La presencia de la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum en la final del Mundial de 2026 terminó convirtiéndose en un reconocimiento colectivo a México. Es lo que ha contado la mandataria este lunes tras su visita a Nueva York. El rey Felipe VI de España, el presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, y el primer ministro canadiense, Mark Carney, aprovecharon los minutos previos y posteriores al partido entre España y Argentina en el MetLife Stadium de Nueva York, para felicitar a México por la organización del torneo, como una de las tres sedes, y por el ambiente que ofreció la afición mexicana durante la justa deportiva.

Sheinbaum ha compartido durante su conferencia matutina, que su asistencia al cierre de la Copa del Mundo, por invitación de su homólogo estadounidense, sirvió como un espacio de diálogo informal. “Quiero decirles que todas y todos, desde el presidente Trump hasta el ministro Carney, el rey de España, con quienes tuve oportunidad de platicar, todos hablaron maravillas de la selección nacional. Con las dos cosas: de qué bien lo hizo México en la recepción del Mundial. Todos felicitaron la alegría de la afición. Cómo recibimos tanto a las selecciones de otros países, a los turistas, a los aficionados, como del buen desempeño de la selección”, ha dicho desde Palacio Nacional.

Hace apenas unas semanas, Felipe VI y Sheinbaum protagonizaron en Palacio Nacional un encuentro que marcó el inicio de una nueva etapa en la relación entre México y España, después de años de desencuentros diplomáticos heredados del sexenio de Andrés Manuel López Obrador. El rey español pasó de ser un símbolo de disputa bilateral a convertirse, en palabras de la presidenta mexicana, en uno de los jefes de Estado que reconocieron públicamente el papel de México como anfitrión del mayor Mundial de la historia.

La mandataria se ha mostrado satisfecha con el papel que México tuvo en la organización de la justa deportiva. Durante meses, la capacidad de México para organizar un torneo compartido con Estados Unidos y Canadá estuvo bajo escrutinio por los retos de seguridad, infraestructura y logística. La celebración transcurrió, sin embargo, sin incidentes mayores y con estadios llenos, una imagen que el Gobierno mexicano ha convertido en uno de los principales activos.

Sheinbaum insistió en que las felicitaciones no se limitaron al dispositivo de organización. Según contó, varios de los mandatarios aprovecharon para destacar el desempeño de la selección mexicana, que llegó a los octavos de final y recuperó parte del entusiasmo de una afición desilusionada por los resultados de los últimos mundiales. “Todos me felicitaron y les mando una felicitación nuevamente a la selección nacional porque cada persona que se acercaba me decía:‘Qué bien jugó la selección mexicana’”, abundó la mandataria.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has warned that the outlook for investment in Mexico has become more uncertain. According to the firm, the recent decision by the United States not to renew the North American trade agreement, USMCA, will create uncertainty and risks for long-term investment plans.

“There is no long-term investment that, faced with this uncertainty, is willing to move aggressively. We cannot expect high economic growth because investment is unlikely to surge given the ongoing uncertainty,” José Luis Ortega, head of Active Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Investments at BlackRock Mexico, said at a conference on Thursday.

Ortega acknowledged that, following the Trump administration’s decision, Mexico lost an opportunity to gain the certainty needed to spur investment this year. However, he noted that there remains the possibility of extending the agreement for another 16 years in 2027 or 2028 and argued that the fundamentals of the Mexican economy remain sound.

“There is fiscal prudence and we are seeing the government trying to work with its counterparts in the United States and Canada to achieve the best conditions for growth in Mexico,” Ortega said.

As part of its outlook for the second half of 2026, the financial giant expects Mexico to continue offering relatively stable macroeconomic fundamentals despite a more prolonged USMCA negotiation process. Sergio Méndez, managing director of BlackRock Mexico, added that while greater certainty and a long-term roadmap for U.S.-Mexico trade relations would be preferable, economic ties between the two countries will continue.

In Mexico, BlackRock remains particularly interested in investments in technology, energy and logistics projects, including railways and ports. With the rise of artificial intelligence, Méndez stressed the importance of building infrastructure capable of supporting rapid technological growth.

