On November 19, 2025, Welfare Secretary Ariadna Montiel Reyes appeared before the Chamber of Deputies to highlight poverty reduction advances during the review of President Claudia Sheinbaum's First Government Report. She reported that 13.4 million people escaped poverty from 2018 to 2024, and 32 million receive social programs with an investment of about 850 billion pesos. The session featured opposition criticisms on coverage and access to services.
During her appearance before the Chamber of Deputies, Ariadna Montiel Reyes emphasized that under the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation, welfare policy is based on Mexican humanism and the principle of 'for the good of all, the poor first.' According to Coneval and INEGI data, 13.4 million people escaped poverty from 2018 to 2024, while inequality fell from 0.426 to 0.391 on the Gini scale between 2019 and 2024. Over 32 million Mexicans receive Welfare programs, with a 2025 social investment of 850 billion pesos, equivalent to 2.3% of GDP.
Montiel attributed these achievements to historic wage recovery, with a 125% minimum wage increase since 2018, and a social protection system that boosted household real income by 16%. She highlighted new programs like the Women's Welfare Pension for women aged 60 to 64, benefiting nearly 3 million with 3,000 pesos bimonthly and an investment of 23.662 billion pesos. Casa por Casa Health has conducted 8.1 million free home consultations for seniors and people with disabilities, with 4.757 billion pesos invested and 20,000 health workers involved.
Other programs include the Seniors' Pension, providing 6,200 pesos bimonthly to 13.3 million beneficiaries (484.483 billion pesos); and the Disability Pension for over 1.6 million (around 32 billion pesos). In education, more than 13 million students receive scholarships with 73.918 billion pesos. Sembrando Vida supports 409,000 sowers with 39.1 billion pesos and over 1.2 billion trees planted. Additionally, 15.7 billion pesos were allocated for 320,000 people affected by natural disasters, and the Mexico Embraces You program delivered 79,833 cards to repatriated nationals.
The opposition, including PRI, PAN, and Movimiento Ciudadano, questioned coverage, noting over 40 million lack health access and 38% of youth live in poverty. Deputies like Sergio Gil Rullán and Abigail Arredondo criticized implementation and called for greater inclusion. Montiel responded that poverty measurements follow the same legal methodology and that opposition claims describe the past, highlighting an increase in poor households' income from 1,483 to nearly 6,000 pesos monthly. 'These figures are no coincidence; they confirm we are doing very well,' she stated. The session, lasting nearly four hours, reflected polarization around social policy.
