Measures announced by the federal government in May to facilitate investment in Mexico have been “successful,” according to José Medina Mora Icaza, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), an umbrella organization that represents 14 private sector groups.
After a meeting on Friday with government-private sector liaison Altagracia Gómez and Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States Roberto Lazerri, the head of the CCE said that the measures have spurred investments totaling more than US $3.5 billion.
El Embajador @robertolazzeri y Altagracia Gómez #CADERR destacaron la importancia del rol del #CCE en el contexto de la revisión del #TMEC. Coincidieron con el Pdte. @JoseMedinaMora en la importancia de desarrollar proveeduría local para atraer cadenas de suministro a la región y… pic.twitter.com/LT9121UYb4
— Consejo Coordinador Empresarial CCE (@cceoficialmx) August 14, 2026
“Soon we’ll have an announcement because there is already more than $3.5 billion in investments authorized [by the federal government],” Medina Mora told reporters in Mexico City.
He didn’t reveal specific details about the planned investment projects, but said the money would come from Mexican and foreign investors.
Medina Mora’s remarks came around three months after the federal government announced a package of measures within the Plan Mexico framework to unlock and accelerate investments, especially large and strategic ones, by shortening authorization times, simplifying bureaucratic procedures and offering greater regulatory certainty.
“We are accelerating processes, simplifying mechanisms and strengthening legal certainty, because we know that economic development requires clear rules, mutual trust and shared responsibility,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said at an event in Mexico City on May 4.
In accordance with guidelines announced on that date, 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.
Medina Mora praises federal government
The CCE chief told reporters that Gómez, head of the government’s business advisory council, acts as a “communication bridge” between the private sector and the Sheinbaum administration.
Medina Mora also said that the federal government’s investment committee is very efficient.
“The investment committee has been very successful. It meets every week,” he said.
“The projects we’ve sent have been approved quickly,” Medina Mora said.
He added that Sheinbaum has “given priority” to the rapid approval of investment projects.
One of 13 goals of Plan Mexico is to reduce the average time between an investment announcement and the execution of a project from 2.6 years to 1 year. Among the other objectives of the ambitious economic initiative are for Mexico to become the 10th largest economy in the world by the end of Sheinbaum’s term in 2030, and to create 1.5 million jobs in Mexico’s specialized manufacturing industry and other “strategic sectors.”
Medina Mora noted that economic growth rebounded in the second quarter of 2026, after a sequential contraction in the first three months of the year. He also said that investment is picking up.
In the first quarter of 2026, Mexico received foreign direct investment totaling a record high of nearly $23.6 billion, an increase of 10.4% compared to the same period of last year.
CCE chief expresses support for fracking
Medina Mora said that the federal government’s openness to large-scale fracking represents an investment opportunity for the private sector.
His remarks came a week after a group of scientists that was tasked with assessing the viability of so-called “sustainable fracking” in Mexico essentially gave its green light to the ongoing evaluation of fracking potential in two basins in northern Mexico, although it recommended against the use of the gas and oil extraction technique in the resource-rich Tampico-Misantla basin.
Medina Mora said that fracking technology “has advanced” and today “takes into account environmental protection and remediation in such a way that there are no [adverse] side effects.”
He said that access to the energy resources that can be obtained via fracking will allow Mexico to have “competitive advantages as a country.” Mexico is currently heavily dependent on the United States for natural gas.
Sheinbaum also asserts that fracking can take place safely and without excessive water use via the employment of new technologies. She said on Aug. 6 that no final decision had been made on large-scale fracking, although it appears very likely that Mexico will move to use the controversial extraction technique in order to boost domestic production of natural gas.
With reports from La Jornada and Infobae
