Mexico changes – Mexico’s education chiefs decided to end the 2025-2026 school year early—June 5 instead of the planned end later in the year—citing extreme heat and the 2026 World Cup. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the idea was “principally for the World Cup,” while Jalisc
On May 7, Mexican parents opened the morning with a shock: the school year would end on June 5—more than a month earlier than what had been planned when the term began.
The announcement came from Mario Delgado. Mexico’s Secretary of Public Education. who shared a video message telling the country’s education leadership to overhaul the 2025-2026 school calendar. Delgado’s message did not explicitly mention the FIFA World Cup. But the accompanying text—and a formal government bulletin released later that day—did.
The bulletin states that the education chiefs of Mexico’s federal entities—31 states plus Mexico City—agreed “to make an adjustment to the 2025-2026 academy calendar for public and private schools of basic education and upper-middle schools on a national level because of high temperatures and the football World Cup.”.
It adds that the decision was shaped by needs expressed by 10 states ahead of a planned national meeting, and by a request raised in meetings with Mexico’s largest teachers’ union.
That combination—heat and the tournament—set off a question that quickly turned into a national argument: Did Mexico change the school calendar because of the World Cup?
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, acknowledged the intent while drawing a line between proposal and final decision. Speaking at a Friday morning news conference, she said the idea was made “principally for the World Cup,” but warned it was still not settled.
“Many Mexicans, we like soccer and we’re waiting for the World Cup,” she said. “This proposal was made that the vacations be moved forward. But the class days also must be considered. So, it’s a proposal. There still isn’t a complete calendar, so we’re going to wait until things are decided definitively.”.
Even as the federal announcement landed, civic leaders weren’t unified on how to handle the World Cup’s disruption—especially for families managing work, travel, and school routines.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada asked companies to allow workers to work remotely during the tournament. Weeks before the federal decision, the city government’s education leaders had discussed modifying the school schedule on matchdays.
In Jalisco, the approach went in the opposite direction. The state’s government—led by a governor from the rival Citizens’ Movement party rather than Morena—issued a statement saying it did not request the calendar change “as suggested. ” and advocated for classes to be suspended only on World Cup matchdays with games in the city.
“In Jalisco we understand the negative impact the adjustments proposed by the SEP can represent in the learning of girls. boys and teenagers and for the organization of families. ” the statement said. “That’s why the Government of Jalisco’s posture has been to keep the state calendar with classes ending June 30.”.
The dispute has also fed public uncertainty about the scale of the disruption. Commentators have questioned why changes are necessary if only the opening match falls during school hours in the country.
Others, drawing on past experiences, described the feeling of watching El Tri matches from inside school routines—taking two-hour breaks during previous World Cup tournaments so students could watch games together.
The tournament schedule in Mexico adds another layer to the tension. Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa on June 11, then meets Korea on June 18 in Jalisco before returning to Mexico City for a June 24 group finale against the Czech Republic.
Jalisco will host four matches, and Chivas’ home venue, the Estadio Akron, will serve as one of three sites in the country.
For now, the story is less about a calendar being officially rewritten and more about who gets to decide what school life will look like in the middle of a national obsession—soccer—and a national debate over heat, timing, and learning.
Mexico school calendar FIFA World Cup 2026 Claudia Sheinbaum Mario Delgado Jalisco education schedule Mexico City remote work Estadio Akron teachers union