Sheinbaum's Second Report: Record FDI, Energy Sovereignty

President Claudia Sheinbaum's second government report highlighted record FDI of US$35 billion in 1H26, 1.9% year-on-year GDP growth, and continued rollout of Plan México's investment-facilitation measures, including a 60-day single-window permitting office. The report matters for investors, manufacturers, and energy-sector stakeholders as it detailed 32,000 MW of planned grid additions, US$10.6 billion in new mixed-investment generation projects, and a MX$141 billion national gas pipeline plan amid continued reliance on imported natural gas. The address also addressed friction with the United States over tariffs and detained Mexican nationals, while reaffirming ongoing trade and security dialogue with Washington.

President Claudia Sheinbaum delivered her second annual government report from the National Palace on Sept. 1, marking nearly two years since taking office. The address combined an economic scorecard with a broader defense of what she calls "Shared Prosperity" and the continuation of the so-called Fourth Transformation, framing the government's approach as one that pairs fiscal discipline with an expanded role for the state in strategic sectors.

Fiscal Position and Macroeconomic Indicators

Sheinbaum said her administration has cut current spending by MX$200 billion compared with 2024 without affecting core service areas, while federal revenue reached a historic MX$6.046 trillion in 2025, MX$487 billion more than the prior year. Collection through August 2026 is already running MX$149 billion ahead of the same period last year, funding increases including a 10% teacher salary raise in 2025 and 9% in 2026, along with 30,000 new positions across the National Guard, health, education and welfare programs.

On the broader economy, she cited FDI reaching US$35 billion in the 1H26, a 12% increase compared with the same period of 2024, alongside second-quarter GDP growth of 1.4% quarter-on-quarter and 1.9% year-on-year. Employment reached 60 million people with a 2.7% unemployment rate, and 86,765 formal jobs were added between July and August alone, excluding digital platform work. She also pointed to declining inflation, a stable peso near MX$17 to the dollar, a second consecutive year of trade surplus, and 51.1 million international travelers in the first half of the year, up 7.7% year-on-year, plus a 15.2% rise in cruise arrivals.

Sheinbaum acknowledged that US tariff policy on vehicles, steel and aluminum, along with oil price pressure tied to the conflict in Iran, created "difficult circumstances," but argued the economy has remained stable regardless. A new fiscal and budget package for 2027 is due within days, which she described as balancing gradual fiscal consolidation with continued investment in welfare, health and education.

Investment Simplification and Plan México

The government's investment-facilitation push centers on Plan México, which aims to boost domestic production, substitute imports and diversify foreign trade. Ten of 25 planned Economic Development Poles for Wellbeing are already under development, and 25 of a targeted 100 industrial parks are operational.

 The newly created Presidential Investment Promotion Office, which approves permits within a maximum of 60 days through a single window, has cleared 19 projects worth US$3.76 billion in its first four months. Sheinbaum said the government has eliminated or simplified 60% of bureaucratic procedures nationally, cut requirements by 66%, reduced average response times by 50%, and fully streamlined COFEPRIS' processes, with a new unified catalog of procedures being rolled out with state and municipal governments.

Energy Sovereignty

A significant portion of the address focused on energy policy, framed as recovering "energy sovereignty" after the constitutional changes that restored PEMEX and the CFE as public enterprises. Sheinbaum said 32,000 additional megawatts will be added to the national grid by the end of her term, raising renewable energy's share from 24% to 38%. 

Two years in, six new combined-cycle plants adding 3,000 MW have been completed, alongside the rehabilitation of eight hydroelectric plants. Under a mixed-investment scheme maintaining a 54%-public, 46%-private split, 38 new generation projects were approved in transparent bidding, adding 8,025 MW of generation and more than 2,500 MW of storage capacity, backed by US$10.6 billion in investment. CFE has also begun a MX$244 billion transmission and distribution modernization plan.

On hydrocarbons, Sheinbaum said PEMEX's debt has been reduced by US$20 billion, with current output at 1.77 million barrels of oil per day and nearly 5 billion cubic feet of natural gas, while national refining capacity processes more than 1.5 million barrels daily. 

She defended the Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas as central to weathering global fuel price increases, and pointed to a MX$141 billion peso National Gas Pipeline Plan running through 2030. Notably, she disclosed that 75% of the natural gas Mexico consumes is currently imported, with 90% of that coming from unconventional sources  and that a multidisciplinary expert committee has recommended against unconventional gas extraction in the Tampico-Misantla basin to protect communities and natural resources, a recommendation the government will respect and publish.

Security and Foreign Relations

Sheinbaum reported a 51% reduction in intentional homicides since taking office, equivalent to 44 fewer killings per day, with high-impact crime down 54% relative to 2018 levels. Since October 2024, authorities have detained 63,000 people linked to organized crime, including 207 priority targets, and seized over 32,800 firearms and 519t of drugs.

On foreign policy, she reaffirmed adherence to constitutional principles of non-intervention and self-determination while acknowledging friction with the United States, including the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals in US detention facilities and operations, cases her government says it has formally protested through diplomatic and legal channels. She said trade and security dialogue with Washington remains ongoing, closing her address with a pledge that Mexican sovereignty "is not negotiated, not surrendered and not shared."