Investment and Economy in Hidalgo Ahead of the World Cup

Regardless of whether tickets are sold or not, a full stadium is guaranteed, as even groups close to the ruling party have already received their tickets to enjoy the start of this World Cup event. Hidalgo: investment arrives. While—due to international fluctuations—the country's economic focus is concentrated on interest rates, oil prices, or trade tensions, something quieter is moving in Hidalgo during Governor Julio Menchaca's administration. The purchase of three industrial properties by FINSA, with an investment exceeding 400 million dollars, is not the most eye-catching news, but it is revealing. It is a company that develops industrial parks and warehouses so that other companies—many of them foreign—can quickly establish themselves. And if they are buying in Hidalgo, it is because they see favorable conditions there. It is not a 'boom,' but rather a realignment. Hidalgo is beginning to function as a pressure valve for the Valley of Mexico: companies that can no longer find space or competitive costs in other corridors are turning towards it. It is not a thunderous transformation, but one that, little by little, could end up redefining the industrial map of the country's center, and today it is an entity to follow. 40 years of Banco Base. In the framework of the 40-year celebration that began in the financial world, first as an exchange house, then as a brokerage firm, a bank, and finally a financial group, Base, founded by the brothers Álvaro and Lorenzo Barrera, is clear that the goal is to continue growing, but above all, to do so safely for the group and its clients. And it is that something few know is that for almost a decade they decided to operate not only under Mexican regulatory standards, but also by complying with the measures imposed by the financial authorities of the United States, including Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing actions, which they are sure has allowed them to operate safely and stay far from any non-compliance, and above all, to apply the 'know your customer' measures to the letter. Therefore, in addition to thanking their clients, they have started a tour of the main squares where they operate to be close, but also to make known their values and their vision on different issues, such as USMCA. To date, they have already held two meetings with the national business community to promote a model of specialized advisory consulting, and they will visit more entities during the year, where they are clear that technical specialization is the fundamental tool to give certainty to corporate treasuries in the face of exchange rate fluctuations. It is already four decades of the firm's trajectory, and they are clear that they must take advantage of Mexico's competitive advantages, and in the case of Base, they emphasize that the added value of banking today lies in expert criteria to navigate the complexity of issues such as international treaties. Nacional Monte de Piedad without a solution. Where there is no light at the end of the tunnel is at the Nacional Monte de Piedad, which has been closed for six months due to the strike initiated by the union, which now asks the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare and the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registry for mandatory arbitration to end the labor conflict. To do so, on March 23, they presented their broadest proposal, which includes a bonus for ending the strike equivalent to 52% of the tabular salary—despite not being obligated to pay back wages—as well as a 5.3% salary increase; there are already five proposals, in addition to others pushed by labor authorities, but the union leadership has not presented alternatives or has accepted to discuss the existing ones, and while those who have something pawned continue to renew their pawns at Oxxo stores, and those looking for a solution to some problem cannot go to pawn. And the main point of collision continues to be the mechanism for assigning vacant positions, known as 'bulletin,' where the union wants to maintain control; in short, despite the federal judge's declaration of the strike's non-existence, the conflict remains alive and the branches are closed. For now, the outcome is in the air. Efforts to modernize cargo transport—with incentives and financing—can end up being just as important as the investment itself. If moving goods becomes cheaper and faster, places like Hidalgo gain competitiveness almost immediately. According to estimates made in various categories by the financial group Banorte, led by Marcos Ramírez, the majority of the increases will be transitory, although there will be impacts on goods such as processed foods, mainly through snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, other goods such as cell phones, televisions, and sporting goods, tourist services such as airfares and hotels, due to a positive demand shock from the event. We will also see price increases in sectors such as restaurants and similar establishments, and there, the bad news, according to some estimates, is that they will not be fully reversed after its conclusion. And with the re-inauguration of the stadium, where Cristiano Ronaldo finally did not come, and we do not know the fines that were paid for the breach, as it was one of the requirements stipulated in the contract, the resale of tickets has fallen, and even Fanki itself, which will be in charge of selling tickets for the 'americanista' team's matches and the matches or concerts held at the Banorte stadium, yesterday removed the last tickets that were supposedly sold out. And this Saturday, the Banorte stadium will finally open its doors, which has generated great expectations due to its long remodeling and because, we must say, it is one of the most emblematic stadiums in the world, preparing to receive the inauguration of a Football World Cup for the third time in June. The alliance achieved between Grupo Ollamani, chaired by Emilio Azcárraga, which this week appointed a new director for its controlling company Deportiva Águilas, Ferrán Reverter, who will be the one to lead the team and the Azteca stadium, now Banorte, is expected to generate a lot of talk in the future, as the financial group, whose president is Carlos Hank González, has high expectations for the brand's positioning in the coming years. And in addition to that, it is a fact that the World Cup will have economic effects, according to data from the Economic Analysis area of Banorte, led by Alejandro Padilla Santana, because they expect the World Cup to add between 42 to 62 basis points to the annual growth of the 2026 GDP in real terms; this includes direct and indirect effects of the World Cup. But it must be remembered that this data is already incorporated in the bank's growth forecast of 1.8% for this year, which is one of the most positive in the industry. However, broken down, the three Mexican World Cup venues, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, with the multiple works that will continue to be developed this year and that include everything from remodeling or updating in the three stadiums to connectivity and mobility works in each city, which also extend to other points in the country, are an important point of growth of economic activity that has not been seen for a long time. However, on the other side of the coin, it has already been affected in some areas such as the increase in rents, hotel rooms, inflation will have a prior and during the World Cup effect. In the context of nearshoring, that weighs more than it seems. The entity's potential is not minor: its proximity to the Felipe Ángeles Airport, its connection with the North Arc, and, above all, something simple: there is still space and it is cheaper. To this is added logistics.