From the editorial staff
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, January 2, 2026, p. 3
From the first day of 2026, a 13 percent increase in the general minimum wage and a 5 percent increase in the Northern Border Free Zone came into effect. These increases represent a daily payment of 315.04 and 440.87 pesos, respectively, recalled the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS).
In a statement, the agency highlighted that, with this adjustment, the minimum wage in the general zone amounts to 9,582.47 pesos per month, while in the Northern Border Free Zone it reaches 13,409.80 pesos per month, which allows a worker to already cover two basic baskets.
In parallel and in line with the salary increase, the Presidency of the Republic modified the employment subsidy, a tax benefit aimed at reducing the payment of income tax (ISR), with the aim that workers with lower incomes maintain this support.
Likewise, the STPS pointed out that the adjustment to the minimum wage is part of the wage recovery policy initiated in 2018, which “has increased purchasing power by 154 percent,” he stressed.
The federal agency added that this measure will benefit 8.5 million workers during 2026.
“This increase represents one more step towards fulfilling commitment number 56 of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, so that at the end of the six-year term, working people who receive a minimum wage can acquire 2.5 basic baskets that cover their food and non-food needs,” he emphasized.
The STPS also highlighted that, in the so-called “second floor of the Fourth Transformation”, a 12 percent salary increase was recorded in its first year, which is added to the 13 percent applied in 2026. In this way, it noted, “6.6 million people escaped poverty between 2018 and 2024 thanks to this policy of increases.”
In addition, the agency presented an annual balance in which it highlighted that one of the main achievements of 2025 was the presentation of the reform to reduce the working day from 48 to 40 hours per week, which will benefit more than 13.4 million people without compromising the economic development of the country. He also described the end of the Cananea strike as an act of historic justice, after more than 18 years of conflict.
For its part, the Presidency of the Republic published on the last day of 2025 the decree that increases from 10,171 to 11,492.66 pesos per month the level of income subject to subsidy from the federal government for the payment of the ISR, a measure aimed at benefiting lower-income workers.
According to the document released in the Official Gazette of the Federation and signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the objective is to prevent the employment subsidy from losing effectiveness in the face of the progressive increase in the minimum wage and to guarantee that it continues to benefit a significant number of people with lower purchasing power.
