Sheinbaum Says the 152 Hospital Projects Planned for the Six-Year Term Advance, with an Investment of 181 Billion Pesos

ByAlonso Urrutia and Lilian Hernández

This article by Alonso Urrutia and Lilian Hernández originally appeared in the July 21, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left-wing daily newspaper.

With an investment of 181 billion pesos over the course of this six-year term, the federal government will carry out 152 hospital projects, of which 50 will be new hospitals, 47 expansions, and 55 replacements or improvements, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated, which significantly surpasses construction during the neoliberal period.

During the presidential press conference, the Undersecretary of Health, Eduardo Clark, detailed that with these projects the census beds of the public health sector will go from 96,966 to 106,105, which represents one of the most important advances in recent years.

Clark explained that in the first 22 months of this six-year term, 39 projects have already been completed, which entails 1,474 new census beds. He detailed that of these 39 projects, seven correspond to the IMSS, 17 to IMSS Bienestar, and twelve to the ISSSTE.

In turn, the director of the ISSSTE, Martí Batres, stated that to date this institution aims for the construction, modernization, or rehabilitation of 20 hospital units, four of which are already completed. Among the ISSSTE’s main projects, he highlighted the General Zone Hospital in Chetumal, the hospital clinic in Chilpancingo, the Vasco de Quiroga Hospital in Morelia, and the new clinic in San Quintín, in Baja California.

For his part, the director of the IMSS, Zoe Robledo, highlighted that this institution plans to build 47 hospitals during this six-year term, of which seven are already operating and 21 are already under construction. Among them he highlighted the General Hospitals of Guanajuato, Navojoa, Tula, Ensenada, Ticul, San Quintín, Santa Catarina, Zitácuaro, and Guadalupe, among others.

In turn, the director of IMSS Bienestar, Alejandro Svarch, reported that this institution plans to invest 46 billion pesos, including 19 projects in a network of 19 new hospitals in Tijuana, Tlapa, Jiutepec, Tuxtepec, and Ixtlán de Juárez.

Further on, Sheinbaum reported that between 1943 and 1982, before the neoliberal period, 29,500 beds were created in Mexico. However, in this latter period, over 36 years, only 4,300 beds were added. She emphasized that from December 2018 to September 2030, 13,300 new census beds are expected to be added.