This is a list of events that happened in 2018 in Mexico. The article also lists the most important political leaders during the year at both federal and state levels.
Incumbents President President Enrique Peña Nieto Institutional Revolutionary Party PRI, until November 30 Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) MORENA, starting December 1
Cabinet
Governors
Aguascalientes: Martín Orozco Sandoval PAN Baja California: Francisco Vega de Lamadrid PAN Baja California Sur: Carlos Mendoza Davis PAN Campeche: Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas PRI Chiapas: Manuel Velasco Coello PVEM, until December 7 Rutilio Escandón MORENA, starting December 8 Chihuahua: Javier Corral Jurado PAN Coahuila: Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís PRI Colima: José Ignacio Peralta PRI Distrito Federal / Mexico City: Miguel Ángel Mancera, Independent, until March 29, 2018 José Ramón Amieva, PRD March 29, 2018 – December 4, 2018 Claudia Sheinbaum MORENA, starting December 5, 2018 Durango: José Rosas Aispuro PAN Guanajuato: Miguel Márquez Márquez, until September 25 Diego Sinhué Rodríguez Vallejo PAN, starting September 26 Guerrero: Héctor Astudillo Flores PRI Hidalgo: Omar Fayad PRI Jalisco: Aristóteles Sandoval, until December 5 Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, Independent, starting December 6 México (state): Alfredo del Mazo Maza PRI Michoacán: Silvano Aureoles Conejo PRD Morelos: Graco Ramírez PRD, until October 1 Cuauhtémoc Blanco, PSD, starting October 1 Nayarit: Antonio Echevarría García PAN Nuevo León Manuel Florentino González Flores, Interim governor PRI, January 1 to July 2 Jaime Rodríguez Calderón (El Bronco"), Independent, starting July 2 Oaxaca: Alejandro Murat Hinojosa PRI Puebla: José Antonio Gali Fayad PAN, until December 13, 2018 Martha Érika Alonso PAN, December 14 – December 24 (died in office) Jesús Rodríguez Almeida PAN, Interim governor starting December 24 Querétaro: Francisco Domínguez Servién PAN Quintana Roo: Carlos Joaquín González PAN San Luis Potosí: Juan Manuel Carreras PRI Sinaloa: Quirino Ordaz Coppel PRI Sonora: Claudia Pavlovich Arellano PRI Tabasco: Arturo Núñez Jiménez, until December 31 Tamaulipas: Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca PAN Tlaxcala: Marco Antonio Mena Rodríguez PRI Veracruz: Miguel Ángel Yunes, until November 30 Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, starting December 1 Yucatán: Rolando Zapata Bello, until September 30 Mauricio Vila Dosal PAN, starting October 1 Zacatecas: Alejandro Tello Cristerna PRI
Events January through March January 23 — Marco Antonio Sanchez Flores, a student at Prepa 8 in Mexico City, is detained by the Secretaria de Seguridad Publica and the Policia Auxiliar. Several hours later, he was released in Melchor Ocampo, State of Mexico. Months later, the detention is unexplained. February 16 — A helicopter of the SEDENA crashes, leaving 14 dead. The helicopter, which was carrying the Secretary of the Interior, Alfonso Navarrete Prida and the Governor of Oaxaca, Alejandro Murat, crashed in Santiago Jamiltepec, Oaxaca, as it was inspecting the damage caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 that had taken place at 5:39 p.m. February 18 – Five minors are killed and three are injured when their car crashes on Eje 10 Sur in Mexico City. They had visited a fair in Santa Catarina Yecahuízotl, Tláhuac. March 19: Three film students from the Universidad de Medios Audiovisuales (CAAV), Javier Salomón Aceves Gastélum, Daniel Díaz y Marcos Ávalos, disappeared in Tonalá, Jalisco. Later it was discovered that the students were beaten and killed, and their bodies were dissolved in acid. March 20 – A man walks into a store in "Reforma 222" shopping mall in Mexico City, shoots his ex-wife, and causes panic among the shoppers. March 30 – Campaigning for the 2018 Mexican general election begins.
