Allies of President Claudia Sheinbaum in Congress are eager to attract more private investment as part of the Plan Mexico, accelerating the approval of projects, aware that public spending alone is not enough to boost the sluggish growth of Latin America's second-largest economy. This sense of urgency coincides with Sheinbaum's push to secure new funding sources from the private sector, especially for infrastructure projects capable of generating more employment and promoting well-being ahead of next year's midterm elections. This all aims to complement a new framework for public-private contracts presented last year for the energy and oil sectors, which to date has only resulted in a handful of agreements, mostly of small scale.
Under the proposed investment mechanism, the government will always retain a 51% stake in large infrastructure projects, while ceding collection rights to private companies for a mutually agreed period, stated Jorge Mendoza, director of the state development bank Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras). Taking a potential highway project as an example, Mendoza explained that the government would try to grant a concession to a majority state-owned company—such as the infrastructure sovereign fund Fonadin—which would, in turn, hire a private company and cede it the rights to collect tolls and other services.
“This must be done quickly,” the banker noted. He pointed out that energy sector projects, as well as the construction of roads and ports, are generating the most interest in the financial sector, which he described as very receptive to Sheinbaum's call to allocate more resources alongside public financing. “Joint investment frameworks are very profitable,” he affirmed.
In the past, party leaders have even insisted that potential private partners of the country's state-owned oil and electric companies delegate most operational decisions to them or only acquire minority stakes. Under the infrastructure investment legislation, Sheinbaum will head a new investment council designed to streamline decision-making, attract more private capital, and avoid duplication of efforts by the various groups involved. He stated that he believes financial institutions share the government's urgency to launch new projects by speeding up their processing. “There is a strong sense of urgency,” he said from the conference.
Additionally, she seeks to improve a digital public contracting platform to reduce project timelines and allow for preliminary document review before contract signing, to avoid subsequent disqualifications due to procedural errors. This legislative initiative is seen as reinforcing Sheinbaum's economic development plan, 'Plan Mexico,' which has so far struggled to take off. Trade tensions with the United States have complicated the effort, as have the most recent inflationary pressures stemming from the war in Iran, including the progressive rise in prices for fertilizers, motor fuels, and natural gas that Mexico imports in large volumes.
Despite the difficulties, some business leaders expressed hope for a change of course. The CEO of HSBC Mexico, Jorge Arce, stated that there is optimism in the banking sector regarding Morena's new investment plan. “We are introducing a governance system here, because this contract, while it has private parties, has collection rights, and has a shareholder called the federal government.” The bill will also allow for the contracting of key infrastructure projects, with prior authorization from the Ministry of Finance, even if the final budget allocation has not yet been secured. The private company would be responsible for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the project. “This company will put up capital and take on debt against the collection rights that the concession gives it,” Mendoza said.
The left-wing leader needs the economy to perform much better to sustain the generous social spending she advocates. Speaking on the sidelines of the 89th Banking Convention, which brings together top executives from the financial services sector, Ramírez Cuéllar highlighted highways, hydraulic infrastructure, ports, airports, and railway projects as the main targets of the legislation. “Something we really have to do is speed up the authorizations,” said the legislator, who is also a member of the influential finance commission of the Chamber of Deputies. The council would include business sector representatives in an attempt to better understand what they consider the main bottlenecks.
However, doubts persist as to whether the latest proposal from her ruling party, Morena, will be enough to reactivate investment during her presidency. “We have to accelerate this plan,” stated Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, an influential legislator close to Sheinbaum and a member of Morena's leadership team in the Lower House. “Our main concern is the lack of sustained economic growth,” he noted in an unusually blunt assessment of the economic situation. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Mexico is expected to grow by 1.4% this year, a slight rebound from last year's meager 0.5%.
He emphasized the need to strengthen the framework for so-called “mixed projects,” aimed at boosting private investment in strategic projects, something Sheinbaum has also promoted, even in the politically sensitive energy sector. Sheinbaum's Morena party has long favored state-centric energy projects, wary of companies seeking to maximize profits exerting excessive control. Since Sheinbaum took office at the end of 2024, the aggregate growth of investment has fallen from around 2% year-on-year to -6% at the end of last year. “There will be interest.”
