Mexico City expands income program to over 97,000 residents

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada has expanded the "Universal Citizen Income" (ICU) program, adding 25,000 new beneficiaries and bringing the total to over 97,000. The initiative aims to reach 155,000 registered individuals by the end of the year, with a long-term goal of ensuring all residents aged 57 to 59 in the capital receive the benefit.

Speaking to beneficiaries at the Utopía Mixiuhca football field, Brugada emphasized that the ICU is unique in Mexico for providing a guaranteed income to this age group without conditions. She highlighted that the program's universal nature eliminates exclusionary criteria, requiring only that recipients be between 57 and 59 years old and reside in Mexico City.

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the only program in the country that recognizes the right of all of you (population aged 57 to 59) to a guaranteed income by the State, without any conditions.

The mayor noted that Mexico City has pioneered universal social programs, citing the Pension for Older Adults as an example that later became a constitutional right. She stated that the ICU strengthens the social welfare system by supporting a demographic that, while not yet elderly, often faces increasing health and employment challenges.

Recipients will receive 2,000 pesos every two months until they reach age 60. At that point, they become eligible for other social programs, eventually leading to the Universal Pension for Older Adults. Brugada assured attendees that these financial supports are guaranteed throughout their lives by "governments of transformation" that prioritize people's needs.

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From today, women and men in Mexico City have guaranteed financial support, and then another [program] from 60 to 64, and then another from 65 onwards. Until the last breath, you will be supported by the governments of the Transformation, by governments that put people's needs at the center.