LatinNews Daily - 24 February 2025

*Mexico’s economy contracted by 0.6% in the final quarter of 2024, marking the first Q4 decline since 2019 and the first quarterly contraction of any kind since the third quarter of 2021, according to Mexico’s national statistics agency (Inegi). On an annual basis, the economy grew 0.5% in the fourth quarter as compared to the same period of the previous year. For 2024 as a whole, seasonally adjusted figures show that GDP rose by 1.2% compared to 2023. By sector, primary activities - which include agriculture, fishing and mining – fell sharply by 8.5% in quarterly terms in the fourth quarter of 2024, while secondary activities (manufacturing) declined by 1.5% and tertiary activities (services) saw a modest increase of 0.2%. President Claudia Sheinbaum remains optimistic despite the Q4 results, stating in a press conference on 20 February that, “we believe it will be a good year despite any uncertainty surrounding the new US government, because we are doing our job”.