The article aims to examine the beginning and evolution of the municipal decentralization process in Mexico; as well as to examine its current situation and the diverse factors that may influence its way forwards or backwards in the next years. The work describes how despite the Mexican centralist tradition municipal governments have got new faculties and fiscal resources. The process has not been lineal, at the same time local governments have increased their revenue, their fiscal and political autonomy have decreased. Political transition in 2000, promised substantial changes to strengthen municipalities but this did not happen and a new recentralization wave appeared in 2012. This wave has been strengthened during the current federal administration. However, there are other variables that may stimulate a new phase in the decentralization process with positive effects for municipal governments.