Weekly Report 130

GENERAL SITUATION IN MEXICO

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

MEXICO POSITIONS AS A MAJOR EXPORTER OF MEDICAL DEVICES

Mexico is positioned as a major exporter of medical de vices, equivalent to 12 billion dollars, although during the pandemic, the domestic market showed streng th with the acquisition of medical equipment, while the presence of new companies increased, highligh ted the president of the National Association of Heal th Suppliers (ANAPS), Carlos Salazar Gaytan.

The presence of new players in the distribution of me dical equipment reaffirmed the importance of the me dical industry as a generator of the economy.

He recalled that during the third edition of Medi cal Expo, the meeting that brings together the most important medical device brands in the country, the opportunity to build strategic alliances to increase the presence of their brands in Mexico was highlighted.

The also director of Medical Expo, said that the medical device sector in Mexico generated a total production value of 15,800 million dollars at the end of 2021, of which 3,800 million derive from domestic consump tion, just one-fifth.

“This is a clear example of the need to boost the do mestic market for the enormous and growing range of medical devices,” said Salazar.

He urged to continue strengthening the healthcare system, through the equipment and responsible use of medical devices that are fundamental to prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate ailments in a safe and effective manner.

During the 2022 edition, he said, imaging and ultra sound, cabinet, and portable companies, which have experienced the greatest growth in recent years, joi ned the event.

Gerardo Matia, distribution director of Ocean Medic, said that participating in Medical Expo meant a great opportunity to build strategic alliances in order to in crease the presence of their brands in the Mexican te rritory.

“Our participation in a national event like Medical Expo allowed Ocean Medic to position itself as a real, formal, and accessible option for all those companies interested in the distribution of ultrasound and x-ray equipment,” he added.

KEY POINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S Morning

Press Conference

November 2-8, 2022

POLITICAL AGENDA

• Presidential approval: The President was pleased to be one of the leaders with the highest approval ratings worldwide, with 77%, according to Morn ing Consult. He attributes this to the economic progress the country has made, the more than 220 thousand new jobs created in October and the ap preciation of the peso. He also commented that it is the result of having convinced President Trump to continue with the Treaty, which was not easy. A bilateral one was even proposed as long as it con tinued. This allowed us to be the largest trading partner of the United States.

• Electoral Reform: The President stated that there is a conservative reaction against his electoral re form, his opponents and the media only want to maintain a regime of corruption in the country, an oligarchic political system, and electoral frauds. He denounced that they are afraid of the people democratically elect the INE counselors and the judges of the Electoral Tribunal. He denounced that Mexico is the country that spends the most money organizing elections. He also denounced that the march called by former President Fox does not seek the democratization of Mexico.

• Ayotzinapa: The President commented that great progress has been made in the clarification of the facts. Now there is a controversy because a posi tive step was taken towards the search for the “au thentic truth” and the people who were expecting impunity were surprised. After reading the report of the case, he asked for a meeting with the Pros ecutor and the president of the Court, who tried to have the cases contained in the report prose cuted and all the apparatus that was there, as well as many infiltrators, did not realize that the arrest warrants had been requested. Likewise, Mr. Lopez Obrador mentioned that the request to Israel for the extradition of Tomas Zeron continues.

• Departure of Elena Borns from CONAGUA: When asked about the departure of Elena Bourns, who identifies herself as a spokesperson for the cause of water protection and who had suggested a re form to the water issue, President Lopez Obrador responded that Elena Bourns will continue working in the government and will help work on a plan to protect water, that there is no over exploitation of aquifers and that priority will be given to domestic water consumption for the people. In the rest of CONAGUA, work is being done to finish cleaning up corruption. This aspect is being taken care of.

KEY POINTS OF

PRESIDENT

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S

Water trafficking will not be allowed and for this reason, Elena Bourns will work in the presidency to help to carry out a water plan.

ECONOMY

• Economy: President Andres Manuel Lopez Obra dor was pleased with this week’s good news, not ing that the growth forecast was exceeded, which strengthened the peso and broke the record for job creation in the month of October.

