. The United States said it was due when the cycle ended. On December 12, 2025, the two governments announced an agreement on “el cumplimiento del ciclo de entrega actual y el déficit que se registró en el anterior” (compliance with the current delivery cycle and the deficit recorded in the previous one). (Video in Spanish.)

Ninety More Days

On February 3, 2025, after a call between Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump, US tariffs on Mexico were paused “por un mes” (for a month). Mexico would send “diez mil elementos de la Guardia Nacional” (ten thousand members of the National Guard) to its northern border. (Video in Spanish.)

On July 31, 2025, one day before new tariffs of 30 percent were due, the two presidents agreed on a “prórroga de 90 días” (an extension of 90 days). The 25 percent tariff tied to fentanyl stayed in place.

Powers of Attorney

Mexico’s Federal Civil Code distinguishes general powers for lawsuits and collections, for acts of administration, and for actos de dominio, acts of ownership. Article 2554 adds an instruction: “Los notarios insertarán este artículo en los testimonios de los poderes que otorguen” (Notaries shall insert this article in the copies of the powers they grant).

Article 2555 requires a mandate to be granted “en escritura pública o en carta poder firmada ante dos testigos” (in a public deed or in a letter of power signed before two witnesses), with the signatures ratified before a notary, among other cases when the power is general.

Two Teams at the Table

By July 2018, President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador had named Jesús Seade to lead the NAFTA talks for his transition team. Expansión reported that Seade would work with the current team until the new government took office on December 1.

A bulletin of the Mexican embassy in Washington, dated July 27, 2018, listed the delegation: Secretaries Videgaray and Guajardo of the outgoing government, “acompañados por Jesús Seade, designado como Jefe Negociador del TLCAN” (accompanied by Jesús Seade, designated as chief negotiator of NAFTA). (Video in Spanish.)

Love Is Repaid with Love

Amor con amor se paga. “Love is repaid with love.” On November 27, 2022, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador led a march through Mexico City from the Ángel de la Independencia to the Zócalo. According to EFE, “Amor con amor se paga,” he said at the start of his speech.

The First Job

In December 2022, Expansión reported on a national survey of graduates by the Universidad del Valle de México. Of the graduates surveyed, 34.7 percent had found their first job through a relative, a friend or an acquaintance. The headline credited the jobs to palancas, “levers.”