2016 in Mexico

This is a list of events that happened in 2016 in Mexico. The article also lists the most important political leaders during the year at both federal and state levels.

Incumbents

Federal government

President: Enrique Peña Nieto PRI
Interior Secretary : Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong
Secretary of Foreign Affairs : Claudia Ruiz Massieu
Communications Secretary : Gerardo Ruiz Esparza
Education Secretary : Aurelio Nuño Mayer
Secretary of Defense : Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda
Secretary of Navy : Vidal Francisco Soberón Sanz
Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare : Alfonso Navarrete Prida
Secretary of Welfare
*José Antonio Meade, until September 6
*Luis Enrique Miranda Nava, starting September 7
Tourism Secretary : Enrique de la Madrid Cordero
Secretary of the Environment : Rafael Pacchiano Alamán
Secretary of Health
*Mercedes Juan López, until February 8
*José Narro Robles, starting February 8
Secretary of Finance and Public Credit,
*Luis Videgaray Caso, until September 7
*José Antonio Meade, starting September 7

Governors

Aguascalientes
*Carlos Lozano de la Torre PRI, until November 30
*Martín Orozco Sandoval PAN, starting December 1.
Baja California: Francisco Vega de Lamadrid PAN
Baja California Sur: Carlos Mendoza Davis PAN
Campeche: Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas PRI
Chiapas: Manuel Velasco Coello PVEM
Chihuahua
*César Horacio Duarte Jáquez PRI, until October 4
*Javier Corral Jurado PAN, starting October 4
Coahuila: Rubén Moreira Valdez PRI
Colima: Mario Anguiano Moreno PRI
Durango
*Jorge Herrera Caldera PAN, until September 14
*José Rosas Aispuro PAN, starting September 15
Guanajuato: Miguel Márquez Márquez PAN
Guerrero: Héctor Astudillo Flores, PRI
Hidalgo
*Francisco Olvera Ruiz PRI, until September 5
*Omar Fayad PAN starting September 5
Jalisco: Aristóteles Sandoval PRI
Mexico (state): Eruviel Ávila Villegas PRI
Michoacán: Silvano Aureoles Conejo PRD
Morelos: Graco Ramírez PRD.
Nayarit: Roberto Sandoval Castañeda PRI
Nuevo León: Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, Independent.
Oaxaca
*Gabino Cué Monteagudo MC until November 30
*Alejandro Murat Hinojosa, starting December 1.
Puebla: Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas PAN
Querétaro: José Calzada PRI
Quintana Roo
*Roberto Borge Angulo PRI, until September 25
*Carlos Joaquín González PAN, starting September 25.
San Luis Potosí: Juan Manuel Carreras PRI
Sinaloa: Mario López Valdez PAN, until December 31
Sonora: Claudia Pavlovich Arellano PRI
Tabasco: Arturo Núñez Jiménez, PRD
Tamaulipas
*Egidio Torre Cantú PRI, until October 1
*Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, PAN, starting October 1.
Tlaxcala: Mariano González Zarur PRI
Veracruz
*Javier Duarte de Ochoa PRI, until October 12
*Flavino Ríos Alvarado, Interim governor October 12 – December 1.
*Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares PAN, starting December 1
Yucatán: Rolando Zapata Bello PRI
Zacatecas
*Miguel Alonso Reyes PRI, until September 11
*Alejandro Tello Cristerna PRI, starting September 12
Head of Government of the Federal District: Miguel Ángel Mancera, Independent

Events

January and February

January 2 – Gunmen shoot and kill Temixco mayor Gisela Mota Ocampo at her home, the day after she was elected. Police shoot and kill several suspects and arrest several more who are suspected of involvement in organized crime.
January 8 – Mexican police arrest Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán on January 8. He had been on the run since his second escape from prison in July 2015.
January 20 – The Federal District is dissolved, and it officially becomes the "Ciudad de México". The political reform gives the city self-rule.
January 28 – 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic: The World Health Organization warns that the Zika virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas.
February 11 – Forty-nine killed and 12 injured during a riot at the Topo Chopo prison in Nuevo León.
February 12 to 17 – Pope Francis visits Mexico.
February 29 to March 6 – 2016 Monterrey Open

March and April

March 28, 2016: An ash column high was released from Popocateptl, prompting the establishment of a 12-kilometer "security ring" around the summit.
April 3, 2016 — Popocatépetl erupted, spewing lava, ash and rock.
April 9 to 15 – 2016 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B in Mexico City
April 14 to 17 – Equestrian jumping show at Campo Marte in Mexico City.
April 16 — Javier Duarte de Ochoa, former Governor of Veracruz 2010–2016 is arrested and charged with corruption.
April 20 — At least 24 people were killed, 136 others injured, following a blast at the major Clorados 3 petrochemical plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo. The plant is run by Mexichem under agreement with Petroleos Mexicanos, the national petrochemical company, in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, on the country's southern Gulf of Mexico coast. Pemex had an earlier fire at the same facility in February 2016 that killed one worker; also that month, an offshore Pemex Gulf platform fire killed two and injured eight.

May and June

May 17 – President Peña Nieto signs legislation legalizing Same-sex marriage.
June 1 – A riot at the penitentiary Topo Chico in Monterrey, Nuevo León, leaves three inmates killed and 14 injured.
June 3 – Auguste Rodin´s "The Gates of Hell" is displayed at the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City.
June 5 – Elections in 13 states.

July and August

July 17 – Revillagigedo Islands are declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
July 8 – President Peña asks for forgiveness for the "Casa Blanca" scandal that came to light in 2014.
July 23 – Municipal presidents of Chamula, Chiapas, and Pungarabato, Guerro, are assassinated.
August 2016 – Eruptions continued from Popocateptl, with four discrete blasts on August 17.
August 1 – Municipal president of Huehuetlán el Grande, Puebla, is assassinated.

September and October

September 22 – Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía is named bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Matamoros.
October 4 – The cable line Mexicable opens to facilitate transportation in the Sierra de Guadalupe in Ecatepec de Morelos.
October 12 – Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa is forced to resign after being accused of corruption and illegal enrichment; Flavino Ríos Álvaro become Interim governor.

November and December

November 10: Guillermo Padrés Elías, former Governor of Sonora 2009–2015 is arrested for allegedly laundering US$8.9 million.
December 20 – 2016 San Pablito Market fireworks explosion: An explosion at a fireworks factory in Tultepec, State of Mexico, leaves at least 42 people killed and dozens injured.

Awards

Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor – Gonzalo Rivas
Order of the Aztec Eagle
*Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
*Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
*King Salman of Saudi Arabia
*President Mauricio Macri of Argentina
*President Sergio Mattarella of Italy
National Prize for Arts and Sciences
National Public Administration Prize
Ohtli Award
*Teresa Alonso-Rasgado
* Julian Castro
* L. Whitney Clayton
* Carlos del Rio
*Josefina Villamil Tinajero
* Gabriela Teissier

Holidays and observances

January 1 – New Year's Day, statutory holiday
January 6 – Feast of the Epiphany
February 1 – Constitution Day, statutory holiday
February 2 – Feast of Candlemas
February 10 – Ash Wednesday
February 14 – Day of Love and Friendship
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 21 – Benito Juárez's Birthday, statutory holiday
March 19 – March equinox
March 20 to 26 – Holy Week
March 24 – Holy Thursday
March 25 – 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
*Pentecost
*Teachers' Day
May 23 – Students' Day
May 26 – Feast of Corpus Christi
June 1 – Mexican Navy Day, civic holiday
June 19 – Father's Day
June 20 – June solstice
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 20 – Feast of Christ the King
November 21 – Revolution Day, statutory holiday
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

