Relationship with Sheinbaum looks very promising

A month after President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo took office, the body that represents transnational companies in Mexico assures that the relationship with the government is shaping up to be very positive and very promising.

This is Mexico’s moment and we cannot waste itdice a The Day Manuel Bravo, president of the Global Business Council, an organization that includes presidents and general directors of 63 transnational companies.

In October, the first month of the current government, directors of the council and the companies it represents have been at dialogue tables with federal government officials and with President Sheinbaum, he comments. My impression, if I put it in one or two words, would say that it is very positive and very promising..

The organization headed by Manuel Bravo – president of the German multinational Bayer in Mexico – brings together foreign companies that in recent years have contributed four out of every 10 dollars of productive investment that comes to the country. Its activity generates a tenth of the gross domestic product and employs 8 million workers, according to its own information.

Last August, the organization expressed worry for the reform of the Judiciary, arguing that its content could reduce investment incentives (https://bit.ly/3NOXP0y). Now that the amendment to the Constitution has been approved and is in force, Manuel Bravo states: We have been very vocal in suggesting that, once the reform is approved, it be ensured that judges have professional capacity, experience and independence..

For this group of companies, he proposes, the most important thing is to have legal certainty for investments. We are the promoters of Mexico with our boards of directors. And we want to have arguments so that investments are made in Mexico. We already have an advantage, which is the trade agreement with the United States and Canada, which is 30 years old. There are the geographical position and the phenomenon of relocation of companies from Asia. Mexico is a natural candidate for investments and so everything that is around it, such as the legal issue, must also occur..

Companies that belong to the Global Business Council include Nestlé, Pepsico, Siemens, Cargill, AT&T, General Motors, ExxonMobil, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Toyota, Visa and HSBC.

Manuel Bravo reports that at high-level tables between executives and federal officials (Sheinbaum has been at a couple of them) topics such as infrastructure, connectivity, energy transition, security and personnel training are discussed. Having met on several occasions is a great start to building trust. In some things you can do something, in others you can’t, but it all starts with being seated at the same table..

–Mentions the issue of energy transition. What do they propose?

–The approach that the President and the Secretary of Energy (Luz Elena González Escobar) have made is that Pemex and the CFE are going to be investing. But due to the amount of energy, both hydrocarbons and gas, that we need in the industry, and even more so if we attract more companies with relocation, it will be important for private capital to also participate. The first conversations, still in a very initial stage, have been in that sense. The clarity that has existed in the first talks, regarding the need for more and better energy, is a great first step.

–Have some investments from global companies stopped due to the change of government?

–I would think that there are companies that are saying: Let me see these first months. a bit like pay per view. Let’s see how judicial reform and energy issues land. There are many things that are happening and perhaps a board of directors that was going to decide something in this quarter passes it on to the next. They are such large investments that two or three months make no difference. Specifically, I have not heard of an investment from global companies that has stopped.

–How does the issue of security influence business decisions?

–It is the most critical. It is not a new issue, it has been eroding in the last 20 years and in various aspects, ranging from roads to customs, ports and extortions. We have been in contact with the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection to support this intelligence work process that they have put in front of us as one of the pillars of what is going to be done.