The Mexican government on 3 August began distributing an annual 2,500-peso support for school uniforms and supplies to 6,694,988 public primary students, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced. The dispersal, confirmed by Julio León Trujillo, national coordinator of the Becas para el Bienestar programme, is backed by a social investment of 16,700 million pesos and will be deposited directly into beneficiaries’ Banco del Bienestar accounts.

The payment is being made according to a calendar based on the first letter of the beneficiary’s first surname, starting with letters A and B on 3 August and concluding with letters T through Z on 14 August. León Trujillo reported that 4.7 million of the 5 million planned payment cards have been delivered, representing 95.1 per cent progress. Families who have not yet received their card are being contacted by telephone to collect it at a Becas Bienestar service centre or, in cases of health or other impediments, via home delivery.

This grant forms part of the broader National Scholarship System, which at the close of the school year covered 19,593,156 students across basic, upper-secondary and higher education, with an accumulated investment of 93,752 million pesos. Within basic education alone, 14,960,744 students were reached, including 9.5 million in primary, 5.2 million in secondary and 176,761 in preschool. The Rita Cetina support for primary students was registered during a 2–19 March window and is intended for the coming school year.

Beneficiaries can verify the deposit through the Banco del Bienestar mobile application, by calling the Línea del Bienestar at 800 900 2000, or at the bank’s ATMs and branches. The remaining cards continue to be distributed, and the payment calendar will run through 14 August, when the last group of recipients is scheduled to receive the funds.