La Jornada: The economy remains stable and in continuous progress, highlights the SE

The Mexican economy remains stable and advances, which demonstrates that the model of Mexican humanism and moral economy strengthens the distribution of wealth and economic development from below, the Ministry of Economy said this Wednesday.

In a statement, the SE highlighted various economic achievements as a complement to the balance of the first 20 months of Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, issued last Sunday at the Monument to the Revolution.

The agency highlighted that Mexico registered a record in foreign direct investment during the first quarter of 2026, with 23,591 million dollars captured, a figure 10.4 percent higher than that of the same period in 2025.

He indicated that exports also reached historic levels and the trade balance was positive for the first time in several years.

He emphasized that unemployment is at 2.5 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, which places Mexico among the three countries with the lowest unemployment in the world, in addition to the fact that 669 thousand jobs were created and April 2026 closed as the month with the highest formal employment in the history of the country.

The Mexican peso, he said, closed at 17.40 pesos per dollar, compared to the 19.65 it registered a year ago, and it is the second currency that has appreciated the most against the dollar in the world. Inflation and interest rates maintain a downward trend, while 24 items in the basic basket reduced their price by 12 percent in real terms compared to 2024.

The price of gasoline and diesel, he continued, remained unchanged despite the international rise in oil. Meanwhile, the minimum wage went from 2,650 pesos per month in 2018 to more than 9,500 pesos in 2026, an increase of 154 percent in real terms. Likewise, he stressed that working poverty is at its lowest level since 2005 and the 40-hour workweek came into force.

Tourism grew 10.2 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2025, and sales in self-service stores increased 4.1 percent. In the countryside, he predicted that bean production will grow 300 thousand tons more than the previous year, and corn production will add at least 2 million additional tons. The debt of the public sector’s financial requirements closed the first quarter at 50.3 percent of GDP and the deficit decreased 1.5 percent compared to GDP in 2025.

He recalled that Congress approved the investment law, aimed at accelerating public and mixed investment in the second semester to strengthen public works and national development.