Asked about the recent downgrades to Mexico’s sovereign credit rating by several ratings agencies, BlackRock executives said the possibility of the country losing its investment-grade status remains a risk, but one they do not currently expect to materialize because of government efforts to shore up public finances.

“The Finance Ministry is working in a significant way to create the conditions to prevent this from happening; at this time, we do not see a probability that it will occur in the short term,” Méndez said.

With a slowing economy — Mexico’s GDP contracted 0.6% in the first quarter — Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has reached out to the business community to spur private investment. In April, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and the firm’s country head of Mexico, Sergio Méndez, met with the president to exchange views. Months after that meeting, Méndez stressed that investment is a cornerstone for the country’s growth.

“Often these discussions, not just with the president but with many actors in Mexico’s economy, are to share the trends we are seeing, what we are seeing in other countries, in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and how we can participate in the country’s development,” he said.

Artificial intelligence will shape the future

According to BlackRock’s forecasts, Latin America is entering the second half of the year with a more favorable macroeconomic outlook than many other emerging markets, thanks to sustained disinflation, credible monetary frameworks and global forces reshaping growth and capital flows. In an environment marked by scarcity, artificial intelligence and geopolitical realignment, the asset manager outlined politics and external shocks as potential risks for the region.

“Brazil’s presidential elections, Peru’s political transition, policy adjustments in Colombia and the annual USMCA review could influence both investment sentiment and macroeconomic fundamentals,” the firm said in its outlook.

BlackRock began as a fixed-income investment manager but has diversified significantly over the years. By the second quarter of this year, the company had reached a record $15.3 trillion in assets under management worldwide.

Despite a challenging environment, Méndez sees abundant opportunities ahead.

“What excites us is that we can no longer speak only of specific assets or individual companies; we must talk about an entire portfolio,” he said. “It is vital to have a well-diversified portfolio that includes not only fixed income and equities but also some commodities and metals. Those asset classes are becoming increasingly important and are placing certain economies in a tremendously advantageous position.”

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Four videos in six and a half months, a very long list of names and threats and, above all, ubiquitous warlike paraphernalia: weapons, bulletproof vests, helmets. A branch of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is running a full-blown propaganda campaign in the south of Mexico City, the State of Mexico, and Morelos, criticizing the tactics of rival criminal groups in short videos. They condemn extortion, accuse others of usurping their brand and announce major “cleanups” of local gangs. Sometimes they single out politicians and local officials; on other occasions they ask that no one be protected. They say they are the ones who will restore order.

The images have drawn attention for the initials on the vests of those featured — CJNG — a name bearing grim resonance in the capital after the June 2020 attack on then-police chief Omar García Harfuch, now Claudia Sheinbaum’s federal security secretary. A long-standing tactic of organized crime groups in Mexico, the footage has also shocked for what it proclaims: the muted announcement of an incursion, a prelude to wars and atrocities the country has seen plenty of over the past 20 years. In the capital, authorities are studying the videos but avoid speaking of alarm.

The four clips — the first released in December and the latest this week — appear to be filmed at the same location: a property among low hills in a rural area. In the second, released March 1, more than 20 figures appear, hooded, wearing balaclavas and caps, all heavily armed. In the others the shots are tighter and not all members can be seen. The staging is similar across the four: one figure, a man, reads from a mobile phone screen; the others remain silent. In the first video, from December 27, a drone is seen flying over the group on the left side.

The images suggest a territorial push by this CJNG branch, first in Morelos — in Huitzilac, Jiutepec and Emiliano Zapata — and later in the south of Mexico City, in the boroughs of Tlalpan, Xochimilco and Tláhuac. In the first two, the visible message and paraphernalia link the group to La Gente del Serio, a CJNG faction allegedly led by Francisco Jaramillo Valdovinos, alias “Serio.” Over the past year that group has released other videos touting its activities in Guerrero. Press reports link Serio to Audias Flores, “El Jardinero,” a second-tier CJNG commander arrested in April in Nayarit, where he had relocated in recent years.

