The Senate of Mexico approved a bill that would eliminate the practice of daylight saving time.
Mexican cities situated along the U.S. border, however, will have the option of not relinquishing the practice of setting their clocks backward and forward to keep them more in time with U.S. cities.
The U.S. adopted daylight saving time in 1918 in an effort to preserve daylight.
Mexico did not start the practice until 1996 in order to decrease energy consumption and to make commerce and tourism between the U.S. and Mexico easier.
The bill to end the practice was approved by Mexican senators with a 60% majority in favor. The vote was 59-25, and 12 members abstained from voting.
During the debate, the reasons for keeping daylight saving time centered around ensuring that there was more daylight in the afternoon to encourage children and adults to exercise during the summer.
The passing of the measure means that the sun will set an hour earlier during summertime in Mexico.
On the other side, Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer claimed that setting clocks back and forward was damaging to people’s health.
Since its approval, the bill has passed in the lower house of Congress, and now all that is left is for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to sign it into law.
The law is expected to take effect next year, meaning that last Sunday, when their daylight savings ended, was likely the last time most of Mexico will set back its clocks.
The only large industrialized countries that do not participate in some kind of daylight-saving practice are Japan, India, and China.
Back in March of this year, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in 2023, also ending the turning back and forth of clocks and hoping to have brighter afternoons year-round. The U.S. House has not yet taken action on the bill.
