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Why U.S. Just Restricted Mexican Flights
Plus, what to check before you send funds
¡Hola amigos! This week, we’re unpacking what’s behind the U.S. aviation tantrum over Felipe Ángeles, Mexico City’s new plan to curb gentrification, and Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek’s surprise visit to Veracruz.
Plus, the challenges of moving your money to Mexico, how to become a naturalized citizen, and the story of a Mexican diplomat who took on the Nazis and saved thousands.
Let’s dive in.
❓Mexico Trivia
Which surreal cliffside in Mexico looks like a frozen waterfall, but is actually warm enough to swim in?
Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
📣 Que Paso
📉 Mexico’s economy slowed in June, with just 0.2% growth. This marks the second consecutive month of deceleration.
✈️ The U.S. just restricted flights from Mexico and threatened the Delta–Aeromexico alliance, citing Mexico’s refusal to approve U.S. airline routes after the controversial shift to Felipe Ángeles airport.
🎬 Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek sparked a fan frenzy after being spotted flying commercial to Veracruz. The state’s governor confirmed she met with the pair briefly and offered a warm welcome, but the reason for their visit remains a mystery.
🇲🇽 Mexican consular staff in the U.S. say their pay hasn’t gone up since 1998 because the Mexican government hasn’t raised salaries, even as workloads and living costs keep rising.
🛣️ Mexico just issued a formal call for private investment in new roadside rest stops to support long-haul and freight transport drivers along federal highways.
🔥 During protests in CDMX on Sunday, a small group entered Ciudad Universitaria, smashed the windows of a bookstore, and burned books. President Sheinbaum condemned the act, saying, “The only ones who have burned books in history are the fascists.” Watch her full reaction here.
🍎 Your Health Pulse
How to Find the Best International Health Insurance Broker in Mexico
Finding reliable health insurance in Mexico isn’t just about choosing a plan – it’s about choosing the right broker.
But before you start comparing policies, it’s essential to understand what brokers are legally required to do…and what they’re not. Knowing where their responsibilities begin (and end) can help you avoid confusion, missed claims, and costly surprises.
So how do you spot a broker you can truly rely on? It comes down to asking the right questions and what kind of help they offer after the policy is sold.
Don’t Become Another GoFundMe Story
With medical inflation in Mexico on the rise, waiting to get properly informed is getting more expensive by the day. Join our live, 75-minute online workshop that debunk the costly healthcare myths too many foreigners learn after it’s too late. Walk away with clear, actionable steps to protect yourself and your wallet.
🏠 Real Estate Roundup
Mexico City Unveils New Strategy to Curb Gentrification
Clara Brugada, Mexico City’s mayor, officially published Bando 1 – a sweeping anti-gentrification decree – on July 17, 2025, in the Gaceta Oficial de la Ciudad de México.
Titled "Por una Ciudad Habitable y Asequible con Identidad y Arraigo Local", the decree outlines 14 actions aimed at protecting long-time residents from being priced out of their neighborhoods.
Key initiatives include capping rent increases to inflation levels, creating a Tenant Defense Office (Defensoría Inquilinaria), and drafting master plans for so-called “tense zones” at risk of displacement. The city also plans to expand affordable housing, establish a fair rent price index, and offer incentives to preserve cultural and historic spaces.
📍Immigration Essentials
How to Become a Naturalized Mexican Citizen
Naturalization is the final step for expats who want to take their legal status beyond permanent residency. It grants the full rights of Mexican citizenship, including the ability to carry a Mexican passport and purchase property near borders or beaches in your own name without a fideicomiso.
For some, it simplifies daily life. For others, it’s about deeper integration into the country they now call home.
But this decision comes with legal and personal trade-offs that must be considered.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for naturalization by residency:
You must be at least 18 years old
You must have held temporary or permanent residency in Mexico for the past five consecutive years
You must have been physically present in Mexico for at least 18 of the 24 months before your application
If married to a Mexican citizen, the residency total requirement is reduced to two consecutive years
You must not have been convicted of a serious crime (delito grave) in Mexico or abroad, including violent offenses, drug-related crimes, or other felonies under Mexican law
Temporary student residency does not count toward the required five years
Exams and Language Requirements
Applicants must pass:
A 10-question multiple-choice exam on Mexican history and culture (8 correct answers required)
A Spanish proficiency exam, including an oral interview, reading comprehension, and written exercise
Applicants over 60, minors, and refugees are exempt from the history and culture exam, but must still pass the Spanish language evaluation.
