Mexico: What to Expect from a Labour and Employment Perspective with Mexico’s First Female President Claudia Sheinbaum

Claudia Sheinbaum’s national project offers a clear line of continuity and change compared to the current government. This “change with continuity” perspective is clearly manifested in the labour sector.

In terms of continuity, the project extensively blends López Obrador’s emblematic actions and programs related to workers with the constitutional reform initiatives proposed last February. Key actions include:

1. Increase in minimum wages: raising it to represent 2.5 basic daily baskets, implying nominal increases of 11% annually and guaranteed increments above inflation.
2. Presidential initiative for fair pensions.
3. Mandatory social security for app-based delivery workers.
4. Continuation of welfare programs, including support for the elderly, people with disabilities, and the Youth Building the Future program.
5. Increase in the number of beneficiaries of the welfare program for children of working mothers.
6. Reform Infonavit to build affordable housing.

 

Additionally, a minimum wage is proposed for full-time basic education teachers, as well as for police officers, National Guard members, soldiers, sailors, doctors, and nurses. This wage will not be less than the average income of workers registered with Social Security.

In terms of change, Sheinbaum’s project introduces several innovative initiatives:

1. Program for women aged 60 to 64: they will receive bimonthly support equivalent to half of the pension for those aged 65 and over.
2. Fair compensation for artists with Social Security.
3. Constitutional initiative for substantive gender equality, ensuring parity in cabinets and eliminating the wage gap.
4. Fair wages for high school teachers.
5. Special program for agricultural day workers, including social security, nutrition, health, and education for their children.

 

The mention of the “nearshoring” phenomenon, or the relocation of companies and investments to Mexico due to global geopolitical issues, is noteworthy. This trend will be leveraged to create development hubs with good wages and guaranteed labour rights, demonstrating a strategic vision for the contemporary industrial and labour world.

In summary, labour reforms proposed under Claudia Sheinbaum’s national project could lead to increased costs for businesses due to higher wages and mandatory social security provisions. Companies will need to adapt to these changes, ensuring compliance with new regulations while managing potential impacts on their operational and financial strategies.