April through June April 5 — U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to militarize its southern border. April 10 – Despite not having sufficient signatures, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón "El Bronco" is allowed to run for President as an independent candidate. April 11 – After two weeks, a capuchin monkey is captured and taken to Chapultepec Zoo. April 22 – First Presidential debate, in Mexico City is watched by 11.4 million people. May 8 – A crack in the high-speed lane of Viaducto Miguel Alemán in Iztacalco, Mexico City, frightens motorists. It requires 1,100 m3 of concrete to be repaired. May 16 – Margarita Zavala, the only female candidate for President, drops out. May 18 — An airplane crash in Cuba results in the deaths of 112 people, including the seven members of the crew, all Mexicans. May 20 – Second Presidential debate, in Tijuana, Baja California June Floods cause multiple problems throughout the country, particularly in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Guanajuato. Two dismembered bodies, presumably belonging to drug traffickers, are found on Avenida Insurgentes Norte y Flores Magón in Nonoalco Tlatelolco, Mexico City.
July through September July 1 — Andrés Manuel López Obrador wins the presidency. July 12 A shopping center in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City partially collapses. No one is hurt, and it reopens 40 days later. Third Presidential debate, in Mérida, Yucatán. August 7 – Elba Esther Gordillo Morales is cleared of charges of money laundering and organized crime membership, after spending five years in prison. August 8 – Roberto Moyado Esparza, a.k.a. ‘El Betito’, presumed leader of La Unión de Tepito drug gang, is arrested. August 17 — The government issues a new MXN $500 bill, featuring Benito Juarez. September 4 — A group of pseudo-students known as porros attack a peaceful march by students from the Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades (CCH) Azcapotzalco, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), who were demanding greater security measures on campus. Several students are injured. September 15 – Peña Nieto leads the Independence Day Celebration for the last time.
October through December October 2 – 50th anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre. October 11 - The collapse of a shopping mall under construction in the Mexican city of Monterrey results in at least 7 deaths and nine people missing. 15 others are injured. October 19 A caravan of migrants from Central America begins a trek across Mexico in defiance of Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. A fence separating Guatemala and Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas is torn down. 'El Calavera' is arrested for sexually abusing 39 children in the "Marcelino de Champagnat" preschool in Mexico City. October 31 — Repairs to the water system in Mexico City and the State of Mexico leave millions without water for a week. November 5 — The trial of Joaquín "El Chapo" Loera Guzman begins in New York, accused of drug trafficking. December 1 — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is inaugurated. December 15 — At 18:57 local time, Popocatepetl spews lava, ash and rock. December 24 — The governor of Puebla, Martha Erika Alonso and her husband, Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, a senator and former state governor, die in a helicopter crash. December 28 – Seven minor children burn to death in a fire in their home in Buenavista, Iztapalapa, Mexico City.
Holidays, festivities, and special events
January 1 – New Year's Day, statutory holiday January 6 – Feast of the Epiphany February 2 – Feast of Candlemas February 5 – Constitution Day, statutory holiday February 14 Day of Love and Friendship Ash Wednesday February 20 – Mexican Army Day, civic holiday February 24 – Flag Day, civic holiday March 8 – International Women's Day March 18 – Anniversary of the Mexican oil expropriation, civic holiday March 19 – Benito Juárez's Birthday, statutory holiday March 20 – March equinox March 25 to 30 – Holy Week March 29 – Holy Thursday March 30 – Good Friday April 21 – Heroic Defense of Veracruz, civic holiday April 30 – Children's Day May 1 – Labour