Financial Times: Economic theory would suggest that you do not hike interest rates when inflation is at a record low. But that is precisely what Mexico is poised to do this week.
The Bank of Mexico, known as Banxico, faces the prospect of having to raise its historically low 3 per cent benchmark rate at a time when inflation has been setting record lows for each of the past seven months and when GDP growth, while the envy of many at 2.6 per cent, remains far below expectations.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Mexico economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico economy. Show all posts
Dec 14, 2015
Mexico will protect peso, Fed not only factor for rates: Carstens
Reuters: Mexico must be ready to "take care" of the battered peso as a U.S. rate hike looms, but U.S. Federal Reserve policy will not be the only factor driving Mexico's rate decisions, Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens said on Monday.
Carstens leads the Bank of Mexico's five-man board, which is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate from 3 percent next week, when the Federal Reserve is seen tightening borrowing costs for the first time in nearly a decade. Read more.
Carstens leads the Bank of Mexico's five-man board, which is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate from 3 percent next week, when the Federal Reserve is seen tightening borrowing costs for the first time in nearly a decade. Read more.
Nov 3, 2015
Q&A: Economist Gerardo Esquivel says full benefits of NAFTA elude Mexico
World News Report: Next week, the George W. Bush Institute, the public policy arm of the former president’s library in Dallas, will launch a North America Scorecard with an assessment that the North American Free Trade Agreement has been a boon to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Gerardo Esquivel offers up a slightly different point of view, specifically that Mexico has not done as well as the other nations.
Gerardo Esquivel offers up a slightly different point of view, specifically that Mexico has not done as well as the other nations.
Oct 7, 2015
Mexico To Use SEZs To Boost Economy Of South
Tax News: Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has introduced draft legislation for the creation of special economic zones (SEZs) in the southern states of the country.
The proposed SEZs would be set up in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the ports of Chiapas and Lázaro Cárdenas. These three areas are located in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Michoacán, respectively. Read more.
The proposed SEZs would be set up in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the ports of Chiapas and Lázaro Cárdenas. These three areas are located in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Michoacán, respectively. Read more.
Mexican Government Depends More and More on Private Business Partners
IPS News: The Mexican government has increasingly turned to public–private partnerships (PPPs) to build infrastructure in the energy industry and other areas. But critics say this system operates under a cloak of opacity and is plagued by the discretional use of funds.
As the 2013 energy reform, which opened the industry to national and international private capital, is implemented, PPPs have become more and more frequent. Read more.
As the 2013 energy reform, which opened the industry to national and international private capital, is implemented, PPPs have become more and more frequent. Read more.
Sep 23, 2015
Mexico’s Four Economies Reflect Regional Differences, Challenges
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: Mexico is a country of contrasts, its geography varying from deserts to jungles, mountains to beaches. Such differences extend to the economic characteristics of Mexico’s four regions: the manufacturing north, the agrarian north-central, the service-based central and the energy-producing south (Chart 1).
Such economic specialization has contributed to significantly different levels of development—evident in persistent and often worsening disparities in standards of living. Read more.
Aug 10, 2015
Mexico’s economy was supposed to soar. It’s starting to flop.
The Washington Post: Largely lost amid the frantic scramble after drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s dramatic prison escape, one of the biggest leaps of faith for the Mexican economy landed with a flop.
At the first auction last month to sell the rights to drill for oil in Mexico — as the country opens its oil industry to foreign investment for the first time in eight decades — the government sold just two of its 14 blocks. The disappointing showing for President Enrique Peña Nieto’s signature economic reform prompted the government last week to modify the terms of the contracts for next month’s auction and added to what has been a noticeable string of bad news for Latin America’s second-largest economy. Read more.
At the first auction last month to sell the rights to drill for oil in Mexico — as the country opens its oil industry to foreign investment for the first time in eight decades — the government sold just two of its 14 blocks. The disappointing showing for President Enrique Peña Nieto’s signature economic reform prompted the government last week to modify the terms of the contracts for next month’s auction and added to what has been a noticeable string of bad news for Latin America’s second-largest economy. Read more.
