The Bizneitorado Speaks: A Like to the Advances, But with a Passive-Aggressive Comment
In a plot twist that no one saw coming, the Mexican business sector, the one that usually tweets “Lower taxes!” at 3 a.m., has come out to give his verdict on the current government. And oh, surprise, it’s not pure hate. According to them, there is considerable progress, such as this almost impossible mission to reduce poverty. But, as it could not be otherwise, the thing comes with a list of *disclaimers* longer than the terms and conditions of an app that no one reads. Basically, it’s a monumental “yes, but…”. Translation: “Hey, the effort is appreciated, but the party is far from perfect and there are topics that smell worse than a Tupperware forgotten in the office.”
Octavio de la Torre, the president of Concanaco-Servytur (that is, the head of heads of the chambers of commerce), was in charge of dropping the smoke bomb of diplomacy. He assured that the data presented by President Claudia Sheinbaum is real. Yes, as you read, REAL. He almost fell off his chair confirming that there has been a decrease in poverty and a growth in social programs. He also praised investment in infrastructure, which is no small feat. In other words, he gave his momentary blue verification check to the government. But hold on, because here comes the plot twist.
The Collective Side Eye Towards Informality and Insecurity
It turns out that all this positive mood has its limits, like the cell phone battery on a hard day. De la Torre admitted that, although there is a dialogue between the public and private sectors and the issue of extortion and insecurity is being addressed, patience is not infinite. Basically, he said: “Let’s give it a chance, this has just started, but next year we’ll see you in the reviews.” Its pending evaluation for next year includes nothing more and nothing less than the Judiciary and the anti-extortion reform. An institutional “hold my coffee”.
On the other hand, Vicente Gutiérrez Camposeco, from Canaco CDMX, came to balance strength with a dose of reality that hurts more than opening mobile data at the end of the month. He recognized the advances in foreign investment and that environment of macroeconomic stability that the markets like so much. He even highlighted the fact that 13 million Mexicans escaped poverty, which is something to shout about. BUT (there is always a but), he immediately dropped the bomb: the labor informality rate remains at a scandalous 54.8%. In other words, more than half of the workforce is in forced freelance mode, without benefits, without insurance, without that stability that is so much touted.
And in case anyone thought that the matter ended there, Camposeco decided to dump some uncomfortable truths. Although inflation dropped to 3.49%, the prices of the basic basket are still sky high, like that influencer who uploads stories from an exotic place. National private investment is stagnant, basically on pause, due to the famous legal uncertainty (which is like saying “we distrust the system, lol”). To top it off, the growth of the economy in the first semester was only 0.9%, a figure that is below the historical average and that leaves us all with a “really?” face.
In short, the business world is giving him a vote of confidence… conditional. It’s like giving an app that previously crashed a lot a second chance: it works better, but still has important bugs to fix. Insecurity, extortion and informality are the main glitches in this system. And all of us, with cell phones in hand, are waiting for next year’s update to see if they are finally solved or if we have to change models.
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