In less than three decades, Mexico has transformed from a single-party state to an open democracy and emerged as the United States’ number one trading partner.
Despite its progress, the country faces serious challenges from powerful drug cartels, deep-seated corruption, and concerns over whether its dominant political party will uphold fragile rule of law. With US lawmakers increasingly frustrated by record migration, fentanyl trafficking, and shifts in business rules, Mexico’s future is at a critical juncture.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female leader, has sparked debate on whether she will be a modernizing, renewables champion or lead Mexico down a more authoritarian path.
On our Mexico Tour, we look at Mexico’s political transformation and explore its future under President Sheinbaum. We start and end in Mexico City, a metropolis with a rich history of indigenous cultures and Spanish colonization, and travel through the industrial heartlands of Guanajuato and Queretaro, examining Mexico’s evolving economic and political landscape. Mexico is at a critical juncture – what’s next for it?
Mexico Tour: Background
In October 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office as Mexico’s first female president. Assuming leadership from her popular predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), Sheinbaum has pledged to continue Obrador’s welfare policies and nonviolent approach towards the cartels. Her Morena party dominates Mexico’s government – with a supermajority in the House and near-supermajority in the Senate, she has an unquestionable mandate to pursue policies that her predecessor began and she’s pledged to continue.
However, she faces burgeoning challenges, including a growing budget deficit, a plethora of unfinished projects, and growing cartel violence. Arguably her greatest challenge is managing tensions with President Donald Trump, who has slapped tariffs on Mexican goods while simultaneously threatening to use the US military to combat drug trafficking in northern Mexico. Sheinbaum will also have to balance between Mexico’s ties to the US and China, both major trading partners.
This tour provides the unique opportunity to travel to Mexico at the early stages of the Trump presidency, while the country faces nexus of difficult choices. How Sheinbaum reacts to Trump may set the tenor for the next four years.
Mexico Tour: Reading List
“Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness,” by Alfredo Corchado
- Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
- Language: English
- Pages: 304
“Mexico’s Unscripted Revolutions,” by Stephen E. Lewis
- Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (2024)
- Language: English
- Pages: 240
“Mexican Messiah: Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” by George W. Grayson
- Publisher: Penn State University Press (2011)
- Language: English
- Pages: 360
“Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico,” by Guillermo Trejo
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press (2020)
- Language: English
- Pages: 354
Itinerary
Arrival in Mexico City. We will gather for a welcome dinner in the city’s vibrant heart. Enjoy an introduction to Mexico’s history, from the height of indigenous civilizations to modern-day democratic transformations. We’ll discuss the major political themes of the week to come.
Overnight Mexico City
We visit the historic center of Mexico City, where the ancient Mexica ruins coexist with Spanish-era cathedrals. The structures symbolize Mexico’s unique fusion of cultures and its identity today. After lunch in the bustling downtown, we’ll meet a national political expert to discuss Mexico’s evolution, from its democratic reforms in the 1990s to challenges with poverty, crime and corruption.
Overnight Mexico City
A local guide will lead us through Tepito, a neighborhood known for its vast markets and storied reputation. We will explore the impact of rising living costs, efforts to reduce violence, and the area’s growing role as a temporary home for migrants from across the hemisphere, en route to the United States.
Overnight Mexico City
We arrive in Guanajuato, a historic silver mining town that was one of Mexico’s wealthiest regions. We will meet local politicians and activists to discuss challenges burgeoning industries from autos, leather and mining have had. Experts will explain how Chinese imports and interest in investing has impacted the local economy.
Overnight Guanajuato
In a second day in Guanajuato we will spend time with civil society actors working to improve their communities.
Overnight Guanajuato
We travel to Queretaro, an industrial powerhouse with booming aerospace and automotive sectors. US companies have poured significant investments into the region, helping it achieve one of the fastest growth rates in Mexico. As the state tries to position itself as the ideal place for North American chips supply chains, we will look at how ongoing USMCA renegotiations are impacting locally.
Overnight Mexico City
We will meet with local politicians and leading intellectuals to discuss the rise of the Morena party and the presidency of Claudia Sheinbaum. This session will take a closer look at how Mexico’s political landscape has evolved since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1990s. We will also look closer at President Sheinbaum’s plans to fix huge electricity shortages, stem losses at state oil company Pemex and transition to renewables.
