Four Mexico City Boroughs Supply 54.8% of Property Tax

Four of Mexico City’s 16 alcaldías (borough governments) account for 54.8% of the city’s property tax, known as predial, according to a report by Expansión Política. Three of those four, Miguel Hidalgo, Cuauhtémoc and Benito Juárez, are governed by the opposition alliance led mainly by the National Action Party (PAN). Only Álvaro Obregón is run by the Morena-PT-PVEM coalition.

That split sets up the 2027 local elections, in which the opposition will try to hold the boroughs that bring in the most money.

Which boroughs collect the most predial

Miguel Hidalgo is first, with 5,384 million pesos in 2025. That is 18.6% of the city’s predial revenue, even though the borough holds 4.9% of the city’s residents, based on the 2025 Intercensal Survey from INEGI (Mexico’s statistics agency). Its mayor is Mauricio Tabe of the PAN.

• Miguel Hidalgo: 18.6%, mayor Mauricio Tabe (PAN)
• Cuauhtémoc: 12.9%, mayor Alessandra Rojo de la Vega (PAN)
• Álvaro Obregón: 12.2%, mayor Javier López Casarín (Morena-PT-PVEM)
• Benito Juárez: 11.1%, mayor Luis Mendoza (PAN)

Benito Juárez has been a PAN stronghold, with the party in charge there since 2000.

Who collects the money

The boroughs do not receive predial directly. In Mexico City the central government collects it through the Secretaría de Administración y Finanzas (SAF, the city’s finance ministry), unlike in other parts of the country where each municipality charges and manages the tax. Predial makes up 28.8% of all tax income in the capital, which is why the weight of each borough in the total points to its economic importance.

Why it matters: the 2027 contest

The opposition lost ground to Morena in 2024, when Morena won 11 of the 16 boroughs. Even so, the PAN keeps territories with large economic weight. Gustavo López Montiel, a political science professor at the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tec de Monterrey, told Expansión Política that the opposition faces a fight to keep what it has. He sees possible openings in Álvaro Obregón, Xochimilco and Tlalpan, but called the overall picture difficult against Morena.

He described Benito Juárez as a softer ground for the PAN to defend, and Coyoacán and Cuauhtémoc as harder. In his view, wealth and income levels shape voting habits, which gives the PAN steadier support in Benito Juárez and Miguel Hidalgo. He said many voters in Benito Juárez have one of the highest living standards in Mexico, and that Miguel Hidalgo includes areas with high incomes and quality of life.

Left-wing parties have governed the capital for three decades: the PRD from 1997 to 2018 and Morena from 2018 to the present.

Cuauhtémoc and the race for city hall

Opposition parties see Rojo de la Vega as their strongest possible candidate for head of government in 2027, according to the report. López Montiel said Morena and its allies treat winning back Cuauhtémoc as a priority because it is the political center of the city, has economic relevance, and could derail her candidacy. He said the opposition is fairly fragmented, so mayors, who control resources, are the figures competing for the nomination.

A poll by GobernArte, conducted Nov. 1 to 4 with 585 surveys in each borough, puts Rojo de la Vega first in approval among the 16 mayors, at 63.9%.

Who can run again

The PAN confirmed that three of its five mayors will seek re-election in 2027: Rojo de la Vega in Cuauhtémoc, Luis Mendoza in Benito Juárez and Carlos Orvañanos in Cuajimalpa. Miguel Hidalgo and Coyoacán need new candidates because Tabe and Giovani Gutiérrez are in their second terms and cannot run for a third.

Miguel Hidalgo has mostly had PAN governments, but the left has won it three times, twice with the PRD and most recently with Morena from 2018 to 2021. In Coyoacán, the PRD governed through several administrations, and Morena has not won there since it became a party in 2015. López Montiel noted that several Morena figures have tried to build strength there.

What is on the ballot

Mexico City will elect 16 mayors, 66 local deputies and 204 councillors in 2027.

Source: Expansión Política