U.S., Mexican clocks to synchronize along border on Sunday

U.S. and Mexican clocks along the border will synchronize when daylight saving time goes into effect Sunday for the first time since 2007.

Mexican cities on the border — but not those in the interior of Mexico — are jumping ahead one hour at the same time as the United States. Previously, the time in Mexican cities along the border remained an hour behind for three weeks before synchronizing with the U.S., which confused some of the thousands of people who cross the border daily for work, school and family.

The confusion originated in March 2007, when the U.S. and Canada adopted a new daylight saving schedule as a measure for energy conservation. Mexico did not make the switch and set clocks an hour forward a month later.

Then in November that same year, the discrepancy repeated when Mexico switched to standard time a week before the U.S. and Canada.

For communities along the border, at least, that will no longer be a problem. The measure to synchronize clocks with the U.S. in Mexican border cities during daylight saving time passed with little opposition in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies on Dec. 10 and then again in Mexico’s Senate on Dec. 15.

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Nick Pipitone covers McAllen, PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.