The fiscal coup that nobody wanted to see
The figures from the Bank of Mexico do not lie, although some prefer to look the other way. January 2026 brought a significant drop in remittances: 4,594 million dollars, far from the usual 5 billion. We have not seen numbers like this since April 2024.
The data represents an annual decrease of 1.4%, according to information from Banco de México, which warned about the slowdown in the pace of transfers.
The reason is as obvious as it is painful: the new 1% tax applied in the United States to cash, checks and money orders. The migrants felt the blow to their pockets and reacted like any of us: looking for alternatives.
Less operations, more questions
Not only did the total amount go down. The number of operations plummeted to 11.4 million from 13 million in December. Each figure is a family waiting for that money for the basics: food, rent, medicine.
Analysts point out the obvious: the new tax burden and the lower capacity of migrants to sustain transfers. The average amount per transaction fell slightly to $401.
The worrying thing is what comes next. When formal channels become more expensive, people look for alternative routes. Translation: more informality, less protection, greater risk.
Specialists warn that the measure has direct effects on recipient families in Mexico, who depend on these resources for consumption and basic expenses.
Here is the real structural problem. Remittances are not a curious fact in an economic report: they are the daily sustenance of millions. Its slowdown directly hits domestic consumption when the economy is most fragile.
The authorities agree that the trend must be observed during the year. In the meantime, families can’t wait to see if this is “temporary” or “structural.” They need to eat today.
In an ideal world, more regulation should mean more protection. In the Mexican reality, too many times it only means higher costs for those who have the least.
