‘It’s very little,’ says Sheinbaum about the inflationary rebound
The data arrived cold, like every month. INEGI reported that headline inflation rose to 3.79% in January, a rebound from 3.59% in December. The raw figure, without makeup.
But in the National Palace, the official narrative chose another angle. President Claudia Sheinbaum was questioned this Monday about the 0.38% increase in the National Consumer Price Index.
“It’s very little, it went down in December and now there’s actually a .1 increase,” he said.
The question persisted: Is it still below what the market expected? His response was brief and forceful.
“Yes, yes. It’s okay, no problem.”
Meanwhile, the numbers tell another parallel story. Core inflation—that which excludes energy and fresh foods to better measure persistent pressure—was at 4.52%. Almost one percentage point above the general average.
A fact that usually goes unnoticed in morning conferences, but that economists observe with a magnifying glass. Because there, in that hard core of prices, is where the true trend is brewing.
Memory is fragile in economics. Just a few years ago, any rebound above 3% generated alerts and containment plans. Today it is classified as ‘very little’. Frames of reference have that curious elasticity depending on who uses them.
What does not change is the effect on the pockets. The general index reached 143,588 points. An abstract figure until it is translated into the supermarket bill or at the gas pump.
Sheinbaum opted for the reassuring message: no problem. The INEGI data simply exists, waiting for each person to give them the weight—or the lightness—that they consider appropriate.
