Infrastructure plan could transform Mexico, BBVA predicts

The new Infrastructure Investment Plan presented by the Mexican government is “a good sign” and contains a “good diagnosis” about what should be done to increase growth. Its correct execution would “transform” the current reality of the country, stated BBVA México.

Eduardo Osuna Osuna, vice president and general director of BBVA, commented that the sector in which there is the greatest interest in injecting capital is the energy sector, which could unblock “the bottlenecks” that currently hinder investment and increase growth levels.

“The launch is a very good message, not only because of the recognition of the importance of investment for growth… If we want Mexico to break this negative growth inertia we have to have sustained investment above 25 percent as a proportion of GDP.

“It is being recognized that in this process of fiscal consolidation the federal government does not have all the resources to invest and that, therefore, the national and international private sector and the financial sector are required to accompany the infrastructure programs,” said Osuna Osuna.

In a videoconference, on the occasion of the presentation of BBVA’s results, he pointed out that the country has a problem of very relevant “bottlenecks” in terms of electricity generation, a necessary input so that there can be investment.

Due to the above, he said, the plan presented this week “is focused on the right things,” and although others have been announced in the past, this one “above all, includes a good list of projects that will eliminate bottlenecks.

“With the plan, the federal government is doing the right thing from a diagnostic point of view in terms of lack of growth and investment in infrastructure, due to many rule changes in the energy sector and also due to the insufficient investment capacity of the public sector and fiscal consolidation.

“We are seeing a good diagnosis. Now the challenge is for the execution to be impeccable. That is why it is a very good sign that the execution office is in the Presidency, because it also recognizes the enormous complexity involved in bringing these infrastructure projects to a successful conclusion,” said the banker.

BBVA chief economist Carlos Serrano said: “If the plan is executed, it would be transformative for Mexico in terms of growth.”

Positive outlook

In Madrid, Carlos Torres Villa, president of BBVA on a global scale, presented the group’s financial results and highlighted that the consortium has good prospects for Mexico this year.

“In short, we are very optimistic about Mexico’s perspective in the medium and long term, although there is always uncertainty when a free trade agreement has to be negotiated with the United States. But the structural bases are very good, there is a lot of demand, so we just need to wait for the rules to be clarified and in 2026 that can be cleared up and the horizon of very strong growth in Mexico will open,” he noted.