City Hall says the long-stalled rebuild of the bread-and-food wing at Oaxaca’s Central de Abasto will finally wrap by year’s end. The pledge lands with new cash from Mexico’s urban development ministry and a promise to reorganize vendors. But the project has missed deadlines before, and hundreds of sellers have spent months working from temporary spots. Here’s what changed, what money arrived, and what still needs to happen before keys are handed back.
City officials say the reconstruction of the bread-and-food market at the Central de Abasto is back on track and will be delivered on December 31, 2025. The announcement follows a new transfer of federal funds and a fresh push to reorganize the trading area while works resume at pace.
Oaxaca Abasto market
Mayor Raymundo Chagoya said the city secured additional support from Mexico’s Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU) after months of technical review. He framed the date as a firm goal, paired with a plan to complete a long-delayed “reordering” of vendor spaces so shops can open safely and legally when the doors unlock.
Two years ago, SEDATU launched the upgrade of the area known as Mercado de Pan y Comedores, part of the Central de Abasto “Margarita Maza de Juárez.” The federal project promised fixed stalls, new sanitation, safer gas storage, and open-air dining patios as part of a broader urban-improvement program.
Funding finally arrives
The city initially believed the final stretch needed only a small add-on. A joint audit with SEDATU found the gap was far larger. SEDATU has now transferred 89 million pesos toward a shortfall estimated at 110 million, with City Hall covering the remainder to reach the finish line. Officials say total spending to date is roughly 300 million pesos.
That infusion follows a stop-start year in which the site slowed to a crawl amid disputes and execution problems inherited from earlier stages. The new money is earmarked for structural completion, fit-outs, and public areas so vendors can return to permanent stalls.
What remains and who it affects
Since early 2023, hundreds of merchants—many from bakeries and food stalls—have worked from temporary locations around the market while demolition, excavation, and foundations went in. The city says the reordering of spaces will be completed alongside the build-out so traders can move in without fresh delays.
Temporary relocations have been challenging on sales and security for many families. Local coverage in recent months has chronicled the uncertainty created by missed deadlines and the burden of operating outdoors through heat and rain. The promise of a December handover aims to end that limbo.
Promises and the calendar
The market rehab was first billed to finish in late 2023. Instead, it drifted through 2024 and into this year. City Hall now ties the new date to specific funding and a co-managed work plan with SEDATU, which officials say addresses the problems that stalled the site. The test over the next 100 days is execution: inspections, utilities, gas-safety areas, stall assignments, and final permits.
For shoppers and small food businesses, the upgrade should bring cleaner kitchens, safer gas handling, and better seating. For the city, it is a chance to restore a critical food hub that anchors daily life and wholesale trade across Oaxaca City.
Why this market matters
The Central de Abasto is the city’s largest marketplace and a key distribution point. The bread-and-food wing feeds workers, students, and families, while providing livelihoods to bakers, cooks, and suppliers. Finishing this project is not just a construction milestone; it is a test of the city’s capacity to deliver basic infrastructure that supports small businesses.
