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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
59 Episodes
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We talk with Guillermo Zamarripa, president of Mexico’s pension fund association, Amafore, about the growing importance of Mexico’s pension funds, including their role in the country’s long-term savings, capital markets, infrastructure and private assets, the challenge of ensuring adequate pensions as the population ages, and the structural or regulatory changes still needed for the Afore system to play a larger role in the economy. In the first part, Eduardo and I discuss Fibra Monterrey’s successful follow-on offering and what it says about continued investor appetite for Mexican equities, the broader consolidation wave in industrial real estate, why global tensions may actually strengthen Mexico’s nearshoring story, BBVA Mexico’s investor update and how it has out-finteched the fintechs while maintaining “principalidad,” Mexico’s latest billionaire list and what it reveals about the country’s wealth structure, and the growing foreign investment flowing into Liga MX.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Felipe Vallejo, Country Head of Bitso Mexico, explains how the company is pivoting from a crypto-first exchange into a broader investing and payments platform, leveraging stablecoins to facilitate business payments and offering individuals non-crypto digital products including global stocks and bonds.A geopolitically driven oil price spike is no longer the windfall it once was for Mexico. With the country now a structural energy importer, higher oil prices can marginally worsen the external balance and, through the IEPS fuel-tax buffer, create a fiscal hit that can outweigh the upside from crude exports, potentially leaving Pemex stronger but the federal deficit weaker.Next, we look at Bloomberg and Whitepaper’s profiles of Fernando Chico Pardo, the new chairman of Banamex. What have learnt that is new? Finally we cover Mexico fintech fundraising and product expansion. DolarApp’s rebrand to ARQ signals a shift from cross-border finance toward a daily-use platform combining FX, cards, investing and credit, backed by major global investors (Sequoia and Founders Fund, no less). We also discuss Ualá’s ambitions in Mexico and why public data suggests its progress in the market seems problematic despite continued fundraising momentum.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
This week we chat with Gina Diez Barroso, founder of CENTRO University, and a leading Mexican voice in education, innovation, urban renovation, arts and women in business. She reflects on the evolution of Mexico’s creative economy, and what it takes to build globally competitive creative business leaders in Mexico and elsewhere.We also speak with Edmundo Sandoval of Control Risks, the global risk consultancy, on how companies navigate insecurity, cartel dynamics, and extortion in Mexico, especially timely given the recent operation against the CJNG and the retaliatory violence that followed.To kick off, Eduardo and I break down 2025 full-year corporate results, focusing on FEMSA and Mercado Libre. We also analyze major corporate moves of the week, including Fibra Prologis’ bid for Fibra Macquarie, a sign that consolidation is returning to Mexico’s industrial real estate market and, potentially, the capital markets more broadly.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Pedro de Garay, co-CEO of GBM and founder of Siclo, describes the pivot from a broker and investment bank built for Mexico’s financial elite to a mass-market investing platform, scaled with SoftBank backing and designed for first-time investors. We look at what comes next as GBM tries to turn scale into higher profitability.Diplomat Shauna Hemingway joins from the Canadian delegation of business leaders visiting Mexico to discuss where Canadian companies are investing, how they are reading the USMCA review, and the frictions that still slow cross-border deals.Before the interviews, Eduardo and Damian cover Mexico’s new 30% film and TV production tax credit, including local supplier rules and minimum spend thresholds, and Netflix’s new Mexico City headquarters, another signal that it sees Mexico as a long-term production base.We analyse Aeroméxico’s impressive cash generation in 2025, and Kavak’s fresh funding and what it says about late-stage tech in Mexico. We then break down Walmex’s softer 4Q25 results, a reminder that the consumer is still under pressure and competition is tightening. And on the Caribbean coast, early sargassum arrivals near Cancún are back on the radar, with potential consequences for tourism as the season approaches.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Martin Mazza from Sam Altman’s Tools for Humanity and its World project, tells us why Mexico and LatAm are key markets for Proof of Human tools in an AI world, how far they’ve progressed in getting Latin Americans to “eyeball up,” and what still needs to happen to reach critical scale. We also chat with another Argentine, Tomás Mindlin, CEO and co-founder of tapi, following the company’s US$27M Series B, on why Mexico is central to their expansion, profitability, the Arcus integration, and the role of cash-in/cash-out in Mexico’s payments digitalization. As always, Eduardo and Damian kick off with their take on some of the week’s main business stories: the Vizsla-linked kidnappings and murders in Sinaloa and what they signal about security risk in mining; Chinese OEM interest in Mexico colliding with U.S. tariff pressure and trade politics; Nu’s overcooked Mexico messaging; and the Volaris–Viva tie-up as the key stress test for Mexico’s new competition authority.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
