Category: News

Two weeks before the opening whistle of the 2026 World Cup, a strange quiet has settled over the host cities of Mexico. 

Hotel owners in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey had spent years preparing for an economic boom, anticipating a flood of international football fans.

Yet the anticipated wave of bookings has not arrived. Instead of raising prices, many hoteliers are slashing them, offering deep discounts in a desperate attempt to fill the remaining rooms.

This phenomenon is not unique to Mexico; a similar pattern of tepid demand is spreading across all three host nations, casting serious doubt on the expected economic windfall from the world’s largest sporting event.

In Mexico, the numbers paint a stark picture. The National Association of Hotel Chains projects that occupancy across the three host cities will average between 60% and 65% during the tournament, a significant drop from the more than 80% forecast by the consultancy firm Deloitte back in February. 

In Mexico City specifically, current reservations are reportedly even lower than they were during the summer of 2025, a concerning sign for the nation’s bustling capital. 

Hotel revenue data from experts at Lighthouse Intelligence shows that in places like Guadalajara and Mexico City, prices had surged by over 100% in anticipation of the event, but as match days approach, those rates have fallen sharply from their peaks.

Monterrey serves as perhaps the most dramatic example of this trend. The city has been dealt a difficult hand by the tournament’s draw, which has it hosting group games involving Sweden, Tunisia, Japan, and South Africa. 

Lacking a local favorite to galvanize the city, hoteliers were forced to slash their rates, cutting them by up to 42% from their peak. The disappointment is not limited to traditional hotels. 

Airbnb hosts in Mexico City’s most desirable neighborhoods, including Condesa, Roma, and Coyoacán, have also reported drastically lowering their prices due to a lack of bookings, with many citing security concerns as a primary deterrent.

Not Just a Mexico Problem

This malaise is not a problem confined to Mexico’s borders. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has sounded the alarm, warning that reservations are far below expectations in almost every U.S. host city. A staggering 80% of hoteliers across 11 American host cities—including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York—report that bookings are falling short of initial projections. At the same time, a similar outlook has presented itself in Canada’s host cities.

The forecast for the tournament’s economic impact in the U.S. has been drastically revised, with CoStar analysts projecting a meager 1.7% year-over-year lift in revenue per available room nationally. 

Several critical factors appear to be driving travelers away instead of drawing them in. A major point of contention is the FIFA organization itself, which has been accused by the AHLA of creating artificial demand by block-booking large numbers of hotel rooms months in advance, only to cancel them later. 

These block reservations inflated hotel revenue forecasts and staffing plans, and when FIFA released the rooms, it left hoteliers with a sudden glut of inventory they are now scrambling to fill. In some cities, such as Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles, up to 70% of the rooms initially reserved by FIFA have reportedly been canceled, creating a real estate vacuum and forcing prices to plummet.

The high cost of attending the tournament is another massive hurdle. Ticket prices for matches are exorbitantly high, with some costing thousands of dollars, forcing even die-hard fans to reconsider their plans. 

For international travelers, this is compounded by high airfares, local transportation costs, and a general inflationary environment that has made the entire trip financially prohibitive for many.

The Politics of it All

There is also a strong geopolitical undercurrent shaping the weak demand. In the United States, surveys indicate that 59% of soccer fans would feel unsafe traveling to the U.S. for a major sporting event, citing strict immigration enforcement, political unrest, and anti-foreigner sentiment. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a travel advisory ahead of the event, warning that journalists and fans entering the U.S. could face invasive measures like social media scrutiny and detention by immigration authorities, which has undoubtedly dampened enthusiasm for travel.

President Claudia Sheinbaum used her Monday morning news conference to tell the public to stop watching a major television network. Asked about a group that has been posting banners around Mexico City accusing government officials of ties to drug cartels, Sheinbaum pointed the finger at TV Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego and offered a blunt recommendation: change the channel.

“Don’t watch TV Azteca,” she said from the podium at the National Palace. “Salinas Pliego is going to be angry and is probably writing a post right now.”

The network fired back within hours.

What Triggered It

The comment came in response to a reporter’s question about a group called Mexicanos al Grito de Paz, a collective that has been plastering banners around Mexico City with images of government officials accused of links to drug trafficking. Sheinbaum said the group was not registered with the Interior Ministry and suggested that accounts tied to Salinas Pliego were behind the campaign, while acknowledging she had no direct proof.

“When they’re already showing these things on television or radio, things that are just three people going and putting up a sign, well, there must be some connection. I can’t confirm it, it’s a hypothesis,” she said.

