Monetary matters were a key focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s final press conference of the week as the federal government submitted its 2025 budget proposal to Congress on Friday morning and Moody’s Ratings downgraded its outlook on Mexico’s sovereign credit ratings on Thursday.
Sheinbaum also spoke about what the government has done to help the state of Guerrero recover from a recent hurricane, and signed into law a reform that enshrines a range of women’s rights in the Mexican Constitution.
A ‘solid’ 2025 budget proposal and a ‘strong’ economy
Sheinbaum noted that Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O would present the federal government’s proposed budget to the lower house of Congress on Friday morning.
“It’s a very solid package, important changes are coming in the way the budget is distributed,” she said, noting also that the budget deficit is projected to decline in 2025.
To achieve the lower deficit, Sheinbaum said there would be “a greater effort from the entire government” in the implementation of “republican austerity” measures.
“That doesn’t mean affecting the operation of the country or the government, not at all,” she said.
“… Yes, [there are] some adjustments [but] obviously the welfare programs and public investment are guaranteed,” Sheinbaum said.
While economic growth in Mexico is slowing, the president declared that Mexico’s economy is “solid” and “strong,” and asserted “we’re going to come out ahead next year.”
Sheinbaum also said that the government would take steps in 2025 to increase tax collection, including by clamping down further on tax evasion.
“Even with everything president López Obrador did, there is still tax evasion,” she said.
Sheinbaum responds to Moody’s outlook downgrade
Asked about Moody’s Ratings decision to downgrade its Mexico outlook to negative from stable, Sheinbaum asserted that the credit rating agency failed to adequately explain its rationale.
“This supposed ‘institutional weakening,’ they would have to provide more arguments or proof for that,” she said.
Moody’s said in a statement that the Mexican government “has approved reforms to the country’s institutional framework, including the judiciary, that have the potential to materially alter the checks and balances and the business operating environment in the country.”
Sheinbaum suggested that rating agencies are biased against the kind of “economic model” that has been implemented in Mexico in recent years.
Starting in 2018, when former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, “the economic model in our country changed,” she said.
“It’s a model based on republican austerity, the moral economy, reorienting resources for social programs, [the protection of citizens´] rights and public investment,” Sheinbaum said.
She subsequently stressed that while Moody’s Mexico outlook changed, its long term ratings for the country — maintained at investment grade Baa2 — did not.
“There is a lot of investment coming to Mexico in 2025,” Sheinbaum added.
“… We’re working with business people … to continue increasing investment in our country. And as you know, investment for us has to generate not just a foreign direct investment number but also wellbeing for Mexicans,” she said.
10 billion pesos allocated to Guerrero after Hurricane John
Sheinbaum told reporters that authorities have allocated almost 10 billion pesos (US $490.6 million) to projects and programs across Guerrero since Hurricane John claimed lives and caused significant damage in the Pacific coast state in late September.
“It’s a very significant allocation of resources. Families were supported, the potable water system was restored, rivers are being desilted,” she said.
“And now we’re developing a comprehensive program for Acapulco in particular, an investment in coming years of around 8 billion pesos,” Sheinbaum said.
Acapulco was also hit hard by Hurricane Otis in October 2023. The Category 5 storm caused extensive damage in the Pacific coast resort city and claimed more than 50 lives.
‘Women are now in the Constitution’
At the start of her Friday press conference, Sheinbaum signed into law a constitutional amendment that enshrines a range of rights for Mexican women.
“Women are now in the constitution, our rights are guaranteed,” Sheinbaum said.
* Click here to read Mexico News Daily’s full report on Mexico’s newest constitutional reform.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