We interview Domingo Valdés, CFO of Vinte, Mexico’s largest homebuilder, on where Mexican housing is headed over the next decade. We discuss policy shifts from Peña Nieto to AMLO to Sheinbaum, Infonavit’s expanding role, the successful Javer acquisition, and how Vinte’s ESG focus translates into financial benefits. Before the interview, Eduardo and Damian first break down the week’s biggest Mexico storylines. Namely, the relevance of Mexico to Sunday’s Super Bowl; the government’s new multi-year infrastructure push; BBVA México’s blowout results and why Mexico remains the group’s profit engine; the proposed workweek reduction and what it could mean for the formal vs. informal labor divide; and the latest on Pemex’s “turnaround” narrative.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
ZONAMACO takes centre stage this week as we interview Zélika García, the founder behind Mexico’s top contemporary art fair, on how it became a global hit. We also speak with consultant Juan Saldívar on selling Mexican consumer brands in the US. And as always, Eduardo and Damian break down Mexico’s top business moves of the week: Sheinbaum’s private meetings with senior bankers and economic officials to push funding for Plan México and deepen credit; Revolut’s headline 15% yield on small deposits; and Banorte’s latest strong results and 2026 outlook. We also discuss how Grupo México became by far Mexico’s most valuable company, and how it’s poised to deploy its massive cash pile to invest more in mining, if permits come through.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
We interview Andrés Pliego on the outlook for Mexico’s water sector and how Rotoplas, where he is CFO, is investing across the region by providing practical, decentralized water solutions. Before the interview, Eduardo and Damian discuss the 2026 outlook for Mexico’s financials, energy, and mining sectors. We look at the impact of fintechs on lending and deposit rates, question Pemex’s ability to raise oil production, and highlight the need for the government to unlock mining investment by accelerating the approval of permits. We also discuss Mexico’s notable absence at Davos 2026. While thousands of the world’s leading CEOs and government figures were present in perhaps the most interesting Davos of all time, Mexico’s top brass was mostly absent.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
This week we interview Odracir Barquera, Head of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA), on the negative impact of US tariffs on Mexico’s automotive industry in 2025 and how the 2026 USMCA review could unfold for what is the most important sector in Mexico’s economy. The review could either cut current tariffs and ease uncertainty in a best-case scenario or worse-case cement the current unfavorable treatment of Mexican auto exports and hurt investment for decades to come. Ahead of that, Eduardo and Damian assess the 2026 outlook across Mexico’s media & telecom, real estate, aviation and airports, and consumer sectors, focusing on how the USMCA, the World Cup, M&A activity, rising real wages and labor costs, and falling interest rates may shape each industry.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
To restart our weekly podcast, Damián and Eduardo speak with Michael Fung, a leading expert in human capital, education, and skills development at Tecnológico de Monterrey. He shares his assessment of how Mexico is performing in these areas—and the challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence brings to education and the workforce. Damian and I also discuss the outlook for the Mexican economy in 2026, as well as the late-2025 announcement of a potential merger between Mexico’s two low-cost airlines, VivaAerobus and Volaris. Finally, we review the latest changes in Grupo Televisa's ownership structure.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
