President Sheinbaum announced a new tax incentive to boost film production in Mexico, with actress Salma Hayek joining her at the event to celebrate what she called a “historic opportunity” for the country’s cinema industry.

The program offers a credit against income tax (ISR) equivalent to 30% of expenditures made in Mexico, with a limit of 40 million pesos (US $2.3 million) per project.

Hayek, one of Mexico’s most famous actresses, praised the initiative during the announcement, noting that the film industry has grown despite little to no support from previous governments.

“I think Mexican cinema was neglected for a long time, and thanks to Mexican talent that never gave up, we haven’t just survived, but we’ve grown despite the complete lack of support,” Hayek told reporters.

“I want to tell you that I believe no one can compete with us. With this support, we are unparalleled. There is no country in the world, none, that has our diversity. Perhaps what we have been lacking is this president,” she said, gesturing toward Sheinbaum. 

Sheinbaum explained that the initiative aims to boost Mexican cinema, particularly independent productions, while diversifying content, promoting works in Indigenous languages and ensuring more transparent use of resources.

“This incentive program includes a government commission that aims to support the development of productions that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to exist,” Sheinbaum said.

She added that the incentive will be available for international productions as long as they employ Mexican talent, “so that an international production doesn’t just arrive with everything and leave, but rather develops all the talent we have in Mexico.”

To qualify, at least 70% of supplies, including services, talent and spending, must be of Mexican origin, ensuring benefits remain with Mexican companies. 

Eligible projects include:

• Feature-length fiction or animated films and series with a verifiable minimum expenditure of 40 million pesos (US$ 2.3 million);
• Feature-length documentaries and series with a minimum expenditure of 20 million pesos (US$ 1.2 million); and
• Some animation, visual effects or post-production processes with a minimum expenditure of 5 million pesos (US$ 290,000) per process.

The incentive will be available to Mexican citizens, foreigners with permanent residence in the country and foreigners without permanent residence who carry out production through a Mexican resident.

The program also establishes an archiving policy to document, preserve, restore, digitize and disseminate Mexico’s audiovisual heritage collection.

With reports from CNN