Mexico Might Remove DST
By Anne Buckle and Mathew Gundersen. Published 23-Sep-2022. Changed 27-Oct-2022
Mexico is considering removing Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanently.
Update: Mexico Abolishes DST
On October 26, the Mexican government announced that the Senate approved the law to remove DST in Mexico. Northern border locations will still follow the US DST schedule.
Mexico is thinking of removing DST in some parts of the country, including its capital Mexico City.
©iStockphoto.com/ferrantraite
A new Law on Time Zones proposed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is gaining support.
If the law passes, October 30, 2022, will be the last time some parts of Mexico set their clocks back for Daylight Saving Time (DST).
The Energy Commission of the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico plans to discuss and vote on the elimination of DST on September 28, reports La Jornada.
DST in Most of Mexico
Most of Mexico, including its capital Mexico City, observes DST from the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of October. It’s this DST schedule that Mexico might eliminate.
Most of Mexico will set their clocks back 1 hour from 02:00 (2:00 am) to 01:00 (1:00 am) on Sunday, October 30, 2022, and could remain there. The clocks would not be turned forward for DST in spring 2023.
Mexican States With DST
The state of Baja California, and many other locations close to the country’s northern border, follow the DST schedule of the United States. The DST period starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
It is proposed that these states will remain on the same schedule as the US and continue observing DST. Here, the clocks will be turned back 1 hour from 02:00 (2:00 am) to 01:00 (1:00 am) on Sunday, November 6, 2022. As DST starts on March 12 in the US, so will DST start in Mexico’s northern border areas.
No DST in Sonora and Quintana Roo
The state of Sonora does not change its clocks. The rationale is to stay in sync with the neighboring US state of Arizona, where Mountain Standard Time (MST) is observed all year.
Quintana Roo has opted out of following the country’s DST regime—establishing its own time zone in 2015—meaning Mexico’s easternmost state is observing EST year-round.
Time Zones in Mexico
Mexico has four standard time zones:
- Central Standard Time: includes central and most of the eastern parts of the country, including its capital Mexico City, known as Zona Centro.
- Mountain Standard Time: covers most of western Mexico, including the states of Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Sonora, known as Zona Pacífico.
- Pacific Standard Time: the state of Baja California, bordering California and the Pacific Ocean, known as Zona Noroeste.
- Eastern Standard Time: observed in Quintana Roo, Mexico’s easternmost state, known as Zona Sureste.