Mexico’s week in review: Independence Day fireworks give way to trade deal hopes

Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16 was the focal point this past week, even as less celebratory news circulated. Over the weekend, 21-year-old Spanish exchange student Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, attending the Autonomous University of Morelos (UAEM) in Cuernavaca, Morelos, was stabbed and killed in Cuautla — the fourth femicide of a UAEM student just this year. On Thursday, Morelos authorities announced the arrest of a suspect, Francisco Javier “N,” but the attack on Tacoronte and the emergency medical response were met with indignation both locally and in Spain. Also on Sept. 12, Pemex admitted it had contained another oil spill off the coast of Campeche, which the Navy and the state oil company moved quickly to seal and clean up — a contrast to the government’s slower handling of a major spill in February. Meanwhile, the peso spent most of the week trading above 17 to the dollar, weakening toward its worst week since March as markets digested the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023, narrowing the Mexico-U.S. rate differential. Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed. Industrial activity posts best growth in years Mexico’s industrial sector delivered its strongest annual performance in nearly three years in July, with industrial activity up 2.4% in seasonally adjusted terms, according to INEGI — triple June’s 0.8% reading and the best showing since November 2023. Construction led the gains, climbing 6.7% annually, while mining rose 1.6% and manufacturing grew 1.3%. Month-over-month growth was 0.5%, a second straight month of sequential gains. Still, industrial activity is up just 0.4% for the first seven months of 2026, a modest rebound after a 1.3% contraction in 2025, with manufacturing down 0.7% year-to-date. Economists at Grupo Financiero Monex expect only “moderate” growth ahead, citing USMCA-related uncertainty and U.S. tariffs on vehicles, steel and aluminum. Coahuila is Mexico’s safest state For the first time, Coahuila topped INEGI’s national safety perception survey, the 2026 ENVIPE, with just 27.8% of residents calling the state unsafe due to crime — a 9.9-point improvement that pushed Baja California Sur out of the top spot. Coahuila registered only 100 homicides in 2025, a turnaround from more than 1,100 killings in 2012, when cartels such as Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel dominated large swaths of the state. Analysts credited beefed-up federal forces and prevention programs. Governor Manolo Jiménez Salinas, in office since December 2023, credited “great teamwork.” Nationally, the picture is less rosy: 74% of adults still consider their state unsafe, and México state overtook Morelos this year as Mexico’s least safe state, with 90% of respondents reporting security concerns. Mexico’s independence is celebrated at home and abroad On Tuesday night, President Sheinbaum delivered her second Grito de Independencia from the National Palace balcony before a crowd the Mexico City government estimated at more than 300,000 in the Zócalo, marking 216 years since Miguel Hidalgo’s original Cry of Dolores. Sheinbaum issued 21 arengas honoring independence heroes including Hidalgo, Josefa Ortiz, Leona Vicario and Vicente Guerrero, alongside Mexico’s Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and migrants abroad, several of whom were included in a national Grito for the first time. Abroad, Iran marked the holiday by lighting Tehran’s Azadi Tower in green, white and red, the first time the landmark has been illuminated in tribute to Mexico — an occasion the Mexican ambassador to Iran called “a great gesture of friendship.” In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani served as grand marshal of Brooklyn’s Mexican Independence Day parade, days after U.S. Vice President JD Vance mocked a Mexican flag-carrying protester at a Dallas rally. Mexico’s president receiving the national flag before performing the annual Grito, or Cry, of Independence from the balcony of the National Palace. (Jessica Ramírez/Presidencia) Antitrust regulators probe Liga MX Mexico’s National Antitrust Commission (CNA) has opened an investigation into whether Liga MX operates as a monopoly, examining whether a small group is unfairly controlling “affiliation, organization and access” to professional soccer competitions in violation of federal competition law. The probe follows Liga MX’s 2020 decision — upheld through the 2026-27 season by the Court of Arbitration for Sport — to scrap promotion and relegation with the second-tier Liga Expansión and end payouts to lower-tier clubs, a move Liga Expansión officials fiercely disputed. No defendants have been named; the probe can run up to 120 business days and be extended. If wrongdoing is found, Liga MX and its clubs could face fines of up to 10% of annual income. CFE advances Project Oasis in Baja California Sur The Federal Electricity Commission unveiled Project Oasis BCS, a solar, battery and green hydrogen initiative meant to bring reliable power to the isolated Mulegé region, which has no direct connection to the national grid and has historically relied on fossil fuels. The project pairs a 72-megawatt photovoltaic plant with a battery system, electrolyzers to produce hydrogen and fuel cells to convert it back into electricity