(Expansion) – Is it the beginning of the end? As of June 7, the radicalization of the president will be a fact, the business environment will continue to deteriorate and the attacks on the private sector will intensify. Are there conditions to break this inertia? There is no doubt that AMLO will not lower his guard but, regardless of the black horizon, it may be the beginning of a bright stage that allows businessmen to reflect on their role in the public sphere. In their hands is the role they want to play.
A few days before the most important election in recent times, private sector leaders remain expectant, nervous, concerned about the results that may come out of the polls and that may lay the foundations for a more crude and belligerent second presidential term; they think the worst is yet to come.
Thus, they begin to fine-tune their post-July 6 strategies. Initially, they are determined to maintain the dialogue at the negotiating table, under any circumstances. They know that they will remain in the minefield, but they will maintain their narrative based on the importance of investment for economic recovery and job preservation; one of its narrative principles will proclaim that without business or investment, there will be no taxes and, therefore, the government will not have the money to sustain its support programs and solve the great national problems.
As the weeks progress, the corporate representation bodies will intensify their lobbying to influence two hot potatoes: tax reform and the budget package for 2022; without evidently failing to defend the rule of law, the protection of investment, national and foreign, among other points.
However, there is something more transcendent, a much deeper analysis that is well worth executing now, regardless of what happens in the elections and the path that the so-called fourth transformation takes: not contributing to polarization, highlighting the contribution of the business community to create value, but above all to deploy a strategy that allows it to be recognized by society.
While business leaders sharpen their discursive lines towards their next meetings with the public sector, in the business ecosystem there is a wide diversity of positions around the situation, in such a way that there are those who are sure that they will not be able to continue doing so. businesses as before (especially those companies with government contracts), but there are also others that recognize that there is a country to manage and markets to serve.
Now, while many businessmen still wonder how to influence the situation, what is truly important is to question what they have done to enjoy (or not) the recognition of Mexican society (the social license). Politicians are not eternal, but the recognition of an increasingly active society is what allows the sustainability of any business; a stable society is essential to have a good business environment.
So, we are not facing the beginning of the end. The job of entrepreneurs, beyond political times, is to continue creating value; Companies are not created to generate problems, but on the contrary, to solve problems or meet market needs, and behind each market is society. Faced with this, any polarizing discourse becomes entangled in trifles but mainly clashes with the business vocation that includes elements of social co-responsibility.
Storytelling would help improve perceptions, but storydoing would remove consciences. It is not a job to face the next three years; it’s a long road, one that could pay off good dividends for everyone. There is no time to waste.
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A disturbing unknown. The results of the June 6 election are not necessarily worrying. What is causing great concern is how the forces that are going to react. The universities, the Army, the media, the unions, the political and business power groups … Since they will not vote in favor of someone but against someone, and in the absence of a leader who leads the opposition, the great dilemma it lies in knowing how the balance of power will take place. There should be the focus of attention.
Editor’s Note: Jonathán Torres is a business journalist, media consultant, former editorial director of Forbes Media Latam. Follow him on and on Twitter as. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
