Mexico City’s Brugada Pledges ‘City of Utopias’ in Second Government Report
MEXICO · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico City, the national capital, elects its own head of government, a post closer to a state governor than a mayor.
- —The background Clara Brugada of Morena, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling party, took office on 5 October 2024 for a six-year term.
- —Why it matters Her yearly report is the city’s own scorecard on crime, jobs, transport and housing, and on her flagship free community centres, the Utopías.
- —What happened On Sunday 4 October, at the Auditorio Nacional concert hall, she presented her second government report and promised “the city of Utopias”.
- —The numbers She claimed homicides at a 30-year low, high-impact crime down 24%, 150,000 new formal jobs and public investment up 55% on 2024.
- —What it means for you Residents are promised new cable-car lines, electric buses and Metro works, plus a bill to slow rising rents.
- —Still open The figures are the government’s own. The report went to the city’s Congress on 1 September; she appears before the full chamber on 14 October.
Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, gave her second government report on Sunday 4 October before thousands of supporters. “Queremos construir la ciudad de las Utopías,” she said: “We want to build the city of Utopias.”
Utopías are the free community centres that became her trademark, and she promised many more. The speech at the Auditorio Nacional, a large concert hall, also called for unity behind President Claudia Sheinbaum.
What the Utopías Are and Why She Wants 100
The name stands for Unidades de Transformación y Organización para la Inclusión y la Armonía Social, roughly “units for inclusion and social harmony”. In practice they are large public centres offering classes, sport, music, childcare, counselling and legal advice.
Almost everything inside is free, El Financiero reported in 2024. Brugada built 14 of them in Iztapalapa, a district of about 1.8 million people, while she was its borough head.
In her second government report she said 32 Utopías will be built or under construction across the city this year. Her goal is 100 by the end of her term in 2030, according to La Crónica de Hoy.
She said the centres opened so far have served more than two million people. She also said the first Utopía outside Mexico was opening that same day in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, as the model starts to travel abroad, La-Lista reported.
For Brugada, according to Vértigo Político, the word goes beyond buildings. A utopia happens “when a family opens the door of a decent home”, she said, or when a music school fills up.
She closed with a promise: “Vamos por más, por mucho más” — “We are going for more, much more.” New projects include three public universities on the city’s outskirts, two hospitals and five high schools in indigenous villages and remote areas.
Crime: A 30-Year Low in Homicides, She Says
Security took a large share of the second government report. Brugada said June, July, August and September each set historic lows for homicides.
The capital is now at its lowest level for that crime in 30 years, she said, according to Proceso.
She said high-impact crimes, a category of serious offences such as violent robbery, have fallen 24% since she took office. Killings of women classed as femicides fell 48%, she added, according to La Jornada.
She said 97% of suspects in those femicide cases are in prison or face arrest warrants. The figures come from her own administration and have not yet been reviewed by the city’s legislature.
One case stayed personal. Two of her close aides, Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz, were shot dead on Calzada de Tlalpan, a main avenue, on 20 May 2025.
“Perderlos ha sido la experiencia más dolorosa de mi vida,” she said: “Losing them has been the most painful experience of my life.” According to Infobae, 18 people have been detained and 10 face formal criminal proceedings; all are presumed innocent until a court rules.
Money: Investment, Jobs and Social Spending
On the economy, the second government report said public investment in Mexico City is 55% higher than in 2024. The city’s own revenue, including property tax, rose 21%, La-Lista and UnoTV reported.
She said 150,000 formal jobs have been created under her government. Her investment agency has drawn projects worth nearly 300 billion pesos (US$16.5 billion, at 18.21 pesos per dollar on 4 October 2026).
Social programmes now reach 85% more people than when she started, she said. They involve 23 billion pesos (US$1.3 billion) and reach 2.6 million people by the end of 2026, according to La Jornada.
The largest include a school grant for 600,000 pupils and a universal citizen income paid to 155,000 people, Proceso reported. She described her approach as honest government with sound finances and republican austerity.
