Boon or threat? Mexico City wrestles with influx of remote workers

Record ID: 1689198

  • Title: Boon or threat? Mexico City wrestles with influx of remote workers
  • Date: 13th September 2022
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE – AUGUST 6, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EATING IN RESTAURANTS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN STREETS OF CONDESA NEIGHBOURHOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT OF CONDESA, QUETZAL CASTRO, SAYING: "When these people (eds note: referring to foreigners) arrived and with all the nightlife, noise and the amount of people passing by increased. It did not feel safe anymore and they could not rest. The right to rest in this area is devastating. There is no way for people to sleep peacefully, specially if nightclubs operate from Monday through Sunday.”
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2022 12:01
  • Keywords: Airbnb Condesa Migration Roma United States gentrification
  • Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA004425609092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:In a trendy part of Mexico City, in a park surrounded by hipster coffeeshops and restaurants, stands a figure dressed in white with hands in prayer like a Catholic statuette: the so-called "patron saint against gentrification".
    Sandra Valenzuela, an activist, created the statue to rally neighbors against what she regards as a rising threat to her community and many others in the Mexican capital.
    A wave of international visitors has poured into Mexico City's cafes, parks and Airbnbs as they work remotely, newly untethered from daily office commutes by the pandemic.
    Nearly two million tourists touched down at Mexico City's International Airport in the first half of 2022, as tourism inches toward its 2019 high of 2.5 million visitors. Meanwhile, demand for short-term rentals across Mexico surged 41% over the same period, according to analytics company AirDna.
    But housing activists and some researchers say the digital nomad influx exacerbates inflation and transforms neighborhoods into exclusive expatriate bubbles, in a city well-known for stark divides between rich and poor.
    Marko Ayling, a writer and content creator who lives in Mexico City, strolled through the coveted Condesa neighborhood, where 'For rent' ads alternate with signs for chic cafes and plant-based eateries.
    "There's obviously a lot of advantages if you can earn in dollars and spend in pesos," said Ayling, originally from San Diego. "You're essentially tripling your income."
    Residents in lux neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma complain that housing costs have soared.
    Many homeowners no longer rent to families because they can earn 25,000 Mexican pesos per month through platforms like Airbnb, said Rafael Guarneros, president of a Condesa neighborhood association.
    Average nightly rates for short-term rentals across Mexico jumped 24% to $153.51 in July 2022, compared to July 2019, AirDna data show.
    On an August afternoon, Juan Coronado slid into a leafy restaurant booth before opening his laptop to get work done while he dined.
    Coronado, an architect and interior designer who lives between Los Angeles and Mexico City, said he understands locals are resentful.
    "I don't live for free, I help the economy," he said. "But for them… my presence here doesn't help the fact that rents go up."
    Beyond rising prices, residents cite less tangible changes that make their neighborhoods feel more welcoming to foreigners than locals.
    "There is no way for people to sleep peacefully," said Quetzal Castro, a resident of Condesa, which she says has become a center of noisy nightlife, pushing friends to leave.
    While digital nomads enjoy a lifestyle out of reach to most Mexico City households, which bring in $850 per month on average, Ayling from San Diego pointed to a silver-lining of foreigners' love for the capital city.
    "It's not just narcos and violence and poverty," Ayling said. "There's beautiful sides of this country and they're celebrating that too."
    (Production: Alberto Fajardo, Josue Gonzalez, Roberto Ramirez, Rodolfo Penaroja, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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