Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - While Americans turned their clocks ahead for daylight-saving time (DST) on Sunday, March 10th this year, in Mexico daylight saving time begins at 2:00 am local time on Sunday, April 7, 2013.

Daylight Saving Time in Mexico

Mexico adopted DST nationwide in 1996, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. Although the United States changed the schedule for DST beginning in 2007, most of Mexico did not go along with it.

Daylight saving time for Mexico begins the first Sunday of April, and ends last Sunday of October; and is usually referred to as the Horario de Verano (Summer Schedule).

In 2010, the ten Mexican municipalities which share a border with the United States started to observe daylight saving time three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. This change in daylight saving time observance was requested by local governments and political leaders to help facilitate commerce with the US.

Until April of 2010, the state of Nayarit was one hour earlier than Puerto Vallarta and the state of Jalisco. Before that, many tourist related businesses in Nayarit around Banderas Bay would set their clocks to Puerto Vallarta time to prevent confusion. On April 4, 2010, Nayarit initiated a 2 hour time change to coincide with Jalisco.

Therefore, in both states on April 7, 2013, the clocks will be turned forward 1 hour from 2:00 am to 3:00 am. Daylight Saving Time will end on Sunday, October 27, 2013.