2025 Budget Slashes Mexican Culture Funding by 28%: Impact Revealed

The proposed Federal Expenditure Budget for 2025 has allocated 12 billion 81 million pesos to the cultural sector, marking a 28% reduction from the previous year. Analysts have described the cuts as severe.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to maintain austerity, a commitment reflected in the proposed budget for the Secretary of Culture. If approved, the budget will be the lowest allocation the department has received since its establishment in 2017.

The budget reduction is due to the lack of allocated resources for the Chapultepec Nature and Culture Project and the purchase of archaeological lands adjacent to the Maya Train. This is evident in the 44% cuts for both the Subsecretariat for Cultural Development and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). Despite these cuts, these projects remain part of the department’s strategic plan for 2025, along with the National Reconstruction Program for buildings affected by the 2017 earthquake.

The INAH will continue with the Maya Train project, despite the budget cuts and ongoing financial challenges. The budget also includes cuts to the General Directorate of Libraries by 9%, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) by 6.7%, and the National Film Library by 6%. These cuts come despite plans to increase the number of theaters at Cenart, Chapultepec, and the conversion of 34 IMSS theaters into cinemas.

The newly proposed General Directorate of Cultural Training and Management, to be led by former INBAL director Lucina Jiménez, is not included in the budget, possibly due to the department not yet being officially established.

The proposed budget highlights the limited increases to cultural funding in recent years, following the removal of funds for priority projects of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This presents a significant challenge for Claudia Curiel and her team.