About the Mexico Country Outlook

The Mexico Country Outlook is an annual conference and report designed to unpack the major policy issues facing Mexico in the year ahead. Presented by the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, it provides a strategic edge to investors, businesses, and policymakers as they navigate Mexico’s complex, ever-evolving political and regulatory landscape.

Each year, the conference brings together influential leaders and top thinkers from industry, government, and academia to contribute valuable insights and dive deep into Mexico’s politics, economy, border issues, energy affairs, and more. Audiences include business leaders, policymakers, academics, and students who are passionate about Mexican public policy issues and U.S.-Mexico relations — presenting a rich opportunity to expand networks, exchange diverse perspectives, and remain ahead of the curve.

The annual conference features:

Keynotes from renowned Mexican and U.S. thought leaders.
Insights on key Mexican policy issues and drivers shaping business environments.
Exclusive early access to the annual Mexico Country Outlook report.

MCO 2027 Keynote Speaker

Vicente Fox Quesada
Former President of Mexico
(2000-2006)

Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. Before entering public office, he built a successful career at Coca-Cola, eventually becoming president of the company’s Mexico operations. A member of the National Action Party (PAN), Fox served as governor of Guanajuato before winning the presidency in 2000, which ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s 71-year hold on power. During his administration, he promoted democratic governance, economic growth, and trade, as well as expanded access to healthcare through the Seguro Popular program. Since leaving office, Fox has remained active as a speaker and advocate for democracy and public policy.

MCO 2027 - Other Speakers

Enrique de la Madrid Cordero
Former Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico

Enrique de la Madrid Cordero has built a career across institutional leadership, finance, development, public administration, and engagement within the private sector and academia. He served as Mexico’s secretary of Tourism, federal congressman, CEO of Bancomext, and director of Financiera Rural. He currently advises on economic, political, regulatory, and technological risks and opportunities. He holds a law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Carlos Bravo Regidor
Political Analyst

Carlos Bravo Regidor has built a career across academia, journalism, public affairs, and political analysis. A specialist in the history and contemporary politics of Mexico and the United States, his work focuses on bilateral relations, democratic governance, and the role of media in public life. He previously served as associate professor and director of the Journalism Program at CIDE and has taught at El Colegio de México. A widely published political analyst and commentator, his work has appeared in leading Mexican and international media outlets. He holds a bachelor’s degree from El Colegio de México and graduate degrees in history from the University of Chicago.

Past Reports

2026

Mexico in 2026

Mexico faces strong headwinds in 2026 — some generated domestically through far-reaching constitutional reforms that set the country’s democratic clock back and undermine its economic performance, and some coming from a more uncertain international context. Our experts analyzed how the growing consolidation of government power will likely diminish regulatory oversight, reduce economic growth prospects, exacerbate social problems, and place further strain on the energy sector, among other challenges. They anticipate another uncertain year ahead for Mexico’s domestic and foreign affairs, as pressures from a second Trump administration — through tariffs tied to immigration and drug enforcement — intensify in the lead-up to the 2026 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review.

The Center for the U.S. and Mexico’s “Mexico Country Outlook 2026” report offers expert insights into these and other pivotal issues shaping the country’s future, from public safety to water stress. Drawing on insights from leading experts, our annual report examines major issues ahead to inform policymakers, business leaders, and the public in the coming year.

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2025

Mexico in 2025

Our experts predicted that democratic backsliding, a slowdown in foreign direct investment and potential large downgrade in its credit rating, declining security and public safety, and other challenges facing Mexico would likely worsen in 2025. They forecast rocky political and diplomatic relations with the U.S., particularly as the incoming Trump administration threatened tariffs related to immigration and drug trafficking and with the approach United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review in 2026.

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2024

Mexico in 2024

The 2024 report analyzed key policy issues and various electoral scenarios ahead of the June 2024 elections. Experts from the Claudio X. González Center for the U.S. and Mexico forecast that migration and organized crime would continue to be major points of tension for U.S.-Mexico relations, particularly ahead of the elections on both sides of the border, and predicted that high levels of violence, weak infrastructure, and an uncertain political and regulatory environment would pose significant challenges for industry and foreign investment despite promising nearshoring opportunities and incentives.

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2023

Mexico in 2023

Drawing on decades of study and analysis of Mexico, experts from the Claudio X. González Center for the U.S. and Mexico made several key conclusions for 2023. They forecasted that projects pushed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and a possible U.S. recession would slow Mexican economic growth, that conflict between organized crime groups would escalate, and that the U.S. would continue to pressure Mexico on full implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), immigration, and drug smuggling.

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2022

Mexico in 2022

Center experts predicted that three major issues would dominate Mexico’s economy, politics, and relationship with the United States in 2022. They forecasted that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would continue to exert power in an increasingly autocratic fashion, creating uncertainty in the country’s business environment; that MORENA’s losses in the June 2021 midterms would lead López Obrador to try to dismantle Mexico’s electoral system; and that U.S. President Joe Biden would increase pressure on Mexico to collaborate on key binational policy issues.

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2021

Mexico in 2021

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2020

Mexico in 2020

In the inaugural Mexico Country Outlook report, experts from the Claudio X. González Center for the U.S. and Mexico analyzed the influence of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Mexico’s political, economic, regulatory, social, and security environment. Elected in December 2018, López Obrador’s political and policy preferences profoundly affected not only the country’s present, but its long-term future.

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Past Events