Overview
- Government figures presented Dec. 19 report that in 2024 about 39.6% of Mexicans are in the middle class and 21.7% are in income poverty, shifts of +12.4 and −13.6 percentage points since 2018.
- Presidential advisers say roughly 12 million people entered the middle class and more than 13 million left poverty between 2018 and 2024.
- The classification follows World Bank thresholds that define middle class as income above $17 per person per day and poverty as below $8.30, using purchasing power parity.
- The administration links the trend to 4T programs and wage policy, noting a planned increase in 2026 social spending to 1 trillion pesos and a Jan. 1, 2026 minimum wage of 315.04 pesos daily nationwide and 440.87 pesos in the northern border zone.
- Independent reviews have flagged past numerical discrepancies and caution that results depend on methodology, with one fact-check estimating about 8.79 million fewer people in poverty from 2018 to 2022 rather than 11 million.