// LEADERS' VIEWS
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM , PRESIDENT, MEXICO
Mexico is respected throughout the world. It is known that our people are noble, generous and brave, and that we are experiencing a stellar moment in our history. Even amid difficult circumstances, our economy shows strength: An estimated annual growth of 1.2%, compared to the catastrophic expectations previously announced by international financial organisations that said the gross domestic product would fall this year. Foreign direct investment is at a record high in the first half of the year with more than $36 billion. The number of visitors to Mexico grew by 13.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. Our currency remains below 19 pesos per US dollar. Unemployment stands at 2.7%, one of the lowest levels in the world. And the annual inflation in July was 3.5%, the lowest since January 2021… We increased the minimum wage in 2025 by 12%, which represents a historic real-term increase of 135% since 2018. The increase in the minimum wage has been an act of justice against the absurd belief that raising it would cause inflation, which in reality justifies the concentration of wealth... This year, we also launched three new Welfare Programmes: Women’s Welfare Pension. 1,002,058 women aged 63 and 64 are already receiving the pension, and by the end of the year, 2 million more will receive it... All older adults and people with disabilities receive medical care from ‘Health House by House’, provided by 20,000 health workers… We set out to build 1.7 million decent homes for well-being in this six-year term, with very accessible loans for the population whose income is less than or equal to two minimum wages… As the first woman president, our goal is to promote equality and the fair recognition and development of the women of Mexico. To achieve this, we created the Ministry of Women, which is already distributing 25 million Rights Booklets to ensure that everyone knows that women have the right to live free from violence and to access education, health care, property rights and housing. And we can be whatever we want to be. State of the Union Address, 1 September 2025. Translated from Spanish.
Delivering shared prosperity and justice A s the first female president to be reporting to the nation, I maintain … that I did not arrive alone, I arrived with all Mexican women. This has generated in girls,
country. We are convinced that, within the framework of the Trade Agreement, we can achieve even better conditions… We have made it clear that the foundation of this understanding is shared responsibility, mutual trust, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and cooperation without subordination. Since February, we have established Comprehensive Care Centres for our migrant brothers who are unjustly deported from the United States. We provide them with the Paisano [Compatriot] Card, registration with the IMSS [Mexican social security system], access to housing, employment, transportation to their places of origin, as well as hot meals and temporary shelter. Through this programme, which we call ‘Mexico Embraces You’, we have assisted more than 86,000 compatriots… We will continue working so that our migrant brothers and sisters always feel protected and supported by their government. They know that we consider them to be heroes and heroines of Mexico. We are also strengthening bilateral cooperation and diversifying our exports. A few days ago, we signed memorandums of understanding with the Republic of Brazil; and this month we will receive the Prime Minister of Canada, the President of France; and we have formalised the update of the Trade Agreement with the European Union.
young women and adult women an extraordinary strength that moves consciences, opens paths and breaks barriers that for centuries seemed impossible to overcome. We have all arrived. Moreover, this is not the victory of a single person, but the result of a collective will that for decades resisted, fought and dreamed of a country with justice. We come from a deeply humanist, democratic and popular movement, which placed the people at the centre of political action and honesty as the guiding principle of life and public service. Today I come to report, not with empty words, but with results that are reflected in the daily lives of millions of Mexican women and men… From 2018 to 2024, the population living in poverty went from representing 41.9% of the population to 29.5%, the lowest level in at least 40 years. Inequality also decreased significantly. The Gini coefficient, the way to measure inequality, went from 0.426 to 0.391, placing Mexico as the second country with the lowest inequality in the Americas, after Canada… Fortunately, we are consolidating a new economic model that ensures macroeconomic stability while promoting Shared Prosperity with fair wages and Welfare Programmes, strengthening education, health and access to housing, promoting regional development through national and foreign public and private investment, all while governing with honesty and Republican Austerity… [In the past 12 months], the entire world has faced complex situations in response to the new tariff reality established by the United States government. Within this framework, we have managed to build a relationship of mutual respect. Mexico is the country with the lowest average tariff percentage in the world, and we continue working with the various state secretariats of our neighbouring
22 // G20 SOUTH AFRICA: THE JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT 2025
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