That pitch carries its own risk. Wider social spending, new hospitals and new transport lines all depend on the city’s revenue continuing to grow.
Transport: Cable Cars, Electric Buses and Metro Repairs
The second government report said the city has put 48 billion pesos (US$2.6 billion) into the Metro over two years. Line 1 has been fully renovated, and 45 new trains are part of the next overhaul, La Crónica de Hoy reported.
She announced nearly 40 kilometres of new Cablebús lines, the cable cars that carry commuters over hillside districts. Work is starting in Tlalpan, Álvaro Obregón, Magdalena Contreras and Milpa Alta, all on the city’s southern and western edges.
Another 250 electric buses are due on the Metrobús, the city’s dedicated bus-lane network. La Jornada listed 242 kilometres of cycle lanes among the plans she presented.
Rents and Housing: A Bill Against Gentrification
Rents are a sore point in the capital, where she said they have been rising faster than inflation. Brugada said she will send Congress a law on “fair, reasonable and affordable” rents to slow gentrification, 24 Horas reported.
The bill would also create an office to defend tenants in disputes with landlords. Proceso noted that the law was first announced in July 2025 and had still not been formally presented.
“No queremos casa sin gente, ni gente sin casas,” she said: “We don’t want homes without people, or people without homes.” La Crónica de Hoy reported that the yearly housing budget rose from 4 billion pesos (US$220 million) to 9 billion pesos (US$494 million).
She said 6,000 social housing units have been handed over and 7,000 more are being built. Foreign remote workers are part of this debate too.
In early September the opposition PAN party revived a proposal for a nightly tax on digital nomads in Mexico City, aimed at long-staying foreign renters.
A Political Message Aimed at the Right
The second government report was also a political event for Morena. “No fui la candidata de las élites,” Brugada said: “I was not the candidate of the elites.”
She added that she does not govern for those who see themselves as masters of Mexico. She also attacked what she called the “derecha cipaya”.
Cipayo, the Spanish word for the sepoy soldiers who served European powers in India, is also an insult for a hired henchman. She accused that opposition of seeking foreign intervention, Proceso reported.
She called for unity “in defence of national sovereignty and in support of our president, Claudia Sheinbaum”.
She repeated Sheinbaum’s line that Mexico is nobody’s backyard: coordination yes, subordination never. Sheinbaum made the same case in her own Zócalo speech on 27 September, days before her second anniversary as president.
What Comes Next
The Sunday event was a public message to supporters. The report itself reached the city’s Congress on 1 September. Her appearance before the full chamber is set for 14 October, according to La Silla Rota and UnoTV.
That session gives lawmakers their first formal look at her figures. The rent bill, the new cable-car lines and how the Quito Utopía fares are the things to watch.
The second government report does not mean violent crime has disappeared from the capital. Nor have its jobs and investment numbers been independently audited.
It is the government’s own account of its first two years, delivered with an eye on its supporters.
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Who is Clara Brugada?
Clara Brugada is the head of government of Mexico City, a post similar to a state governor. She belongs to Morena, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party, and took office on 5 October 2024.
What are the Utopías in Mexico City?
They are large public centres offering free classes, sport, childcare, counselling and other services. Brugada first built them in the Iztapalapa district and wants 100 across the city by 2030.
What did Brugada claim in her second government report?
She claimed homicides at a 30-year low, a 24% fall in high-impact crime and 150,000 new formal jobs. She also said public investment is up 55% on 2024; these are her government’s own figures.
Does the report matter for foreigners living in Mexico City?
Possibly, through rents and transport. Her second government report promised a fair-rents bill to slow gentrification, plus new cable-car lines and electric buses.
Sources: Vértigo Político, 4 October 2026; SDP Noticias, 4 October 2026; Proceso, 4 October 2026; La Jornada, 4 October 2026; UnoTV, 4 October 2026; La Crónica de Hoy, 4 October 2026; La-Lista, 4 October 2026; 24 Horas, 4 October 2026; La Silla Rota, 4 October 2026; Infobae, 5 October 2026; El Financiero, 3 October 2024.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief