Photo: Presidencia

By KELIN DILLON

Following a meeting with the Mexican Business Council (CMN), Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (CSP) announced on Thursday, Dec. 5, that she asked some of Mexico’s most prominent business leaders to participate and collaborate together to achieve Plan Mexico – her administration’s strategy to strengthen the nation’s economy.

“We talked about Plan Mexico, which I have been discussing in the morning press conferences, how they could collaborate,” CSP told reporters after leaving the meeting.

According to Sheinbaum, the businessmen and women – who make up 17 percent of Mexico’s GDP and employ more than 1.7 million people – asked CSP how the private sector can collaborate on the government’s economic initiative.

CMN President Rolando de la Vega characterized the meeting as “magnificent” and noted that his fellow business leaders also vocalized questions and concerns surrounding topics like investment, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), national security, education, and payments to suppliers of Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

“We talked about investment, helping Mexico develop, priority issues to resolve, security, of course, and the commitment to investment remains,” said De la Vega.

“There was a commitment to work together, to go hand in hand and complement each other and to invest, which is the main reason to produce for Mexico’s benefit,” added the CMN president. 

Following the meeting, Business Coordinating Council (CCE) President Francisco Cervantes also revealed Sheinbaum and the CMN discussed the potential impact of the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexican goods and the upcoming renegotiation of the USMCA.

“Sheinbaum talked about the two conversations she had with President Trump, which were quite cordial, and this helps a lot since in Mexico, we are prepared for the negotiations or renewal of the USMCA; the goal is for it to be a renewal, but if it is a negotiation, we are prepared,” concluded Cervantes.