President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP) renewed the Paquete Contra la Inflación y la Carestía (PACIC) this week.
The move aims to combat inflation and scarcity by limiting the cost of essential goods for Mexican households. By capping prices on a specific set of products, the government seeks to prevent rapid price hikes that disproportionately affect low-income citizens.
During a meeting at Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, the president met with business owners and producers to review the pricing structure. The renewed agreement establishes maximum prices for 24 basic food items [1].
Central to the initiative is the cost of the basic food basket. The government has set the maximum price for this basket at 910 pesos [2], [3]. Some reports indicate the goal is to keep the cost specifically below that 910-peso threshold [4].
The PACIC program relies on cooperation between the public sector and private producers to stabilize the market. By coordinating with the business sector, the SHCP intends to maintain a steady supply of these 24 items while preventing opportunistic price increases [1].
This strategy follows a pattern of government intervention to manage the cost of living. The administration believes that keeping the basic basket stable is a primary tool in the fight against carestía, or scarcity, which can drive up food costs across the country [1], [2].
“The renewed agreement establishes maximum prices for 24 basic food items.”
The renewal of PACIC signals the Mexican government's continued reliance on price-stabilization agreements with the private sector rather than purely market-driven solutions. By fixing the price of the basic basket at 910 pesos, the administration is attempting to create a psychological and economic ceiling to anchor consumer expectations and mitigate the impact of inflation on the most vulnerable populations.
