Mérida: where formal employment is as white as its buildings (and its figures)
It seems that in the White City they not only paint facades white, but also the labor statistics. According to data from the IMSS, Mérida was crowned as the fifth city with the most formal workers in June 2025: 339,440 people who can boast social security (and sleep peacefully knowing that their bonus is not a myth).
From Yucatán to the world: investments that would make other states cry
Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada—who seems to have more projects than an influencer in a content crisis—announced that 14 new investments have arrived for $10,917 million pesos. “Here we believe in people,” he said, while signing symbolic checks with a smile that rivals the Yucatecan sun.
Among the star programs are My First Credit (for millennials who still do not understand the CAT), Micromer (the Tinder for small businesses) and Crédito Mujer a Mujer (sorority with interest included). All this seasoned with workshops at the Comprehensive Development Centers, where they teach everything from carpentry to how to survive a meeting with the bank.
“Here we don’t give away fish, we teach how to fish… and we even give them the rod,” declared the councilor, probably while someone in networks reminded her that in Yucatan they prefer panuchos.
Do you want a piece of the Merida economic pie?
If you are one of those who think that “work formality” is an oxymoron, Mérida comes to shut your mouth with figures that would make CDMX blush. The secret recipe: mix social justice with entrepreneurship, add a pinch of job training and bake in the 40°C sun.
For the curious, the City Council even has a website (merida.gob.mx, because yes, the government also knows how to use the Internet). Of course, they don’t promise immediate answers… but at least they no longer ask you to bring your documents on carbon paper.
Would you like to live in the fifth most formal city in Mexico? Share this note and tag that friend who keeps posting “I will never have my own house” memes. And if you want more stories from cities that know what they’re doing, explore our content. #Spoiler: not everyone is like Merida.




