Entrepreneurs give their support to López Obrador's infrastructure plan to relaunch the economy

López Obrador presents the infrastructure plan with the businessmen. Mexico Presidency

Mexican businessmen have once again shown their support for Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

This Monday, they have presented a new infrastructure plan to overcome the economic crisis in which Mexico is facing the advance of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new project is austere, represents 1% of GDP, and is only a third of the one presented by the Mexican government last November.

That never fully took off and then represented a measure to prevent the Latin American country from falling into recession.

Now, construction is becoming a fundamental tool to cushion the severe economic downturn, which is forecast at more than 10% of GDP.

The businessmen have pledged to contribute more than 50% of the total cost of the infrastructure projects proposed in López Obrador's plan and devised by the head of the presidential office, Alfonso Romo.

The Government estimates that 297,000 million pesos (about 13,800 million dollars) will be necessary to implement this package and that a good part of the projects would be underway, at the latest, in 2021. The portfolio includes mostly construction and repair of highways throughout the country, as well as projects for the supply of water and five works for the modernization of the refineries of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

“We could not alone.

The public sector could not reactivate the economy as needed, ”said López Obrador in the presentation at the National Palace, which was attended by representatives of the employers.

The relationship between the Mexican president and businessmen is a constant tug of war since in December 2018 - and a few days after he was president - López Obrador canceled the construction of the Mexico City airport in Texcoco.

Since then, investors have argued that there are no safe conditions to undertake large-scale projects in Mexico.

The construction of a joint agreement to start with the great works has consumed almost a third of the López Obrador government.

"We have no problem with businessmen, on the contrary they have our respect and admiration because they produce jobs and well-being," the president insisted on Monday.

The original plan designed by the Mexican government contemplated 147 projects with a value of 42,000 million dollars in five years, and by 2020 it was estimated that 72 would be underway.

The Secretary of the Treasury, Arturo Herrera, has explained that only seven of these infrastructure projects were launched due to the suspension of activities due to the pandemic.

The López Obrador Administration has estimated that with these new investments some 185,000 jobs will be generated in the coming months to offset the loss of almost a million jobs - registered with social security - that has caused the coronavirus crisis.

Alongside the president were representatives of the businessmen Carlos Salazar, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) and Antonio del Valle, president of the Mexican Business Council.

The businessmen wore a mask throughout the presentation, while members of the Government and the president avoided showing off with it.

"We want to have the certainty and certainty that we have repeatedly sought," said Salazar to recall the gap that still exists between the Government and private initiative to provide security for investments.

Last week, the governor of the Bank of Mexico, Alejandro Díaz de León, acknowledged that in the face of the coronavirus crisis there has been "an important outflow of capital" from Mexico.

Faced with the complex global scenario, Alfonso Romo has traced a route in which most of the investments come from Mexican companies.

“Globalization is mutating towards regionalization.

All countries are doing it and it is necessary that Mexican companies be hired, ”he said during his speech at the same event.

Romo has been López Obrador's interlocutor with businessmen since his government began.

His intervention has prevented the breakdown of relations between the two, despite the fact that the owners of the firms have harshly criticized the president for refraining from promoting an aid plan for companies affected by the closure of recent months.

The infrastructure plan seems to be a last effort by the businessmen to work hand in hand with López Obrador.