Mexico Overview

As a large dynamic emerging country with almost 130 million residents, Mexico is continuing to expand its education, research and innovation system. With Germany, the cooperation extends over a wide range from vocational training to studies and research. In recent years, with the establishment of the Maria Sibylle Merian Centers, a new focus has been added in the humanities and social sciences.

Population / geography

Sources: Countryaah.com

Politics / Administration

Political system

The United Mexican States is a state with 31 states and a federal district (Mexico City). From 1929-2000, the quasi-state party PRI (Party of Institutionalized Revolution) occupied all top positions in government, parliament and jurisdiction at the federal level and in almost all individual states in addition to the president.

The Mexican Parliament (Congress) consists of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. The Senate has 128 members who are elected for a six-year term. Of the 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies with a three-year term, 300 are directly elected in constituencies; the remaining 200 MPs are determined in five major electoral districts by proportional representation using party lists.

Immediate re-election is not possible. In 2000 the PRI lost the presidential election for the first time against the candidate of the alliance for change, formed by the conservative PAN and the green party PVEM, Vicente Fox Quesada. PAN continued its triumphant advance in 2006 in the parliamentary and presidential elections. Felipe Calderón won the presidency this year by a narrow majority. President Peña Nieto’s predecessors in the presidency had not had a legislative majority since 1997, so many reforms had not been carried out. In the 2012 election, however, the PRI won a clear victory and has a legislative majority. President Peña NietoImmediately after taking office, (PRI) signed the ” Pacto por Mexico “, a program with 95 reforms. These were structural reforms in the areas of improved rule of law, the fight against corruption, economic growth, fiscal policy, and the judiciary. The country has many problems fight: every second Mexicans live in poverty a major problem is the drug cartels, the Mexican drug war fall each year thousands of victims addition, about 98 percent do not cause crime in Mexico to a conviction, suggesting a “culture of impunity (.. impunidad ) “. Further serious deficits of Mexican democracy are evident in the freedom of expression, in particular the freedom of the press.

The current presidential election in Mexico took place on July 1, 2018. The winner was the left- wing nationalist Andrés Manuel López Obrador from the “ Juntos Haremos Historia ” coalition (Together we make history), who took office in December 2018.

The elections were the largest in Mexican history, as local and regional elections were held alongside the presidential elections. A total of 3,406 offices will be filled.

Business information

Mexico ranks 15th among the world’s largest economies. By 2030, the Latin American country wants to belong to the group of the most competitive countries in the world. With an estimated GDP of around 1,150 billion US dollars (2017), the “ middle income country ” ranks second in terms of economic output in Latin America. The per capita income is around $ 9,300, an increase of 2 percent. The country generated its GDPmainly in the service, industry and trade sectors. For example, it is one of the ten largest automobile manufacturers and exporters. Economic activity is increasingly shifting towards industrial activities such as the automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical and electronics sectors. The aerospace, mining and transportation sectors also continue to grow. Furthermore, the large oil reserves are of great economic importance for Mexico, which ranks 10th among the oil-exporting countries. Mexico’s most important trading partner is still the USA. Economic relations between Mexico, Canada and the USA are regulated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). You can find detailed economic data on Canada in the series “Economic data compact” by “Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI)”. This is updated twice a year in May and November.

Trade with Germany

Mexico’s foreign trade balance is negative (imports 420.4 billion vs. exports of 409.5 billion US dollars in 2017). German imports from Mexico amounted to around 7.5 billion euros in 2017. Germany is considered to be the most important partner in Europe. The most important German import goods from Mexico are motor vehicles and parts (45.2 percent), electronics (11.3 percent), electrical engineering (9.9 percent), measurement and control technology. (5.6 percent) and raw materials (4.0 percent). The most important German export goods are machines (29.9 percent) and motor vehicles-and parts (19.7 percent), electrical engineering (9 percent), measurement / control technology (5.4 percent) and metal goods (4.3 percent). Germany and Mexico have close economic ties. This is also evidenced by the presence of German companies in Mexico as well as Mexican companies with German headquarters. Above all, German car companies such as VW, Audi, Daimler and BMW as well as automotive suppliers are strongly represented in Mexico. According to the German Chamber of Commerce (CAMEXA), the roughly 2,000 German companies in Mexico generated around 10 percent of the industrial share of Mexican GDP. (Source: Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI): Mexico Economic Data Compact, May 2018).