For our Christmas special, we interview Carlos Miguel Prieto, renowned Artistic Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, about the business and current state of classical music in Mexico. We also speak with Verónica García de León about the smog crisis in Monterrey: what’s driving it, and why it persists. To kick off, Eduardo and I discuss Mexico’s 2025 corporate and market highlights, from Fernando Chico Pardo taking control of Banamex, to the rally in Pemex bonds, IPOs at Aeroméxico, Fibra Next, and Esentia, and a wave of new CEOs at Coppel, Alsea, Walmex, Femsa, Bimbo, and others. Finally: Bread Culture Wars. We reflect on the Green Rhino / Richard Hart controversy, and how intemperate comments on the alleged poor quality of Mexican bread rolls in an obscure 2024 podcast became a social-media firestorm 18 months later, and turned into a proxy for (some of) Mexico’s gentrification and anti-foreign anxieties.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Jaime Guillen, co-founder and partner at Mexico Infrastructure Partners (MIP), joins us to explain how the firm became the country’s largest infrastructure fund, the strategy behind its landmark Iberdrola acquisition, and where MIP is heading next, from energy and digital infrastructure to industrial real estate and international expansion. For a sector that usually works under the radar, this is a rare look at the decisions shaping Mexico’s power and infrastructure future.We then turn to Bruce Boren, Partner at THR3 Media and former Televisa executive, producer of HBO’s hit Chespirito biopic. Bruce breaks down how the project came together, why it struck such a nerve, and what the looming Netflix and Paramount battle for Warner Bros. Discovery could mean for content creators in Mexico.Before the interviews, Eduardo and I run through the week’s business and economic headlines. We look at the impact of the hike on tariffs on imports from non-FTA countries like China, the latest inflation data and what it may signal for Banxico’s next moves. Then we discuss Alsea, which continues to reshape its portfolio, now bringing Raising Cane’s, one of the fastest-growing QSR brands in the U.S., to Mexico. The move pairs with its 2026 Chipotle rollout and follows recent divestments in Chile and Spain.Finally, we dig into the rising speculation around a potential AT&T México, Televisa and Izzi deal. If it happens, Televisa would take on many of AT&T’s challenges, including high spectrum costs, MVNO pressure and Telcel’s dominance, while gaining the scale of a national mobile operation along with the advantages of its broadband and cable network and the political muscle that comes with still being Mexico’s leading broadcaster.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
MexMoves interviews Salvador Rivero, the new Country Head of Binance Mexico, who lays out what the world’s largest crypto exchange plans to do in the country. We also speak with US-Mexico policy expert Duncan Wood for his take on the USMCA hearings in Washington — what’s at stake and what 2026 US trade outcomes are realistic for Mexico. To kick off Eduardo and Damian as always dig into the main corporate and economic stories of the week. Grupo Bimbo turns 80 and opens its new museum in Mexico City, which leads us to a broader question: why has Mexico produced so few large new companies in recent decades? Many of today’s corporate giants trace their origins to the Porfiriato or the WWII industrial boom — and unlike in USA, Brazil, Argentina, not many newer firms have joined their ranks. Finally, we look at the 13% minimum-wage increase for 2026 and the government’s plan to cut the workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030. Great news for workers with formal jobs — but with informality already above 50%, critics warn that steep wage hikes and shorter hours could unintentionally curb formal hiring and push more firms into the gray economy.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Join us for a deep dive with Banco Azteca Chairman Alejandro Valenzuela on how Azteca really makes its money, why cash still refuses to die, and why a phygital model is the way forward for Mexican banks. Javier Treviño shares leadership lessons from his new book Silos, celos y círculos íntimos and what a more ethical, less “clubby” business culture in Mexico could look like. Eduardo and Damian break down the farmer and trucker highway blockades as corn prices, water rights and insecurity fuel nationwide protests; the details behind Fibra NEXT’s US$400m downsized follow-on; the US$100m wager on American football in Mexico under the NFL’s shadow; and the battle over credit and debit card related interchange-fees between the banks and authorities just as the government unveils the new financial inclusion strategy for 2025-2030.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Desteia’s Diego Solórzano explains how real, operator-focused AI tools can ease Mexico–U.S. logistics bottlenecks. Journalist Steve Fisher recounts the unlikely recovery of a gold mine in Sonora that many had written off, detailing the operational, financial, and human factors behind its revival. We discuss Mexico surpassing Canada as America’s top export market for the first time, driven by tighter USMCA rules of origin, China-related tariff pressure, and decades of integrated US/Mexico supply chains. We review Esentia Energy’s IPO, completed but priced below range as investors weighed its exposure to CFE and the shadow of Aeroméxico’s post-IPO weakness. We also cover ASUR’s acquisition of 20 airports across Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Curaçao; Tiendas 3B’s standout quarterly results; and rumors Grupo Salinas is selling Mazatlán FC, potentially opening the door for Atlante’s return to Liga MX.’
