This article by Darren Garcia originally appeared in the April 24, 2026 edition of Revista Contralínea.
The current minimum wage in Mexico, set at 9,582.47 pesos –excluding the northern border–, allows the purchase of 1.94 basic baskets of goods, compared to the 0.78 that could be bought at the end of 2018. This reflects the positive results in the recovery of workers’ purchasing power, celebrated the National Minimum Wage Commission (CONASAMI).
The cost of the basic food basket in March was 4,940.45 pesos, reflecting “a cumulative recovery of 152.4 percent above inflation,” which rose by 5.6 percent that month. This is according to data from the Urban Income Poverty Line, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
As for the urban food basket, its value was 2,571.18 pesos in March, representing an 8.1 percent year-on-year increase. The statement—published by the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare—noted that, even with this increase, the minimum wage remained higher, with a 13 percent increase between 2025 and 2026.
However, CONASAMI also explained that the increase in the basket was mainly due to the rise in the price of tomatoes, lemons, chili peppers, and potatoes , attributed to “climatic factors in the United States and Mexico that reduced supply, as well as an increase in fuel prices internationally, resulting from conflicts and disruptions in supply chains in the Middle East”; although it stressed that the causes are temporary.
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While the minimum wage in the country to the north stays where it is...