Aug 4, 2015
Mexico's wage crisis is so bad 'that it violates what’s stipulated in the Constitution'
Business Insider: At the end of 2014, Mexico’s 16 billionaires were worth an average of nearly $9 billion.
That same year, the bottom 20% of Mexicans — nearly 25 million people — were worth an average of $80.
Economic hardship is widespread in Mexico, which is home to more than 120 million people, more than half of whom lived in poverty at the end 2012. Now inequality and wage disparity have emerged as further challenges to the development of Latin America’s second-largest economy. Read more.
That same year, the bottom 20% of Mexicans — nearly 25 million people — were worth an average of $80.
Economic hardship is widespread in Mexico, which is home to more than 120 million people, more than half of whom lived in poverty at the end 2012. Now inequality and wage disparity have emerged as further challenges to the development of Latin America’s second-largest economy. Read more.
Feb 11, 2015
Slight decrease in the number of “Los Ninis” in Mexico
Geo-Mexico: Los ninis are young people (aged 15-29) that “ni trabaja, ni estudia” (neither work nor study). They have become the focus of much press attention in the past few years, often accompanied by the phrase “Mexico’s lost generation”.
According to a recent OECD report, “Education at Glance 2015″, two out of every ten Mexicans in the 15-29 age group neither studied nor worked in 2013, the latest year for which there is data. The report found that 22.3% of Mexican in that age category were ninis, a slight decrease compared to 25.0% in 2011. After population increase is taken into account, Mexico has about 200,000 fewer ninis than in 2011. Read more.
According to a recent OECD report, “Education at Glance 2015″, two out of every ten Mexicans in the 15-29 age group neither studied nor worked in 2013, the latest year for which there is data. The report found that 22.3% of Mexican in that age category were ninis, a slight decrease compared to 25.0% in 2011. After population increase is taken into account, Mexico has about 200,000 fewer ninis than in 2011. Read more.
Sep 28, 2014
Mexico Inflation Above Target as Increases Exceed Forecasts
Bloomberg: Mexican consumer prices rose more than expected in the first half of September, keeping the annual inflation rate above the upper limit of the central bank’s target range.
Prices increased 0.32 percent from two weeks earlier, the national statistics institute said on its website today, compared with the 0.25 percent median forecast of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The annual inflation rate was 4.21 percent, above the 2 percent to 4 percent target range. Read more.
Prices increased 0.32 percent from two weeks earlier, the national statistics institute said on its website today, compared with the 0.25 percent median forecast of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The annual inflation rate was 4.21 percent, above the 2 percent to 4 percent target range. Read more.
May 31, 2014
For Mexico, good economic times are always just out of reach
McClatchyDC
The central bank chief calls it a “temporary pothole.”
Whatever the term, Mexico’s economy has hit some turbulence - despite the most ambitious overhaul to its business structure in decades.
Tax hikes have dampened consumer confidence, retail sales remain stagnant, and low U.S. demand for Mexican-made cars and televisions slowed the economy earlier this year to its lowest point in four years. Mexico grew at a sluggish 1.8 percent rate in the first quarter of 2014, forcing the government to ratchet down its forecast to 2.7 percent growth for the year.
Bankers and economists still voice hope that Mexico is on the threshold of faster growth because of the opening of the energy, banking and telecommunications sectors. “We know that the reforms don’t have an immediate effect and that it is necessary to have patience and persevere,” a Spanish banker, Francisco Gonzalez Rodriguez, chief executive of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, or BBVA, told a forum this week. Read more
BY Tim Johnson
Whatever the term, Mexico’s economy has hit some turbulence - despite the most ambitious overhaul to its business structure in decades.
Tax hikes have dampened consumer confidence, retail sales remain stagnant, and low U.S. demand for Mexican-made cars and televisions slowed the economy earlier this year to its lowest point in four years. Mexico grew at a sluggish 1.8 percent rate in the first quarter of 2014, forcing the government to ratchet down its forecast to 2.7 percent growth for the year.
