Background on Claudia Sheinbaum’s Administration
In 2025, during Claudia Sheinbaum’s first year as the head of Mexico City’s government, her administration allocated more funds to support Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) than to infrastructure. This decision came amidst a year marked by public spending cuts to achieve fiscal consolidation, according to the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP).
Government Support for Pemex
Rodrigo Mariscal Paredes, head of the Economic Planning Unit at SHCP, detailed that four support measures were provided to Pemex in the previous year. These included:
- Allocating 131,000 million pesos from a budgeted 136,000 million pesos for financial assistance to Pemex via the Secretaría de Energía (Pemex) to help its financial situation.
- 254,000 million pesos for debt repurchase in September of the previous year.
- 191,000 million pesos for supporting payments to suppliers.
- 11,300 million USD (equivalent to 203,400 million pesos at the year-end exchange rate) for pre-capitalization notes.
These supports totaled 779,400 million pesos, exceeding the 769,961 million pesos invested in infrastructure, a crucial sector for stimulating economic activity.
Impact on Pemex’s Financials
Mariscal Paredes clarified that these supports did not affect the balance sheet, as they were counted as government expenditure and Pemex’s income simultaneously.
Historically, support and assistance for Pemex have been consistent. However, experts question whether the company can achieve financial autonomy given its substantial debt.
Debt Reduction and Credit Rating Improvement
Despite the spending on Pemex, Édgar Amador Zamora, SHCP’s secretary, highlighted that these supports have yielded positive results. The debt of Pemex has decreased by approximately 23,000 million USD since 2018, reaching its lowest level since 2014.
This debt reduction, along with government support, has improved Pemex’s credit rating for the first time in over a decade. A credit rating agency even raised Pemex’s rating by three notches, marking a historic achievement in financial profile enhancement.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the main focus of the Mexican government’s spending in 2025? The government prioritized support for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) over infrastructure investment.
- How much was spent on Pemex support compared to infrastructure? The government allocated 779,400 million pesos to Pemex support, surpassing the 769,961 million pesos invested in infrastructure.
- What were the four support measures provided to Pemex? The measures included financial assistance, debt repurchase, supplier payment support, and pre-capitalization notes.
- How has Pemex’s debt situation changed? Pemex’s debt has decreased by approximately 23,000 million USD since 2018, leading to a historically low debt level and an improved credit rating.
