The Morena party leader plans to continue increasing the purchasing power of the minimum wage and, in fact, take it to the “highest level in history.” This would imply annual adjustments of more than 11% throughout her administration.
Claudia Sheinbaum's government project contemplates continuing with the policy implemented in the current administration to strengthen the minimum wage. The objective is that by 2030 this benchmark has recovered the purchasing power that it began to lose since 1976.
According to the document “100 steps for transformation”, which reflects the complete electoral project of the president-elect, the minimum wage will rise at double-digits annually and, by the end of her six-year term, become “the highest minimum wage in the history of Mexico.”
“The goal proposed by 2030 for the minimum wage is to reach the historical maximum of 1976, thus recovering all the purchasing power that was lost during the neoliberal period,” says the standard bearer of the coalition made up of Morena, PT and PVEM in the document. .
The proposed goal is divided into two stages. Firstly, it is contemplated that by 2026 the minimum wage will be equivalent to at least twice the urban income poverty line (LPIU), “to once again achieve a minimum wage that is sufficient for the most basic needs of a Mexican family.”
So far this year, the LPIU registers an average value of US$253.7 per month. So, in current nominal values, the general reference for remuneration would be at least US$507.5 per month, or US$16.9 per day, by 2026.
In 2024, the minimum wage is US$13.9 per day (US$425.1 per month). Thus, with this first phase of the project, the accumulated increase would be at least 20% in the first years of government.
The second part is the goal at the end of the six-year term. By 2030, the document proposes that this indicator be “sufficient for a family to have access to basic products and decent housing,” which would imply taking it to at least 2.5 times the LPIU. Under the current value, it would be equivalent to US$634.4 per month, or US$21.1 per day.
In nominal terms and with accumulated values so far in 2024, the minimum wage would have to grow by at least 50% in the six-year period.
“We will continue to increase the minimum wage in agreement with the business sector. We are going to convince them that the minimum wage should reach 2.5 baskets per day. That means a nominal increase in the following years of about 11% annually,” said Claudia Sheinbaum when presenting the 100 points at the start of her campaign.
The project also contemplates the strengthening of the National Minimum Wages Commission (Conasami), to give it greater powers of supervision and sanction to companies that pay less. This will require reforms to the Federal Labor Law (LFT), "so that (Conasami) consolidates as a preponderant institution.”
“It is proposed that Conasami also has the power to review the concentration that exists in the labor markets of the different entities, municipalities and industries in the country, as well as to pursue and fine companies that do not comply with the payment of the minimum wage and propose changes in certain industries to reduce the imbalance between workers and companies,” the document details.
In the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a policy was launched to recover the purchasing power of the minimum wage with double-digit increases in each year of the six-year term. With this, the country's minimum wage went from US$ 4.9 to US$ 13.9 per day between 2018 and 2024, which implies a growth of approximately 110% in real terms.
According to an analysis consulted by México, ¿Como Vamos?, these adjustments take the purchasing power of the minimum wage to a level similar to what it was in 1982.
It should be noted that according to a reform to article 90 of the LFT enacted in October 2021, the annual increases in the minimum wage can never be below the inflation rate.
The 5 axes of Sheinbaum's employment proposal
As in the current six-year term, Claudia Sheinbaum's electoral program includes a series of priorities in labor matters. These are the five main aspects of her proposal.
First, the minimum wage. As mentioned previously, the aim is to bring this benchmark to a level equivalent to at least 2.5 the urban income poverty line measured by Coneval.
Second, salaries for education, safety and health workers. As proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum's project contemplates adjustments so that teachers, police officers, nurses and doctors earn at least US$907.3 per month, which is the average salary received by people registered in the IMSS .
Third, the apprentice program. The president-elect proposes maintaining Young People Building the Future, the flagship program of the STPS for job training for people between 18 and 29 years old who do not study or work, and improve the relationship with companies after 12 months of training.
Fourth, agricultural laborers. The project contemplates advancing access to social security for people who work the land, as well as decent employment certification for the companies that employ them.
Fifth and last, digital platforms. The project is also considered to provide formal jobs to people who work as app drivers or delivery people, to recognize the employment relationship and guarantee access to social security.
Some of the reforms related to these proposals are already advancing in congress, so once the LXVI legislature and the new regular period of sessions begin, the discussions on several of them could resume.
