Hola amigos! This week, the peso ends the year with its strongest gain in decades, new cell phone registration rules take effect January 9, and Mexico’s tax authority addresses reports of leaked data and phishing campaigns targeting taxpayers.

Also on tap: interest rates drop, new power generation projects to support the growing grid, and how to channel good fortune Mexican-style on New Year’s Eve. 

As we wind down 2025, I want to thank you for being here on this wild ride with me. I appreciate the feedback, story ideas, and the way this community shows up – curious, engaged, and ready to embrace life in Mexico.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and adventure-filled 2026.

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❓México Trivia

What city is home to a famously tiny church with every traditional feature built in miniature?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

📣 México News Roundup

🚆 Families of victims demand answers after an Interoceanic Train derailed in southern Mexico, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 as authorities launched an investigation.

💱 The Mexican peso is up 13.9% in 2025, marking its strongest performance since it was allowed to freely float in 1994.

⚡ Mexico approved 20 new power generation projects adding 3,320 megawatts of new grid capacity.

✈️ Volaris and Viva Aerobus confirmed plans to merge under a shared holding company while continuing to operate independently. The deal is expected to close in 2026 pending regulatory approval.

🚗 Mexico’s new electric “minivehicle” project, Olinia, designed for neighborhood mobility, will debut during the opening of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

📉 Banxico cut interest rates at its final meeting of 2025 by 25 basis points to 7.0%.

🏁 The legendary Baja 1000 will start and finish in Los Cabos for the first time in 2026, with race week scheduled for Nov. 9 -15 in Baja California Sur.

✈️ Mexico received 16.5 million international air travelers from January to October 2025, up 6.9% from the same period in 2024.

🎮 President Sheinbaum canceled a proposed 8% tax on violent video games for 2026, citing the difficulty of defining and classifying violent content. (See what will cost you more in 2026.)

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📍Immigration Essentials

New Cell Phone Rules Coming to Mexico in January 2026

On December 8, Mexico’s Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT) approved new rules that will change how mobile phone lines are registered in the country. 

Starting January 9, 2026, all Mexican mobile phone numbers, both prepaid and contract, must be linked to an individual or legal entity through official identification.

While postpaid lines already require ID and some prepaid SIMs already ask for identification at the point of sale, the difference now is that registration becomes standardized, universal, and enforceable across all carriers.

Under the new framework, anonymous “burner” phone lines will no longer be permitted. Every active mobile number must be associated with a CURP (for individuals) or an RFC (for companies and legal entities). 

This applies to everyone using a Mexican phone number, including Mexican nationals, foreign residents, businesses, prepaid SIM users, and eSIM holders. 

Anyone with an existing line not currently linked to a CURP or RFC will need to complete registration by presenting valid identification and the corresponding tax or identity number. Registration can be completed through provider platforms or at customer service centers, depending on the carrier.

The registry formally takes effect on January 9, 2026, and users will have 120 working days to comply. 

Lines that are not registered within that period may be temporarily suspended, though emergency calls will remain available. Service will be restored once registration is completed. The rules limit registration to a maximum of 10 mobile lines per person.

Authorities say the measure is intended to curb crimes such as extortion, fraud, and kidnapping, which often rely on untraceable phone numbers. 

Registration data remains with individual telecom providers, and the regulation does not impose fines, only service suspension for noncompliance.

If you use a Mexican phone number, it’s worth confirming now whether your line is registered or not to avoid service disruption. 

🧩 Life in México

SAT Addresses Reports of Data Exposure

In the past few days, cybersecurity researchers have reported the appearance of more than 120,000 records linked to Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) being advertised for sale on the dark web. According to threat intelligence reports, a cybercriminal group claims the data includes RFC-linked information and electronic tax invoices (CFDI) from 2025.

Security experts caution that these listings are based on claims made by threat actors, not confirmation from SAT, and are part of a broader pattern of Mexican banking and government data being offered by cybercriminal groups.

SAT has publicly denied that its systems were hacked, stating that internal reviews found no evidence of a direct breach of its infrastructure or vulnerabilities in its official applications. Investigations remain ongoing, and the origin of the data continues to be disputed.

This is not the first time SAT-related data has appeared on the dark web. 

In December 2024, media reported the publication of access credentials belonging to thousands of taxpayers on the dark web, including passwords and private keys associated with e.firma. Authorities at the time also pointed to credential exposure rather than a confirmed breach of SAT systems.

What is not in dispute is how most taxpayers are exposed. 

According to SAT and security experts, the primary risk continues to come from credential theft, not confirmed system intrusions. Phishing campaigns and fake SAT websites that closely mimic official portals remain the most common way accounts are compromised.

These fraudulent sites often promise refunds, warn of urgent account issues, or request “verification” to resolve supposed problems. Once users enter their information, credentials can be reused, resold, or combined with other leaked data.

SAT has confirmed the existence of hundreds of fake websites designed to impersonate its services and has published an official list of known scam domains. You can view the list here.

The legitimate SAT only operates on websites ending in .gob.mx.

There is no need for panic, but there is reason to be deliberate about how you access tax and government services online.

• Always check the full website address before logging in

• Avoid clicking SAT links sent by email, SMS, or WhatsApp

• Use unique passwords for tax and banking accounts

• Store credentials in a secure password manager rather than your browser

• Reset your passwords frequently, or use a trusted password manager like Proton Pass to generate and store strong, unique passwords for sensitive accounts and reduce the risk of credential theft. It’s what we use and recommend.

