(Expansion) – “The individual investor must consistently act as an investor and not as a speculator”: Benjamin Graham.
To start this article I want to refer to the great civic event that we experienced on June 6, with the midterm elections.
Without a doubt, the big winners on Sunday were the citizens, the INE and democracy. The lack of counterweights was corrected, which is very good for the political life of our country.
At the time of writing this article, President López Obrador has just announced the appointment of Rogelio RamÃrez de la O as the new Secretary of the Treasury, and that he will propose Arturo Herrera as Governor of the Bank of Mexico, when the current Governor ends his term. Diaz de León.
And in the message where these changes were announced, economic growth was mentioned on several occasions.
That it is very expensive, without investment there will be no growth, that is clear.
Investment is the main ingredient for the growth of companies in the country. Investment is required by the government, companies and entrepreneurs, both national and foreign.
The investment percentage as a percentage of GDP has decreased in recent years, reaching 21.7%.
It is considered that the appropriate level should be higher than 25%, which should be done between the private initiative and the government, even in public-private projects, in order to constantly raise economic growth above 4.5%.
All growth estimates for 2021 of the Mexican economy have risen, there is already talk of achieving 5.55 and up to 6.3%. Make no mistake, this growth is the rebound from a fall of – 0.1% in 2019 and -8.5% in 2020.
In other words, this growth places us below the level of 2018.
The foreign investment that we require in order to grow in a consistent, stable and real way is direct, not speculative.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is what comes to start new companies, grow existing ones, purchase companies, among others.
FDI is what generates jobs and, therefore, a benefit for Mexican families, in the communities where it is invested.
It is also the one that allows a greater variety of products and services to be offered in the market, which generates competition and who benefits is the consumer.
Jobs are the only sustainable way to generate social mobilization within the economy, for people to move from a low to a middle socioeconomic class.
Let us also think that a company that wants to continue in force, gain presence in the market, grow and generate profits, requires a work team that is more prepared every day, so they must invest in the training of their employees.
The investment in training should not only be in matters directly related to the work that a worker develops, it should be invested in their personal development. All this helps the worker’s permanence in the company, which reduces the costs of staff turnover.
By having more profitable companies every day, more taxes are generated for the government, which can be translated into a better health, education, security system, even in the social programs of the current government.
This is the best way to get more income for the country, with more people and companies paying taxes and not wanting to charge more than we currently pay.
There is an opportunity with the appointment of Dr. RamÃrez de la O, in order to build trust among investors, to guide President López Obrador in order to respect the rule of law, to get closer to investors and give positive signs to invest.
In the first part of this six-year term, the opposite was achieved: distrust.
The result of having a Chamber of Deputies without a qualified majority for the government allows to generate confidence, democracy placed the checks on the president.
As entrepreneurs we must generate investment opportunities, to bet on our country, to see investments in the medium and long term.
I believe that companies that will achieve new opportunities must have well-designed and implemented models, of what is known in English as ESG (enviromental, social and governance), and that translates into corporate governance, awareness of ecology and a clear vision of social responsability.
By increasing the productive activity of the country we will achieve a sustainable growth of the economy. Even on a personal level, the fewer people who need financial support from the government, the more freedom they will have to grow as a person; jobs are needed, not social supports.
There is great human capital in Mexico, what is needed are opportunities.
Productive activity makes a difference for individuals, families, communities, states, in the country.
Mexico requires much more investment, our future depends on this.
Yes we can, we must!
Editor’s note: Mauricio Hubard is Founder and President of, studied Industrial Relations at the Anahuac del Sur University, graduated from Harvard Business School in the executive master’s degree “Owners, President Management Program, OPM” at the Generation 34, is an active member of the Harvard Alumni Association, has taken various courses at this school related to Microfinance, Corporate Governance, among others; Development of Financial Institutions at the Harvard JFK School of Government, also for Corporate Social Responsibility at Stanford University and ESADE in Barcelona. Write to him at [email protected]. Follow him on his. The opinions expressed in this column belong exclusively to the author.
