Data centers, ‘one of the main drivers’ of Mexico’s economy in coming years: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

A good portion of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference was taken up by CloudHQ’s announcement that it will invest US $4.8 billion to build six data centers in Querétaro.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard subsequently spoke about the economic benefit investment in data centers will bring to Mexico, while Sheinbaum commented on the sale of a 25% stake in Banamex and the results of a recent opinion poll.

Ebrard: Data centers will help drive economic growth 

Ebrard told reporters that the development of artificial intelligence and data center projects in Mexico is still in its infancy.

“What you’re seeing is the beginning, … the launch, because it’s something that is very new in the whole world,” he said.

“… The good thing is that we’re on the wave,” Ebrard said before praising Sheinbaum, state governors and IT companies for their “foresight” in helping Mexico to get on that wave.

“These data centers will allow us … to train our people, integrate services, integrate companies,” he said.

Ebrard said it was “very difficult” to say how much data center and AI projects would add to Mexico’s GDP in the near term, but he asserted that such projects would be “one of the main drivers” of the Mexican and global economy in the years ahead.

Mexican businessman’s purchase of 25% stake in Banamex is ‘good news,’ says Sheinbaum

Sheinbaum said that businessman Fernando Chico Pardo’s purchase of a 25% stake in Banamex is “good news.”

She said that Chico — Mexico’s eighth richest person — is “a man of good reputation.”

Sheinbaum said that she understood that he had reached a “good agreement” with Citigroup, which sold him the 25% stake in Banamex.

“They contacted me to inform me [of the transaction], which is important to know,” she said.

“So, … Banamex returns to a Mexican businessman in a legal transaction that begins with a 25% [stake],” she said.

“I think that it’s very good; it’s good news,” said Sheinbaum, who shares her maternal surname with Chico Pardo, although they are not related.

Sheinbaum: ‘People see that things are going well in the country’

A reporter noted that a recent poll found that Sheinbaum has a high approval rating among people who identified themselves as supporters of opposition parties, namely the Institutional Revolutionary Party (65% approval), the National Action Party (60%) and the Citizens Movement party (64%). The poll conducted by Enkoll for the newspaper El País and W Radio detected an overall approval rating of 79% for the president.

Sheinbaum acknowledged that she and her government have “a lot of popular support.”

She said that one reason why her government is so popular is that it has stuck to its principles and hasn’t broken its promises.

Another reason, Sheinbaum said, is that “there is continuity in the transformation that began in December 2018,” when former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office.

“… That’s why we call [my administration] the second story of the transformation,” she said.

“And the people see that things are going well in the country,” said Sheinbaum, who is just five days away from completing her first year in office.

“… There is acceptance that Mexico is doing well and that we’re going to continue making progress. And that is what gives [us] popular support,” she said.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)