Pension spending and the financial cost of public debt combined reached 1.127 trillion pesos between January and May 2026, the second-highest figure for a comparable period, according to the public finance report published by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) for January-May 2026, as reported by El CEO.
Total net expenditure in the first five months of the year reached 3.554 trillion pesos. Of that amount, 28.5 out of every 100 pesos went exclusively to pension payments and debt service, while only 8 out of every 100 pesos were channeled to physical investment. Pensions and retirement payments, at 693,299 million pesos, posted real annual growth of 6.27 percent, the highest figure for a January-May cumulative period on record.
The financial cost of debt, which includes interest, fees, and other associated charges, came in at 433,776 million pesos. While that represents a real decline of 9.58 percent compared to the same period in 2025, it marks the third consecutive year in which debt costs have exceeded 400,000 million pesos through May. The country's net public debt reached 19.413 trillion pesos, equivalent to 52.01 percent of GDP.
Felipe Juncal, Citi's economist for Mexico and Latin America, noted that "the Finance Ministry's room to restructure spending is limited," given the pressure that debt service and pension obligations place on public finances.
The public deficit at the close of May stood at 418,749 million pesos, below the programmed deficit of 685,092 million pesos, according to Mexico Business News. The primary balance posted a surplus of 15,000 million pesos, compared to a programmed deficit of 165,371 million pesos. Over the past decade, the Finance Ministry's fiscal margin has contracted from 4.6 to 1.7 percent of GDP, leaving an increasingly narrow window for new programs or investment expansions.
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.