Hope Is A Verb - NewsFix - Middle Class Mexico. California Clean-Streak. Puppy Love.

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

This week's headlines include – How Mexico is changing its narrative on poverty; good newsfor the High Seas and the Amazon; a glimmer in Gaza; electrified Porsches claim a victory;  Poland’s step in the right direction for same sex-couples and is it really puppies-v-babies?   NewsFix is brought to you by ⁠Fix The News⁠. Hosted by Anthony Badolato, ⁠Hear That! ⁠ If you want to get in touch with the team, email [e-mail] 

Welcome back to NewsFix, your weekly drop of what's going right in the world, brought to you by Fix the News. I'm Anthony Badolato and here's what's making our headlines this week. Mexico's middle class is changing the narrative. The first high-seas treaty comes into force, California's eight-day clean energy streak, and a surprising twist in the puppy or baby debate. Let's kick things off in Mexico, where for the first time in history, the middle class now outnumber those living in poverty. According to World Bank data, between 2018 and 2024, 13.4 million people were lifted out of poverty,

and the middle class grew to almost 40% of the country. So how exactly did they pull this off? Well, it's something President Claudia Shanebaum calls a moral economy, which means the government puts more value on the social programs that give people a leg up and frame these programs as basic rights rather than charity. It's a pretty striking example of what can happen when economic policy prioritises human dignity, poverty reduction and equitable access to basic needs. And another big story out of South America this week is that Brazil has committed to conserving

80% of the Amazon by 2030, pledging to eliminate deforestation across all its biomes. This is huge news. When the world's most biodiverse country has a goal this ambitious, it's going to shift the global. baseline. Of course, there's a lot of work to do over the next four years, and funding and enforcement will be the big ticket items. Speaking of big shifts for the planet, the high seas treaty entered into force last week, creating the world's first legally enforceable framework to protect biodiversity across the 64% of the ocean that's outside national boundaries. This comes after 20 years of negotiation. I mean, when you think about the average number of meetings it

takes to get everyone on board with any idea in your office, imagine doing that with all the countries about the ocean. It's been a while since we've checked in on the EV transition, but I'm happy to report in 2025 global sales of electric vehicles hit 20.7 million, up 20% year on year. Europe has overtaken China as the fastest growing major market, where for the first time ever electrified Porsche's outsold combustion models last year. Meanwhile, California hit a record clean power streak with wind, water and sunshine meeting more than 100% of the state's electricity demand for eight straight days in January. And here's a quick whip around a few other bright spots.

For the first time since October 2023, aid partners in Gaza now hold enough food to meet 100% of minimum caloric needs. Alcohol consumption in the United States has declined to its lowest level in 90 years, and Poland is one step closer to legally recognising same-sex couples, with a new bill introducing cohabitation contracts for couples living together regardless of gender. Let's bring this round up home with a headline that none of us were expecting. Puppies are a gateway drug to parenthood. Yep, that's right, although birth rates are down and pet ownership is up, especially among younger generations,

Taiwanese scientists found that dogs are not replacing babies, but rather people who adopt dogs are actually more likely than their petless peers to subsequently have kids. Do with that information what you will. That's it from me this week. Still no baby news to report just yet, but we are very excited. Don't forget to check out the full download of good news at fixthenews.com. Until next time, just remember that the third.

The world is always doing slightly better than you think it is.