Bankers and economists still voice hope that Mexico is on the threshold of faster growth because of the opening of the energy, banking and telecommunications sectors. “We know that the reforms don’t have an immediate effect and that it is necessary to have patience and persevere,” a Spanish banker, Francisco Gonzalez Rodriguez, chief executive of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, or BBVA, told a forum this week. Read more
Jun 26, 2013
Mexico aims to bring shadow economy into the light
Reuters
By Krista Hughes
Jun 26, 2013
Seeking to dismantle a black economy dragging on economic growth, Mexico wants to lure informal workers into the social security net - and the reach of the tax man.
Six in 10 Mexican workers, or 30 million people, live in the informal economy, eroding Mexico's already-low tax base and hindering plans to set up a universal social security system.
"The country loses 3 or 4 percentage points of GDP every year because 60 percent of its workers don't generate any taxes and also don't have social security benefits," Labor Minister Alfonso Navarrete said on Tuesday. Read more.
By Krista Hughes
Jun 26, 2013
Seeking to dismantle a black economy dragging on economic growth, Mexico wants to lure informal workers into the social security net - and the reach of the tax man.
Six in 10 Mexican workers, or 30 million people, live in the informal economy, eroding Mexico's already-low tax base and hindering plans to set up a universal social security system.
"The country loses 3 or 4 percentage points of GDP every year because 60 percent of its workers don't generate any taxes and also don't have social security benefits," Labor Minister Alfonso Navarrete said on Tuesday. Read more.
Mar 19, 2013
Enrique Pena Nieto Reforms: Mexico's President Pushes Sweeping Changes To Telecom, Oil Industry
The Huffington Post
By Michael Wissenstein
March 19 2013
Mexico City -- New President Enrique Pena Nieto has been fast out of the blocks in attacking some of Mexico's toughest issues in a country often stymied by monopolies and corruption.
He arrested the most powerful woman in Mexico, leader of the largest union in Latin America, on allegations of corruption that previous presidents saw but were too compromised to tackle. He is taking on the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, and pledges to bring diversity to a television industry dominated by the head of the largest network in Latin America, a scion of one of Mexico's leading families.
At one time all three were key allies of Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled for 71 years with a combination of coercion and corruption before being voted out of office in 2000. Now, Pena Nieto is declaring that there are no more sacred cows.
The moves have built momentum behind what could be his most dramatic and difficult reform – modernizing and drawing foreign and private capital to the behemoth state oil company, a long sacrosanct but increasingly inefficient pillar of the Mexican economy. On Sunday, at a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the Mexican oil business, Pena Nieto said again that he will transform Petroleos Mexicanos. The longtime head of the Pemex union, who had been expected by many to fight any changes but has been the subject of questions about unexplained family wealth, pledged his support.
Pena Nieto says his plan will make Mexico more democratic and competitive in the world economy, and his drive for reform is fueling international confidence about Mexico. Rating company Standard and Poor's raised the country's long-term sovereign credit rating from "stable" to "positive" last week, citing optimism about the government's ability to carry out structural changes. The Mexican peso is stronger against the dollar than it's been in a year and a half.
But some analysts warn against mistaking style for substance and making early declarations of victory against entrenched powers built up by the very party that now says it's trying to bring them to heel. It will take many months, in some cases years, before Pena Nieto's reform agenda becomes law and produces its first results, plenty of time for big promises to be derailed by special interests, institutional inertia and the PRI's old guard. Read more.
By Michael Wissenstein
March 19 2013
He arrested the most powerful woman in Mexico, leader of the largest union in Latin America, on allegations of corruption that previous presidents saw but were too compromised to tackle. He is taking on the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, and pledges to bring diversity to a television industry dominated by the head of the largest network in Latin America, a scion of one of Mexico's leading families.
At one time all three were key allies of Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled for 71 years with a combination of coercion and corruption before being voted out of office in 2000. Now, Pena Nieto is declaring that there are no more sacred cows.
