Mexico, Another Disturbing Mirror for Colombia
Mexico should be prospering. With the geographical advantage of being neighbors to the world's largest economy, a vigente free trade agreement that made it the main trading partner of the United States, and the historic opportunity of nearshoring – the reconfiguration of supply chains that, in the face of tensions between Washington and Beijing, promised to move entire factories to Latin America – the country had the conditions to take a leap in its economic development. This has not happened.
TL;DR
- Mexico's economy is growing below 1%, with investment declining significantly, despite increased exports and foreign direct investment.
- Constitutional reforms, such as electing judges by popular vote and eliminating autonomous regulators, have created legal insecurity and concentrated power.
- The state's focus on the national electricity company has led to supply crises and reduced investment, while private sector involvement has been discouraged.
- Record levels of extortion and rising insecurity plague Mexico, with criminal groups consolidating territorial control.
- Colombia's government under Gustavo Petro exhibits similar patterns of mediocre growth, plummeting investment, and artificially sustained public spending, leading to fiscal deficits.
- Petro's administration has also weakened institutional checks and balances through measures like economic emergency declarations for taxation and interventions in key sectors.
- Mexico serves as a real-time example of how ideological decisions can lead to underperformance, lost investment, and institutional decay.