Juan José Sierra Álvarez, president of the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex), stated that Mexico’s economic growth is stagnant, investment faces high uncertainty, the institutional climate weakens confidence and security continues to limit productive activity and the attraction of capital.
“This closure confirms that the main challenge (of the economy) is not financial, but the lack of certainty, the rule of law and conditions that generate confidence to invest and generate formal employment,” said the businessman.
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Mexico requires institutional certainty, full respect for the rule of law and effective security conditions to promote investment, growth and formal employment, he said.
“The low economic dynamism, the fall in investment and the insufficient generation of formal employment confirm the need to reorient public decisions towards strengthening productive capacities,” he noted.
According to the leader of the employers’ organization, data show insufficient economic growth in Mexico, lower dynamism of formal employment and the urgency of focusing public decisions on strengthening productive capacities, clear rules and basic security conditions for people and companies, mainly micro, small and medium-sized ones.
He said that in the first nine months of 2025, GDP grew just 0.4 percent annually, while in the third quarter it fell 0.3 percent compared to the previous period and 0.2 percent annually, confirming a weak performance.
He added that the Global Indicator of Economic Activity presented an annual contraction of 0.6 percent in September, while the Timely Indicator of Economic Activity anticipates zero growth.
Gross fixed investment fell 8.4 percent annually in September, accumulating 13 months of declines, and business confidence remained at 48.6 points in October, ending eight months in pessimistic territory.
“These indicators confirm that the main brake on Mexico’s economic growth is the lack of certainty to invest,” he highlighted.
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He added that the political environment of 2025 was marked by structural reforms that increase institutional uncertainty, particularly in judicial matters, defense of rights and weakening of electoral institutions.
“The electoral process and, consequently, the implementation of the reform of the Judicial Branch generated alerts about the experience and independence of judges and legal certainty,” he stated.
He considered that each of these decisions increases the perception of risk, which translates into lower investment and lower growth.
He expressed that the public debate focused on political disputes, leaving the construction of long-term agreements on strategic issues such as security, rule of law, competitiveness and regional development in the background, limiting the use of nearshoring.
The generation of formal employment was insufficient: as of November, a monthly average of 54,500 jobs were created, lower than the average of the previous year even though platform workers are already included.
The president of Coparmex recalled that the 2026 Expenditure Budget retained a welfare focus that does not strengthen productive capacities or support MSMEs.
He added that health, education and security remain weak, limiting the salary impact and economic growth of Mexico.
“This scheme is also supported by a high deficit in public finances, financed by greater indebtedness, increasing pressure on fiscal sustainability and reducing the margin to invest productively in the medium and long term,” he pointed out.
In health, spending is 965 billion pesos (2.5 percent of GDP) and is far from the 6 percent recommended by the WHO.
“They allocate more resources to the IMSS, but there are cuts in the Ministry of Health, ISSSTE and a 5.9 percent drop in COFEPRIS,” he said.
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He added that in education, spending increases 3.4 percent and public education 8.6 percent, but more than a third is allocated to Benito Juárez scholarships (195.1 billion pesos), without prioritizing infrastructure, teachers or technology.
Public investment reaches 3.2 percent of GDP, concentrated in energy, housing and transportation.
In addition, Petróleos Mexicanos receives 1 in every 4 pesos, which subtracts public resources from hospitals, schools and local infrastructure.
Security continues to be a brake on investment, development and economic growth in Mexico: “Although the budget grows 3.6 percent in real terms and reaches 212.4 billion pesos, the 18.6 percent cut to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection reduces the operational capacity of the State.”
“Today more than half of the adult population feels insecure in their entity, which makes business operations more expensive, discourages investment and affects the economic growth of Mexico,” he concluded.