She also announced plans to create a weekly segment at the mañanera to name and shame what she called the biggest liar of the week. She said she had proposed the idea to her legal adviser, Luisa María Alcalde, and that it would be called “El Mitómano de la Semana,” or “Liar of the Week.”

The Network Responds

TV Azteca issued a formal statement accusing Sheinbaum of carrying out what it called an obvious attempt at censorship and a direct attack on freedom of expression and the press. The network said the call to boycott its programming would be useless, pointing to millions of viewers who follow its news, entertainment, and sports coverage.

The statement accused the government of having high-level ties to organized crime and of protecting what it called corrupt networks connected to the sons of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The network also said it expected more pressure to come. “We know that more attacks are coming and that this is just the prelude to a stage of censorship and silencing against critical media like us,” it said, according to El Universal.

Grupo Salinas, the parent company, echoed the sentiment on X: “Media outlets don’t exist to obey power. They exist to serve and inform people with the truth.”

A Feud With Deep Roots

The clash has been building for some time. Salinas Pliego’s relationship with the ruling Morena movement soured after the government pursued his companies for years over a massive tax dispute. In January, Grupo Salinas agreed to pay MX$32 billion (about US$1.87 billion) to settle a decade-long case with Mexico’s tax authority. Despite the settlement, the public sparring between the two sides has only intensified.

Salinas Pliego previously filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging political persecution. Sheinbaum has dismissed those claims, saying the tax collection process is a routine legal matter. TV Azteca also faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in the United States and has sought debt restructuring in Mexico.

Why It Matters

TV Azteca is not a small operation. It is one of the 2 major networks that dominate Mexican broadcast television, reaching tens of millions of viewers. A sitting president calling on citizens to stop watching it is the kind of statement that draws comparisons to authoritarian pressure tactics, regardless of intent. Press freedom organizations have long cited Mexico as one of the most difficult environments for journalism in the hemisphere, though the dangers they typically document involve violence against local reporters rather than confrontations between the presidency and a media mogul.

Neither side issued further public statements after the initial exchange on Monday.

At a Glance

• President Claudia Sheinbaum called on viewers to stop watching TV Azteca during her May 25 morning press conference
• The remark followed questions about Mexicanos al Grito de Paz, a group posting anti-government banners in Mexico City
• TV Azteca is owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego through his conglomerate, Grupo Salinas
• The network accused Sheinbaum of censorship and vowed to continue critical coverage
• Grupo Salinas settled a major tax dispute with the Mexican government in January 2026, paying MX$32 billion (about US$1.87 billion)
• Sheinbaum also proposed a new weekly mañanera segment to highlight what she considers disinformation

Source: El Universal, Proceso, Expansión Política

The international assessment firm Moody’s has lowered the credit scores of eight of Mexico’s leading banks and the country’s state-owned electricity provider, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

For someone who does not follow financial ratings closely, a good way to understand this news is to think of a credit score for a country or a large company. A high score means the borrower is very likely to repay its debts, so lenders charge low interest rates. 

A lower score signals greater risk, leading to higher borrowing costs and, in the worst cases, cutting off access to loans entirely. Moody’s is one of the three major agencies that assign these scores worldwide.

A Sovereign Slip That Pulls Others Down

The reason for these cuts traces back to the Mexican government itself. Just one day before the bank and utility downgrades, Moody’s had lowered Mexico’s own sovereign credit rating to Baa3 from Baa2. That level is the last step before a country’s debt is considered speculative, or “junk” status in market slang. 

The agency warned that Mexico’s public finances have been steadily weakening due to rigid government spending, a narrow tax base and ongoing financial support for the troubled state oil company, Pemex. The agency also pointed to low economic growth expectations, a weak job market, and ongoing uncertainty around trade and legal certainty.

Why Banks Cannot Escape Their Own Country’s Fate

Because banks operate entirely within Mexico’s borders, their fortunes are tied to the nation’s. If the government has less money and the economy is struggling, banks face a higher risk that their customers will fall behind on loans. 

The operating environment simply becomes tougher. As a result, Moody’s lowered the ratings for deposits, debt, and overall financial strength for eight institutions, including the Mexican branches of BBVA and Santander, as well as local giants Banorte and Banco del Bajío. Two state-run development banks, Bancomext and Nafin, were also cut, along with the Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings, known as IPAB, which insures people’s bank accounts.