for use when sunlight is scarce. CFE projects the initiative will serve 40,000 households and cut emissions equivalent to taking more than 31,000 vehicles off the road annually. If completed, it would be CFE’s first-ever green hydrogen power generation project. Democracy index shows modest gains According to International IDEA’s annual Global State of Democracy report, released on Tuesday, Mexico’s democracy score edged up slightly in 2025 — Sheinbaum’s first full year in office — rising to 1.778 out of 4 from 1.770 the year before. The country improved in rule of law and participation, held steady in rights and declined in representation, its best-ranked category at 83rd out of 173 nations. Mexico ranked in the top 100 in only one of the four measured categories. The report’s authors flagged rising political polarization and “us versus them” identity politics as threats across Latin America, while separately noting democratic backsliding tied to the Trump administration’s consolidation of executive power in the U.S. Sheinbaum responds to Trump cartel pressure Responding to a Trump “presidential determination” pressuring Mexico to take “additional action” against cartels and arrest complicit officials, Sheinbaum turned the spotlight on U.S. drug consumption, asking what Washington is doing to curb domestic drug demand, money laundering and the flow of American-made weapons into Mexico. Under pressure from Trump on cartels, Sheinbaum turns spotlight on US drug use “We don’t need to be judged from the outside,” Sheinbaum said, insisting “we know what Mexico’s problems are and we act against them every day.” Trump’s determination, submitted to Congress on Tuesday, named Mexico among 23 countries as major drug producers or transit points and singled out Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya — on leave amid U.S. accusations of cartel collusion but still free — as an official Washington wants arrested. The exchange came a week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Mexico isn’t doing enough against cartels, even as he acknowledged Mexican efforts had increased. Record fuel bust in Guanajuato Authorities announced on Thursday that they had seized 59 million liters of stolen fuel at a property in San José Iturbide, Guanajuato — the largest single-site fuel bust in Mexican history and roughly five times last year’s record seizure in Tamaulipas. The operation traces to a July 3 arrest involving a tanker truck loaded with stolen fuel, which led investigators to the storage facility, capable of holding up to 80 million liters. No arrests had been made as of Friday, and officials say specialized personnel will be needed to safely handle the seized hydrocarbons. Guanajuato’s security minister said the bust would help choke off a funding source for organized crime in a state that has seen four smaller fuel-theft busts this year. Trade talks hover ahead of US midterms The fourth round of formal USMCA-related trade talks between Mexico and the United States is tentatively set for next week, with officials on both sides eager to hammer out a deal before U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, according to sources interviewed by Reuters. A framework deal would benefit both governments: Trump wants an economic win as he risks losing control of Congress, while Mexico is contending with investor unease and a cooling economy. The push follows the collapse last month of parallel U.S.-Canada trade talks, making the Mexico-U.S. track an effort at an interim bilateral deal. According to José Medina Mora, president of Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council (CCE), the elimination of Section 232 tariffs, which place duties on aluminum, steel and automobiles, is expected to be a primary focus. Pups in the news Rollo, an adopted mixed-breed puppy, is the National Palace’s newest resident, officially tasked with supporting “the emotional well-being of everyone,” per government videos; his brother Theo still awaits adoption, and the palace’s resident cats, including Coco and Zeus, remain in place. In Morelia, a dog named Maple dressed as a taco stand won the city’s inaugural Patriotic Pup Contest, beating roughly 40 costumed competitors, with runners-up dressed as an elote-and-pork-loin vendor and a pozole bowl nearly twice their size. And the winner is . . . Maple, dressed as a street vendor of everybody’s favorite taco — al pastor — with “pastor” meaning shepherd and the stand’s name —”alemán” — meaning German. Get it? Looking ahead Next week brings a busy convergence of bilateral trade and security missions as well as the potential for currency swings. The fourth round of USMCA-focused trade talks in Washington, D.C., could yield either a resolution or more setbacks. According to reporting by Politico, a preparatory call between Trump and Sheinbaum on Wednesday may have placed more topics on the discussion table than just Section 232 tariffs. However, Sheinbaum said after the call that “we’re making progress on trade issues.” Any signs of progress or friction on tariffs are poised to move the peso. Meanwhile, 139 U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division are scheduled to land in Chihuahua on Sept. 20 for 11 days of joint training exercises with Mexican forces at the Centro Nacional de Adiestramiento, the military’s largest training facility. 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.