By Samuel Peña Guzman
Foreign Investment Coordinator
State of Nuevo Leon |
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In my job in the foreign investment field at the State of Nuevo Leon, I witness the prejudices many foreign investors have for our country. Oftentimes I hear complaints about the lack of juridical safety. It seems as if nowadays the political conditions are set; thatis is, we do not live in a co-existence of authoritarian political regimes linked to a market economy, as in some Latin America countries. However, it seems that in some cases authoritarian regimes, such as China´s, can assure a Rule of Law with more power and efficiency than some rather new democratic regimes, such as ours. I have sometimes listened to people concerned about a leftist regime being democratically elected in Mexico. What would happen? That is what many people ask.
I am convinced that there must be clear and concise rules and a positive law applicable to every regime, whether foreign or national. Unfortunately, our country seems to be sending the opposite message. The lack of juridical safety is affected by other market economies that assure observance of the juridical framework and a series of rules for the companies that give more certainty to both, domestic and foreign businessmen. This is precisely what, in my opinion, Mexico lacks.
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Juridical safety is undoubtedly closely linked to politics and/or the national political context. In Mexico, even if it is true that a State-party was weakened, that same party has been gradually regaining strength little by little - it has learned from its mistakes - but we are still missing a state-government that provides the juridical safety that foreign investors might need. This could be the cost to pay for a democratic transition. The best example of this is the experience lived by the former soviet block in Eastern Europe, where, even if they lived a democratic transition, there was not a competitive Rule of Law per see, with a modern juridical infrastructure ready to compete abroad. This does not mean that authoritarian regimes must be supported; but there is a need for modern democracies to provide a safe juridical infrastructure for foreign capitals. Foreign investors require an incentive to invest in Mexicoa country, otherwise, how could we explain the huge success of China´s present economy under its current regime?
Nowadays, the role of governments has been decreasing little by little, and the power of market economies is in the ascendant, even ruling over democracies. It is precisely a market economy, that seems to be ruling our country, which must be provided with the necessary juridical infrastructure, providing giving certainty to foreign capitals that come to Mexico either directly or indirectly. Markets are more open every day and borders are disappearing, but also the government is losing a preponderant role in Mexico, leave alone its credibility that - due to the circumstances or any other reason - it , it has been unable to implement and provide a juridical safety ad hoc to the requirements of the global world where we live. I think Mexico, as a globalized country within the global context, must fully and totally get into the market economies, by providing juridical safetynd certainty to investors, and not only promote itself, without having the essential elements for the safekeeping of said Rule of Law.
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