The moves have built momentum behind what could be his most dramatic and difficult reform – modernizing and drawing foreign and private capital to the behemoth state oil company, a long sacrosanct but increasingly inefficient pillar of the Mexican economy. On Sunday, at a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the Mexican oil business, Pena Nieto said again that he will transform Petroleos Mexicanos. The longtime head of the Pemex union, who had been expected by many to fight any changes but has been the subject of questions about unexplained family wealth, pledged his support.
Pena Nieto says his plan will make Mexico more democratic and competitive in the world economy, and his drive for reform is fueling international confidence about Mexico. Rating company Standard and Poor's raised the country's long-term sovereign credit rating from "stable" to "positive" last week, citing optimism about the government's ability to carry out structural changes. The Mexican peso is stronger against the dollar than it's been in a year and a half.
But some analysts warn against mistaking style for substance and making early declarations of victory against entrenched powers built up by the very party that now says it's trying to bring them to heel. It will take many months, in some cases years, before Pena Nieto's reform agenda becomes law and produces its first results, plenty of time for big promises to be derailed by special interests, institutional inertia and the PRI's old guard. Read more.
Mar 18, 2013
Mexico's leftist opposition rallies against energy reforms
Reuters
By David Alire Garcia
Mexico City, Mar 18, 2013
(Reuters) - Waving party flags and shouting their support, tens of thousands of leftist party members rallied on Sunday against government plans to overhaul Mexico's energy sector, a preview of the tough road ahead for President Enrique Pena Nieto's reform push.
Organized by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, the rally took place on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the country's oil industry, the historical pivot that gave birth to state oil monopoly Pemex.
Speakers denounced any move to privatize the government-run oil giant, even though Pena Nieto and other members of his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, have consistently denied any plans to sell or privatize Pemex.
"We are being loyal to this historical legacy that has given our oil riches to the nation and we are going to defend it with everything we've got," said Jesus Zambrano, the PRD's national president, to rousing applause. Read more.
By David Alire Garcia
Mexico City, Mar 18, 2013
(Reuters) - Waving party flags and shouting their support, tens of thousands of leftist party members rallied on Sunday against government plans to overhaul Mexico's energy sector, a preview of the tough road ahead for President Enrique Pena Nieto's reform push.
Organized by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, the rally took place on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the country's oil industry, the historical pivot that gave birth to state oil monopoly Pemex.
Speakers denounced any move to privatize the government-run oil giant, even though Pena Nieto and other members of his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, have consistently denied any plans to sell or privatize Pemex.
"We are being loyal to this historical legacy that has given our oil riches to the nation and we are going to defend it with everything we've got," said Jesus Zambrano, the PRD's national president, to rousing applause. Read more.
Mar 6, 2013
Mexico wants U.S. ties to focus on economy, education, not drugs
Reuters
By Dave Graham
Mar 4, 2013
Mexico must give greater priority to economic cooperation and education in relations with the United States rather than allowing the fight against organized crime to take center stage, a senior Mexican official said on Monday.
Mexico has spent the past six years locked in a bloody fight with powerful drug cartels whose killings, kidnappings and extortion have marred the country's image, particularly in the United States, where it ships nearly 80 percent of its exports.
President Enrique Pena Nieto is keen to rewrite the script, focusing his efforts on the economy, which has grown at a faster pace than the United States' in the last three years.
Pena Nieto's conservative predecessor, Felipe Calderon, staked his name on crushing the gangs, but by the time he left office at the end of November nearly 70,000 people had died in the violence, and his efforts were widely condemned as a failure. Read more.
By Dave Graham
Mar 4, 2013
Mexico must give greater priority to economic cooperation and education in relations with the United States rather than allowing the fight against organized crime to take center stage, a senior Mexican official said on Monday.
Mexico has spent the past six years locked in a bloody fight with powerful drug cartels whose killings, kidnappings and extortion have marred the country's image, particularly in the United States, where it ships nearly 80 percent of its exports.
