Reaching old age in Mexico does not guarantee the right to rest. For millions of women, a historical lack of social security and the high cost of living turn retirement into an unattainable privilege, forcing them to economically sustain themselves in the informality of tianguis (open-air markets) through grueling workdays.
To measure the real impact of this crisis, the team from the media outlet Criterio Hidalgo, led by Erick Giovanny Flores, developed the investigation “The pension and social programs mirage: elderly women in Pachuca are unable to retire”. Driven by the Regional AI and Data Training Program by Media Party and the World Bank, this project uses artificial intelligence tools and the Data360 platform to audit the effectiveness of public policies and contrast the state narrative with the harsh survival in Mexican markets.
AI for Storytelling: The Investigation in a Chat Format
As part of the experimentation with new digital narratives promoted by the program, the Criterio Hidalgo team generated an audiovisual resource using artificial intelligence tools. In this video, designed in a conversational format, the report is dynamically broken down, guiding the viewer through the interpretation of the charts and exploring how they managed to bring the complexity of macroeconomic databases down to the daily reality of working women in Pachuca. Subtitles in English are available.
Main Findings
The investigation dismantled the official narrative on the effectiveness of cash transfers by crossing global indicators with the daily economy of women in Pachuca:
- The tianguis is more profitable than retiring: State pensions and social programs grant between 1,550 and 3,100 monthly pesos, amounts that fall far below the 4,929 pesos required for the Urban Basic Food Basket. Faced with this deficit, informal trade (with an average income of 8,364 pesos) becomes the only path to survival.
- Vulnerable employment on the rise: The analysis of the World Development Indicators (World Bank) revealed that female job insecurity spiked during the pandemic and did not recede. By 2025, 6.73 million Mexican women are projected to be trapped in vulnerable employment, without contracts or social security.
- Exclusión from the financial system: Despite accelerated demographic aging —Mexico will have 55 million people over the age of 50 by 2050— the banking ecosystem marginalizes them. According to the IFC, 84% of financial institutions in the country do not offer products for people over 50, forcing 67% of these women to rely exclusively on their families.
Methodology and Technical Innovation
The Criterio Hidalgo team combined data journalism and the program’s AI training to cross-reference indicators from the World Bank’s Data360 platform with local records from Coneval, México ¿Cómo Vamos?, and the IFC.
This quantitative analysis served as an anchor for field reporting in the tianguis of Pachuca, where they intertwined interactive images with testimonies to demonstrate that the “silver economy” is already operating on the streets, sustained by elderly women who cannot retire.
Presentation at Media Party Buenos Aires 2026
The investigation —the process, methodology, and workflow using AI and Data360— will be presented on the main stage of Media Party Buenos Aires this October.
Explore the full official investigation here: The pension and social programs mirage: elderly women in Pachuca are unable to retire (Criterio Hidalgo).
