Photo: Google

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

Mexicans have always believed in long weekends, and next weekend is slated to last an entire week, starting on Wednesday, Nov. 10, and running through Tuesday, Nov. 16.

The nation’s seven-day, get-ready-for-Christmas shopping extravaganza, known as Buen Fin (Good Weekend), is Mexico’s answer to the United States’ post-Thanksgiving Black Friday sale.

Programmed to coincide with the Mexican Revolution Day holiday three-day weekend that this year runs from Friday, Nov. 12, through Monday, Nov. 15, the national super sale of everything from clothing and household goods to vacation packages and credit card discounts, is expected to include the participation of more than 200,000 businesses across Mexico, after a dismal in-person turnout for the 2020 Buen Fin sale due to the covid-19 pandemic.

According to government figures, last year the event brought in about 239 billion pesos in sales for small- and medium-sized businesses, mostly through online sales.

But Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said Monday, Nov. 8, that he expects revenues to increase dramatically this year, due in part to the nation’s post-covid economic recovery and in part because of the extended number of Buen Fin days.

Notwithstanding, during his morning press conference at the National Palace on Monday, AMLO warned against excessive consumer buying and told his constituents to “only purchase what is essential.”

The Buen Fin  sales event began in 2010 in Mexico City as a way to promote local small businesses and the idea soon spread nationwide.

Nov. 20 (which is celebrated this year on Monday, Nov. 15) is a national holiday that commemorates the conflict that constituted the start of the 1910 Mexican Revolution.