President Enrique Pena Nieto is keen to rewrite the script, focusing his efforts on the economy, which has grown at a faster pace than the United States' in the last three years.
Pena Nieto's conservative predecessor, Felipe Calderon, staked his name on crushing the gangs, but by the time he left office at the end of November nearly 70,000 people had died in the violence, and his efforts were widely condemned as a failure. Read more.
Feb 16, 2013
Analysis: Honeymoon wears off for Mexico president's reform push
Reuters
By Simon Gardner and Anahi Rama
MEXICO CITY, Fri Feb 15, 2013
A political pact forged with rivals and a couple of key laws already under his belt, Mexico's new President Enrique Pena Nieto got off to a strong start, but he faces hurdles to push through deep economic reforms.
Armed with a wide-reaching agenda, the 46-year-old former state governor wants to overhaul Mexico's tax system, state oil monopoly Pemex, a telecoms sector dominated by the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, and competition regulations in a bid to modernize the economy and boost growth to 6 percent a year.
Despite lacking an outright majority in Congress, Pena Nieto managed to push the 2013 budget barely a week after taking office on December 1 and passed a landmark education bill after sealing a broad accord dubbed the "Pact for Mexico" with leftist and conservative opponents.
But his plans may be starting to slip.
"Some were far too quick to voice optimism during the typical honeymoon of a new government," said Gabriela Cuevas, a senator for the opposition conservative National Action Party (PAN). "It's not that simple." Read more.
By Simon Gardner and Anahi Rama
MEXICO CITY, Fri Feb 15, 2013
A political pact forged with rivals and a couple of key laws already under his belt, Mexico's new President Enrique Pena Nieto got off to a strong start, but he faces hurdles to push through deep economic reforms.
Armed with a wide-reaching agenda, the 46-year-old former state governor wants to overhaul Mexico's tax system, state oil monopoly Pemex, a telecoms sector dominated by the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, and competition regulations in a bid to modernize the economy and boost growth to 6 percent a year.
Despite lacking an outright majority in Congress, Pena Nieto managed to push the 2013 budget barely a week after taking office on December 1 and passed a landmark education bill after sealing a broad accord dubbed the "Pact for Mexico" with leftist and conservative opponents.
But his plans may be starting to slip.
"Some were far too quick to voice optimism during the typical honeymoon of a new government," said Gabriela Cuevas, a senator for the opposition conservative National Action Party (PAN). "It's not that simple." Read more.
Dec 1, 2012
Incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto inherits a bruised Mexico
Los Angeles Times: by Tracy Wilkinson
November 30, 2012
MEXICO CITY — When Enrique Peña Nieto assumes the Mexican presidency on Saturday, returning to power a once-autocratic party that ruled for seven decades, he will immediately confront a sluggish economy and a bloody war against drug gangs.
How he will handle those two problems is the biggest question surrounding the incoming government.
Peña Nieto, 46, and his Institutional Revolutionary Party want to shift the focus away from the battle against drug cartels that consumed and ultimately haunted outgoing President Felipe Calderon.
But Peña Nieto is inheriting a bruised, terrified and polarized nation that has lived through its most violent period since its revolution a century ago. Tens of thousands of people — mayors, police, journalists, lawyers, officials, businessmen as well as criminals — have been killed. Thousands are missing, and human rights abuses by authorities have skyrocketed in the six-year campaign against the drug gangs. Read more.
November 30, 2012
MEXICO CITY — When Enrique Peña Nieto assumes the Mexican presidency on Saturday, returning to power a once-autocratic party that ruled for seven decades, he will immediately confront a sluggish economy and a bloody war against drug gangs.
How he will handle those two problems is the biggest question surrounding the incoming government.
Peña Nieto, 46, and his Institutional Revolutionary Party want to shift the focus away from the battle against drug cartels that consumed and ultimately haunted outgoing President Felipe Calderon.
