After the Senate voted with a qualified majority of 86 votes in favor and 41 against, the reform to the judicial power continued its path to approval by local congresses, which this morning of September 12 already had the approval of 18 states, so only its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) will remain pending.
Various business organizations warned prior to the Senate vote of the risk that the judicial reform proposed by the Federal Executive could generate for investments, and that this could contain the dynamic wave of nearshoring , where, according to estimates, this effect alone could attract 48 billion dollars (mdd) of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), in addition to the normal rate of these flows.
Even in the uncertainty of the September 10 vote in the Senate, the Texas Public Policy Foundation shared a message through its account that has generated uncertainty and concern.
“Texas is ready to welcome investment dollars that may be looking for a new home as a result of the uncertainty surrounding Mexico’s sweeping judicial reform. We offer a stable, business-friendly environment for global investors without drastically changing powers. We respect business,” reads the X account of this research institute.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, according to information on its website.
In this context of uncertainty due to the approval of the reform to the judicial branch by the Federal Congress, the lack of a reliable infrastructure in customs matters continues to reduce Mexico’s competitiveness.
“Since Monday we have been facing interruptions in the Customs system again, which is why we operated for a few hours and the process was stopped again, with what this implies for trade between Mexico and the United States,” Manuel Sotelo Suárez, vice president of the Northern Region of the National Chamber of Cargo Transportation (Canacar), told T21 .
Sotelo said that in the Ciudad Juárez area alone there are 400 maquiladoras that daily motivate between three and four thousand transport vehicles to cross to El Paso, Texas, to maintain commercial operations between both countries. If in regular operation the crossing can take two or three hours, now this can double.
“Priority is being given to urgent shipments, and non-crucial materials are being left for times when there is a greater flow through customs. But this affects all those involved, and we hope that the system will soon stabilize,” said Sotelo Suárez.
The businessman even added that the activation of a contingency to operate manual processes was authorized, “we have photocopies, but this is becoming even more complex to operate.”
In the current state of uncertainty, where Texas maintains a policy of attracting investment, as happened with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the recurring situation of intermittent customs operations does not contribute to an environment of efficiency and productivity.
Based on data from the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM), in the period January – July 2024, the country’s border, maritime and internal customs had generated a collection of 661 thousand 347.86 million pesos (mdp), that is, an increase of 1.8% below what had been achieved in 2023, and where only border customs face an increase in tax collection.
