1. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Donald Trump reaffirm U.S. – Mexico relationship via a telephone call

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced via social media he had a telephone call with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. The Mexican President concluded, confirming “the will of both countries to maintain a relationship of friendship and cooperation between peoples and governments.”

The call took place in the context of the recent meeting between Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to analyse the results of Mexico’s strategy to contain the flow of migrants in order to avoid tariffs. One of the Ebrard’s requests was to “freeze” the illegal arms trade that comes from the United States to Mexico.

El Universal: AMLO y Trump reafirman vía telefónica relación de amistad y cooperación

2. Mexican Finance Ministry presents 2020 economic package proposal

Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera presented the 2020 economic package to Congress, which contains the Federal Expense Budget (PEF), the Federal Income Bill and various reform initiatives to other finance-related laws.

Arturo Herrera informed that the PEF adds up to MXN $6.1 trillion (USD $314.6 billion), with GDP growth expectations of 1.5 – 2.5%. The PEF emphasizes expenditures in wealth, security and energy, as well as an economic package that seeks to generate macroeconomic stability and financial certainty. Additionally, the package hopes to explore changes that will apply an income tax to platforms like Uber, Rappi and other platforms that make up the “digital economy.”

Excélsior: Hacienda entrega paquete económico 2020 a Diputados

3. Fitch wants more: the injection of USD $5 billion for Pemex is “moderate”

The rating agency Fitch said that the Mexican Government’s support of Pemex to the tune of USD $5 billion was still too “moderate.” The disbursement to the state-run oil company would be to pre-pay its debt.

The rating agency estimated that despite the figure promised, support could reach USD $9.5 billion by 2019’s end, and a total of USD $11.4 billion by 2020-2021. Pemex continues to invest less than what is required in exploration and production, which would contribute to a fall in production and reserves.

El Economista: Fitch quiere más: la inyección de 5,000 millones de pesos para Pemex es “moderada”

4. Senate approves reforms to classify expedition of false invoices as organized crime

Tax administration (SAT) Chief Margarita Ríos-Farjat signed the “Decalogue of the Good Mexican in Tax Issues” in conjunction with key figures in the private sector; a document composed by 11 points that business leaders promised to follow in order to combat tax evasion.

The decalogue is presented within the context of the recent approval of various reforms in the Senate to classify the expedition of false invoices as “organized crime” and punish them with informal preventive detention. Entrepreneurs have called these reforms as “fiscal terrorism.” Ríos-Farjat rejected these claims and that it is simply a matter of punishing tax crimes.

El Economista: No hay terrorismo fiscal, hay consecuencias: SAT

5. Head of the Mexican Finance Ministry meets with incoming IMF head

Arturo Herrera, head of the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), met with Kristalina Georgieva, the incoming director of the International Monetary Fund. At one point of the meeting, finance ministers and central bank directors from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala were integrated.

Irregular migration was a prominent issue during the meeting. They also discussed insecurity, violence and lack of opportunities as triggering migration flows. Optimism and willingness of the countries present and the next IMF director, underscored the meeting.

El Financiero: Arturo Herrera se reúne con próxima titular del FMI