Protests over contaminated water in Guadalajara and over pay and medicine shortages at IMSS, along with another hurricane approaching the Pacific coast, set the agenda in Mexico the second week of October. Clashes between police and protesters in Guadalajara on Sunday left dozens hurt and 39 arrested, and the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) is now investigating alleged police abuses. IMSS workers demonstrated in nearly every state, rejecting a 2.9% pay offer and demanding 10%.
On the Pacific coast, Hurricane Trudy is forecast to pass by Colima and Jalisco over the weekend, as coastal states continue to recover from a close brush with Hurricane Simon and deadly flooding after Tropical Storm Rachel touched down in Baja California. The week also brought mixed news on the security front: Homicides continue to trend down, but organized crime notched a win after Morelos exchanged an alleged criminal leader to save three kidnapped police officers.
Exports hit a record in the first eight months of the year, but trade talks with the U.S. reportedly stalled over tariff disagreements.
Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.
Guadalajara: Police response under investigation as water crisis persists
A march demanding clean tap water ended Sunday in clashes outside the Jalisco governor’s residence, where police used tear gas and water cannons. State authorities put attendance at about 10,000, while University of Guadalajara researchers estimated about 21,400. The state blamed the violence on roughly 400 people, while human rights advocates accused police of excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions.
On Monday, Sheinbaum condemned “repression” and said Jalisco authorities must explain their use of force, adding that her government does not support privatizing Guadalajara’s water service. Governor Pablo Lemus said Tuesday that all 39 detainees had been released and that police used excessive force and made “unjust arrests.” By Thursday, Sheinbaum said the CNDH was investigating the use of water cannons and gas, and allegations that police tortured some detainees.
Dozens hurt in major protest against contaminated water in Guadalajara
Residents across the Guadalajara metropolitan area have reported cloudy, foul-smelling tap water for months, with poor water quality affecting at least 342 neighborhoods. Governor Pablo Lemus has blamed deteriorating infrastructure and irregular discharges into a canal that feeds the Las Pintas dam. Earlier this month, the state stopped drawing water from the dam for an estimated six months. Water is expected to be rationed through rotating service cuts by neighborhood, and some areas may need tanker deliveries.
IMSS: Workers reject pay offer as government prepares new proposal
Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) workers protested in nearly every state on Tuesday, including about 7,000 in Mexico City. They are demanding a 10% increase in base pay, rejecting an offer of a 2.9% pay increase plus a 3.9% increase in benefits. Workers are also calling for an end to medicine shortages and for higher staffing levels at hospitals. Sheinbaum acknowledged medicine distribution problems at her Tuesday morning press conference while rejecting claims of a “crisis.”
After workers voted down the offer on Wednesday, Sheinbaum said on Friday that IMSS director Zoé Robledo is evaluating a “comprehensive program” with a larger raise “within the limits of what’s possible” and the regularization of positions. She did not say whether it would meet the 10% demand.
Pacific coast hurricanes: Rachel’s toll rises as Trudy approaches
On the heels of Hurricane Polo, Rachel weakened into a Tropical Storm but still caused significant loss of life in Baja California. The death toll rose to eight people this week, with at least four people missing after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides. Earlier in the week, the army rescued 32 people stranded outside Ensenada by a mudslide, and Hurricane Simon killed a 71-year-old man in Guerrero and caused significant property damage in coastal communities.
Warm waters off Mexico’s southwest coast continue to generate an onslaught of hurricanes, with Hurricane Trudy reaching Category 3 southwest of Acapulco on Friday morning. Fabián Vázquez, head of the National Meteorological Service, said it would pass about 65 kilometers off the coast of Colima and Jalisco on Saturday night or early Sunday, adding that “any movement to the right or the left can change meteorological conditions a lot.” But like the storms before it, Trudy has behaved unpredictably. Friday afternoon, the storm unexpectedly weakened to Category 1.
#AvisoMeteorológico #Trudy se localiza a 220 km al sur de Manzanillo, #Colima, como #Huracán categoría 1 en la escala Saffir-Simpson. Toda la información en https://t.co/ooqhgp4eqF https://t.co/MIIUi38h3p
— CONAGUA Clima (@conagua_clima) October 17, 2026
Security: Baja California tops homicide ranking
Federal figures showed Baja California recorded 1,092 homicides from January to September, just ahead of Guanajuato’s 1,089. Nationally, homicides averaged 42.2 per day in September, down 30.6% from a year earlier. The government says this shows its strategy is working, though analysts and NGOs have questioned whether some homicides are being reclassified as other crimes.
In Morelos, authorities freed alleged Pueblos Unidos leader José David Vergara hours after his arrest to secure the release of three kidnapped police officers. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said the decision was meant to save lives. Four officers died in a crash while responding to the ensuing unrest.
In other security news, a U.S. State Department-affiliated advisory council reported the CJNG has not fragmented since El Mencho’s death, though some structural weakening may have occurred.
Trade and economy: Stalled talks and a lowered outlook
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s opposition to tariff cuts has stalled trade talks on the 25% vehicle tariff and the 50% levy on steel and aluminum. Officials from both countries denied the talks had stalled. According to the Financial Times, another factor might be at play: President Donald Trump pressed Sheinbaum on energy deals, contributing to the delay of the next round of formal talks.
Mexico exported a record US $549.4 billion in the first eight months of the year, up 29.3%, which Sheinbaum attributed partly to electronics. Nonetheless, the new World Economic Outlook rated it unlikely that Mexico will reach the top 10 by 2030, projecting 12th place and average annual growth of 1.7% during Sheinbaum’s term.
The week included several major developments in the business world. Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings agreed to buy AT&T’s Mexican mobile business for US $2 billion, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027. It also came out that Mexico’s antitrust commission is expected to approve the Viva-Volaris merger before year-end, concentrating 73% of domestic air traffic in one company.
Looking ahead
The coming weeks will show whether Mexico and the U.S. can restart trade talks that have hit a wall over tariffs on vehicles, steel and aluminum, which Mexico has named its top priority. At home, IMSS and its union are working on a new pay proposal after workers rejected the first offer, and workers have said protests could intensify if their demands aren’t met. The rest of the country is preparing for the cultural and economic phenomenon that is Día de Muertos. Mexico will host millions of tourists and visitors, as families and communities remember loved ones who have passed with food, flowers and ofrendas.
More news from across Mexico
- Monarch butterflies have begun arriving in Coahuila on their annual migration, with peak numbers expected within the next week.
- Mexico cut its gillnet-ban zone in the Upper Gulf of California by 86% to focus enforcement on the vaquita’s known habitat.
- A 17-year-old from Tamaulipas is competing in Indonesia with an extinguisher that puts out small flames using sound.
- INAH confirmed that a 2,500-year-old solar observatory in Puebla’s Sierra Norte is the oldest in Mexico.
- American Airlines is dropping its Miami-Tulum and Charlotte-Los Cabos routes, joining other carriers cutting Tulum service.
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.
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