Mexico

August 14, 2020

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1. Mexico and Argentina to produce and distribute Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard announced the partnership of Mexico and Argentina with AstraZeneca to produce and distribute the vaccine for COVID-19 in Latin America, developed by Oxford University.
 
The agreement stipulates Argentina as the party responsible for the production of the vaccine and Mexico for packaging and equitable distribution across the region. The goal is to produce between 150 and 250 million vaccines for Latin America. The agreement between both countries will be financed by the Fundación Carlos Slim.

Milenio: Se asocian México, Argentina y Oxford por vacuna anticovid

2. Entrepreneurs to the rescue of infrastructure plan

The Mexican Chamber of Construction Industry (CMIC) will present a package to the National Conference of Governors (Conago) that seeks to recover 230 infrastructure projects with financial support to the tune of MXN $300 billion (USD $13.6 billion). This also seeks to help address the effects on the economy arising from the economic contingency.
 
This initiative is derived from the inaction of the federal government to continue with the investment agreement in the sector presented last November, which originally sought to support 147 infrastructure projects with an investment of MXN $859 billion (USD $38.93 billion) by the private sector.

El Sol de México: Empresarios reviven plan de infraestructura de 300 mil mdp.

3. Former federal officials under investigation

Former PEMEX Director Emilio Lozoya filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office linking former President Enrique Peña Nieto and former Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht as part of the former president’s presidential campaign. As part of the complaint, he handed over payment receipts, a video and the names of witnesses who can corroborate the information.
 
Arrest warrants were also issued against 19 former officials from the then Federal Police for allegedly diverting MXN $2.5 billion (USD $113.4 million) during the previous administration. Among the officials involved are Frida Martínez Zamora, former secretary general of the Federal Police, and Jesús Orta.

Excélsior: Sobornos pagaron reformas y campaña; Lozoya implica a Peña y Videgaray en caso Odebrecht.

4. Mexican peso up ahead of Banxico’s rate announcement

The Mexican peso, like other currencies in the world, is gaining ground against the U.S. dollar in the run-up to the Bank of Mexico’s announcement on the country’s monetary policy.
 
Banxico is expected to announce a cut in the key interest rate of 50 points to reach 4.5% in this area, its lowest level since 2016.

Excélsior: Previo a anuncio de Banxico, el peso opera con ligera alza.

5. Historic growth in retirement fund savings

According to data from the Mexican retirement savings commission, the first half of the year showed a historic uptick in the amount of money in retirement savings funds, reaching more than MXN $4.3 billion (USD $195 million), an annual increase of 13%, the highest figure recorded since the same period in 2012.
 
This amount is mainly concentrated in four AFORES: XXI Banorte, Citibanamex, Profuturo and Sura, representing 70% of the total amount. The rest is distributed among Azteca, Coppel, Inbursa, Invercap, PensionISSSTE and Principal.

El Economista: Ahorro en las afores creció 13% a $4.3 billones, monto histórico.