Mexico's standing in relation to other countries of the Americas.
The year-end summaries have begun to appear. Few stories are simpler to write: peruse the files, cherry-pick the juiciest stores, cut and paste and you’re done.
In Mexico there have been some big stories, most of them bad. It will be easy to piece together snippets of news and create a rather horrible montage.
So here, then, is an alternative, thanks to El Financiero columnist Carlos Mota, who today offered what he considers were five “glorious” pieces of news for Mexico in 2014. All five are cause for celebration at a time when there appears more cause for the contrary.
First on his list is energy reform, which relaunched Mexico into modern times. The August 11 approval through a phenomenal effort by Congress transformed the energy sector and ended the nightmare of state control over the petroleum industry that lasted 27,905 days.
The new Mexico City airport is second. There won’t be anything else as important as this project during the term of the current administration, says Mota, for the transformation it will bring to connectivity by air. Fifty-two million passengers a year will realize its relevance.
Third, the opening of telecommunications and new rules for the sector’s players. América Móvil has already begun restructuring in order to comply and new television offerings are coming. AT&T appeared, buying Iusacell, as did Richard Branson, to bring his Virgin Mobile.
Fourth, it was the year of the manufacturer and the automaker. It didn’t begin so well, but nearly all the numbers from the second half indicate a vigorous recovery, as myriad autoparts businesses set up in El Bajío, and record exports are being tallied due to the United States’ recovery. It was also the year in which SAT, the internal revenue agency, brought in controls over the import of used vehicles.
Fifth, economic order: healthy public finances, stable prices, mechanisms to support the peso, the country’s standing with the International Monetary Fund, investments, mergers and acquisitions, growth of credit.
Topping off those economic achievements was yesterday’s affirmation by Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency, of Mexico’s triple-B-plus sovereign rating.
There’s the year in a nutshell, the rosy view, so as not to forget that some good things did happen.
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