| | |  Business News 
Ruiz Mateos Forecasts Mexico GDP Growth of 4.5%
 Yvonne Reyes Campos - The News
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April 22, 2010
| | Gerardo Ruiz Mateos | |
Mexico City – The Economy Secretariat forecasts a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase of 4.5 percent this year, while the Finance Secretariat forecasts a 6 percent growth.
Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, Economy Secretary, said on Wednesday that the high crime index has not affected the economic development of the country.
During an interview in the Chamber of Deputies, he said that in spite of insecurity, the flow of capital is still moving, which shows that there is trust by investors. Moreover, 300,000 jobs have been generated in the first trimester of 2010, according to Social Security.
“We have had a lot of new investments in places that have serious insecurity levels. For example, we can even say that the manufacturing sector in Ciudad Juárez is working, generating jobs, exporting more products and receiving investments,” Ruiz Mateos said.
Ruiz also said that every country has insecurity problems, but investors are able to recognize the strength of governments and they base their decisions on that.
Insecurity has had negative effects in the commercial sector because people tend to feel uneasy when walking in the streets, nevertheless, investors have seen the concrete actions the federal government has implemented to fight crime, he said.
The economy secretary also discarded the recent statements of Carlos Pascual, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, that there is a flight of capital from Mexico due to the high levels of insecurity. Ruiz said that despite crime rates, foreign investors are still providing financial resources to different sectors.
Pascual said on Tuesday in Monterrey that crime and insecurity threaten to stop the creation of new companies in the country.
According to Ruiz, the secretariat forecasts that foreign investments in Mexico throughout 2010 will total between $16 billion and $20 billion. The flow of foreign capital dropped 50 percent last year due to the world economic crisis.
Ruiz said that the news that should be spread is the fact that the Mexican economy is beginning to “take off and it is recovering. Producers in Mexico have high hopes and the faith investors have in the country has been shown through investments and the creation of jobs.”
Ruiz also held a meeting with deputies and producers. Producers complained about the large amount of sugar imports.
In response to this, Ruiz said that he will organize a debate between producers, middlemen, distributors and authorities in order to discuss sugar imports and establish measures to reactivate the domestic market and stop prices from increasing.
Cruz López Aguilar, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) deputy and leader of the Confederation of Campesinos (CNC), said that in view of the problem with sugar imports, the Economy Secretariat needs to reinstate the Quota Committee, because “it is important that this matter is addressed with more information regarding data of the sugar industry and sugar organizations.”
In related news, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that Latin America’s economic growth in 2010 is expected to reach 4 percent.
“More balanced than in most other areas, output growth in the region is supported by both external and domestic demand... and is projected to grow at 4 percent in 2010 and 2011,” said the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook report.
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