Deaths

January 2: Gisela Mota Ocampo, Presidente Municipal of Temixco, Morelos
January 7
*Joaquín Gamboa Pascoe. Politician and union leader.
*Jesús María Ramón Valdés, politician.
January 17: Juan Manuel Ley, businessman.
January 23: Espectrito, professional wrestler.
February 1: Miguel Gutiérrez, soccer player.
February 12: Braulio Manuel Fernández, 74, politician.
February 13: Rafael Moreno Valle, soldier, physician, and politician, Governor of Puebla, Secretary of Health.
February 15 – Carlos Quintero Arce, 96, Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Hermosillo.
February 17 – Jesús Barrero, 57, actor and voice actor.
February 20 – Moisés Dagdug Lützow, 65, radio-station owner, politician, Deputy from Villahermosa, Tabasco stabbed.
February 21 – María Luisa Alcalá, 72, actress.
March 14 – Mónica Arriola Gordillo, 44, Mexican politician, cancer.
March 17 – Eliezer Ronen, 84, Mexican-born Israeli politician, member of the Knesset.
March 23 – Fernando Solana, 85, Mexican diplomat and politician, member of the Senate for Mexico City, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, negotiated NAFTA.
March 26
*Raúl Cárdenas, 86, soccer player and coach.
*Francisco García Moreno, a member of the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Olympic water polo teams was shot near his home in Cuernavaca during a robbery.
April 3 – Leopoldo Flores, 82, artist, member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.
April 9 – Lucas Martínez Lara, 70, prelate, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Matehuala.
April 16 – Rubén Mendoza Ayala, 55, Mexican politician, Deputy from the State of Mexico; heart attack.
April 18 – Arnulfo Mejía Rojas, engineer, architect, teacher, historian, painter, artist, and Catholic priest, best known for being the creator of "The Boat of the Faith".
April 24 – Ricardo Torres Origel, 59, Mexican politician Deputy and Senator from Guanajuato.
April 26 – Álvaro Pérez Treviño, 85, Mexican politician .
May 8 – Tonita Castro, 63, Mexican-born American actress, stomach cancer;.
May 18 – Luis H. Álvarez, 96, President of National Action Party, Municipal president of Chihuahua .
May 22
*José Luis Romo Martín, 62, Otomi -Hñäñhü- artist.
*Leonorilda Ochoa, 76, actress, Alzheimer's disease.
June 17 – Rubén Aguirre, 82, actor, pneumonia.
June 20 – Chayito Valdez, 71, Mexican-born American folk singer and actress, complications from a cerebral hemorrhage.
July 2 – Flavio Romero de Velasco, 90, lawyer and politician, Governor of Jalisco .
July 3 – Mauricio Walerstein, 71, film director.
July 6 – Armando León Bejarano, surgeon and Governor of Morelos, 1976–1982
July 7 – Cinna Lomnitz, 90, German-born Chilean-Mexican geophysicist.
July 17 – Rafael Aguilar Talamantes. Founding politician of the Cardenista Front of National Reconstruction and Federal Elections of Mexico 1994 presidential candidate in 1994.
July 18 – Aldo Monti, 87, actor .
August 6 – José Becerra, 80, bantamweight boxer, world champion .
August 13 – Miguel Bortolini, 74, politician, President of the Coyoacán ; cancer.
August 20 – Ignacio Padilla, 47, writer, co-founder of the Crack Movement; traffic collision.
August 23 – Evita Muñoz, 79, Mexican actress ; pneumonia.
August 28 – Juan Gabriel, 56, Singer and composer originally from Michoacán,.
September 16 – Teodoro González de León, 90, Mexican architect.
October 4 – Mario Almada, 94, Mexican actor.
October 7 – Martha Roth, 84, Italian-born Mexican actress.
October 9
*René Avilés Fabila, 75, author, heart attack.
*El Mongol, 86, professional wrestler.
October 10 – Gonzalo Vega, 69, actor .
October 24 – Herón Escobar, 62, politician from Sinaloa, member of Congress.
October 30 – René Velázquez Valenzuela, suspected hitman, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, shot.
November 5
*Israel Cavazos Garza, 93, historian.
*Rodolfo Stavenhagen, 84, sociologist.
November 12 – Lupita Tovar, 106, Mexican-American actress, heart disease.
November 17 – Fidel Negrete, 84, Olympic long-distance runner, Pan American gold medalist.
November 23 – Renato López, 33, actor and television host, shot.

Film

List of Mexican films of 2016