But Peña Nieto is inheriting a bruised, terrified and polarized nation that has lived through its most violent period since its revolution a century ago. Tens of thousands of people — mayors, police, journalists, lawyers, officials, businessmen as well as criminals — have been killed. Thousands are missing, and human rights abuses by authorities have skyrocketed in the six-year campaign against the drug gangs. Read more.
Nov 30, 2012
Mexico’s new president to shift dialogue with U.S., from drugs to economy
Washington Post. By William Booth and Nick Miroff
November 30, 2012
MEXICO CITY — On the eve of his inauguration and his party’s return to power, Mexico’s incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto has vowed to reshape his country’s education, business and energy sectors in ways that could have profound effects on the United States.
A dynamic politician, from an old autocratic political party, Peña Nieto has said he wants to change the conversation about Mexico in the United States, away from headless torsos and drug cartels to trade and manufacturing.
Together with the United States, Peña Nieto and his top advisors say Mexico wants to drill more oil, assemble more cars and build “better, faster, smarter bridges” to grow the $1 billion a day commerce across the the 2,000-mile border, already the busiest crossing in the world.
Peña Nieto, who takes office Saturday, and his team say they are ready to help the Obama administration and U.S. Congress implement a guest worker program to regulate the flow of Mexican labor to the United States, where an estimated 6 million Mexicans live illegally. Read more.
November 30, 2012
MEXICO CITY — On the eve of his inauguration and his party’s return to power, Mexico’s incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto has vowed to reshape his country’s education, business and energy sectors in ways that could have profound effects on the United States.
A dynamic politician, from an old autocratic political party, Peña Nieto has said he wants to change the conversation about Mexico in the United States, away from headless torsos and drug cartels to trade and manufacturing.
Together with the United States, Peña Nieto and his top advisors say Mexico wants to drill more oil, assemble more cars and build “better, faster, smarter bridges” to grow the $1 billion a day commerce across the the 2,000-mile border, already the busiest crossing in the world.
Peña Nieto, who takes office Saturday, and his team say they are ready to help the Obama administration and U.S. Congress implement a guest worker program to regulate the flow of Mexican labor to the United States, where an estimated 6 million Mexicans live illegally. Read more.
Aug 3, 2012
Temporary refuge for migrants in Mexico also under threat
LA Times Blogs: Tracy Wilkinson. MEXICO CITY -- For years, conflict has simmered and spiked between residents of a town outside Mexico City and the Central American migrants who have taken refuge there, a stop along their route northward.
Tultitlan has seen thousands of often bedraggled migrants arrive, hoping to hop aboard the freight trains that pass through toward the United States. Many end up staying for days or weeks or longer, and residents often blame them for crimes and vagrancy. Read more.
Tultitlan has seen thousands of often bedraggled migrants arrive, hoping to hop aboard the freight trains that pass through toward the United States. Many end up staying for days or weeks or longer, and residents often blame them for crimes and vagrancy. Read more.
Jul 8, 2012
Top Colombian cop advising Mexico’s president-elect suggests elite counterdrug units
AP: BOGOTA, Colombia — The top security adviser for Mexico’s next president said Friday that he is recommending the creation of elite units of police and troops who will target not just major drug traffickers but also lower-level cartel hitmen as a way of swiftly reducing violence.
The proposal newly retired Colombian police director Gen. Oscar Naranjo explained in an interview with The Associated Press offers a glimpse of how President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto might fulfill his promise to slash the number of murders and kidnappings by 50 percent during his six years in office.
Similar to the approach that Naranjo employed against Colombian traffickers, the proposal raises the question of whether the widely respected general can reproduce his success in a very different country. Read more.
The proposal newly retired Colombian police director Gen. Oscar Naranjo explained in an interview with The Associated Press offers a glimpse of how President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto might fulfill his promise to slash the number of murders and kidnappings by 50 percent during his six years in office.
Similar to the approach that Naranjo employed against Colombian traffickers, the proposal raises the question of whether the widely respected general can reproduce his success in a very different country. Read more.
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