Once powerful, the CJNG now operates amid uncertainty. In February, soldiers killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in an operation in the municipality of Tapalpa, Jalisco. In April, marines arrested El Jardinero, one of the main contenders to succeed him, leaving only Mencho’s stepson, Juan Carlos Valencia, alias “03,” and Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán, “La Rana,” linked to the criminal group’s forced-recruitment operations in Jalisco, at large among the top leadership. Questions about how deep the criminal group’s crisis goes after these blows dominate the panorama. Its capacity to continue expanding, as in previous years, is in doubt.

That is why authorities are cautious: they have seen similar situations before — propaganda videos from criminal groups announcing their arrival in the capital, a way to flaunt strength in front of rivals. In 2022, for example, a suspected faction of La Familia Michoacana did the same, announcing its presence in another southern borough, Milpa Alta. But current caution requires attention, given the CJNG’s criminal record in the capital, notably the near-fatal attack on García Harfuch. That assault illustrated the group’s reach and how easily it was able to organize an assassination attempt on a high-ranking official without being detected.

As often happens in these cases, La Gente del Serio’s videos stress they have no problem with authorities so long as they do not support the “extortionists.” In the latest clip, released Monday, they declare war on Unión Tepito and the Tláhuac Cartel to “restore order” in Mexico City and the State of Mexico. “We’re going after all the extortionists from Unión Tepito and the Tláhuac Cartel […] This goes out to all those who are collecting protection money in our name, seizing houses and land like El Yayo and El Macero,” a man reads from his cellphone. Unión Tepito is the capital’s long-established mafia, repeatedly reborn and fed by criminal networks in the downtown area. The Tláhuac Cartel targets small local gangs in the south.

The mention of Macero and Yayo is not new. In the May 28 video, the penultimate clip, a man dressed in black says: “This is a communiqué for Tlalpan and its towns — Parres, Topilejo, San Miguel Xicalco, La Magdalena, San Miguel Ajusco, Santo Tomás Ajusco, San Andrés, San Pedro Mártir, San Salvador Cuautenco, San Mateo Jalpa, San Francisco Tlalnepantla and all of Xochimilco. You are informed that the cleanup has already begun. We’re coming for all the fucking filthy extortionists, starting with you, Chucho Macero, Yayo […] Stop pretending you’re the company [the CJNG], because you are not. Authorities, the problem is not with you.” A former criminal operating in the capital, Macero has been arrested several times. His current whereabouts are unknown.

The earlier videos, from March and December, target Morelos-based mafias. The March clip mentions Jiutepec and Zapata, in the Cuernavaca metro area. A man reads: “This message is addressed to Jiutepec and Zapata — to merchants, unions, bars, restaurants, towing yards, taxi drivers, routes, grocery stores: stop paying protection money and extortion.” He then accuses Jiutepec’s municipal president, Eder Rodríguez, of protecting extortionists. “Anyone who does not align will be eliminated. Get out before the war with the four letters [CJNG]. We are the same ones from Huitzilac and Temixco. Now present in Jiutepec and Zapata. And we’re going after all of Morelos,” he adds.

The reference to Huitzilac, in northern Morelos, near the capital, ties back to the December video. This time the speaker says: “To all the people of Huitzilac: you are informed that we are already here and present throughout the state. We do not harm third parties. What we want is peace. And all those fucking filthy people who try to defame our initials, who put up fake posters, who killed two of my guys, I will not forgive them. The turf is ours. To the government, we do not get involved with you. We want to cleanse the community, but if you support those people, you know what happens. We’re bringing the full tactical and technological team to track anyone who impersonates us.”

The man names “Purinas, Mancillas, Mundo, Colillo, Cagueros and Panteoneros,” among others. Alejandro Mancilla, Huitzilac’s municipal secretary, was murdered in 2025, as was his son Erick. The Purinas are a local Huitzilac criminal gang, a fact once acknowledged by Admiral José Ortiz Guarneros, former Morelos security secretary during Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s administration (2018-2024).

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