MexMoves

About MexMoves

Each week, Damian Fraser and Eduardo García dissect Mexico’s most important business stories with global impact—and bring on a guest to explore a subject the headlines missed

Publisher

by Whitepaper Media

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Jan 2025

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

89 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   89. Afore XXI Banorte on Mexico’s Pension Boom; Energy Investment & Natural Gas, Tourism Woes and AHMSA

   Tourism Woes and AHMSA Description This week on MexMoves, we speak with David Razú, CEO of Afore XXI Banorte, one of Mexico’s two largest pension managers, with roughly US$100bn in assets under management. Mexico’s Afore system now manages close to US$500bn, and it is getting much bigger: mandatory pension contributions are rising from 6.5% of wages toward 15% by 2030, creating tens of billions of dollars in additional annual inflows to invest. We ask Razú whether workers are earning good returns, how regulation has changed Afore investment, whether Mexico’s capital markets are deep enough to absorb this growing pool of savings, and how much more should be allowed into foreign assets, infrastructure, private equity and private credit. We also discuss informality, whether higher payroll pension costs could push more workers outside the formal system, consolidation among Afores, and the tension between financing Mexico’s development priorities and maximizing risk-adjusted returns for workers. Before the interview: - Energy Investment and Natural Gas Security: Mexico’s dependence on US natural gas comes back into focus after a temporary reduction in cross-border supplies. Mexico imports roughly 75–80% of the gas it consumes and has only a very small storage buffer. At the same time, the government is pushing around US$57bn of electricity investment and almost US$8bn in gas pipelines through 2030, alongside new generation, transmission and renewables. - Tourism: airport and hotel data are flashing warning signs in some of Mexico’s biggest beach markets. September passenger traffic was down roughly 9% in Cancún, 10% in Puerto Vallarta and 8% in Los Cabos, while parts of Tulum and the Riviera Maya are seeing weak occupancy and reduced airline capacity. Mexico is still attracting plenty of visitors, but some major resort destinations are having a difficult year. - AHMSA: the extraordinary bankruptcy saga enters another critical phase, expertly documented in our sister podcast Whitepaper 10. CIESA has submitted a US$1.4bn bid for AHMSA and Minera del Norte, but still needs to prove the money is there. If it fails, creditors including Cargill and Afirme could emerge as an alternative rescue. We look at decades of failed buyers, restructurings and Alonso Ancira’s control of the steelmaker, and why restarting the Monclova complex matters for the regional economy.

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Mexico’s Creative Economy; News from Consorcio ARA, CONTPAQi, Nu and Fuel Support

   We interview Avelino Rodríguez, CEO of The Lift, to talk about the business of creativity in Mexico. Twenty years after founding The Lift, Avelino explains how he built a world-class audiovisual production-services company, and what Mexico needs to become a genuine global creative hub comparable to Korea. We also discuss Productistas, his and Ilana Sod's new podcast focused on Mexico’s creative industries. Then we turn to the week’s business news: Consorcio ARA: its proposed tender offer, and what it says about the continuing shrinkage of Mexico’s listed mid-cap market. Advent / CONTPAQi: why a large investment in traditional business software is especially interesting as AI is putting pressure on some software valuations. Nu México: another CEO change, a new CFO, and the execution challenge of scaling rapidly across multiple markets. The peso: from market darling to laggard in a month as the carry trade unwinds. Exports: Mexico’s extraordinary AI-driven export boom. Diesel: the government’s increasingly expensive effort to subsidize prices while tightening traceability and enforcement around fuel sales.

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   87. Perret & Billia on Mexico's conference circuit; demographic shock, JD Sports/Axo bet, Korea in Mexico, and the Trump diesel threat.

   This week we talk to two key people promoting US-Mexico ties and investment in Mexico. Enrique Perret runs the US-Mexico Foundation, which is hosting this week's North Capital Forum in Mexico City. He talks about North American convergence and why booming exports to the US and continued growth in nearshoring alone are not enough to solve Mexico's economic challenges. Véronique Billia runs AMEXCAP, the Mexican private capital association, and helped organize Mexico Investment Week in New York earlier this month. She was encouraged by the interest in Mexico and the new faces who turned up, but is candid in acknowledging what needs to be done to get more private capital flowing into Mexico. Also this week: Demographic shock: INEGI shows fertility has fallen to 1.2 children per woman, below the United States. In Mexico City it's 0.8, not far above South Korea. The median age rose three years in just five. We ask what this means for growth, pensions and the workforce. JD Sports/Axo bet: the British sneaker and sports chain is entering Mexico through a franchise with Grupo Axo, turning more than 140 existing stores into JD shops from 2027. With running shoes taking over from retro basketball styles, and Nike and Adidas under pressure, can JD crack the Mexican market? Korea in Mexico: Lee Jae-myung makes the first state visit by a South Korean president in 16 years, with the heads of SK, LG and LS in tow. Korea sells Mexico chips and machinery, buys its metals, and has built a large trade surplus. A Korea-Mexico free trade deal makes sense, but first Mexico needs to get the USMCA over the line. The Trump diesel threat: Washington floats a ban on US diesel exports as prices soar ahead of the midterms. Mexico still imports a big share of its diesel from the US, and Hacienda is spending billions of pesos a week to hold pump prices down. Was AMLO right to build Dos Bocas after all?  (Spoiler alert -No).

Who has been a guest on MexMoves

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ricardo Pintado
• Gabriela Cámara
• Francisco Ruiz Maza
• Ana Cristina Gadala-Maria
• Francisco Ramos

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

93 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

69

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact MexMoves

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about MexMoves