Impact on border traffic not known
Update: On Thursday, June 28, Sonora’s Director General of Alcoholic Beverages Zaira Fernández Morales announced that the dry laws would be further amended to ban the sale of alcohol only on Sunday, July 1. Bars, clubs, convenience stores and other places that sell alcohol will be able to sell alcoholic beverages until midnight Saturday.
Elections will be held in Mexico this Sunday, July 1 for the Mexican presidency, federal elected officials and local elected officials, including the presidente municipal (mayor) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
The Mexican federal “ley seca” (dry law), which mandates that no alcohol be sold on the day of or the day before a federal election, has been extended one day earlier, to include this Friday.
As a result, alcohol sales will be suspended in Mexico from Friday, June 29 until midnight July 1.
This will not affect sales of alcohol by duty free stores like Ueta in Nogales, Arizona, although the alcoholic products will still need to be brought into Mexico before you can return with them to the United States. Read more about Nogales duty-free stores.
International Border
We do not know how international border traffic between Nogales, Mexico and Nogales, Arizona will be affected by the election weekend – it could be lighter or it may be that northbound traffic into Nogales, Arizona may be heavier than normal.
Also, while most Nogales businesses will remain open for the weekend, some (like bars and other establishments that rely heavily on alcohol sales) may be closed.
Post-Election Climate
The Mexican presidential election will be a historic one, as for the first time in the history of the republic a third-party candidate is leading in the polls.
However, it may also be controversial, so stay alert to news reports to see what, if any, impact it may have on travel plans to Nogales, Mexico for early next week.
We will issue updates as the information becomes available.