Baja California’s state legislature took its first formal step toward major budget cuts on April 15 when the Finance and Administration Committee approved an austerity plan targeting more than 50 million pesos (roughly $2.7 million USD) in savings for the 2026 fiscal year.
Committee chairman Jaime Cantón Rocha announced the plan during an extraordinary session in Mexicali. He said the measures are designed to optimize public spending and strengthen institutional efficiency without affecting the labor rights or salaries of congressional staff.
What the Plan Includes
The approved measures call for budget reallocations aimed at making legislative expenditures more transparent and results-oriented. According to Cantón Rocha, each peso in public resources should “translate into tangible benefits for the population.” The plan now moves to the Junta de Coordinación Política, the legislature’s internal leadership body, for review and possible final approval.
The 50 million peso cut represents the first phase of a broader compliance effort. Cantón Rocha acknowledged that the federal “Plan B” framework will require even deeper reductions starting in 2027, when the legislature’s total budget must fall to no more than 0.7% of the state’s overall spending.
Federal Pressure Behind the Cuts
The austerity push comes directly from President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s national initiative to reduce legislative spending and eliminate perceived privileges at every level of government. On April 9, the Baja California legislature’s 25th session voted to endorse the federal Plan B framework sent by Mexico’s national Congress. That vote committed the state to redirecting savings toward social investment and public works.
Sheinbaum has publicly singled out Baja California’s Congress as one of the most expensive in the country. The state legislature had already begun preliminary budget adjustments ahead of the formal April 15 vote, according to statements made during debate on the Plan B endorsement.
What Comes Next
The 2026 cuts are a stepping stone. By 2027, Baja California’s legislature will need to bring its annual budget under the 0.7% ceiling, a target that will likely require significantly larger reductions than the current 50 million peso package. Legislators also approved modifications to the 2026 expenditure budget to support what they called a “more ordered and transparent administration.”
The plan’s passage through the finance committee was first reported by La Jornada BC and Pregonero Baja.