Overnight Mexico City
Mexico’s judiciary is undergoing significant changes, including an experiment to directly elect thousands of judges. We’ll meet with legal experts to discuss how these reforms are reshaping the country’s rule of law. In the second part of the day, we turn to the drug cartels — a persistent issue impacting both Mexico and US relations. Security specialists will guide us through the latest developments in Mexico’s battle with organized crime.
Overnight Mexico City
We spend the day in the southern part of Mexico City, visiting the homes and museums of iconic political and cultural figures like Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky. We conclude with a dinner and a round up of the week.
Overnight Mexico City
Tour ends. Breakfast & departures.
Meet Your Expert
Christine Murray is the Financial Times’ Mexico and Central America correspondent. She writes about politics and economics including recently on increasing tension over Chinese investment in the region, the impact of President Trump’s tariff threats and the evolution of organised crime. She is focused on the question of how Mexico is navigating the new geopolitical reality with a newly-dominant political party pursuing far-reaching reforms.
She took up the post after almost 10 years at Reuters and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Her last role there was on a team covering human trafficking, writing about everything from migration to labour rights to sex trafficking.
Essentials
Temperatures in Mexico City in March typically range from 20-26°C during the day to 5-10°C during night.
The maximum size of our groups is 14 people, ensuring the small-group experience.
We provide genuine learning experiences through the eyes and ears of an expert, politician, or journalist.
Accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, and most dinners), and water are all included in tour package.
Our Mexico tour starts and ends in beautiful Mexico City, Mexico’s capital city.
The Mexican Peso is the currency in Mexico. Many vendors accept major Western credit cards.
Tour includes
The tour includes all of your accommodations, meals with water, and local transport whilst on tour. We will have one free evening without a covered dinner.
You are accompanied throughout the tour, including at meals, by your leader and the Political Tours team. All meetings with various speakers and guests are included. On any tour you meet numerous different speakers, giving you access to all sides of the story. We give you access to political experts, as well as getting to see ordinary life and meet real people in areas less often travelled by tourists.
The tour excludes any flights, visas, transfers from/to the airport, alcohol/other drinks, as well as any of your personal expenses.
Accommodations
Four star hotels throughout the tour.
Do I need a Visa?
Citizens of the United States, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand do not need a visa to enter Mexico. British nationals entering Mexico by land (i.e., through the United States) must fill out an immigration form.
Your passport should be valid for the duration of your trip.
FCO Website – Travel Advice
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes regularly updated travel information on its website (www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo) which you are recommended to consult before booking and in good time before departure. Where it considers it appropriate to do so, the FCO may advise against all travel or all but essential travel to particular countries or parts of particular countries. Similarly, the FCO may withdraw any such previously given advice. When the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clause 10). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice. It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the FCO may have issued such advice in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. In this case, you will be asked to sign the above form before we confirm your booking.
Medical Requirements
Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health leaflet Advice on Health for Travelers, or the Department of Health in the UK. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit: http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/destinations.aspx.
Currency
The Mexican Peso is the currency used. You can exchange British pounds for pesos using a machine in the airport. There are also ATMs, although the charges can be high. We recommend that you exchange money through your banks before arrival, or bring US dollars. Money-changers are available throughout Mexico City, but charges tend to be high.
Weather
Temperatures in Mexico City in March typically range from 20-26°C during the day to 5-10°C during night. The chances of rain are generally low that time of year but still possible.
Please note that Mexico City is 2,250 meters above sea level, high enough to cause altitude sickness for some. Doctors typically recommend taking over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen or paracetamol to treat symptoms and motion-sickness drugs like promethazine for nausea. Furthermore, be sure to hydrate more than normal and avoid alcohol if feeling ill. However, if you are concerned about the altitude, please consult a doctor before your travels to ensure that you are taking proper precautions and have medications that you need.
Dress
Layers and a light jacket are necessary. Sunglasses, sunhat and rain coat may be needed!
Men: Will need a jacket and tie for some of the meetings.
Women: Will need some smarter attire for one or two meetings.
Electricity
Mexico uses two plug types, A and B. Type A has two flat parallel pins; Type B has two flat parallel pins and a grounding pin (like what is used in the US). Come prepared with both types.
Two Minutes in Mexico
Join us in Mexico
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Mexico Expert:
Christine Murray
Christine Murray is the Financial Times’ Mexico and Central America correspondent. She took up the post after almost 10 years at Reuters and the Thomson Reuters Foundation in London, New York and Mexico City. She has covered beats from companies to human trafficking and is now focused on stories about politics and economics in the region.
