President Claudia Sheinbaum downplayed the recent report of a 0.2% decline in Mexico's GDP for the third quarter of 2025, arguing that this indicator fails to capture social progress such as 13.5 million people escaping poverty. She stressed that economic strength extends beyond GDP growth. This stance echoes the rhetoric of the previous government under AMLO, which favored well-being over traditional metrics.
Last Friday, Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported a 0.2% contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. In response, President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed this figure, stating that GDP does not reflect key achievements such as 13.5 million Mexicans escaping poverty, increased employment, and reduced inequality.
Sheinbaum declared: “economic strength cannot be measured solely by GDP growth.” She added that “GDP has become the fundamental indicator for measuring the world's economies, but it does not reflect essential aspects such as poverty reduction, access to education, or decreased inequality.” She also questioned: “How does GDP measure that platform workers now have social security? It doesn't.”
This position is not new. In 2020, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) criticized GDP, stating: “…growth, GDP, Gross Domestic Product. Those terms should also fall into disuse. … Instead of growth, talk about well-being; instead of the material, think about the spiritual.” The current government continues this rhetoric, prioritizing social well-being and income redistribution over GDP-measured economic growth.
However, analysts argue that social advances, such as the poverty reduction reported by INEGI affecting over 13 million people, will not be sustainable without a dynamic economy. Reasons include the need for growing fiscal revenues to fund social programs, international comparability to attract investment, and the risk of discrediting GDP only when results are unfavorable. Without real growth, achievements could reverse, limiting funding and productive employment.
The debate highlights that well-being must be complemented by economic growth, using GDP as a key metric to ensure sustainability and investor confidence.