¡Hola amigos! This week, the government is back to putting up “don’t fill up here” banners at gas stations charging above the government-set price, electoral reform finally passed, and President Sheinbaum is now open to fracking. Oh, and guac just set a world record.

Plus, what to do if you’re in a medical accident in Mexico, how to protect yourself from increasingly convincing phishing and text scams, and toll roads just got more expensive.

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❓México Trivia

Which Mexican state has stood in for the American Wild West in dozens of Hollywood films?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

📣 México News Roundup

⛽ The government resumes a program allowing Profeco to put up “Don’t fill up here” banners at gas stations charging above the government-set price.

🛢️ President Sheinbaum backs fracking (after previously opposing it) as a way to boost gas production and reduce reliance on U.S. imports.

🏛️ Mexico’s electoral “Plan B” reform passed last week after approval by Congress and 20 state legislatures.

🕒 Mexico’s Senate approved the 40-hour workweek with a phased rollout from 2027 to 2030. The bill advances to the Chamber of Deputies to establish a phased transition.

✈️ Air Canada Cargo has expanded operations at Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Ángeles (AIFA) to six weekly flights from Toronto.

⛏️ A miner was found alive after nearly two weeks trapped in a flooded mine in Sinaloa. Watch the moment of his rescue.

🥑 Tancítaro, Michoacán set a Guinness World Record with a 6,800 kilo batch of guacamole made by over 800 volunteers.

🦠 Mexico’s measles cases surpass the total reported in 2025 despite a nationwide vaccination push. 

🚨 Pemex says it contained a diesel spill at its Deer Park refinery in Houston after it was reported Sunday, with no impact to the community or navigation in the channel.

🍎 Your Health Pulse

What to Do If You Have a Medical Accident in Mexico

A tumble on uneven cobblestones, a car accident, or a fall in your own home – everyday accidents can turn complicated fast in Mexico.

Handling a medical emergency isn’t always as straightforward as calling an ambulance and heading to the hospital.

For foreigners living in or visiting Mexico, the process can turn into a nightmare fast. Emergency services work differently here, insurance rules can trip you up, EMS cannot enter your home without consent, and language barriers add another layer of challenge.

Click here for a breakdown of what you need to know before something happens.

📍Immigration Essentials

Family Unit Residency: Who Qualifies (and How It Works)

Mexico’s Family Unit pathway lets you apply for residency based on a qualifying family relationship with a Mexican citizen or a foreigner who already holds valid temporary or permanent residency – often without leaving the country.

In most cases, foreigners must apply at a Mexican consulate abroad. But under Family Unit rules, some applicants can enter Mexico on a visitor permit (FMM) and apply directly at an INM office.

Who qualifies depends on your relationship:

Temporary Residency may be available for:

• The spouse or partner of a temporary or permanent resident

• The parent of a temporary resident

• The minor child (under 18) of a temporary resident

• The minor child (under 18) of the spouse of a temporary or permanent resident

Permanent Residency may be available if you are:

• The spouse or partner of a Mexican citizen

• The parent of a Mexican-born child

• The parent of a permanent resident

• The minor child (under 18) or sibling (under 18) of a permanent resident or Mexican national

• The minor child (under 18) of the spouse of a permanent resident or Mexican national

Financial solvency is typically not required when applying through Family Unit at an INM office in Mexico.

If you apply in Mexico, you’ll generally need to arrive as a visitor (FFM), file in person at INM before your stay expires, and bring the qualifying family member with you. 

If you apply from a consulate abroad, you’ll receive a visa sticker in your passport and must exchange it for a residency card within 30 days of arrival in Mexico.

Key requirements:

• Proof of relationship

• Valid passport and application forms

• Sponsor’s ID or residency card

• Foreign documents apostilled and translated into Spanish

Family Unit is one of the most accessible paths to residency, but only if your relationship fits the categories recognized under Mexican immigration law.

🧩 Life in México

Driving in Mexico Just Got More Expensive

As of April 13, CAPUFE (Mexico’s federal toll road authority) increased tolls by 4.7% across its network of highways, impacting more than 40 toll roads across 24 states.

The increase applies to all vehicles – cars, motorcycles, buses, and trucks – and affects many of the country’s most heavily traveled routes.

States impacted include: Mexico City, State of Mexico, Puebla, Querétaro, Morelos, Guerrero, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, among others.

Updated tolls on key routes include: 

• México–Querétaro: Cars 226, Motorcycles 113 pesos

• México–Cuernavaca: Cars 156, Motorcycle 78 pesos

• México–Puebla: Cars 226, Motorcycles 113 pesos

• Córdoba–Veracruz: Cars 282, Motorcycles 141 pesos

• Chamapa–Lechería: Cars 69, Motorcycles 34 pesos

• Cuernavaca–Acapulco: Cars 670, Motorcycles 335 pesos

• La Rumorosa–Tecate: Cars 108, Motorcycles 54 pesos

• Durango–Mazatlán: Cars 820, Motorcycles 410 pesos

For anyone driving regularly or planning longer trips, these increases can add up quickly, especially on routes with multiple toll booths.

See the full list of updated toll prices.

🇲🇽 Viva México

The Engineering Marvel of Xochimilco’s Chinampas

For many visitors, Xochimilco’s ancient waterways feel like a floating fiesta. Mariachis serenade passengers aboard brightly painted trajineras drifting through canals lined with lush “floating gardens.”

But there’s a deliberate design to this scenery: an ingenious system of agriculture rooted in centuries of Indigenous knowledge.

Long before the Valley of Mexico’s vast lake system was mostly drained, the Xochimilca and Mexica were caught in a geographic trap. 

They lived on marshy islands. With no natural farmable land, they had to find a way to feed a booming population.

