Mexico City – Mexico’s daily minimum wage will increase by 22% to 172.87 pesos (US $8.11) in general and 260.34 (US $12.21) for the border regions, on January 1, 2022 after the Mexican government and business groups approved the hike on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The increase will benefit some 6 million people, Mexico’s National Minimum Wage Commission (CONASAMI) said.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced next year’s increase during a speech at Mexico City’s main public plaza to mark the third anniversary of his assumption of power, praising the consensus reached among government officials, employers and workers. He said that it is another small step toward addressing Mexico’s vast wealth disparity.
On January 1, 2022, the daily wage will be 60.4% higher than when López Obrador took office in late 2018 with a vow to prioritize the poor and reverse a decades-long decline in workers’ purchasing power. His administration raised the minimum wage by 16% in 2019, 20% in 2020, and by 15% in 2021.
CONASAMI said the 2022 hike is the highest in nominal terms since 1987, and will bring purchasing power in line to where it was in 1985.
“The General Minimum Wage of the Free Zone of the North Border will cover 112% of the Family Welfare Line and the General Minimum Wage of the Rest of the Country will cover 74% of it (…) It is a priority for the private sector to provide solutions to the challenges facing our country, in the face of the economic reactivation after the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the economy of Mexican families so much,” the Business Coordinating Council, an influential umbrella organization that represents 12 business groups, said in a statement.
Sources: Vallarta Independiente • Reuters