CDMX to Boost Public Works 55% by 2026

Mexico City is scaling up public investment under Mayor of Mexico City, Clara Brugada. The 2026 budget shows a 55% increase in public works spending versus 2024. The additional resources will be directed mainly toward mobility and water infrastructure, reinforcing the administration’s strategy of using higher capital spending to address urban service gaps, strengthen connectivity and support long-term city development.

Mexico City is accelerating public investment under Mayor of Mexico City Clara Brugada, with the city’s 2026 budget framework showing a 55% increase in public investment compared with 2024 and a total allocation of MX$57.911 billion (US$3.28 million). According to the city’s Finance Ministry, the increase is driven by higher spending on public works, water and mobility, supported in part by the Infrastructure, Mobility, Water and Security Fund (FIMAS).

The Finance Ministry says the 2026 budget includes annual increases of 37.8% for works, 26.7% for water and 13% for mobility, positioning Mexico City as the state with the largest public investment package in the country. It also said the capital will account for 21% of the country’s physical public investment, with MX$30.584 billion (US$1.732 billion) in physical investment alone.

The official budget package published by the Ministry of Administration and Finance shows where the comparison comes from. The 2026 spending proposal is contained in the city’s official budget package, while the 2024 package provides the baseline year used by the government for the two-year comparison. Together, those documents underpin the administration’s claim that public investment has risen 55% between 2024 and 2026.

The budget push builds on the narrative Brugada has presented publicly. In her first government report, reported by MBN, the mayor said her administration had already reached a record MX$44 billion (US$2.37 billion) in public investment in 2025, up 18% year over year, under a model of “less debt, more investment.” The same report linked that strategy to the creation of FIMAS, with MX$10 billion earmarked to strengthen project execution capacity.

Mobility has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of that strategy. Brugada’s first report outlined three new Cablebús lines; the completion of the Pantitlan-Observatorio modernization of Metro Line 1 by mid-November 2025; the start of Trolleybus Line 0 between Chapultepec and Ciudad Universitaria; and the upgrade of the Ajolote light rail system with 17 new trainsets. The administration also said it plans to double Ecobici to 7,000 bicycles and 500 stations, reinforcing a transport agenda centered on mass transit, electrification and last-mile connectivity.

In terms of water, the report said it invested MX$5.2 billion in the water system, modernized 310 wells, automated operations and recovered 1,000L/s without drilling new wells. The government also pointed to programs such as the H2O Line, the Water C5 Center and the Tlaloque emergency response program as part of a broader effort to improve resilience, monitoring and distribution, especially in areas with chronic shortages such as Iztapalapa.

The Ministry of Finance said that between 2018 and 2025, Mexico City reduced its public debt by 8.4%, while maintaining the highest subnational credit ratings. Officials argue that this has created room to expand capital spending without undermining fiscal stability. They also tied part of the 2026 investment agenda to long-term projects associated with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying tourism-linked resources will be redirected toward permanent infrastructure works rather than short-lived spending.

Beyond transport and water, Brugada’s first report framed public works as part of a broader urban transformation agenda. The city said it invested MX$4 billion in machinery and equipment to speed up construction and maintenance, revitalized 600,000m² of urban space through 14 Utopias and 20 Alegría Parks, and paved 250KM of roads under the Cualli Ohtli program. The report also linked infrastructure expansion to housing, green areas and anti-gentrification policy, suggesting the administration is trying to present public investment as both an economic and social policy tool.