Their answer? Create it.

They might look like islands, but these chinampas, or raised agricultural plots, are carefully engineered, artificial terrain. 

Farmers wove dense fences from reeds and branches, and staked them in the muddy shallows. 

Into this rectangular frame, they packed alternating layers of sediment and decomposing vegetation, building it up until the surface rose above the water.

The key innovation was the use of the ahuejote (Salix bonplandiana), a native willow whose roots grow deep into the lakebed. Planted along the edges, these trees anchored each plot in place as they grew.

These gardens are constantly fed by nutrient-rich sediment drifting in from the surrounding canals. This process naturally replenishes the soil. 

There’s no need for synthetic fertilizers. Irrigation is also unnecessary. Nature handles it all.

This exceptionally fertile land can support multiple harvests a year – allowing farmers to grow crops year-round, regardless of the dry season. It's a remarkably efficient, self-sustaining system.

Today, this ancient infrastructure is under pressure as urban expansion and pollution encroach on the remaining canals. 

However, the chinampas have endured for over a thousand years, and there are renewed conservation efforts to scale up protection and preserve this legacy and safeguard their future.

Arca Tierra alone has restored 10 plots, and is now supplying top Mexico City restaurants like Pujol and Rosetta. With initiatives like Colectivo Ahuejote and a growing “Chinampera Label” for chemical-free produce, this ancient system is quietly proving its relevance all over again.

🪷 Viva Wellness

Why Mexico’s "Oregano" Is Actually a Super-Shrub

They share a name, but the resemblance between orégano mediterráneo and orégano mexicano ends there.

Mediterranean oregano (Origanum vulgare) belongs to the mint family. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is something else entirely; it’s actually a member of the verbena family.

A woody, drought-loving shrub, Mexican oregano grows across Mexico and Central America in warm, dry climates, often in rocky soils and open scrubland. Its leaves are small, oval, and highly aromatic, and it produces delicate white (sometimes pale pink) blooms during its growing season.

The flavor is just as distinct. Where Mediterranean oregano is earthy and mildly herbaceous, Lippia graveolens is bolder, citrusy, and slightly peppery, with subtle notes of anise.

Mexican oregano is usually added early in the cooking process. Its oils are slowly released into long-simmered dishes such as stews, moles, and salsas.

Those same oils are far more than flavor.

They are highly concentrated in carvacrol and thymol, compounds with proven antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown strong antimicrobial activity, including against certain resistant bacteria and fungi.

Together, these compounds, along with antioxidants like luteolin, quercetin, and rosmarinic acid, support respiratory health, aid digestion, and help reduce inflammation at a cellular level.

Mexican oregano also delivers a dense load of vitamins B complex, C, K, and E, plus calcium, iron, and magnesium.

For generations, it has been used in traditional herbal practices across Mexico.

For congestion, the same leaves are used for steam inhalation to clear the airways. For stomach upsets or lingering resfriado misery, a strong té de orégano – dried leaves steeped for 15 minutes – is the traditional go-to. 

🎉 ¡Vamos! Events

Feria Nacional de San Marcos 2026 – April 18–May 10, Aguascalientes
Mexico’s biggest annual fair returns for its 198th edition with concerts, cultural programming, gastronomy, sports, and traditional events across the city. A major draw is the Foro de las Estrellas, which hosts free concerts throughout the fair, including international acts such as Andrea Bocelli. More info here.  

Feria de Puebla 2026 – April 23–May 10, Puebla
This annual fair returns with concerts, cultural presentations, and multiple pavilions featuring technology, traditional cuisine, and family-friendly attractions. Highlights include the Expo Ganadera, food areas, live performances, and interactive experiences across Puebla’s main fairgrounds. More info here.

Festival FYJA 2026 (Festival Flores y Jardines) – April 30–May 3, Mexico City
Polanco transforms into an open-air showcase of garden design and nature as Festival FYJA returns with ephemeral garden installations, landscape architecture, and creative interpretations of the Mexican garden. More info here.

Feria Nacional del Café Coatepec 2026 – April 30–May 10, Coatepec, Veracruz
Held in one of Veracruz’s main coffee-growing regions, this long-running fair (dating back to 1948) highlights local coffee culture with tastings, barista competitions, and producer showcases, alongside concerts, traditional events, and food pavilions at the town’s fairgrounds. More info here.

Festival Cultural de Mayo 2026 – May 7–29, Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara’s leading annual arts festival returns with a multi-venue program spanning music, dance, visual arts, and circus, with performances and exhibitions across spaces including Teatro Degollado and the Instituto Cultural Cabañas. More info here.

💡 Say It in Spanish

¿Cuánto le debo?
Translation: How much do I owe you?

This is what you say when it’s time to settle up – whether it’s a contractor at your home or a friend who put dinner on their credit card.

When speaking to friends, use the formal ¿Cuánto te debo? 

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🎯 Trivia Answer

Durango

Often called Mexico’s “land of cinema,” Durango has been used as a stand-in for the American frontier for over 70 years.

Hollywood chose Durango because its landscapes closely resemble the American West, allowing filmmakers to shoot multiple settings without leaving the region.

Filming took place across the region, not just in the capital. Sets like Chupaderos and Old West Town, just outside Durango City, were built for movies and still stand today as part of the state’s cinematic legacy. Since 2001, Old West Town has also operated as a theme park, where visitors can watch live cowboy shows, staged shootouts, and Western-style performances on the original film sets.

Classic films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, True Grit, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre were all shot there. Directors like John Ford filmed in Durango, and actors including John Wayne and Charlton Heston became closely associated with the area. In fact, Wayne grew so attached to Durango that he built his own home there: Rancho de la Joya.

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