Calderon Defends His Fiscal Policies Rocio Zayas - Rumbo de Mexico
go to original May 18, 2012

Calderón warned against using excessive protectionist policies in Latin America. (The News)

MEXICO CITY – President Felipe Calderón stated that his "fiscal adjustment" implemented by the federal government facilitated an increase in economic growth, despite political costs for his administration. He said that it enabled Mexico to avoid a crisis similar to the those currently faced by European nations.

At the inauguration of the 16th Business Future of the Americas Conference on Wednesday, Calderón said that, “I can assure you that this adjustment saved Mexico from being in the firing line for problems with equity solvency.”

Calderón said that the path for developing nations consists of more reforms, trade, and investment. He added that, “Competition and economic growth don’t happen in closed economies, only in open and increasingly competitive markets.”

He reminded audience members that Mexico was hit by multiple crises in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. “We had trouble balancing the deficit four times in the span of three decades, which deeply impoverished many Mexicans.”

Mexico’s national debt is substantially lower in comparison to countries with deep economic crises. The internal and external debt for Mexico totals 32 percent of GDP, while Greece’s debt is at 160 percent, and Portugal’s at 100 percent.

Calderón warned against using excessive protectionist policies in Latin America.

He added that Latin America’s greatest error was import-substitution industrialization. Calderón said, “Believing that the way out [of a crisis] is through protecting national markets by closing them off to foreign investment will lead to getting lost in the global economy.”

In the same vein, Calderón reiterated Mexico’s commitment to sustaining commercial foreign ties and increasing them through the Pacific Alliance (which includes Peru, Colombia, Chile and Mexico), and said that he hopes that the region continues to grow economically, as predicted by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Calderón underscored his administration’s work, stating that the government not only invested in improving infrastructure and education, but also orienting Mexico towards being a more lawful and secure country.

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