In a country where public sector salaries are constantly under scrutiny, the case of Paulina González Garibay stands out for its sheer magnitude and the questions it raises about transparency, privilege, and workers’ rights in Mexico’s state-owned companies.

**A Salary That Turned Heads**

Paulina González Garibay, a former employee of the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in Puebla, found herself at the center of controversy after her 2024 asset declaration revealed she earned a net annual salary of $60,343,974 MXN (roughly $3.5 million USD at current exchange rates) in 2023. Her role was located within CFE-Distribution, specifically in the Divisional Offices in Puebla. According to her declaration, this figure represented her sole income for the year—she reported receiving no other funds from business, professional services, or financial activities.

This staggering amount is highly unusual for public sector positions in Mexico, which typically have more modest compensation ranges. Details on how this sum was calculated or justified remain unclear, and the declaration has sparked intense debate among both the public and transparency advocates.

**Sudden Restriction from CFE Facilities**

Amid the scrutiny, González Garibay’s relationship with the CFE took a dramatic turn. On February 27, 2025, a formal letter from CFE’s Centro Oriente Distribution Division in Puebla instructed the private security firm Secumax to deny her access to the premises “under any circumstances.” The directive, signed by Manuel Dehesa Toledo, the division’s head of General Services, also demanded complete discretion from security personnel in enforcing this order. The reasons for this exclusion remain undisclosed.

**Meanwhile, Pensioners Face Steep Cuts**

The revelation of González Garibay’s multi-million peso salary arrives at a time when over 93,000 retirees from state entities like Pemex, CFE, Banobras, and the now-defunct Luz y Fuerza del Centro are facing severe pension cuts—up to 60%—as a result of a constitutional reform that took effect in recent years.

– **What changed?**
The reform to Article 127 of the Mexican Constitution aims to end so-called “golden pensions” by capping public sector retirement payments at $67,145 MXN per month by 2026—equivalent to 50% of the president’s net salary. The only exceptions are made for armed forces personnel.
– **Why is this controversial?**
The new cap is being applied retroactively to pensions that were already granted, raising constitutional concerns about the violation of the principle of non-retroactivity enshrined in Article 14.
– **What’s at stake?**
Many public sector retirees now face economic uncertainty and legal limbo, as the state moves to realign labor liabilities in the name of fiscal discipline.

**A Story of Contrasts and Urgency**

González Garibay’s case—coming to light amid deep cuts to long-promised retirement benefits for thousands—highlights the ongoing tension between efforts to curb excess and the need to respect workers’ rights. For Mexico’s millennials, migrants, and expats, this story is more than a headline: it’s a window into the struggles for transparency, fairness, and social justice in the new era of public sector reform.

As these issues continue to unfold, they remind us that behind every data point is a human story—and that the drive for a more equitable society demands both accountability at the top and security for those who’ve built the public sector from the ground up.