Mexico boosts minimum wage to $5 a day

The Mexican government has reached agreement with representatives of business and labor to increase the minimum wage by 16.21 percent to 102.68 pesos ($5.06) a day starting Jan. 1, the secretary of Labor and Social Provision said Monday.

“For 2019 the general minimum wage will be set at 102.68 pesos and at 176.72 pesos ($8.70) in the free zone along the northern border,” Luisa Maria Alcalde said.

Speaking at an event with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador , business executives and union leaders, Alcalde said the increase will permit a “progressive, responsible and sustainable path” toward restoring the purchasing power of workers.

The goal is to pass from “a minimum salary to a decent salary” and redeem “a historic debt” to Mexico’s lowest-paid workers, she said.

Alcalde likewise praised the business and labor organizations for quickly reaching consensus on the annual wage adjustment, which is usually an acrimonious process

In a tweet on Monday, the Coparmex employers federation endorse the increase in what remains one of the lowest minimum wages in Latin America.

Mexico has 124.7 million people, according to projections based on data from the 2010 census . In 2016, nearly 44 percent of Mexicans were living in poverty.