Mexico’s budget deficit reaches $52 billion in nine months — The Rio Times

Mexico’s public sector deficit for January–September 2026 amounted to 968.5 billion pesos, or about $52 billion. This was below the figure planned by the government for the period, but 23.1% higher than a year earlier excluding inflation, The Rio Times reports, citing the country’s Finance Ministry.

Revenue and expenditure

Total public sector revenue over nine months reached 6.3 trillion pesos, or approximately $339 billion. In real terms, it declined by 2.8%. At the same time, expenditure was below plan, and its volume was 0.4% lower in real terms than in the same period of 2025.

Oil revenue fell by 21.5% in real terms. The ministry explained this decline by noting that in 2025 the government made a one-time additional contribution to the state oil company Pemex. Without this factor, oil revenue would have increased by 8.1%, according to the ministry’s estimate.

Tax revenue increased by 0.7% in real terms. Value-added tax revenue rose by 12%, while income tax revenue declined by 5.3%.

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Debt and government targets

Mexico’s broadest measure of public debt, RFSP, which includes the liabilities of the state, state-owned companies, development banks, and other components, stood at 19.55 trillion pesos, or about $1.05 trillion, at the end of September. This equals 52.6% of GDP, the same share as at the end of 2025.

Debt servicing costs and other financial expenses of the public sector amounted to 959 billion pesos and decreased by 3.7% in real terms. The ministry attributed this to the strengthening of the peso, conditions in the interest rate market, and debt swap operations.

Finance Minister Edgar Amador confirmed the 2026 deficit target at 4.1% of GDP. The government also expects public debt at the end of the year to be close to 54% of GDP.