• Purchase of BANAMEX: When asked about the interest of Fibra Uno’s partners (who have been accused of corruption) to buy BANAMEX, the President stated that he cannot comment on the subject because there are 3 or 4 parties interested in buying the bank, and the agreement is not to touch the subject until the transaction is conclud ed. The government made four requests for its purchase; that they be Mexican owners, that they be up to date with the payment of taxes, that the

cultural assets remain in the country, and that, if possible, workers not be laid off. There is no date for the sale of the bank, but it is expected to take place at the end of this year.

• Minimum Wage: President Lopez Obrador ad vanced that they are analyzing the percentage to increase the minimum wage. They have to be careful in the percentage of the minimum wage increase. The minimum wage increased to more than 172 pesos per day until 2022. The wage com mission will decide in December, as a final dead line.

INTERNATIONAL

• Foreign Policy: When asked about the integra tion of Latin American governments, the Presi dent affirmed that the union of the entire conti nent should be sought, including Canada and the United States, while respecting the sovereignty of nations. He considers that a complete integration of the entire continent is possible, as is the case of the European Union, and Lula’s triumph gen erates unbeatable conditions to achieve this proj ect. Regarding the visit of other Latin American presidents, the meeting will be moved from Oax aca to Mexico City. President Boric of Chile will be coming on November 23, President Fernandez of Argentina on November 24, the presidents of Co lombia, Ecuador and Peru will also attend, and the confirmation of President Lula is still pending.

SECURITY

• Security Report: General Luis Rodriguez Bucio, head of the National Guard, indicated that the op erational force is at 105,003 elements; likewise,

KEY POINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S

there are 594 companies, of which 243 are already completed. Admiral Secretary Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran, head of the Secretary of the Navy, stated that the federal security forces have 341,446 el ements, of which 57,800 belong to the SEMAR; the SEDENA has 165,458 elements and 118,188 el ements of the SSPC. Luis Crescencio Sandoval, head of SEDENA, informed that three important drug seizures have been made in Sonora, Chiapas, and the Mexican Pacific. He stated that the Na tional Guard’s actions are 35 percent effective in public security. On the other hand, he pointed out that as of November it will be possible to process the federal non-criminal background check via In ternet.

INFRASTRUCTUREE

• CATEM and Tren Maya: A reporter commented that several haulers working on the Tren Maya proj ect have complained about the anomalies of the CATEM representatives, as they claim that they re ceive salaries in cash, when what they need is to be paid by check and invoices. Likewise, several non-CATEM haulers complain of being excluded from the transportation of materials for the work. Some others even speak of money laundering by CATEM. The president commented that there are not enough trucks in the southeast of the coun try. Now, because of inflation, the price of palm oil has gone up, they have had a hard time get ting the necessary trucks, and many are acquir ing their own trucks for the transporters. They are organized, some belong to CATEM, others to the CTM, others to local organizations, but with all of them there is a good relationship and they have behaved very well.

• Plan Sonora: The President explained that the first stage of Plan Sonora to build the largest solar plant in Latin America has already begun. He also men tioned that the region’s minerals will be exploited, since Sonora is the second largest copper produc er in the world. He also indicated that the automo tive industry will be changed, since in the United States there is a commitment that all automobiles will be electric by 2030, therefore, the Plan con templates the creation of batteries and the use of lithium to porting cars to that country.

• Mayan Train: Progress was presented on Section 1 in Carcega Campeche and Palenque Chiapas. In Section 2, work in Calkini and Hecelachakan, Campeche. In Section 3, in Merida, Izamal and Tix pehual, Yucatan. In section 4, progress continues in Izamal, Sudzal and Kantunil.

KEY POINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S

• Texcoco Ecological Park: Progress was present ed on the development of the Texcoco ecologi cal park, with the care and planting of trees, the establishment of a central park, the return of na tive species to the area, and the construction of an enclosed gymnasium. More than 4,600 jobs have been generated in the construction of the park.

