Mexico’s economy was one of the most severely affected by the global economic crisis. The country’s GDP shrank by 6.5 percent in 2009—the most serious contraction since the 1995 peso crisis. Even prior to the collapse, Mexico grew at relatively low rates even under highly favorable global economic conditions. This suggests that there are structural problems that must be addressed if Mexico is to bolster its development.
On June 25, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) hosted a conference with leading Mexican and international experts to discuss Mexico’s economic future. The conference diagnosed Mexico’s development strategy and highlighted key aspects of an economic agenda to take Mexico beyond the global economic crisis.
Arturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, and Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, delivered opening remarks. Alejandro Werner, deputy secretary of Finance of Mexico, Santiago Levy, IDB vice president for sector and knowledge, and Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez, of the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, served as panelists. Brookings Senior Fellow Mauricio Cárdenas, director of the Latin America Initiative, was joined by Brookings experts Kevin Casas-Zamora, Vanda Felbab-Brown and Carol Graham as moderators and discussants. After each panel, participants took audience questions.