Time Zone Confusion in Mexico
By Anne Buckle and Mathew Gundersen. Published 30-Nov-2022
On October 30, Mexico permanently removed Daylight Saving Time (DST), causing severe time zone issues in the border municipalities of Chihuahua.
The US-Mexican border bridge between El Paso, Texas in the US and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico (on the right).
©iStockphoto.com/4kodiak
On October 26, lawmakers in Mexico permanently removed Daylight Saving Time (DST) in most of the country.
According to the law, municipalities on the Mexico/US border can follow the same schedule as the US if they ask to do so.
1-Hour Difference at the Border
However, the law was passed in a hurry. After standard time was implemented on October 30, it left Chihuahuan municipalities along the border with a 1-hour difference from their US neighbors, causing significant socioeconomic issues in border cities. As a result, the Mexican government amended the law.
The amendment—in force from November 30—lets border municipalities in Chihuahua go back to following the DST schedule of the neighboring United States. It means that in those municipalities, the clocks will be set forward one hour on March 12, 2023, along with the rest of the US.
The rest of Mexico will not set their clocks forward in 2023 and will remain on standard time.
El Paso and Juárez Economic Problem
The impact of this issue was seen in the Borderplex area between the cities of El Paso, Texas, in the US, and Ciudad Juárez, in Chihuahua, Mexico.
The twin cities were left with a 1-hour difference after the implementation of initial time zone law, potentially causing severe economic losses.
New Time in Chihuahua
Most of Chihuahua will stay on Central Standard Time (CST) all year with two exceptions:
- Juárez time: The border municipalities of Janos, Ascensión, Juárez, Praxedis G. Guerrero, and Guadalupe will follow the DST schedule of their US neighbors New Mexico and Texas (El Paso). On November 30, clocks were set back 1 hour to UTC -7 (MST), and on March 12, 2023, the clocks will be set forward 1 hour to UTC-6 (MDT).
- Ojinaga time: The border municipalities of Ojinaga, Manuel Benavides, and Coyame will follow the DST schedule of their US neighbor Texas (Presidio). Locations remain on UTC-6 (CST), and on March 12, 2023, the clocks will be set forward 1 hour to UTC-5 (CDT).
NOTE: Because of the confusion around the time zone change, there will be some discrepancies on our website, especially relating to our locations in the GeoNames database. Feel free to send us a note if you see any errors