🇲🇽 Viva México

5 Mexican Traditions to Try This Año Nuevo

2025 was a real doozie for a lot of people (myself included). If you’re hoping for a better 2026, here’s some good news: in Mexico, New Year’s is rich with traditions aimed at ushering in prosperity, love, and adventure. 

Here are 5 customs that many Mexicans embrace to start the year on a positive note:

Sweeping: As midnight approaches, families sweep their homes, directing the dust out the door. This act symbolizes the removal of negative energy, making way for good fortune in the coming year.

Lentils: Consuming lentils on New Year's Eve is believed to bring prosperity and abundance. Some enjoy a spoonful of cooked lentils, while others place a handful outside their door, both practices intended to attract wealth.

Walking with a Suitcase: At the stroke of midnight, those yearning for travel take an empty suitcase and walk around the block. This ritual is thought to ensure that the new year is filled with exciting journeys and adventures.

Grapes: As the clock counts down to midnight, it's customary to eat twelve grapes, one for each chime. Each grape represents a wish or intention for the twelve months ahead, with the act believed to bring good luck and the fulfillment of these desires.

Underwear: The color of one's underwear on New Year's Eve is chosen deliberately to attract specific fortunes:

• Red signifies a desire for love and passion.

• Yellow aims to bring wealth and prosperity.

• Green is selected for improved health and well-being.

• White symbolizes a wish for peace and harmony.

🪷 Viva Wellness

Flor de Tila: Mexico’s Calming Herbal Secret

In Mexico, some of the most powerful remedies aren’t found in pharmacies — they’re sold by the handful in mercados, passed down through generations. One of the most beloved is Flor de Tila, a calming herbal remedy with a surprising backstory and deep roots in traditional medicine.

With its heart-shaped, finely serrated leaves and drooping clusters of pale yellow, fragrant flowers, this Mexican shrub looks remarkably similar to the European linden tree. Spanish colonists thought it was the same and mistakenly called it by the same name: Tila (linden in Spanish).

To add to the confusion, there is a true Mexican Linden tree – Tilia mexicana (with two i’s) – which shares many features with its European cousins. But the plant commonly called Flor de Tila or sometimes “Tila Mexicana” (with one i) is actually from a completely different genus, with distinct properties and a long history in Mexican folk medicine.

Indigenous communities such as the Nahuas and Purépechas recognized its calming and healing value long before the Spanish arrived. 

Today, it’s still widely used across Mexico, especially in rural and traditional households. The dried flowers – Flor de Tila – are steeped into calming teas or prepared as liquid extracts to treat nervous system disorders like anxiety, insomnia, and stress.

In some regions, it’s also used to support digestion and ease symptoms like indigestion or stomach cramps, and to soothe coughs, sore throats, or irritated mucous membranes.

And while it may not be as well known internationally, here in Mexico, Flor de Tila remains a go-to natural remedy. You’ll find it in natural health stores and online, but its true home is still the mercado, where it’s sold by the handful and passed down through generations one cup of tea at a time.

Like any calming herb, Flor de Tila is best used in moderation. If you’re taking medications, pregnant, or managing a medical condition, check with a healthcare provider before regular use.

💡 Say It in Spanish

In English, we usually use the verb “to be” to talk about how we feel — I’m hungry, I’m cold, I’m in a hurry. But in Spanish, you use the verb tener, which means “to have.” 

While there are plenty of tener expressions out there, here are some of the most common ones you’ll actually hear (and use) in daily life.

Emotions & feelings

• tener miedo – to be afraid

• tener celos – to be jealous

• tener confianza – to be confident

Physical conditions

• tener hambre – to be hungry

• tener sed – to be thirsty

• tener frío / calor – to be cold / hot

• tener sueño – to be sleepy

Time & urgency

• tener prisa – to be in a hurry

• tener tiempo – to have time

Mental states

• tener razón – to be right

• no tener razón – to be wrong

Desire & motivation

• tener ganas de – to feel like (doing something)

• tener la intención de – to intend to

Mastering these tener expressions is one of the fastest ways to sound more natural and less like you're reading from Google Translate.

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🎯 Trivia Answer

The Capilla del Señor de la Humildad, also known as the Manzanares Chapel.

This baroque gem in Mexico City’s La Merced neighborhood looks like a cathedral that got hit with a shrink ray.

Measuring just 9 meters long and 4 meters wide, the chapel only fits 20 people tops. But everything is there: twin bell towers, a colorful Talavera-tiled façade, a mini octagonal dome, and a fully detailed altar scaled perfectly to match the chapel’s tiny proportions.

Even the arched wooden door is short enough that most adults have to duck to enter. The pews? Narrow and tightly spaced. The cross above the altar? Petite. It’s like someone designed a full Catholic church... just two sizes too small.

Locals call it the smallest church in Mexico City. According to legend, it’s also one of the oldest. Oral histories say it was originally built in the 1500s by order of Hernán Cortés, as a hermitage for travelers and workers arriving to the city along the Manzanares stream.

Later, it gained the nickname “la capilla de los ladrones” – the thieves’ chapel – because people from the nearby tenements would slip inside to pray for forgiveness (or better luck). Today, it’s a quiet spiritual refuge run by a small religious brotherhood, nestled between vendors and narrow streets just steps from the bustle of Mercado Sonora.

Watch the video tour here. 

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