The eyes of the world turned to Mexico City on Thursday, June 12, and the country delivered. Mexico’s national team opened the first 48-team FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 victory over South Africa at Estadio Azteca, with Julián Quiñones scoring in the 9th minute and Raúl Jiménez adding a header in the 67th. Seventeen-year-old Gilberto Mora became the youngest Mexican ever to appear at a World Cup, and the match set an opening-game record with three red cards. By evening, President Claudia Sheinbaum was calling the day “a triumph for Mexico.”
Getting there, however, required days of careful maneuvering. Protest groups, led by the CNTE teachers’ union, had spent the week blocking highways and Metro stations and vowing to march on the stadium. On Monday, Sheinbaum used her morning press conference to appeal for calm, warning that outside provocateurs were hoping for a government crackdown to generate damaging headlines. Security forces ultimately shut down major roads near Estadio Azteca (Mexico City Stadium) on match day, with riot police stationed along the Periférico ring road and access to the international airport restricted. The protests drew smaller crowds than organizers had projected, and the opening match proceeded without serious incident.
While the stadium drama played out, Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States moved into a more uncertain phase. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was “not looking to renew” the USMCA — then softened the comment hours later. A second round of formal talks is scheduled for next week in Washington. The peso, meanwhile, climbed to a near four-month high, buoyed not by trade news but by easing U.S.-Iran tensions after Trump posted on Truth Social about a possible peace deal.
Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.
El Tri opens the World Cup with a statement win
More than 80,000 fans packed Estadio Azteca on Thursday as Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa, with Julián Quiñones scoring in the 9th minute and Raúl Jiménez adding a header in the 67th. The match set an opening-game record with three red cards, and 17-year-old Gilberto Mora became the youngest Mexican ever to appear at a World Cup. Outside the stadium, the country celebrated in force: an estimated 100,000 fans filled the Zócalo Fan Fest while 200,000 more spread across 18 Fan Fests in all 16 CDMX boroughs.
At her Friday presser, Sheinbaum noted that she had given her own ticket to Yolett Cervantes of Veracruz, winner of a national juggling competition — part of a broader program that distributed 500 seats exclusively to ordinary citizens. “The image of Mexico is happiness,” she said. The week had opened on a more ceremonial note, with Sheinbaum presenting the national flag to goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa — appearing in his sixth World Cup — at an official team sendoff.
Protests, the CNTE and the price of a peaceful opening
For most of the week, the big question was not only Mexico would win, but also whether the opening would unfold peacefully. Multiple groups of protestors announced plans to converge on the stadium, including CNTE union teachers demanding pension reforms and wage increases, families of the disappeared, and housing and water rights activists. Sheinbaum devoted three consecutive morning press conferences to the subject, pledging “complete safety” for visiting fans while declining to characterize the CNTE’s demands as illegitimate.
On Tuesday, she issued a work-from-home decree for match day and acknowledged that 1.4 million students had been affected by union-led school closures. By Thursday’s mañanera, the government announced it would bypass the CNTE’s national leadership and consult directly with more than one million teachers school by school beginning in August — a significant strategic shift. Officials also said they were investigating reports that outside groups had funded buses for protest participants, though no conclusions had been reached.
USMCA in flux as Mexico braces for Washington talks
Trump’s Oval Office remark that he was “not looking to renew” the USMCA landed on Wednesday and sent an immediate signal about the tone heading into the next negotiating session. Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico was prepared for the June 15–18 round in Washington.
The same day, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon met with Sheinbaum in Mexico City to discuss the country’s economic outlook, a meeting that the government presented as a vote of confidence from global capital
At Thursday’s presidential press conference, Sheinbaum pushed back on Trump’s framing, arguing that the USMCA had benefited all three signatory nations and reiterating Mexico’s position that the agreement should be renewed. By the end of the week, the peso hit 17.20 per dollar, its strongest position in four months, driven largely by geopolitical news rather than bilateral trade signals.
The World Cup economy, an AI video and a new EV
Beyond the pitch, the World Cup was already generating measurable commercial activity. The small-business association ANPEC projected that up to 10 billion pesos — roughly US $578 million — would flow through taquerías, street stalls and neighborhood grocery stores during the tournament. On the diplomatic front, Trump posted an AI-generated birthday video featuring himself eating tacos alongside Sheinbaum, released ahead of his 80th birthday on June 14; neither government issued a formal response. Earlier in the week, Sheinbaum unveiled the Olinia, presented as Mexico’s first domestically developed electric vehicle, with a starting price of 150,000 pesos (roughly US $8,590), a 50-kilometer range per charge and a production start date of 2027.
Looking ahead
Economy Minister Ebrard will lead the Mexican delegation at next week’s USMCA negotiations, set for June 15-18, after unusually blunt signals from the U.S. side this past week. On the domestic front, a report is expected soon from a committee of scientists assembled by President Sheinbaum to study the possibility of sustainable fracking. And after this week’s protests, the government’s declared intent to bypass the CNTE and consult teachers directly sets up a potential flashpoint heading into the August school-year reopening. El Tri, meanwhile, returns to action in its second group-stage match, this time playing against South Korea in Guadalajara — with Estadio Akron already sold out.
Also in the news this week
-
An oasis for pedestrians: Mexico City’s new Tlallipan Floating Garden — CDMX Mayor Clara Brugada inaugurated the free 1.8-kilometer elevated walkway above Calzada de Tlalpan, connecting two Metro Line 2 stations and open daily from 5 a.m. to midnight.
-
Mercado Libre announces a US $4.6 billion investment in Mexico for 2026 — The e-commerce and financial services platform is committing 35% more than its 2025 investment, bringing its cumulative total in Mexico above US $14 billion.
-
Two hundred women, 1,400 kilometers of thread: Zapopan’s Woven Sky canopy — The Etzatlán Weavers Association completed a 220-meter hand-crocheted canopy honoring the seven nations competing at Estadio Guadalajara.
-
The Cozumel dwarf fox has been rediscovered — 20 years after its last confirmed sighting — A peer-reviewed study published in May confirmed the capture and release of an adult male near Laguna Colombia State Reserve in September 2023, raising hopes for the rare, mysterious species.
Mexico News Daily
This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Claude, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
