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Room for Improvement
MEXICO · Report · 15 Oct 2013

Executive Summary The Chamber of Deputies is facing an October 20 deadline for passing its version of the 2014 Revenue Law. While no one can predict the final details of that bill, the extent of opposition to new tax proposals suggest that both the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto a...

Sowing Seeds of Future Discontent
MEXICO · Report · 14 Oct 2013

Executive Summary The demonstrations that held the Mexican capital in their grip for the better part of the past two months have finally died down, but for reasons that could contribute to future strife. The government wielded the proverbial political stick in mid September to drive public school...

Passing a Point of Inflection
MEXICO · Report · 08 Oct 2013

Economic Panorama Last week we discussed the factors that have most contributed to the way in which the Mexican economy began to get bogged down during the first half of the year. In this edition we turn our attention to updated indicators – such as Mexico’s monthly GDP proxy (Index of Global Eco...

Sweeten the Pot
MEXICO · Report · 07 Oct 2013

Executive Summary Last week GEA-ISA published the results of its most recent quarterly survey of voter opinion, which on this occasion focused on issues related to proposed fiscal and energy reforms. The public finds little it agrees with in the structural reform proposals offered to date, with c...

How the Budget Numbers Stack Up
MEXICO · Report · 01 Oct 2013

Executive SummaryA series of legally binding budget deadlines, legislative calendars and partisan political calculations pose the possibility of a congressional train wreck if the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto and the leaders of the main political parties fail to find common grou...

Holes in Pemex Fiscal Reform
MEXICO · Report · 24 Sep 2013

Executive Summary In recent days several of the tax ideas contained in the fiscal reform proposals made by President Enrique Peña Nieto have become the focus of considerable discussion and criticism. These include the application of the VAT tax to school tuitions, an idea the Chamber of Deputies ...

Fiscal Policy Showdown
MEXICO · Report · 24 Sep 2013

Executive Summary Key elements in President Enrique Peña’s fiscal reform proposals have run up against considerable resistance in the two weeks since they were unveiled. Powerful business leaders and associations were quick to criticize the initiative for not going as far as they had expected, es...

Regressive Pitfalls of Tax Reform
MEXICO · Report · 18 Sep 2013

Executive Summary The government of President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled its budget proposals for 2014 along with closely related pieces of legislation that imply major changes to tax and fiscal policy while greatly expanding social security coverage. The stated purpose of such a reform would be...

Clearing Another Hurdle
MEXICO · Report · 18 Sep 2013

Executive Summary In the run-up to the official Mexican Independence Day Celebrations, which traditionally center on Mexico City’s main square, the government reached an agreement with the main organization of teachers to dismantle the protest encampment they have maintained for many weeks in the...

Mexico's Expected Fiscal Reform
MEXICO · Report · 12 Sep 2013

Executive Summary The most significant news last week included the surprising rate cut announced by Mexico’s central bank on Friday. Banco de Mexico lowered its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%, the lowest level since the key rate was introduced in early 2008. The last time the ...

A Question of Strategic Timing
MEXICO · Report · 10 Sep 2013

Executive Summary Some moves in recent weeks by the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto in relation to its structural reform agenda may have been seen at the time as surrendering in the face of pressure from protesting social groups. The decision in late August to postpone a vote on th...

Mexico's Fiscal Reform and Economic Package for 2014: Back to Deficit Financing
MEXICO · In Brief · 09 Sep 2013

The government announced today a very significant fiscal package for 2014, as well as an ambitious fiscal reform. In essence, both proposals are oriented to increase public sector revenues in order to augment spending in four distinct areas, two traditional and two new ones. The former include mo...

Bold Move: Banco de Mexico Reduces Interest Rates
MEXICO · In Brief · 06 Sep 2013

Banco de México announced an interest rate reduction (domestic interbank rate), of 25 basis points, to an annual 3.75%.The reasoning behind México’s central bank is based on two main factors: i) the fact that consumer inflation has diminished to an annual 3.5%, clearly below the upper bound of th...

Mexico’s State of the Union: 120 days to go
MEXICO · In Brief · 05 Sep 2013

On Monday, President Pena Nieto gave his State of the Union address before a very small and select audience at the presidential residence of Los Pinos. He chose a smaller venue because since last week, Mexico City has been taken over by the dissident group of teachers who have been protesting aga...

A Recovery Yet To Come
MEXICO · Report · 03 Sep 2013

Economic Panorama The most significant piece of economic news in August was the weakness of GDP growth during the second quarter. The authorities reported that the economy expanded a mere 1.5% compared to the same April through June period of the previous year. Officials had projected that GDP ha...