In August 2025, TV Azteca reported an interview with Luis Ángel Malagón of Club América. He described the team’s fines: “Llegar tarde son entre 5 y 10 mil pesos por minuto que te tardes” (Arriving late costs between 5,000 and 10,000 pesos for every minute of delay).
A late arrival at training costs “poco más de 100 mil pesos” (a little over 100,000 pesos). According to Malagón, Henry Martín is in charge of the fines.
Article 45 of the sanctions regulation of the Mexican Football Federation states: “Será sancionado el Club que retrase el inicio del primer tiempo o del segundo tiempo del partido por ningún motivo” (A club that delays the start of the first or second half of the match for any reason will be sanctioned). The fine ranges from 50 to 20,000 UMAs.
In October 2026, Rayados de Monterrey took more than 18 minutes to return after halftime against Pachuca. Récord asked whether a sanction would follow.
In June 1994, the National Survey of the Values of Mexicans asked about work and time. Six of ten Mexicans over 18 believed that a company is affected if its employees arrive 20 minutes late, according to an analysis in the journal of AMAI, the Mexican association of market research agencies.
Al rato, “in a while,” and with the diminutive al ratito. The Diccionario del español de México of El Colegio de México defines it as “dentro de poco tiempo o al poco tiempo” (in a short time, or a short time later). Its example: “Al rato vamos a comer” (In a while we will eat).
Ya mero, or ya merito, “almost already,” means nearly or almost: “Ya merito se acaban los nopales” (The nopales are almost gone). A la mera hora, “at the very hour,” from mero, precise: “A la mera hora, se arrepintió” (At the last moment, he changed his mind). ¡A buenas horas!, “at good hours,” is said when something comes too late.
In 2025, the website Sopitas reported a survey by the polling firm Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica on punctuality. According to the survey, 67.1 percent of Mexicans are unpunctual in any situation. Asked how long they would wait for someone, 44.6 percent said up to 30 minutes and 33.1 percent up to 15 minutes.
The report gives no sample size and no date for the fieldwork.
Mexico’s federal government pays many of its employees bonuses for punctuality. In 2018, Mexico News Daily reported, citing data that El Universal obtained through transparency requests, that federal employees received 40.7 billion pesos in punctuality bonuses between 2012 and 2017. Most of it went to staff of the social security institute IMSS.
In 2017, El Universal’s English edition had given a different figure: 34.7 billion pesos for the years 2013 to 2016. The two counts cover different periods.
“Las reuniones, las citas, los compromisos fijados de antemano suelen empezar con una hora de retraso” (Meetings, appointments and commitments fixed in advance usually start an hour late). José E. Sánchez, a researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Tapachula, wrote this in the center’s magazine Ecofronteras.
He added that the person who arrives on time is surprised to wait an hour for the start, because the meeting is called earlier so that it can start an hour later.
“Cuando llegues, o te vayas, saluda a todos” (When you arrive, or when you leave, greet everyone). This was one rule in a 2013 Chilango list on how to behave in the office.
The greeting is often physical. A 2025 Chilango column describes it: between women, a single kiss on the right cheek, and between men, a hug with a pat on the back.
The working conditions of Mexico’s Supreme Court grant its staff “una tolerancia de quince minutos,” a tolerance of fifteen minutes, after the start of the working day. Four ordinary late arrivals in a month cost half a day’s pay.
The Mexico City government’s working conditions of 2010 give ten minutes. An arrival up to minute 20 is a minor delay, and up to minute 30 a serious one. After minute 30, the employee may work only with the supervisor’s permission.
Ahora means “now.” Mexicans add the diminutive and say ahorita, “little now.” The word can mean right now, in a moment, or later. A study in the linguistics journal of El Colegio de México found that in Mexico City ahorita is used in contexts where it cannot be read as an exact moment.
For real urgency, speakers double the diminutive: ahoritita.