Mexico City Mayor Announces Support for Employment

Mexico City Mayor Martí Batres Guadarrama announced the distribution of nearly MX$148 million (US$7.47 million) in support of employment and social economy projects. The funds were allocated to benefit 5,800 residents across the city’s 16 boroughs, as reported by Mexico City’s Ministry of Labor.

The funding was channeled through the programs Promotion of Decent Work and Social Economy. The former focuses on providing temporary employment to vulnerable groups, while the latter supports the development of cooperative businesses.

During an event announcing the program, Batres highlighted  the importance of direct government support for grassroots economic initiatives. "We are promoting employment in all areas, supporting economic activity, private enterprises, and the work that people do from the ground up with their imagination and dreams," he said. Batres highlighted the government’s approach of delivering resources directly to the people to enable them to pursue economic projects.

As part of the Social Economy program, 216 cooperatives received financial support. This included 120 newly created cooperatives, each awarded MX$80,000, and 86 established cooperatives that received MX$120,000 each to strengthen their operations. Additionally, 10 large cooperatives, each with 50 members, were provided with MX$800,000 to further their community-driven enterprises.

In addition to supporting cooperative enterprises, the Promotion of Decent Work program provided temporary employment for 4,000 men and women aged 18 to 64. These workers received MX$6,000 monthly for up to three months, with payments covering July and August. 

Batres says that these efforts are part of a broader transformation in Mexico, led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which focuses on expanding social rights, reducing poverty, and increasing income levels. He highlighted achievements such as record levels of foreign direct investment, significant increases in remittances, and the elimination of outsourcing practices, all of which contribute to a more equitable economic landscape.

“[This Government] ended the general regime of subcontracting, known as outsourcing, rapidly increased the minimum wage like never before, doubled profit-sharing, increased the number of vacation days, regained the majority state control in electricity generation, and, for the first time, achieved economic growth in the southeastern part of the country that outpaced the north,” says Batres