Abstract

The Attitude of Mexico Toward Foreign Direct Investment

The origin and motives of the flow of foreign investment towards Latin America are reviewed in historical perspective and, in the case of Mexico, related to economic and political development. The looseness of this country’s legal framework for foreign investors has allowed Mexican official policy to be flexible. A policy of Mexicanization, whose far-reaching and continuous character generally has not yet been understood clearly abroad, has been implemented mainly by means of administrative and indirect measures, and must be viewed against the ideological background of the concept of „Mexicanidad“. The government, spokesmen for private interests and academic circles are the main groups which have contributed to Mexican opinion on foreign direct investment. A certain convergence of opinion on more nationalistic lines, particularly in the private sector, can be observed towards the end of the fifties. Basic agreement exists, apart from a dissenting minority, that foreign direct investment plays a useful role in the Mexican economy under certain conditions - the most important criterion being its ability to contribute to the development of the country. Official Mexican policy towards foreign direct investment, which has been somewhat influenced by leftwing groups as have the standpoints of the private sector, has complied in a high degree with the demand to give this capital a complementary character in the national industrialization efforts. Furthermore, it has generally been continuous and consistent.