The CFE and Volatility

Moody’s lowered CFE’s foreign currency rating to match the government’s new lower score. While the utility dominates the Mexican power market, the agency highlighted two major risks. First, CFE depends heavily on imported natural gas, which exposes it to sharp swings in global energy prices and the risk of supply disruptions due to geopolitical instability. Second, the company has announced an ambitious investment plan worth roughly $30 billion through 2030. Although the plan is necessary to modernize the country’s grid, Moody’s warned that it poses risks to its implementation and will result in a moderate increase in borrowing.

A Silver Lining Hidden in the Fine Print

There is, however, a silver lining for the utility. Moody’s changed CFE’s outlook to “stable” because the company has purchased financial hedges, which are essentially insurance-like contracts, to protect itself against nearly half of its natural gas price risk. This means that CFE is better shielded than many observers expected from the kind of price spikes that caused energy crises in recent years.

Government Optimism Vs. Market Reality

The Mexican Ministry of Finance has pushed back against the negative picture, emphasizing the country’s fundamental strengths, including its economic diversification and resilience. Government officials have pointed to Mexico’s large international reserves and the independence of its central bank as anchors of stability.

Nevertheless, independent financial analysts warn that the government has a limited window to act. Carlos López Jones, Director of Tendencias Económicas y Financieras, noted that Moody’s decision to assign a “stable” outlook gives Mexico roughly eighteen months to improve its public finances. If the country does not show meaningful progress by the end of next year, he warned, the agency will likely change the outlook to negative, which would be a genuine warning sign that a full downgrade to speculative territory is coming.

With information from Aristegui Noticias

Mexico’s air traffic controllers have filed a formal strike notice against the federal government, citing what they describe as unsustainable working conditions — and the timing could not be more fraught. With the FIFA World Cup opening match set for June 11 in Mexico City, the nation’s airports are about to face the highest passenger volumes in years.

The Sindicato Nacional de Controladores de Tránsito Aéreo, known as Sinacta, announced it will take the matter to the Tribunal Federal de Conciliación y Arbitraje, Mexico’s federal labor arbitration court, to begin the formal strike process. The union says it has run out of patience waiting for a response from two federal ministries: the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) and the Finance Ministry (SHCP).

Controllers List 4 Core Grievances

In a statement posted to social media following its 16th National Congress, Sinacta said the decision to pursue a strike was “clear and unanimous” among members, who say they have kept Mexico’s airspace running safely despite mounting problems. The union’s complaints center on four issues:

• More than 19 controllers working without official government appointments
• A cumulative 30% loss in real wages
• Exhausting shift schedules
• Lack of training on new technologies and procedures

“This act is not one we take lightly, but a legal and legitimate resource to demand that the state guarantee us the minimum salary and structural conditions to do our jobs,” the union wrote. “We have exhausted our patience, but not our conviction.”

Controllers are responsible for coordinating safe separation between aircraft and managing takeoffs, landings, and flight routes across Mexican airspace.

Pilots Back the Strike Threat

The Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores (ASPA) quickly issued a statement of solidarity, saying flight safety is built “not only from the cockpit, but also from every tower and control center in the country.” The pilots’ union backed Sinacta’s demands for dignified working conditions and adequate training, adding weight to what had been a labor dispute largely invisible to the traveling public.

World Cup Pressure Adds Urgency

The strike threat lands at a particularly sensitive moment for Mexican aviation. Airlines have been adding an estimated 727,000 seats on routes to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey — the country’s three World Cup host cities — for June and July alone. Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport is also in the middle of a US$416-million renovation that has already disrupted normal passenger flow, with the government racing to have key work completed before the tournament begins.

Any work stoppage, or even a slowdown, would ripple across an already stressed system. Controllers manage the flow of every commercial flight in Mexican airspace, meaning a strike could ground or delay hundreds of flights daily at the worst possible time.

For travelers planning to fly through the Peninsula this summer — whether catching a connection to a host city or arriving at Cancún, which faces its own World Cup airspace controls despite hosting no matches — the labor standoff is worth watching closely.

Sinacta said it would continue to update members on the legal process and called for unity within its ranks. “Let us keep our heads high and our unity intact,” the union concluded. “We know the enormous responsibility we carry every time we sit down at the position.”

The government had not publicly responded to the strike notice as of the time of publication.

Source: El Universal

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At a Glance

• Sinacta, Mexico’s air traffic controllers’ union, has filed a formal strike notice with federal labor authorities
• The union cites a 30% cumulative wage loss, grueling shifts, and 19+ controllers without official appointments
• The pilots’ union ASPA has issued a statement of solidarity with the controllers
• Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey host World Cup matches starting June 11
• Airlines are adding roughly 727,000 seats on routes to the three host cities for June–July
• Mérida and Cancún travelers connecting to host cities could be affected by any disruption to Mexican airspace