Mexico’s economy struggles despite president’s promise for growth

Mexico’s economy entered a mild recession during the first half of 2019 and was flat in the third quarter, according to revised data from the Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The updated figures showed the economy shrank by 0.1 percent during the first and second quarters of 2019 after also shrinking by the same margin in the last three months of last year, according to a Reuters report. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in gross domestic product.

According to data released at the end of October, Mexico’s economy grew by 0.1 percent from the previous quarter; however, that figure was revised down to show the economy stagnated, the news outlet says.

A Goldman Sachs economist said the bank now expected no growth in Mexico in 2019.

Next year, the economy should start to rebound slightly, expanding by 1.1 percent because of several factors, including stronger construction activity, wage gains and a pickup in public sector spending, the economist said.

While President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office December 2018, pledging 4 percent growth per year in the country, INEGI data show during the first nine months of 2019 the economy was “unchanged” compared with the same period last year, Reuters says.

Meanwhile, the president is pressing for the ratification of the new trade deal with the U.S. and Canada, according to another Reuters report.

U.S. business executives and congressional aides said it is increasingly unlikely Congress will approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by January, the news outlet says.

Jesus Seade, deputy foreign minister for North America and the Mexican official in charge of USMCA negotiations, also said he was “pessimistic” the deal would be approved by U.S. lawmakers before 2020, according to the report.