Mexico - January 2026

This year’s first edition of the Latin American Regional Report: Mexico begins by looking at the challenges that lie ahead for Mexico’s new attorney general, Ernestina Godoy. These include getting a handle on sky-high impunity levels, tackling violent crime, budgetary and personnel restraints, and likely accusations of a lack of autonomy from government.

Insecurity on Mexico’s roads is the focus of the next piece, with transport workers calling on the government led by President Claudia Sheinbaum to crack down on security issues affecting the sector. While the government reached an agreement with the sector towards the end of last year, industry associations have pledged to scrutinise the government’s actions closely, saying they will reimpose roadblocks if it fails to comply with agreed points.

After, we examine the guilty plea of Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the leaders of the Cártel de Sinaloa’s Los Chapitos faction which is led by the sons of the imprisoned former drug kingpin Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera. His plea came after that of his brother and fellow Los Chapitos leader, Ovidio Guzmán López, in July and that of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, who co-founded the cartel along with El Chapo. The most explosive element of the plea concerned Zambada, with Guzmán admitting to having coordinated his kidnapping and arrest. This threatens to further exacerbate the deadly conflict in Sinaloa between members of Los Chapitos and those loyal to Zambada, as this article explains.

The following piece concerns Mexico’s hefty new tariffs on imports from countries without free trade deals – especially China – which took effect on 1 January, in a move primarily aimed at protecting domestic industries from the “dumping” of cheap goods, while aligning Mexico more closely with the trade priorities of the US government led by President Donald Trump. Although local manufacturers support the measures, the move has fuelled significant trade tensions with China, while Mexico’s export-oriented ‘maquiladora’ sector has warned about rising production costs.

We then turn to the planned mega-merger between Mexico’s two leading local budget airlines, Volaris and Viva Aerobus, which is providing the first major test for Mexico’s newly formed antitrust and competition watchdog Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (CNA).

The final piece in this issue looks at President Sheinbaum’s announcement of a further increase in the minimum wage for 2026 as part of a continued overhaul of labour laws, which also includes plans to reduce the length of the working week.