Category Archives: economy

What to Make of the TPP’s Anticorruption Chapter?

Posted on 11/08/2015 by

After years of being developed under conditions of absolute secrecy, the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement was released last week. In the U.S., Congress has 90 days to give an up-or-down vote on the measure, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in compliance, corruption, crime, economy, fdi, tpp, trade | Leave a comment

Perfect Storm – Is the Mexican Economy About to Collapse?

Posted on 08/11/2015 by

Mexico’s underperforming economy has been covered here before. But those posts addressed long-term, structural impediments to Mexico’s ability to develop a modern economy with a higher growth rate. Notably, those posts did not address the most commonly cited ‘structural’ flaws … Continue reading →

Posted in economic development, economy, energy, fdi, finance, informality, investment, labor, narco, oil and gas, organized crime, Pact for Mexico | Leave a comment

As it Turns to 2015, How Can Mexico Put 2014 Behind?

Posted on 01/06/2015 by

2014 was an unfortunate year for Mexico, despite (initially) glowing praise from international media outlets and a relatively painless process of passing major economic reforms. Ultimately, dark reality triumphed over glittering narrative, and the PR-based presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN) … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, crime, economic development, economy, energy, fdi, Iguala, normalistas, oil and gas, organized crime, Pact for Mexico, procurement, reform, rule of law, tender, transparency | Leave a comment

Anticorruption Update – Reform Stalls, Scandals Intensify

Posted on 12/19/2014 by

As of the last update, it seemed like the anticorruption reform – one of the last unfulfilled promises of the Pacto por Mexico – was close to being passed and certainly during the current legislative session. Alas, the reform is still … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, economy, Guerrero, Iguala, investment, legislation, normalistas, Pact for Mexico, reform, rule of law, SFP | 1 Comment

What’s Wrong with Mexico – Foreign Investment

Posted on 10/24/2014 by

In a previous post, I discussed how informality may or may not weigh on Mexico’s economic performance. Here, I will look at foreign investment, with a particular focus on foreign direct investment (FDI). The issue of foreign investment is a … Continue reading →

Posted in economic development, economy, fdi, investment, labor, oil and gas, reform | 1 Comment

Pacto por Mexico – Energy Reform Passed

Posted on 08/20/2014 by

Last week, Pres. Pena signed into law the secondary legislation implementing the Energy Reform under the Pacto por Mexico. The final contours of the law did not differ significantly from the changes made by the Senate, discussed here. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in economy, energy, legislation, oil and gas, Pact for Mexico, reform, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Anticorruption Update – Stalled Reform, Policing PEMEX/CFE

Posted on 07/31/2014 by

Forgotten Reform As discussed in previous posts, corruption in Mexico is a serious issue, costing the country up to around 9 percent of GDP. Thus, it’s not surprising that corruption has made its way onto the reform agenda of the Pacto por Mexico. … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, economy, energy, legislation, oil and gas, Pact for Mexico, pemex, politics, reform | 2 Comments

What’s Wrong with Mexico’s Economy – Informality

Posted on 07/29/2014 by

Journalists are running out of adjectives to describe Mexico’s recent economic performance: disappointing, slow, lackluster, stalled, etc. But they are not running out of people to cheerily forecast that improvement is right around the corner. This is the narrative pivot … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, economy, informality, legislation, Pact for Mexico, reform, rule of law, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Pacto por Mexico – Energy Reform Update

Posted on 07/18/2014 by

It has taken a bit longer than expected for the secondary legislation of the Energy Reform to make it through the Congress. On Wednesday, the Senate published the changes made to the secondary legislation in committee, all of which can … Continue reading →

Posted in economy, energy, legislation, oil and gas, Pact for Mexico, pemex, reform | 1 Comment

Energy Reform – Secondary Legislation Introduced

Posted on 05/02/2014 by

On Wednesday, April 30, President Peña (EPN) submitted to the Chamber of Deputies draft secondary legislation package implementing the far-reaching energy reform proposed under the Pacto por Mexico. Although the reform was ‘passed’ by the legislature in December of last … Continue reading →

Posted in economy, energy, legislation, oil and gas, Pact for Mexico, pemex, reform | 3 Comments