Day, statutory holiday May 5 – Cinco de Mayo, civic holiday May 8 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's Birthday, civic holiday May 10 – Mother's Day May 15 – Teachers' Day May 23 – Students' Day June 1 – Mexican Navy Day, civic holiday June 17 – Father's Day June 21 – June solstice July 1 – 2018 Mexican general election September 13 – Anniversary of the "Heroic Cadets", civic holiday September 15 – Cry of Dolores, civic holiday September 16 – Independence Day, statutory holiday September 30 – José María Morelos's Birthday, civic holiday October 12 – Day of the Race, civic holiday November 1 – All Saints' Day November 2 – Day of the Dead November 19 – Revolution Day, statutory holiday December 1 – Presidential Inauguration Day December 12 – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 16 to 24 – Las Posadas December 21 – December solstice December 24 – Christmas Eve December 25 – Christmas Day, statutory holiday
Awards
Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor – Carlos Páyan Order of the Aztec Eagle Pratibha Devisingh Patil, former President of India Jared Kushner, U.S. beneficiary of nepotism National Prize for Arts and Sciences Linguistics and literature – Angelina Muñiz-Huberman Physics, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences – Carlos Alberto Aguilar Salinas and Mónica Alicia Clapp Jiménez Labora Technology and Design – Ricardo Chicurel Uziel and Leticia Myriam Torres Guerra Popular Arts and Traditions – Leonor Farlow Espinoza Fine arts – Ricardo Chicurel Uziel and Leticia Myriam Torres Guerra National Public Administration Prize Ohtli Award Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca Joseph I. Castro
Deaths
January January 1 Santiago Elias Castro Escobedo, former mayor of Piedras Negras, Coahuila; heart attack.Fallece el ex alcalde de Piedras Negras, Santiago Elías Castro Escobedo. Carlos Tirado Montero, 70, businessperson and politician (b. 1947).Fallece empresario Carlos Tirado. January 5 Glafiro Alanís Flores, 73, biologist and educator (author of El valor de nuestras plantas, and Flora nativa ornamental para Monterrey); illness (b. 1944). Isauro Medina Hinojos, 95, businessperson and former mayor of Parral, Chihuahua (b. 1922). January 6 Rubén Amaro Rodarte, 81, businessperson (b. 1936). Jose Gerardo Martinea, 35, journalist (El Universal; murdered during robbery. Enrique Caballero Vela, 65, actor; lumbar cáncer (b. 1952). Salvador Reyes Montellano, journalist. January 7: Roberto López y Garza ("Bob Logar"), 82, journalist and publicicist; heart attack (b. 1936). January 8 Salvador Borrego, 102, pro-Nazi journalist and writer (b. 1915). Francisco McManus Soto, educator and environmentalist ("Radio Ecologica"). Joel Alanís (47), rock músician; sclerosis. January 10: Eugenio Ramírez (60), polítician from Guerrero; heart attack. January 12: Hugo Betancourt Morales (59), dancer and art director (b. 1958). January 13: Carlos Domínguez, independent journalist ("Diario de Nuevo Laredo"); murdered. January 16: Rogelio Benavides Chapa, 77, former mayor of Guadalupe, Nuevo León; complications from surgery. January 17: Rafael Villegas Attolini, 72, businessperson and former mayor of Gómez Palacio Municipality. January 19: Andrés Marcelo Sada Zambrano (87), engineer and businessperson ("Grupo Cydsa"). January 21: Rafael Anaya González, rector of Universidad Don Vasco. January 22: Rogelio Padilla, 62, sociologist, activist for children's rights, founder of MAMA, A.C. (b. 1955) January 24: Ramón "Diablo" Montoya Lerma (78), baseball center-fielder (Diablos Rojos) and member of Hall of Fame (b. 1940). January 25: Sahori (María Jovita Ramírez Zamora), Mexican wrestler; cáncer. January 26 Ramiro Cota, 91, former mayor of Chihuahua Municipality, Chihuahua (1980-1983, PRI). Francisco Savín, 88, composer and director Xalapa Symphony Orchestra (1963-1967); (b. 1929). January 27 Graciela Bernardo, actress. Manuel Cevallos Urueta, 73, notary public and former mayor of Querétaro City, Querétaro. January 28: Salvador Aguilar García, mayor of Cohetzala, Puebla; auto accident.
February February 1 Gonzalo Aguilar Zinser, lawyer and social activist; heart attack. Rumaldo Velázquez Quiñónez (56), politician and Yaqui Indigenous leader; diabetes.