The deficit has shrunk by 33% annually; spending remains closed, falling by 3.8%.

The government continues to close the public spending tap in order to contain the deficit and achieve fiscal consolidation this year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).

In the first half of the year, public spending reached 4 trillion 570,288 million pesos, a 3.8% drop compared to the same period last year.

In addition to the drop in public spending, there was also an underspending, meaning less than planned was spent during the period. This underspending totaled 286.885 billion pesos.

"Total public spending decreased by 3.8% in real terms annually, in line with the fiscal commitments approved by Congress, showing improved results due to savings in financial costs. This ensured the continued provision of essential public services, social programs, and strategic infrastructure projects," the Treasury Department stated.

Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit, measured through the Public Sector Financial Requirements (PSFR), stood at 567,562 million pesos, representing a 32.9% drop compared to the previous year.

"At the end of June, fiscal balances showed a better performance than projected. The budget deficit was 192 billion pesos, lower than planned, while the primary surplus was 172 billion pesos, higher than planned," the Treasury Department said in its statement.

Regarding the Historical Balance of the RFSP, the debt in its broadest sense reached 17.7 trillion pesos as of last June, representing an annual increase of 6.8 percent.

Cuts in programmable spending

According to Treasury figures, the decline in public spending was due to programmable spending, that is, spending intended to serve and provide services to the Mexican population.

Between January and June, 3.8 trillion pesos in programmable spending was spent, a 6% annual drop, as well as an underspending of 266.804 billion pesos.

In the case of infrastructure investment, an important area for economic development, 399.711 billion pesos were spent, representing a 30.4% drop compared to last year.

The Treasury Department noted that the sharp drop is due to the fact that last year was an "atypical" year due to the investment associated with the closure of the previous administration.

"It's very important that comparisons be made based on the specific circumstances of the years we're comparing. In that sense, it's not a drop in investment per se due to achieving fiscal consolidation, by no means. Rather, it reflects a spending plan that doesn't refer only to one year, but rather a spending plan that we're implementing for the entire term of our current administration," said Bertha Gómez, Undersecretary of Expenditures at the Treasury, who led the quarterly conference in the absence of Edgar Amador Zamora, head of the SHCP.

On the non-programmable expenditure side, excluding the financial cost of the debt, this amounted to 775.864 billion pesos, an annual increase of 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, the financial cost of the debt was 700.474 billion pesos, an increase of 10.8% annually.