Wishes for the New Year in Mexico

It’s been…a year. Admittedly, a lot of energy, even down here, has been taken up by Trump and his threats. “Big tariffs are coming!” “For real this time!” “Okay, you saved yourself just in time…for now!”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has done a fantastic job at keeping her firecracker counterpart north of the border relatively calm. Ideologically, they might as well be opposites. But as I’ve said before, there’s no greater skill a Mexican politician can have than knowing how to keep literal gangsters happy-ish. And if you can deal with narcos, you can deal with Trump.

But this isn’t meant to be a year-in-review. Who’s got the memory for that? Instead, I thought I’d outline a list of wishes I have for Mexico in the coming year.

Without further ado:

1. That we’ll finally get a handle on our justice system. Getting justice ain’t easy around here, that’s for sure. Between undertrained and underpaid police forces and narcos making sure everyone knows who the real bosses are, it’s an uphill battle. AMLO had it partially right — that lack of opportunities for young people certainly contributes to the problem of crime. But that’s not the only thing that needs to be solved. A growing militarized National Guard makes me a tad nervous, I’ll admit. But drawing the “on-the-ground” law enforcement that needs to be happening away from super localized forces seems to be doing some good. And how have all our newly elected judges been doing? Well, it’s early. The jury’s still out (get it?). But crime is down, and that’s a win. Let’s hope for more!
2. That the peso will keep doing well…but not too well. Oh, Mexican peso. You are making me sad. Please stop?           
   This is, of course, a complicated one. On the one hand, we want Mexican currency to do well, and it is doing well. On the other hand, for those of us depending on US dollars to live down here, things are tough and getting tougher. And remember, “rich” expats aren’t the only ones living on U.S. dollars: families relying on remittances from abroad are, too. As prices continue to increase and the dollar continues to lose value, it sure feels like 2023 is back again!
3. That the root of gentrification — inequality — will be addressed and made less painful. There’s been quite a bit of talk about gentrification this year. Once protests kicked off in Mexico City’s choicest neighborhoods, it seemed there was no going back. Now, it’s a complicated topic with its true root in economic inequality and the power that we allow money to have these days.
   And while workers aren’t starting to see their fair share fast enough for this crazy socialist, we’ve certainly made some progress this year. The minimum wage is up, and a 40-hour work week is in sight. This is only true for the formal sector, of course, but hey — it’s a start. Now if we could just figure out how average workers might earn enough to buy houses for themselves…

   

4. That Mexico’s migrants and returning immigrants will find their place. When I think of immigrants living in the U.S. right now, it’s all pain, pain, and more pain. Deportations have not only ramped up — even for those with legal permission to be there — but some gratuitous torture seems to have been thrown in for good measure. “Detention centers” resembling concentration camps in their treatment of those inside are popping up like dandelions with, so far, no sign of stopping.
   Even so, home is home. If I were told I had to move back to the U.S. immediately, I’m not sure what I would do. For those who’ve lived in the U.S. for years, the transition back can’t be easy; especially when it comes to the vast difference in wages. What will receiving so many people back mean for us? Hopefully, all good things and new ideas for how to make things better for all of us.
5. That we’ll get a real handle on our natural resources and their equitable distribution, and will go up, up, up in clean energy! I was very excited when Sheinbaum was elected, in part because of her background as a climate scientist. Finally, a president who would make room for clean energy in Mexico!
   I won’t lie — I’d really hoped she’d move faster. Pero algo es algo, and hopefully with time we’ll see renewable energy plants popping up everywhere, as well as water catchment systems become standard equipment in most homes. This place is too pretty to pollute.
6. That we’ll actually let government workers professionalize. Every time we get a new governor in Veracruz, it’s the same thing: a bunch of people lose their jobs. Why? Because the new government “brings in their own people,” often owing them favors for help they gave during the campaign. This means that soon after, you suddenly have lots of new people working in government posts. This isn’t true for every single job, but true enough that many simply have to “reinvent the wheel” with every change.
   In addition to not letting people get really, really good at certain jobs, it’s practically begging for corruption. “Get what you can now because later you’ll be out of a job with few chances of getting the kind of insider-help you might now.” Yikes.
7. Public transportation infrastructure will get some major investments and updates. In my head, I have several “fantasy routes” for my city, Xalapa. Its car population has literally doubled over the past few years, and man, it’s a drag. I’d personally be willing to take buses almost everywhere if they were even a little reliable time-wise. As it is, we’re all at a standstill — there are just too many vehicles on the road.
   But if I’d take a bus, I bet a lot of other people would, too. We could leave our cars at home, using them just for getting groceries or going on road trips. So far I’ve got 5 fantasy routes (at least 50 buses per route) and counting. Perhaps at least a few of them will show up this year?

Happy 2026, Mexico. I hope all our dreams come true.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.