MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter, Jul. 10, 2026
Foreign Coverage on Mexico
Mexico’s fans still celebrated the night of their hard-fought defeat against England on Sunday (watched by a record-breaking 44 million people in the US alone), but there has been a hangover this week as reality returns. “You could not reasonably argue that this setting, this stadium, this city, this noise, did not imbue tonight’s game with some kind of devil magic” wrote The Athletic’s Jack Lang in a bittersweet farewell to El Tri and to Mexico as a country that didn’t just co-host the World Cup, but “mainlined it”. In the LA Times, Gustavo Arellano wrote hopefully about “a vibe I had never sensed before among Mexican Americans” during this year’s exciting run for Mexico’s national team: “Thanks to this thrilling, ultimately futile World Cup, we can and will push for more, and settle no more.” The British press widely commented on the graciousness of Mexican fans in defeat, many of whom warmly congratulated their English foes as soon as the match ended, not something you typically see after a West Ham-Millwall Dockers Derby.
As football slowly retreats from the national headlines, a story from July 2024 has made a resurgence this week, starting with a Mexican media outlet reporting there was direct FBI involvement in the operation to abduct Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and transfer him to the United States (US officials have denied operational participation). The New York Times covered the Mexican government’s response, as prosecutors announced they are opening an investigation into this alleged violation of national sovereignty, a “red-button issue in the current strained relationship”.
In economic news, Bloomberg reported on the bigger than expected decline in inflation in June (down to its lowest level since 2020), led by a drop in non-core inflation. This positive news was tempered, however, by an overall outlook of “weak demand, continued economic slack and signs of cooling in the labor market”. The Mexican automotive industry received a blow this week with the news that Toyota is moving the Baja California production of its Tacoma trucks to the US, which Bloomberg warned “could foreshadow a regional reset” that triggers more automakers to partially relocate manufacturing to minimise tariffs.
AP covered the ongoing confrontation between organised crime groups and vigilantes in rural Guerrero, with locals reporting drone bombing attacks, claiming they’ve been left unprotected by law enforcement (federal authorities deny the drone attacks are happening). The outlet also covered the Mexican government’s request that criminal charges be filed in the cases of 17 Mexican nationals who have been killed either in ICE detention or during immigration operations, after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican man who had lived and worked in the US for decades, was fatally shot by agents in Houston on his way to work this week. Bloomberg covered a report by International Crisis Group about the ongoing intra-cartel war in Sinaloa, which is still causing deaths at “alarming rates” as well as disappearances and displacement, while “neither criminal turf wars nor the government crackdown seems to have made a dent in the fentanyl supply”.
Notable blogs in English on Mexico
Ioan Grillo (CrashOut) and Eduardo García (Materia Gris) shared their reflections on this World Cup and what it meant for Mexico this week, despite their elimination from the tournament; Grillo described El Tri’s last game as “an admirable end to a magic moment in Mexico with the World Cup unleashing a euphoria unlike anything I have seen in twenty-five years here.” The Mexico Political Economist analysed why the US decision not to automatically renew the USMCA is better than an exit but will “put a strain on Mexico’s already embattled economy”. In Mexico Decoded, Viri Ríos debunked what she claims is a “myth” about Mexico’s rich paying their fair share in taxes, noting that government statistics refer to corporations rather than individuals in the category of “large taxpayers”. And Miranda Intelligence’s daily Substack covered key developments in energy, fintech, public affairs and politics in Mexico.
- CrashOut Media, Mexico’s Beautiful World Cup
- MXPE, No, the US hasn’t left the USMCA. This is what’s happening
- Mexico Decoded, The Tax Myth Protecting Mexico’s Rich
- Materia Gris, ¿Y si sí?
- Miranda Intelligence daily reports on Substack
Photo of the week
Mexico fans show their support before the match against England in the World Cup’s round of 16 on Sunday Ezra Shaw, FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Top stories on Mexico
Farewell to Mexico, the maddest and most beautiful part of this World Cup
06/07/2026, NYT/The Athletic, Jack Lang
Mexico lost in the World Cup, but Mexican Americans won
06/07/2026, Los Angeles Times, Gustavo Arellano
Mexico Investigates Possible F.B.I. Role in El Mayo Arrest
09/07/2026, NYT, Paulina Villegas
Mexico’s Inflation Slows More Than Expected to Five-Year Low
09/07/2026, Bloomberg, Gonzalo Soto and Betriz Reis
Toyota’s Shift to US Stokes Fears for Mexican Auto Industry
08/07/2026, Bloomberg, Gonzalo Soto
Sempra’s LNG Plant on Mexico’s West Coast Exports First Shipment
08/07/2026, Bloomberg, Stephen Stapczynski
Mexico to request criminal charges over deaths following fatal shooting of Houston man by ICE agents
09/07/2026, AP, María Verza
A Mexican village warned of a cartel offensive during the World Cup. Then the drone attacks began
09/07/2026, AP, Megan Janetsky
Mexico Court Grants Salinas’ TV Azteca Bankruptcy Protection
07/07/2026, Bloomberg, Michael O’Boyle
Mexico Military Fails to Curb Fentanyl Trade, Report Says
07/07/2026, Bloomberg, Maya Averbuch
Mexico is placing an enormous bet on rail
06/07/2026, The Economist, Staff
The ‘Robodogs’ on World Cup patrol in Mexico
07/07/2026, NYT, Tomás Hill López-Menchero
World Cup Fails to Boost Mexico’s Beleaguered Airport Industry
07/07/2026, Bloomberg, Leda Alvim
Mexico appoint Rafael Marquez as new head coach to replace Javier Aguirre
08/07/2026, NYT/The Athletic, Sam Joseph
Download PDF: Mexico Foreign Press Chatter 10-07-26