If you fail either test, you must wait 15 business days to retake it. If you fail twice, you must wait one year before reapplying.
From Approval to Full Citizenship: What Comes Next
Once you file the application, the process typically takes about a year to complete, though it may take longer in some cases. Toward the end, you’ll be required to sit the exams unless you qualify for an exemption.
At the conclusion of the process, successful applicants receive a Certificate of Naturalization from the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE), Mexico’s equivalent of the U.S. State Department.
With this certificate, you may then apply for two important identity documents:
A Mexican passport, which grants the same international travel rights as any Mexican-born citizen.
Your INE card (Instituto Nacional Electoral), which functions as Mexico’s de facto national ID. While technically a voter registration card, it’s widely used for official identification in banks, government offices, and daily life.
Key Considerations
Loss of consular protection: Once naturalized, your home country’s embassy cannot intervene on your behalf while in Mexico
Symbolic renunciation: Applicants must sign a renunciation of foreign allegiance. While symbolic under Mexican law, it may conflict with the laws of your country of origin
No automatic reinstatement: If citizenship is revoked, the process must be restarted from the beginning
Tax responsibilities remain: Naturalization does not exempt you from capital gains or other taxes. Professional advice is recommended
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🧩 Life in México
The Challenges of Moving Money to Mexico
ATM fees. Terrible exchange rates. Vanishing bank contacts. When it comes to moving money into Mexico, most people just pick the “least bad” option – and hope for the best.
And after last month’s banking scandal – when the U.S. Treasury launched an investigation into three Mexican banks and prohibited U.S. citizens from sending money through them – many were left scrambling to find a new way to get funds into the country.
Moving money to Mexico can feel like chasing a moving target. And as the financial landscape keeps shifting, it’s on each of us to stay informed – and make sure we’re not getting taken for a ride.
In this article, a longtime Mexico resident with more than 40 years in financial services shares what she’s learned after testing multiple transfer methods.
From transfer speed and fees to exchange rates and security, she breaks down what to consider before you choose how to move your money.
🇲🇽 Viva México
The Man Who Fought Fascism One Stamped Visa at a Time
This week’s Viva México celebrates a true Mexican hero – a diplomat who saved thousands not with weapons, but with visas and a whole lot of nerve.
When Nazi tanks rolled into France, one Mexican diplomat quietly went to war with ink, visas, and two rented castles.
Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, Mexico’s Consul General in France from 1939 to 1944, helped over 40,000 people escape fascist regimes. Jews, Spaniards, Lebanese, Italians – anyone fleeing Franco, Mussolini, or Hitler could count on Bosques.
He turned two châteaus in Marseille into makeshift sanctuaries while arranging safe passage to Mexico. His consulate became a lifeline…one stamped visa at a time.
In 1943, Gestapo troops arrested Bosques, his wife, three children, and 43 others. They were held in Germany for over a year before being released in a prisoner swap.
When he returned to Mexico in 1944, he was met by thousands of refugees who lined the train station just to thank him.
Bosques later served different diplomatic roles in Portugal, Sweden, Finland, and Cuba, but it’s his wartime courage that earned him global recognition. A street in Vienna even bears his name.
And in 2013, France and Germany created the Gilberto Bosques Human Rights Award in his honor.
Bosques once said, “It was the duty of Mexican foreign policy to save every anti-fascist refugee who knocked on our doors.”
And he did…by the thousands.
🪷 Viva Wellness
Meet Arnica’s Mexican Cousin
If you've ever used a herbal cream for bruises or sore muscles, you're probably familiar with Arnica montana, European Arnica.
But growing wild in Mexico's high-altitude pine-oak forests above 2,000 meters is its lesser-known, but far more versatile primo: árnica mexicana (Heterotheca inuloides).
This bright yellow daisy-like flower has been the backbone of traditional Mexican medicine for centuries.
Locals call it tabaquillo or "little tobacco" for its earthy scent and slightly bitter flavor.
Unlike the European version, which stays strictly on the skin, Mexican arnica is a full-body remedy in the hands of traditional healers.
