San Miguel celebrates: Democrats win, and the American community watched it from here

A community that organizes, helps each other and celebrates together.

Last night, at a restaurant in Colonia San Antonio, I counted close to 300 Americans in front of the screens. The local press reported more than 200; I was there, and the room was not big enough. There were hugs, cheers, margaritas and, above all, a feeling we know well in San Miguel: that of a community that organizes, helps each other and celebrates together.

What people were celebrating was the result of the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. But what I want to tell you about is what happened before, here, over several weeks, and what it says about who our neighbors are and why they chose to live in San Miguel de Allende.

What happened in the United States

According to CBS News and NBC, the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives, and NBC reports it also won a majority in the Senate, with seats changing party in states such as North Carolina, Texas and Ohio. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expects at least 255 House seats once the count is complete. As of this writing, votes were still being counted in some races, such as the Senate race in Alaska, so it is worth waiting for the official figures.

Milenio summed up the mood in San Miguel with a headline I heard repeated many times that night: “Que Trump se vaya” (“Trump must go”).

How San Miguel voted

Voting from abroad is not simple. Each state has its own rules for registering, requesting a ballot and returning it: some accept fax or email, others only postal mail, and deadlines vary. That is why Democrats Abroad San Miguel de Allende ran a help desk for more than a month.

According to Periódico Correo, by October 30 that desk had helped about 1,300 Americans from San Miguel and nearby towns request, print and send their ballots. Kyle Bailey, a representative of the group, explained that the help desk would stay open until election day.

I saw it with my own eyes: volunteers with computers and printers set up, helping older people register online, print their ballot and mail it on time. Many of them have lived here for years, live on their pensions and do not always feel comfortable with online paperwork. That neighbor-to-neighbor support is what made me want to write this article.

Election night

The same place that had worked as an office for weeks became an “Election Night Party” on Tuesday. Periódico Correo describes six screens with the live broadcast, guacamole, burgers, beers and margaritas, and quotes Kyle Bailey celebrating “the defeat of Donald Trump’s agenda.” Every state that turned blue was received with applause.

Beyond politics, what happened there was something very San Miguel: people of different ages and backgrounds sharing a table, getting to know each other, looking out for one another.

Why does San Miguel lean Democratic?

Americans of every political view live in San Miguel, and there are also Republican residents who are part of our community. But it is well known that the predominant profile of those who have arrived over the decades leans toward the Democratic Party: artists, writers, retired professionals, people drawn by cultural life, tradition and a slower, more bohemian way of living.

There is data to back this up. As early as 2014, El Financiero estimated that about 13,000 of the municipality’s 160,000 inhabitants were of foreign origin, mainly from the United States and Canada, and mostly retirees of the baby boomer generation. In 2016, the San Miguel city council voted to declare Donald Trump persona non grata over his rhetoric against Mexican migrants, according to El Universal. And the director of Democrats Abroad has noted that, in most countries, the American vote abroad tends to lean Democratic.

What is at stake for those who live here

For someone who lives on a pension in dollars, every rule change in Washington is felt in San Miguel. In 2025, for example, the U.S. government ended paper Social Security checks as of September 30 and required a switch to electronic payments. And since January 1, 2026, a 1% tax applies to remittances sent from the United States in cash, money orders or cashier’s checks, as BBVA Research explains. These measures do not affect everyone equally, but they add paperwork and uncertainty.

That is why so many of our American neighbors followed this election so closely: not only out of conviction, but because the decisions made there reach their daily lives here.

What it means for the San Miguel real estate market

American buyers are, by far, the most important group in our market. In the AMPI San Miguel de Allende MLS records, of the 602 closings from January 2024 to date with the buyer’s country recorded, 416 (69%) were buyers from the United States and 151 (25%) were Mexican buyers.

I am not going to forecast prices based on an election. What I can say, after many years in this market, is what I observe: people who buy in San Miguel are looking for community, legal certainty and quality of life. A night like last night shows exactly that: a community that is organized, supportive and deeply rooted in the city.

The rules for buying property in Mexico do not change with an election in the United States. What does sometimes change is people’s mood, the exchange rate or their life plans. If you are thinking about buying, selling or moving to San Miguel, let’s talk it through calmly and with good information.

At RESMA we do not take political sides. We help people of every view and nationality find their place in San Miguel. And last night, once again, I was reminded why so many people decide to stay here.

Jesús Barrios
CEO, RESMA Real Estate San Miguel de Allende