• CONAGUA: The President denounced that water exploitation concessions should no longer be al lowed in the north, mainly to the brewery indus try. The President insisted that Mexico’s econom ic development is being reorganized towards the south-southeast and that water exploitation be carried out in the area, which is where most of the country’s water resources are concentrated.

HEALTH

• Campaign against addictions: Jesus Ramirez, head of social communication of the Presidency, informed that the campaign is the main factor to warn young people about health protection; he specified that this campaign focuses on chemi cal drugs, which are highly addictive with serious damage to the brain.

• COVID19: President Lopez Obrador affirmed that the pandemic is subsiding and therefore, the health report will be made every fifteen days and will fo cus on the construction of the new public health system with sufficient medicines,doctors, and sup plies in a universal and free manner. In the area of security, reports will be made every fifteen days.

NEWS BY STATE

BAJA CALIFORNIA

Industries in Mexicali are willing to offer work to the new wave of migrants who have arrived in the city, but the support of the authorities is required to be able to hire them formally, announced the pres ident of Index Mexicali, Joaquin Jimenez Arriaga. He mentioned that during the massive arrival of Haitian migrants there were many cases of people who were unable to obtain documents such as the Federal Taxpayer Registry (RFC), which prevented them from being hired. In ad dition to the RFC, it is required to pres ent a Humanitarian Visa issued by the National Institute of Migration (Inami), the Social Security Number (NSS), and a valid official identification (usually a passport).

SONORA

Construction began on the first four so lar plants, out of a total of forty, to sup ply remote communities in Sonora. Sav ings of over thirty percent in electricity consumption are expected. The Sonora Sustainable Energy Plan was presented at the United Nations Conference on Cli mate Change (COP 27), in Egypt, to put the entity and the country at the fore front of clean energy.

QUERETARO

According to the Secretary of Sustainable Development of Queretaro, Marco Anto nio Del Prete Tercero . “The state is betting on the development and adoption of new technologies, and the installation of tech nology-related companies,” he said in an interview. He commented that the knowl edge economy generates productive de velopment, well-paid jobs and the develop ment of new competencies, which creates a positive investment environment. “So we are going to continue supporting tradition al manufacturing, however, we are going to boost evolution manufacturing with all that it implies: robots, artificial intelligence, data management, embedded software and all these trends,” said Del Prete. “The world is advancing at an accelerated pace and there are development niches such as virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse, and these are spaces in which we have to get on board to be important players in the market, as we already are in the aerospace industry, in the automo tive industry, in food and beverages, in the plastics sector, for example,” he said. Last August, the state of Queretaro announced the opening of the BCS Automotive Inter face plant in the state, which represented an investment of 1.2 billion pesos. The Chi nese company is dedicated to the produc tion of electronic components for electric vehicles and other devices. Regarding this project, the head of Sedesu referred to the

growth and relevance of the manufacture of printed circuit boards for different seg ments of the industry, which in Queretaro has an important possibility of developing hand in hand with the semiconductor seg ment.

JALISCO

Despite two years of pandemic, Jalisco ranked 3rd nationally in foreign investment, standing out for its growth in innovation. The government of Jalisco presented its 4th report on the economy, in which they highlighted the progress made in the eco nomic recovery after the COVID-19 pan demic. One of the most important factors in the sector is the relationship that Jalis co has with other countries, for example, as of September of this year, 12,550 mil lion dollars in exports had been obtained, which represents 17% more than the pre vious year, placing Jalisco in third place nationally in foreign investment. In labor matters, the state left behind the ravages of the pandemic, since according to data from the Ministry of Labor, 77,648 formal jobs have been created this year, making Jalisco second in the nation in job creation. In addition, the state’s tourism recovered its strength, since 84% more tourists were generated as of August 2022, which rep resented 63% of economic revenue and in creased hotel occupancy by 15%.