Curanderos brew it into teas to calm inflammation, ease cramps, or treat digestive issues. They use it in poultices for swollen joints and burn the dried flowers during limpias, spiritual cleanses meant to clear “mala energía.” The fragrant smoke is believed to purify both body and spirit.
What truly makes Mexican arnica special is that it contains cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids – which European arnica lacks. It also has a higher concentration of flavonoids, such as quercetin and kaempferol. These substances contribute to Mexican arnica’s anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antioxidant effects.
Distilled into essential oil, it becomes a powerful topical treatment for bruising, swelling, and old injuries.
In traditional Mexican pharmacopeia, it’s used in liniments and salves for sprains, dislocations, and hyperextensions. The oil also serves as an effective antifungal and antiseptic wash for skin rashes, ringworm, and heat rashes.
A word of caution: Mexican arnica is very potent. As wise abuelitas warn, "Lo que cura también puede dañar" (What heals can also harm). It should only be taken internally with the guidance of a knowledgeable practitioner.
🎉 Vamos! Events
💃 Guelaguetza 2025 – July 21 & 28, Cerro del Fortín, Oaxaca City
Oaxaca’s biggest cultural celebration is back — and bigger than ever. Guelaguetza brings together dancers, musicians, and artists from across the state’s 16 Indigenous communities and Afro-Mexican regions in a dazzling display of color, tradition, and joy. Expect traditional costumes, live music, parades, and street performances all month long, with the main events happening on the last two Mondays of July. Locals call it the “Lunes del Cerro,” and it’s a must-see. More info here.
🍄 Festival del Hongo – August 1–3, San Mateo Río Hondo, Oaxaca
Mushroom lovers, rejoice. This three-day festival in the cloud forest town of San Mateo Río Hondo brings together mycologists, chefs, artists, and curious fungi fans for a packed lineup of workshops, conferences, guided hikes, concerts, circus acts, a mushroom market, and even a costume contest. More info here.
🎭 FASMA – August 1–17, San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel becomes Mexico’s cultural capital this August as FASMA returns for its third edition. With Austria as this year’s guest country, expect 100+ events across music, theater, film, dance, literature, and more — many of them free or low-cost. Performances will pop up in plazas, public spaces, and beloved venues across the city. More info here.
🦐 Festival del Pescado y Marisco – August 2, Rosarito Beach Hotel
Rosarito’s tastiest seaside tradition returns with the 2025 Festival del Pescado y Marisco. Sample 10 ocean-fresh bites and 5 local wine tastings while enjoying live music and artistic performances – all with ocean views. Tickets cost $750 MXN in advance or $950 MXN day-of and include a commemorative glass. More info here.
🌺 Hummingbird Festival – August 12–16, Vallarta Botanical Garden
Celebrate nature’s tiniest aerial acrobats at the Vallarta Botanical Garden’s Hummingbird Festival. Expect guided walks, origami and thaumatrope workshops, photo challenges, and hands-on crafts for all ages, plus a chance to cool off in the jungle river. Garden admission is $300 pesos and workshop spots fill fast, so plan ahead. More info here.
💡 Say It in Spanish
This week’s Spanish lesson comes from a reader who shared with us a hilarious – and important – reminder that just because words sound alike doesn’t mean they mean the same thing.
“There I was, getting a pedicure, with very sensitive feet. I let the esthetician know my feet were muy sensitivo, which brought gales of laughter all around.
I had just told her, of course, that my feet were very sensible. Who knew?
I learned (once again) that just because they sound the same, doesn’t mean they are.”
Spanish is full of these tricky little “false friends.” Words like embarazada, actual, and eventualmente may look familiar, but don’t mean what we think they do.
Luckily, these mix-ups usually lead to laughter, not disaster.
And every one of them is a reminder that we’re learning, trying, and living this adventure out loud – in two languages.
🎯 Mexico Trivia Answer
Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca. Perched high in the Oaxacan mountains, Hierve el Agua isn’t ice at all – it’s mineral-rich spring water that’s slowly hardened into what looks like cascading rock. The “petrified waterfalls” make a dramatic backdrop for soaking in warm pools at the cliff’s edge, with sweeping views of the Sierra Madre. It’s remote, otherworldly, and 100% natural.
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