Mexico’s week in review: A record hurricane, a population milestone and doubts over a ‘historic’ fuel bust

Hurricane Polo dominated headlines for much of the week, intensifying off Mexico’s Pacific coast at an unprecedented pace before oscillating between Category 4 and 5 as it pushed north. The storm dumped heavy rain and generated dangerous surf along Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco as it slowly moved up the coast, before curving north toward the Baja Peninsula. Mexico also crossed a demographic milestone, with INEGI reporting the country’s population had surpassed 130 million even as the fertility rate continued its steep decline. Meanwhile, questions mounted over what officials had billed as Mexico’s largest-ever fuel-trafficking bust, after the firing of a federal prosecutor involved in the case. Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed. Hurricane Polo threatens Pacific coast Hurricane Polo formed Monday off the coast of Guerrero and intensified at a record pace, becoming the fastest system in the Western Hemisphere on record to go from a disorganized tropical depression to a Category 5 hurricane. By midweek it was described as “extremely dangerous,” with sustained winds of 165 mph as it moved slowly along the coast, prompting school closures in Guerrero and Michoacán. Polo’s peak winds of 180 mph made it the second-strongest eastern Pacific hurricane on record. The storm oscillated between Category 4 and 5 through Thursday as its core remained offshore, sparing Mexico a direct hit while still delivering torrential rain to Michoacán and Guerrero. It moved out to sea later in the week, but is expected to turn back toward land. It is expected to approach the west coast of the Baja California peninsula on Monday as a hurricane. Society: Phones banned in schools and a population milestone Education authorities reached a deal to ban cell phones and tablets in primary and secondary schools nationwide starting in late October, with high schools left to set their own device policies. Separately, INEGI’s 2025 Intercensal Survey found Mexico’s population reached 130.9 million in late 2025, up 3.9% from the 2020 census, even as the fertility rate fell to 1.2 births per woman, dropping significantly below replacement rate. On the healthcare front, IMSS and AmCham signed an agreement pledging $44 million toward bringing more pharmaceutical clinical trials into public hospitals through 2030. This week also featured the debut of The MND Mexico Well-being Series, Part 1: Health and healthcare, the first in a new series of reports looking at well-being in Mexico. The MND Mexico Well-being Series, Part 1: Health and healthcare Earlier this month, Congress opened the first ordinary session of the current legislative year. As the legislative agenda comes into focus, bills up for debate include: The Digital Economy Law, which would expand digital payment tools like CoDi to reduce reliance on cash among small businesses and independent workers. The so-called “Anti-Meme Bill,” an intellectual-property reform that critics say could criminalize satirical use of government logos, though the amended text exempts clearly unofficial parody and criticism. A Senate bill to restore promotion and relegation in Mexican pro soccer, reversing a 2020 suspension that closed off Liga MX to second-division clubs. Security and anti-corruption: Doubts grow over fuel bust as arrests continue Anti-Corruption Minister Raquel Buenrostro reported that 4,193 public servants have been sanctioned since Sheinbaum took office, with corruption-prevention efforts credited with saving more than 80 billion pesos in government contracts. In Oaxaca, federal and state forces arrested the mayor of Juchitán on extortion charges over alleged ties to a group described as an operational arm of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, triggering road blockades in the city. The week’s most consequential story on this front concerned the Sept. 17 announcement of what authorities called the biggest-ever single-site seizure of stolen fuel in Mexican history — 59 million liters at a Guanajuato storage facility. The case quickly unraveled after the facility’s owner presented documentation that it was operating legally, prompting the FGR to quietly reclassify the case from a seizure to an embargo. By Friday, the federal prosecutor who led the operation had been fired, and Guanajuato’s state security minister and attorney general were also under investigation. Meanwhile in Sinaloa, Sheinbaum pledged continued military support for the state amid an ongoing cartel turf war, repeating her view that U.S. interference contributed to the violence. Federal prosecutor fired as doubts grow over Mexico’s ‘largest-ever’ fuel-trafficking bust Mexico-U.S. relations: Sharp words at the UN, warmer ties elsewhere At the U.N. General Assembly, Trump called Mexico the “epicenter” of cartel violence and said the country must “reclaim control of its soil,” while also praising the bilateral relationship. Sheinbaum offered a pointed but restrained response, suggesting she could just as easily criticize U.S. drug use and gun production, while announcing her first trip to Asia as president, for November’s APEC summit in China. Mexico also deepened ties elsewhere, as Sheinbaum and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung signed 17 agreements spanning trade, AI, aerospace and defense cooperation. Economy and trade: Peso weakens as Banxico holds steady The peso depreciated more than 1%, passing 17.7 to the dollar, amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve isn’t done raising rates. Banxico held its benchmark rate at 6.50% for a third straight meeting, a decoupling from the Fed that analysts said could be tested if U.S. rates rise further. On trade, a top economy official said Mexico is pushing to raise the Mexican-made share of electronics exports from roughly 8% to as much as 40%, as talks with Washington continue amid the Trump administration’s decision not to renew USMCA in its current form. In other business news from the week, Lego announced a $400 million investment in Nuevo León expected to create 1,300 jobs by 2029, Guanajuato drew $630 million in data center investment with a third facility under construction, and Mexico City, Querétaro and Nuevo León topped IMCO’s 2026 state competitiveness ranking, with Guerrero ranked least competitive for the second straight year. Elsewhere in Mexico Some 7,000 visited Chichén Itzá for the fall equinox, hoping to witness a spectacular sight: As the afternoon sun moves across the sky, shadows create the illusion of the serpent deity Kukulcán slithering down to the earth. This week’s show, however, was foiled by clouds. (Martin Zetina / Cuartoscuro.com) Mexico City ranked the world’s most congested city for 2025 in TomTom’s annual traffic index, with Guadalajara coming in 17th globally. Security forces rescued three kidnapping victims and arrested seven suspects following a shootout in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, seizing an arsenal that included machine guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. More than 100,000 olive ridley sea turtles came ashore at Oaxaca’s Playa Escobilla in a single mass nesting event, though only 30% to 40% of the eggs are expected to hatch. Mexican Navy personnel recovered a nonexplosive U.S. military training torpedo that fishermen spotted adrift off Ensenada, later returning it to U.S. authorities. More than 7,000 visitors gathered at Chichén Itzá to witness the equinox “descent of the serpent” light phenomenon on the Temple of Kukulcán. Looking ahead Hurricane Polo, having spared Mexico’s mainland Pacific coast a direct hit, is now forecast to approach Baja California Sur as a hurricane early next week, with life-threatening flooding, mudslides and dangerous surf possible along that coast. Unresolved questions remain over whether the fuel-trafficking investigation in Guanajuato will widen further, and the next round of Mexico-U.S. trade talks is tentatively expected in October after being postponed this week. Sheinbaum’s November trip to China for the APEC summit will also be a marker to watch as Mexico works to diversify its trade relationships ahead of further USMCA negotiations. Mexico News Daily This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Claude, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.