CIPE and the Mexican Confederation of Employers (COPARMEX) co-hosted a groundbreaking workshop in March entitled "Ideas into Action: A Business Plan for Think Tanks and Associations." The meeting was the second of CIPE's regional workshops on strategies for advancing reform, a vital component of Latin America's continuing efforts to encourage sustainable economic development.
The workshop focused on the key role that think tanks and business associations are positioned to play in Latin America in promoting business-oriented, grass roots-level changes in judicial processes, education, privatization, trade regimes, and labor structures. With proper training, these organizations are uniquely qualified to serve as catalysts for change and intermediaries between the region's business communities, on the one hand, and the politicians and bureaucrats, on the other.
Representatives from throughout Latin America participated in the event, which highlighted regional case studies in three areas: privatization, labor practices, and judicial reform. The workshop also generated proactive strategies in such areas as corporate governance, media relations, and advocacy campaigns.
The highlight of the workshop was a keynote speech delivered by the Honorable Jose Angel Gurria, Mexico's Minister of Finance and Public Credit and a long-time supporter of CIPE programs in Latin America. Gurria characterized the workshop as a "great opportunity to discuss and find new strategies for advancement in the areas of market reform, promotion of entrepreneurship, and the consolidation of democratic institutions. These elements will allow us not only to achieve higher growth rates, but also to translate this growth into better opportunities for improving living standards."
Minister Gurria discussed ways in which Mexico's public and private sectors have worked together in recent years to strengthen that nation's economy. He predicted that, for the first time in three decades, Mexico would avoid the economic crises that have traditionally been an integral part of the transitions from one government to the next. As the recent election results in Mexico suggest, Gurria's predication was right on the mark.
According to Gurria, the government and private sector in Mexico have effectively eliminated the reasons for that nation's election-based economic crises. He attributed this stability to three key improvements: the imposition of fiscal discipline, diversification away from a single commodity for export, and more effective debt servicing and management.
As a result of these changes, Gurria said, Mexico has achieved impressive economic results over the past five years:
During the same period, amortization of the public sector's external debt has gone from $33.3 billion (with only $6.1 billion in international reserves) to $1.6 billion (with $31 billion in international reserves).
Gurria noted, "The structural reforms that Mexico has implemented during the last two decades have placed it in a stronger position to take advantage of the benefits of globalization, while minimizing the risks inherent to this process. These reforms have focused on economic and financial liberalization, leading Mexico from a closed, heavily regulated economy with high government intervention to an open, market-driven economy."
Driven in part by the private sector, according to Gurria, Mexico has also: tripled the value of imports and exports since 1991, totaling $279 billion in 1999; raised non-oil exports as a percentage of total exports from 38 percent in 1983 to 93 percent last year; whittled down state-owned enterprises from 1,155 in 1982 to 247 today, of which 52 are in the process of being privatized.
Despite these successes, Gurria suggested, Mexico cannot afford to rest on its laurels. He noted, "The fact of the matter is that we have to be like Avis. Literally, we have to try harder . . . . If I would go ballistic about [abandoning] fiscal discipline, Congress wouldn't let us, newspapers wouldn't let us, academics wouldn't let us, and the market would tear us to pieces. You can't go very crazy because the market immediately hits back at you."
Gurria wrapped up his remarks with a look at the "big picture." He concluded that the year 2000 is a "good place to look at the future because if we can have the first transition in 30 years without a crisis, then we can plan for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. There will be an injection of confidence, an injection in terms of what Mexicans can do about their own future rather than having to accept the inevitability of a crisis."