We talk with Neri Tollardo, Plata’s co-founder and CEO, to understand how the fintech rocketed from zero to more than two million users and a $3 billion valuation in just over two years. We also explore the pros and cons of Mexico City as a potential home for U.S. sports teams, the stakes behind Esentia’s planned gas-pipeline IPO as Mexico and the U.S. both benefit from the decade-long boom of gas imports Texas to Mexico, and how Kimberly-Clark’s acquisition of Kenvue (Tylenol, Listerine, etc.) could affect its separately listed and managed Mexican business.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
Octavio Camarena, CEO of KIO, Mexico’s leading local data-center company, talks to us about the company’s ambitious expansion plans, power bottlenecks, and why a successful data-center build-out is relevant to Mexico’s AI competitiveness. Then French-owned Natixis explain their local asset-management push, driven by rising savings and pension assets. Eduardo and Damian analyze GAP’s purchase of CBX from its controlling shareholders and the move to internalize technical assistance; dilution now, potential gains later. They also cover ASUR’s bid for a South American airport bundle, and how Aeromexico priced its IPO despite tough U.S.–Mexico travel conditions. Finally, they dissect the current investment slump which suggests Plan Mexico is not working - and why U.S. business is pressing Mexico for clear, predictable investment and tax rules.Prueba Whitepaper 30 días gratisCompra tu gorra o ilustraciones de Whitepaper aquí
This week on MexMoves, Uber’s top Mexico executives break down their strategy and why the country has become one of Uber’s biggest global markets. Juan Guerra, CEO of Revolut Bank Mexico, discusses how the fintech will be adapting its European model to Mexico (ie, credit will be a bigger part of the story). We examine the U.S. route bans hitting Mexican airlines, the government’s controversial plan to slash credit card fees and impact on FinTechs, and the wildly divergent fortunes of Mercado Libre, Oxxo, and Walmex in 3Q25 amid a slowing consumer backdrop.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
This week we interview Sebastián de Lara, Chief Regulation and Expansion Officer at Finsus, one of Mexico’s few profitable fintechs, to explore its path toward regulated scale. We then preview Aeroméxico’s upcoming IPO, highlighting its impressive post-COVID recovery powered by higher fares and sharp efficiency gains. In M&A, GE Vernova’s $5.3 billion purchase of Xignux’s remaining 50 percent stake in Prolec underscores investor appetite for electricity-infrastructure assets amid the AI-driven energy boom and highlights the valuation gap between Mexican industrials and U.S. buyers—echoing the Grupo Herdez joint-venture sale earlier this year. We also unpack Mexico’s insurance VAT truce, where firms like Qualitas and AXA avoid massive retroactive tax bills but accept higher costs from 2025 onward. Meanwhile, GM’s strong Q3 results show Mexico’s tariff exposure easing more than expected, though new investment flows are shifting north as the automaker doubles down on U.S. production. Finally, Revolut secures its long-awaited banking license in Mexico—after four years of waiting—and now faces the ultimate challenge: how to compete and profit in Latin America’s toughest fintech market without offering credit.Try Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
We interview Pedro Latapi, CEO of HR Ratings, on the firm’s growth in Mexico and now the U.S. and its rating outlook for both markets. Bernardo Cordero, founder of Mexico Tech Week, joins to discuss Mexico’s startup and tech ecosystem. Plus: Mercado Libre challenges the government over planned withholding taxes on third-party sellers, Orbia jumps on divestiture rumors, Plata’s valuation climbs to $3.1 billion after another $250 million raise, and AFORES’ influence keeps growing across Mexico’s capital marketsTry Whitepaper 30 days freeBuy your Whitepaper merch here
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