GUANAJUATO

The strengthening of education is key to face the challenges presented by the con temporary world, so it is necessary for the state of Guanajuato to strengthen its alliance with the European Union for this purpose, said Governor Diego Sinhue during his participation in the conference “The Strategy of Guanajuato: The Valley of Mindfacturing”, which was held within the framework of the Europe-Mexico High Level Forum at the Alhondiga de Grana ditas. The world, he said, has changed in the last 30 years, and the best strategy to adapt and continue growing are alliances between nations, which should be consoli dated between America and the European Union. For this reason, he added, Guana juato promotes innovation and entrepre neurship, materialized in the Valle de la Mentefactura, because it is the space in which the people of Guanajuato make the ordinary into something extraordinary.

SAN LUIS POTOSI

During the second quarter of 2022, San Luis Potosi registered a Quarterly Indica tor of State Economic Activity (ITAEE) of 121 points with original figures, which rep resents a growth of 6.1 percent with re spect to the closing of the last Administra tion, thus surpassing the National average and placing San Luis Potosi in the second position among the states of the Central Bajio-West Alliance, only behind the State of Jalisco, according to INEGI figures, in formed Mayra Edith Velazquez Loera, Technical Secretary of the State Popula tion Council (Coespo). The state official detailed that, with respect to the three major economic sectors, agriculture grew 38.3 percent, industry 7.9 percent, and the service sector 2.6 percent, and at the level of economic sub-sectors, manufacturing industry grew 12.4 percent and commerce 6.4 percent. Velazquez Loera commented that San Luis Potosi has maintained a trend of recovery and steady and sustained eco nomic growth, going from an ITAEE of 115 points in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 118 and 121 during the first and second quar ters of 2022 respectively.

CDMX

The Head of Government, Claudia Shein baum, reported that the Metro Line 1, has an 85 percent progress in the la ying of new tracks in the Pantitlan-Salto del Agua section, which comprises the first phase of modernization of the line. Through her social networks, the capi tal city’s governor detailed that work is also underway on the placement of the guide bar inside the tunnels, where the high-voltage wiring is being laid, as well as the firefighting system and the piping for drainage. Metro General Di rector Guillermo Calderon added that the air conditioning system in the tele communications rooms of Line 1 is also being improved, and showed one of the machines, called multicalzadora, which is programmed to level the track.

STATE OF MEXICO

Personnel of the Sistema de Agua Po table, Alcantarillado y Saneamiento de Ecatepec (SAPASE) resumed opera tion of the well in Ecatepec “La Cuchi lla” which caused a shortage of water to families in four neighborhoods in the central zone of this municipality. After neighbors blocked Revolucion Avenue (30-30) for about 15 hours, the autho rities assured that the supply began to normalize during the night and will con tinue gradually for the neighborhoods Hogares Marla, Galaxia, Bulevares and El Carmen.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY

NORTHEAST

- BENDIX

On Thursday, November 3, construction began on a plant in Acuña, Coahuila. The amount of the invest ment was not mentioned, however, 200 new jobs will be generated. 200 new jobs. Company dedicated to the production of valves and air dryers. air dryers.

- LAKELAND

On Wednesday, November 2, construction began on a plant in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon.

Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon. The investment amount is 5 MDD, and 400 new jobs will be generated. This com pany manufactures protective and safety clothing.

CENTRAL MEXICO

- HAITIAN

On Tuesday, November 1, they inaugurated their plant in Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco. The amount of the in vestment was not mentioned. Chinese company that will manufacture plastic injection machines. First pro duction plant in Mexico.

- MOLEX

On Tuesday, November 1, announced an investment in its second plant in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The amount of the investment was 130 MDD. Automotive compo nents manufacturing company.

-MUNSA MOLINOS

On Thursday, November 3, began production at its plant in San Luis Potosi. The amount of the invest ment was not mentioned; 170 new jobs will be gene rated. Company dedicated to the production of flour. CDMX

- ARCELORMITTAL

On Saturday, November 15, announced that it will in vest 150 MDD to boost iron ore mining in Michoacan. iron ore mining in Michoacan. It will generate 500 di rect jobs and 3 thousand indirect jobs.

MEXICO INDUSTRY

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