26 October 2026
Guadalupe Taddei has resigned as consejera presidenta, or president, of Mexico's Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE). She announced the decision on Sunday and formally submitted her letter to the Cámara de Diputados at San Lázaro the next day, addressed to Raúl Bolaños Cacho Cué, president of the chamber's Mesa Directiva. He passed it to the Junta de Coordinación Política, known as the Jucopo and led by Ricardo Monreal Ávila, so that the process of choosing a replacement could begin, starting with a call for candidates to be put before the full chamber. The Chamber of Deputies had conferred the post on Taddei in April 2023; El Financiero reported that she was chosen by lot after no candidate secured the two-thirds vote the chamber needs to make the appointment. Taddei said stepping down protects the institute so that it can keep fulfilling its constitutional mission. Mexico News Daily reported that the Auditoría Superior de la Federación announced a review of the use of public resources at the INE and related entities, and that President Claudia Sheinbaum said an investigation and an audit were needed. One of the INE's electoral councillors will lead the institute until the Chamber of Deputies names a new president. The INE's next major task is the federal, state and municipal elections of 6 June 2027.
Office:
Consejera presidenta, Instituto Nacional Electoral
Resignation submitted to:
Cámara de Diputados
Next general elections:
6 June 2027
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the INE is the Instituto Nacional Electoral, Mexico's electoral authority, that its president is appointed by the Cámara de Diputados, and that the Auditoría Superior de la Federación is Mexico's federal audit body.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
INE Instituto Nacional Electoral — Mexico's electoral authority, successor to the Instituto Federal Electoral.
ASF Auditoría Superior de la Federación — Mexico's federal audit office, which reports to the Chamber of Deputies.
23 October 2026
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Government of Mexico announced a course of remediation at Minera Peñasquito (Newmont Peñasquito), a mine in the state of Zacatecas, on October 23, 2026. The case was handled under the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM), which allows the United States to seek action when workers at a particular facility in Mexico are denied their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
On May 13, 2026, the US Interagency Labor Committee received an RRM petition from the Mexican mineworkers' union, Los Mineros, which said the company had retaliated against workers for union activity, including through unlawful dismissals. After Mexico reviewed the matter, the two governments agreed a plan. The company must reinstate two workers with full backpay and benefits, give printed copies of its neutrality statement and freedom-of-association guidelines to all staff, enforce them with a zero-tolerance policy for violations, publicly acknowledge its unlawful and interfering practices, provide in-person training on workers' rights during working hours and keep an anonymous complaint mechanism running. Mexico will review and facilitate the reinstatement or severance of the two workers, with full backpay and benefits, and maintain an anonymous email and telephone line for reporting violations. The deadline to complete the remediation is October 28, 2026.
On the same day, USTR declared a separate RRM case at Amphenol Optimize México in Nogales, Sonora, resolved after the facility reinstated nine workers.
Petition received:
May 13, 2026
Workers to be reinstated at Peñasquito:
2
Remediation deadline:
October 28, 2026
Why it matters for exams: USMCA, the trade pact that replaced NAFTA, and its labour-enforcement tool are standard topics in international trade and North American relations.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
USMCA United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — Trade pact of the US, Mexico and Canada that replaced NAFTA; in force since 2020. Called T-MEC in Mexico and CUSMA in Canada.
USTR Office of the United States Trade Representative — US government office that negotiates and enforces trade agreements.
RRM Rapid Response Labor Mechanism — USMCA tool for acting on denial of workers' rights to organise and bargain collectively at a specific facility.
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement — US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact in force from 1994 until USMCA replaced it in 2020.
25 October 2026
Vance, which formed in the eastern Pacific on October 21, grew from a 70-mph tropical storm to a 110-mph Category 2 hurricane within a day, the US National Hurricane Center's advisories show. On the evening of October 23 it briefly reached major hurricane intensity before weakening to Category 2, becoming the 11th major hurricane of the 2026 central and eastern Pacific season, according to AccuWeather, which also put the season's accumulated cyclone energy at a record near 335.
