Despite being a year marked by economic weakness, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) achieved its budgetary target of reducing the deficit to 4.3% of GDP in 2025 from the 5.8% level reached in 2024, due to the government shutdown under Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the completion of the mega-projects of his six-year term. This was a reduction of 1.5 percentage points in the Financial Requirements of the Public Sector (RFSP) during 2025, according to public finance data provided by the agency headed by Edgar Amador. 'This deficit level is responsible, it is a reduction of 1.5 percentage points of GDP, a reduction not seen in decades and a very clear sign of the commitment that the government of Claudia Sheinbaum has had with fiscal and economic stability,' said the secretary at a conference at the National Palace. The fulfillment of the deficit target is framed within a reduction of spending by 1.8% compared to last year, amounting to 9.3 trillion pesos. A mechanism that, they assured, they will maintain in 2026. Sheinbaum avoids recession in her first year in office: GDP grew 0.7%. Meanwhile, total government revenues increased by 2.5% compared to 2024, although they resulted in 80.7 billion below what was programmed, totaling 7.9 trillion pesos. Budgetary revenues of the federal government grew by a real annual rate of 4.5%, amounting to 5,351.7 million pesos, exceeding what was programmed by the Treasury by 108 billion pesos, in a context where the economy only grew 0.7% during the year, according to INEGI's estimate. The deficit reduction occurs amid doubts from credit rating agencies about the government's ability to maintain fiscal discipline and achieve the target of a 3% deficit by 2028 in an environment marked by volatility due to external commercial uncertainty and internal legal uncertainty, which curbs investments. Amador Zamora stated that the Sheinbaum government aims to boost investments this year, for which a program has been designed that will be presented this coming Tuesday at the morning conference at the National Palace. Tax revenues reach historic highs. Within revenues, the Treasury highlighted that tax collection reached a historic high of 15.1% of GDP, with a real annual growth of 4.1%, amounting to 5,351.7 million. In detail, it is observed that revenues from ISR reached 8.2% of GDP and grew by a real annual rate of 3.7%, while those from VAT stood at 4.2% of GDP, with an advance of a real annual rate of 2.6%. Meanwhile, import taxes grew by a real annual rate of 21.4% and exceeded the programmed amount by 22 billion pesos, following the government's initiatives on customs enforcement and tariffs for countries without trade agreements. Meanwhile, non-tax revenues of the Federal Government increased by a real annual rate of 10.7%, the highest growth since 2020. Treasury officials explained that it was a 'reorientation' of spending, beyond a simple containment of it.
