LatinNews Daily - 15 March 2024

*Mexico’s central bank (Banxico) has released its report for October-December 2023 providing a breakdown of the economies of the country's different regions which noted a weakening “in all regions, especially the south”. The report notes that quarterly growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 0.1% in the north of Mexico, 0.2% in the central north region, and 0.3% in central Mexico, while the economy contracted by 1.6% in the south. According to the report, the fourth quarter of 2023 demonstrated “low growth”, despite high growth rates presented in the previous three quarters. The decline was attributed to “a marginal decrease in industrial production and the low growth of tertiary activities”. The report states that the weakening of the three major sectors of activity – particularly secondary activities (manufacturing), which decreased by 0.13% from the previous quarter – resulted in lower economic dynamism. This comes after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador touted economic growth at the end of February, after Mexico’s national statistics institute (Inegi) released figures showing 3.2% annual GDP growth in 2023. However, Banxico noted diminished growth from October to December – which saw a 0.1% increase compared to the previous quarter. In the report, business executives highlighted effects on their activities, “derived from the high levels of public insecurity, particularly thefts of produce on roads”. They also listed the “uncertainty” generated by the 2024 elections, persistent high inflation, and “adverse climate phenomena” as primary threats to economic growth. Still, Banxico maintains that the regional economies will continue to expand “despite facing a complex and uncertain environment”. Banxico points to “the possibility of an economic slowdown in the United States”, which would disproportionately impact the north and central regions with a clear export vocation or those receiving a high flow of remittances.