By October 25, Vance had weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), the Associated Press reported. It was about 315 miles (510 km) west-southwest of Acapulco and about 285 miles (455 km) south of Manzanillo, moving northwest. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said rainfall of 2 to 4 inches could cause flooding and mudslides in Colima, Nayarit and Sinaloa and in western parts of Michoacán, Jalisco and Durango; no coastal watches or warnings were in effect. AccuWeather said that even if Vance stayed offshore, building surf would affect the coasts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. The AP linked the intense Pacific hurricane season to El Niño conditions.
Strength at 23 Oct evening advisory:
Category 2, 110 mph
Winds after weakening:
70 mph (110 kph)
Distance from Acapulco:
315 miles (510 km)
Major hurricanes this eastern Pacific season:
11
Why it matters for exams: Cyclone naming by region, the hurricane intensity scale, El Niño and Mexico's Pacific-coast geography are regular geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NHC National Hurricane Center — US agency in Miami that forecasts hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific.
Category 2 Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 2 — The scale rates hurricanes from Category 1 to 5; Category 3 and above count as major hurricanes.
ACE Accumulated Cyclone Energy — A measure of the combined strength and duration of all storms in a season.
El Niño El Niño — Periodic warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.
22 October 2026
Mexico's national statistics agency, INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), reported that annual inflation stood at 3.62% in the first fortnight of October 2026, measured by the INPC (Índice Nacional de Precios al Consumidor), Mexico's national consumer price index. The index stood at 146.739 points, and prices rose 0.41% over the previous fortnight. Core inflation, which leaves out goods and services with volatile prices, was 3.78% a year, and non-core inflation 3.08%. In the same period of 2025 annual inflation had been 3.63%. Electricity, air transport, green tomato (tomate verde) and professional services were among the items whose prices rose, while tomato (jitomate) and lemon (limón) became cheaper.
Annual inflation (first half of October):
3.62%
Change over previous fortnight:
0.41%
Core inflation (annual):
3.78%
Non-core inflation (annual):
3.08%
INPC level:
146.739 points
Why it matters for exams: Inflation indices and the agencies that compile them (INEGI for Mexico) are standard economy and world-institutions questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
INEGI Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) — Mexico's autonomous national statistics and geography agency; publishes inflation, GDP and employment data.
INPC Índice Nacional de Precios al Consumidor (National Consumer Price Index) — Mexico's headline consumer price index, published every fortnight by INEGI.
Core inflation Inflation excluding volatile items — Leaves out goods and services whose prices swing sharply or are not set by the market.
27 October 2026
Mexico's Senate on 27 October 2026 approved the Ley de Ingresos de la Federación (LIF, Federal Revenue Law) for 2027, after the Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) had passed it on 15 October by 340 votes to 109. In the Senate it passed in general by 79 votes to 34, with Morena, PVEM and PT in favour and PAN, PRI and MC against, and in particular by 75 votes to 34. The law projects revenue of 10 billones 636 mil 488 millones de pesos (about 10.6 trillion pesos), of which tax revenue is about 6.26 billones de pesos, mainly from ISR (income tax) and IVA (value added tax). It authorises a ceiling on net internal borrowing of up to 1.7 billones de pesos. The Senate also approved the Ley Federal de Derechos (Federal Law of Fees) by 79 votes to 34, and both laws were sent to the federal Executive for publication. With the revenue law approved, the Chamber of Deputies can take up the 2027 Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación (federal expenditure budget).
Projected revenue:
10 billones 636 mil 488 millones de pesos
Net internal borrowing ceiling:
1.7 billones de pesos
Senate vote (in general):
79 for, 34 against
Senate vote (in particular):
75 for, 34 against
Chamber of Deputies vote:
340 for, 109 against
Why it matters for exams: How Mexico's bicameral Congress passes the revenue law and the budget is a standard comparative-polity fact.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Ley de Ingresos de la Federación Federal Revenue Law — Annual law setting how much the federal government expects to collect and how much it may borrow; needs both chambers of Congress.
Congreso de la Unión Congress of the Union — Mexico's bicameral federal legislature: the Senate (Cámara de Senadores) and the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados).
Ley Federal de Derechos Federal Law of Fees — Sets the fees the federal government charges for services and permits, such as migration and consular services.
billón One million million (10^12) — In Spanish a 'billón' is a million million, i.e. an English trillion.
