Secretary Montiel releases the data and leaves us with our mouths open
Imagine the scene: Ariadna Montiel, the Secretary of Welfare, in front of the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, releasing figures that make your bank statement blush with envy. It turns out that, since this administration began in 2019, the accumulated social investment has exceeded a whopping 4.5 trillion pesos. Yes, billions, with a B for “really?” A figure that is basically the budget of all our collective dreams.
But hey, don’t just stick with the big number. The official stated, with all the attitude of someone who has the data in their favor, that this rain of millions through social programs, salary policy and investment in works has had a real effect: the income of Mexican households grew by 16% in real terms. To put it in a millennial perspective: two decades ago, the income of the poorest households was 1,483 pesos per month (just enough for a few specialty coffees), and currently it has increased almost 6 thousand pesos. Basically, we went from surviving to, perhaps, being able to afford a small luxury.
And then came the comparison that everyone expected, the “before and after.” From 2000 to 2018, the real average minimum wage went from 75.6 pesos per day to 88.15. An increase of just 12.55 pesos in 18 years, a 16% that feels more like an adjustment for inflation than true progress. But, oh surprise, from 2019 to 2025, in just seven years of the so-called Fourth Transformation, the salary skyrocketed to an increase of 102.35 pesos, achieving a real increase of 97.9%. That is, 81% more than in the entire previous period, which Montiel had no qualms about labeling as “neoliberal.” The classic “I’m not saying, but I’m saying.”
Support for victims: when nature does its thing
But not everything is salary, friends. Life sometimes throws you a hurricane or intense rain that messes up your existence. Montiel reported that the federal government has already concluded the payment operation in the 119 municipalities of five states that seemed like the set of a disaster movie: Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz.
The help was not symbolic. 104 thousand affected homes were assisted with various economic supports. There were 20 thousand pesos for cleaning the house (because starting from scratch costs), between 15 and 70 thousand pesos to rehabilitate the house (the forced “home makeover”), 50 thousand for those who lost their crops (goodbye, avocados) and 20 to 50 thousand for those affected in their commercial premises. A chain of support designed, in theory, so that recovery is not a myth.
The pension and health boom that knocks on your door
And this is where things get interesting for our older adults, those beings who raised us and whom we sometimes forget in the whirlwind of life. The Pension for the Well-being of the Elderly benefits 13.3 million beneficiaries. This year, the amount rose to 6 thousand 200 pesos every two months, which translates into a social investment of more than 484 thousand 483 million pesos. Almost nothing.
But the star ad, the one that deserves a highlight on the networks, was for women. “And let me boast to you,” said Montiel with an air of satisfaction, that the President decided to advance the pension for women aged 60, 61 and 62, which was originally scheduled for 2026. The reason: “because women have already waited a long time.” We can’t help but think of all the grandmothers who finally see recognition of their struggle. As of yesterday, 2 million new beneficiaries began to receive their pension for the first time. The investment for this year is 23,662 million pesos, benefiting in total 3 million women. A movement that, without a doubt, changes the economic dynamics in many homes.
And if that were not enough, there is also the program Salud Casa por Casa, which sounds like that streaming service that we would all like to have. 8 million 150 thousand consultations have been carried out to provide personalized medical care, detect chronic diseases and guarantee first-level care, with an investment of 4 thousand 757 million pesos in 2025 alone. Health, it seems, is now knocking at the door.
To close with a flourish, Montiel detailed that more than one million 600 thousand people with disabilities receive a pension, which represents an investment of 32 thousand 78 million pesos. One more demonstration that social investment seeks, in theory, to leave no one behind.
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