Monday, March 18 is a national statutory holiday commemorating the birth of Benito Juarez on March 21, 1806.

Our region of Mexico has an delightful abundance of colorful tree varieties—Jacarandas, Primaveras and Tabachines among the most stunning—that augment the many charms to be found here.

Eight journalists have been killed while enrolled in Mexico’s Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in the last seven years, a figure that highlights the urgent need to strengthen and reform the institution, said Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) upon publication of a joint investigation into the mechanism.

As the politicking revs up before the June 2 elections, it will become almost impossible to block out the torrent of outrage espousing from candidates regarding criminality and the weak impartation of justice in Mexico.

Relatives of a Mexican/British resident of Qatar, reportedly detained for being gay, held a protest outside the British Embassy in Mexico City last weekend.   

February 29, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the 50.1-kilometer “Section Five” of the Maya Tourist Train, running from the Cancún Airport to Playa del Carmen. For the time being, there are three daily departures from the airport to Playa del Carmen, at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.