The federal government announced on Monday a package of measures within the Plan Mexico framework to unlock and accelerate investments, especially large and strategic ones, by shortening authorization times, creating one-stop shops and offering greater regulatory certainty.

In an event at the National Museum of Anthropology that saw the attendance of presidential cabinet members and various business leaders, President Claudia Sheinbaum presented the measures as a direct response to requests from the sector for fewer procedures that stall investment. 

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“We are accelerating processes, simplifying mechanisms and strengthening legal certainty, because we know that economic development requires clear rules, mutual trust and shared responsibility,” Sheinbaum said.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard noted that these guidelines consist of  “immediate actions for investment” and involve the participation of the entire cabinet and the state governments.  

Under the new guidelines, authorities have a maximum of 30 days to approve or deny strategic projects exceeding 2 billion pesos (US $117 million) within the electronic, pharmaceutical, aerospace, energy or technology industries. For other industries, authorities have a 90-day deadline to respond to proposals. 

The initiative also establishes a Presidential Investment Office, tasked with monitoring projects and coordinating the relevant government agencies, and the creation of a one-stop shop for foreign trade, integrating 132 procedures into one. This platform connects the tax and customs authorities, allowing companies to track their transactions through a single system.

Finally, the initiative introduces a single foreign trade file that allows companies to track the submission of required documents and receive permits and notifications without having to make duplicate filings.

In her intervention, head of the Regional Economic Development and Relocation Advisory Council Altagracia Gómez Sierra said that, along with the government’s initiative, the business sector has undertaken three commitments: to generate new jobs; to comply with the law, particularly environmental and social laws; and to start investment projects immediately.  

The new rules will enter into force once the corresponding decrees are published in the Official Federation Gazette (DOF), which authorities expect to publish as early as this month.

With reports from Expansión and La Jornada