XINHUA

The Mexican economy is facing a multi-year recovery, with experts predicting the country will not return to the productivity levels of 2018 until mid-2025 due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (covid-19), the Citibanamex Financial Group said Thursday, Oct. 8.

Notwithstanding, the private institution’s forecasts improved for 2020, with a prediction of a 9.8 percent drop in the economy compared to the previously predicted 11.2 percent.

For 2021, Citibanamex lowered expectations, predicting a 3.5 percent growth compared to a previous 4.1 percent.

“We anticipate that the GDP will not return to the levels of 2018 until mid-2025,” Citibanamex said in a report.

According to the institution’s forecasts, Mexican exports will fall this year by 11.5 percent, and private consumption will see a 10.1 percent decline.

“The determinants of private consumption remain moderate, with little optimism for the labor market,” the report said.

The administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has estimated that Mexico will lose around 1 million jobs in 2020 due to covid-19, although his government is seeking the creation of 2 million new jobs through a massive public projects scheme.

The Mexican economy, the second-largest in Latin America after Brazil, declined 0.3 percent in 2019.

…Oct. 9, 202