Mexico Iberoamerican industrial alliances, Digi Mart USA News (Madrid, Spain): Mexico seeks to turn incoming national and foreign investment into opportunities for economic development, job creation, innovation and the strengthening of small and medium-sized businesses, said Ximena Escobedo Juárez, deputy secretary of Industry and Commerce at the Secretariat of Economy, during her participation in an Ibero-American business meeting held in Madrid.
In a panel titled “Strategic resources, strategic alliances,” the official explained that the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo is pursuing a new industrial policy through the Plan Mexico. Its purpose is to reduce dependence on imports, increase national content and consolidate productive chains capable of taking advantage of investments arriving in the country.
Escobedo Juárez said the challenge is not only to attract capital but also to ensure that large projects have positive effects on local economies, through the incorporation of national suppliers, technology transfer, innovation and better job opportunities.
As part of this strategy, she highlighted progress on the creation of 100 new industrial parks, with a planned investment of $763 million and a projection of 32,000 jobs, figures presented during the panel. The deputy secretary said Mexico has identified priority sectors to strengthen its productive capacity, including the pharmaceutical, medical device, electronics, semiconductor and automotive industries, which are considered strategic amid changes in international trade.
She also referred to the Development Poles for Well-Being promoted by the federal government, which aim to boost new industrial activities and create opportunities for established businesses in the regions where projects are developed.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) occupy a central place in this policy, the official stressed, arguing that their participation will be indispensable for reaching the economic goals set for 2030 and for extending the benefits of investment to more sectors of the population.
Escobedo shared the panel with Armindo Monteiro, Arturo Barreira, Antonio Silveira, Bruce Mac Master and Núria Vilanova, representatives of the Ibero-American business community, who discussed the need to harness the region’s natural resources, human talent and productive capacities through strategic alliances.
The Mexican representative argued that Ibero-American countries must move beyond isolated efforts and build a joint agenda that identifies the industries in which they can collaborate and the specific contributions of each nation. “We need to establish where we want to walk together and where we want to form those alliances,” she said.
She said Ibero-America has natural resources, human capital, talent, innovation and industrial capabilities, but still faces the challenge of articulating those strengths into common projects. “We have to establish which industries we want to invest in together and, from those industries, know what each one can contribute and start charting the route,” the deputy secretary concluded, calling for international alliances to be turned into concrete instruments of economic development and social well-being.