Background
Mexico's announcement that it had completed the first year of cycle 37 of Rio Bravo water deliveries rests on a long-standing bilateral arrangement. The treaty is the Tratado sobre Distribución de Aguas Internacionales entre México y los Estados Unidos, signed on 3 February 1944 and known as the 1944 Water Treaty. It is administered by the Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas entre México y Estados Unidos (CILA), whose United States section is the International Boundary and Water Commission. Under Articles 4, 8 and 9 of the treaty, the commission accounts for the waters of the Rio Bravo between Fort Quitman and the Gulf of Mexico, and Article 9-J requires it to keep the water records. CILA operates hydrometric and climatological stations, gathers water use data from both countries and estimates reservoir storage each week. Deliveries are counted in cycles: cycle 35 ran from 25 October 2015 to 24 October 2020, and cycle 36 began on 25 October 2020. The two main international storage works on the river are La Amistad dam, 923.63 km upstream of the Gulf of Mexico, and Falcón dam, 442.95 km upstream.
Treaty signed:
3 February 1944
Commission:
CILA / International Boundary and Water Commission
Accounting reach:
Fort Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that CILA, whose US section is the International Boundary and Water Commission, administers the 1944 Water Treaty, and that La Amistad and Falcón are the international storage dams on the Rio Bravo.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CILA Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas entre México y Estados Unidos — The joint commission that administers boundary and water treaties between Mexico and the United States; its US section is the IBWC.
Background
The spending announced this week for Mexico's social security institute, like all federal spending, is reckoned in pesos, the currency issued by the country's central bank, Banco de Mexico, also called Banxico. In its latest monetary policy announcement, Banco de Mexico said the target for the overnight interbank interest rate, known in Spanish as the Tasa de Interes Interbancaria a 1 dia, stays unchanged at 6.50 per cent. The bank's governing board cut the rate at its March and May meetings of 2026, bringing it down from 7.00 per cent, and has held it unchanged since. Banco de Mexico publishes these decisions on a pre-announced calendar and has done so since 2001.
Target rate:
6.50 per cent
Instrument:
Tasa de Interes Interbancaria a 1 dia
Central bank:
Banco de Mexico (Banxico)
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Mexico's currency is the peso, that its central bank is Banco de México, known as Banxico, and that its policy instrument is the target for the overnight interbank interest rate.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Banxico Banco de México — Mexico's central bank, which issues the peso and sets the policy interest rate.
Background
Banco de Mexico has kept its target interest rate unchanged, and the currency that rate governs is the peso. The peso is Mexico's currency, and Banco de Mexico, the country's central bank, determines and publishes a daily reference exchange rate used to settle obligations denominated in foreign currency. It is called the tipo de cambio FIX, and it is quoted in pesos per United States dollar. In the central bank's own series, the FIX determined for 27/10/2026 is 18.6525 pesos per United States dollar. Banco de Mexico publishes the series in its Sistema de Informacion Economica.
FIX rate determined for 27/10/2026:
18.6525
Unit:
Pesos por Dolar
Published by:
Banco de Mexico
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Mexico's currency is the peso, that the FIX is the reference exchange rate determined by Banco de México for settling obligations in foreign currency, and that it is quoted against the United States dollar.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FIX Tipo de cambio FIX — The reference peso-dollar exchange rate determined by Banco de México for settling obligations in foreign currency.
Background
Mexico's trade with its two North American neighbours runs under the USMCA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the agreement entered into force on 1 July 2020. Before that, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified the US Congress that Canada and Mexico had taken the measures needed to comply with their commitments under the agreement, and the United States became the third country to notify the other Parties that it had completed its domestic procedures. This week the United States and Mexico agreed a course of remediation at the Minera Peñasquito mine in Zacatecas under the agreement's Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.
Entry into force:
July 1, 2020
Members:
United States, Mexico, Canada
Why it matters for exams: Regional trade agreements, their members and the pacts they replaced are standard international-relations and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
USMCA United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — Trade agreement among the three North American countries, in force since 1 July 2020; called T-MEC in Mexico and CUSMA in Canada.
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement — The 1994 trade pact among the US, Mexico and Canada that the USMCA replaced.
USTR Office of the United States Trade Representative — The US government agency that negotiates and enforces US trade agreements.