Mexico's economy is thought to have expanded between January and March for the first time in three quarters, driven by domestic consumption and a rebound in exports, a Reuters survey showed on Monday. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have grown 1.1% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the median forecast of 12 analysts polled. The economy posted no growth in the fourth quarter and shrunk by 0.7% in the third quarter of last year.
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Mexico
Mexico’s state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos will resume paying its debt maturities this year, ending a government policy of covering its amortizations to help the beleaguered driller shore up its finances, according to a Finance Ministry official, Bloomberg News reported. The Finance Ministry no longer needs to make debt payments because of the extra revenue Pemex is getting from higher oil prices, according to the official, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter.
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Mexico’s congress dealt a major setback to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador late Sunday in his bid for state control over the country’s energy sector, a priority of his nationalist agenda, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mexico’s lower house rejected constitutional amendments proposed by Mr. López Obrador to give the country’s state-owned power company control over the electricity industry in a 275-223 vote, short of the two-thirds majority needed to change Mexico’s constitution. All opposition parties voted against the bill, while Mr.
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Texas will halt some vehicle inspections at the U.S.-Mexico border after Governor Greg Abbott’s crackdown provoked protests that halted some crucial food and equipment shipments, Bloomberg News reported. Abbott said Wednesday that the state government of Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico agreed to conduct safety inspections before U.S.-bound trucks reach the border. The inspections will continue in other sectors of the U.S.-Mexico line. Abbott said he acted in response to what he called U.S. President Joe Biden’s failure to repel undocumented migration and drug smuggling.
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Mexican truckers blockaded a key Texas border crossing for a second day to protest Governor Greg Abbott’s stepped-up vehicle inspections, raising the specter of delivery disruptions for everything from avocados to auto parts, Bloomberg News reported. The growing queue of 18-wheelers on the Mexican side of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge has choked crossings to a halt, according to a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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The nationality of who buys Citigroup's Mexican unit, known as Citibanamex, will not be the deciding factor despite the Mexican government's preference to sell the bank to a local buyer, an executive told local media in an interview published on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has made clear he wants to see investors "Mexicanize" the unit, floating names of Mexican billionaires like Ricardo Salinas of Banco Azteca and Carlos Hank Gonzalez of Banorte as potential buyers.
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Mexico's financial stability council said on Wednesday that there is risk of credit rating action on the ratings for the sovereign and state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The council, which includes Mexico's finance minister, central bank governor and head of the banking commission, said a credit rating action on Pemex has been mitigated by measures to improve the tax take and higher oil prices.
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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday the Bank of Mexico had voted to raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 6.5%, speaking before the latest decision has been made public by the central bank, Reuters reported. "The Bank of Mexico took the decision yesterday unanimously, and we respect the Bank of Mexico's autonomy," Lopez Obrador said, speaking at a regular government news conference. Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast that the bank would vote to raise its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 6.5% at its latest monetary policy decision.
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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and his Saudi Arabian counterpart on Wednesday agreed to strengthen bilateral economic relations on the first day of the diplomat's 10-day tour of the Middle East and India, Mexico's government said, Reuters reported. Ebrard and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed investing in tourism and innovation, highlighting the need for a direct air route between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Grupo Aeromexico announced today that it has completed its financial restructuring process, officially exiting chapter 11 under which it voluntarily entered in June 2020 in the midst of the worst crisis in the airline industry unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, AviaciOnline reported. Since then, the company has been going through a series of changes in the company’s structure and multiple negotiations with creditors, workers and institutions. According to Aeromexico, the value of the capital after the restructuring is approximately USD 2,564 million.