How has the environment for SMEs in Mexico changed over the last 15 years?
JR: Mexico has made some real progress from the point of view of business creation, but there are still too many steps required to form a company. At the same time, it’s too difficult and too expensive to close a company if it doesn’t perform. If you create something and it fails, you want to be able to start something else. There needs to be a way out if things don’t turn out as planned. IM: What percentage of the economic activity in Mexico do SMEs represent? JR: If you consider both the formal and informal sectors, it’s 80, 90%. But this is true of most countries; it’s true in the US. Most businesses are small. If you’re looking at GDP, the large companies have greater representation, but if you’re talking about employment, it’s all about the small businesses. IM: Fifteen years later, do you think that NAFTA has delivered on its promise? JR: NAFTA was designed to help each country use its resources in a more competitive way. Countries like Mexico, with a lower cost of labor, will be
Related Questions
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- How has NAFTA changed the business environment in Mexico since the treaty took effect, in 1994?
- How has the environment for SMEs in Mexico changed over the last 15 years?
