Mexican President Takes Credit For Five Years of FDI Inflow

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has claimed that, under his leadership, Mexico has attracted US$156 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last five years, representing a 52% increase over the previous administration’s efforts.

Peña Nieto, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election in the next presidential poll in July 2018, said that his government has diversified the economy and the country is no longer heavily dependent on oil exports.

Over the past five years, nearly 3 million new jobs have been created. The new jobs, he said, are “quality jobs” that enable families to benefit from social security schemes, health services, daycare centers, and pensions.

“Never before in any other administration have so many jobs been generated, never before has so much direct foreign investment been received,” the Mexican president said in remarks prepared for his 5^th annual report on the government.

Thanks to structural reforms, the energy and telecom industries have been favorites of foreign investors. Mexico’s aerospace industry, according to the president, is the third largest in terms of foreign investment, the United States and United Kingdom being the first and second largest investors, respectively.

The boom in the manufacturing industry is evident in the country’s railway network, which is is among the busiest in all OECD countries, the Mexican president said, citing a study by the international organization.

Freight transport has grown by 9%, passenger transport 27%, and railroad foreign trade 52%. Consumption, he said, is experiencing historical highs, while exports and tourism are also setting new records.