During summer 2023, the Georgetown Americas Institute is hosting three events in the Latin America in the Global Economy program that bring together policymakers and other experts to discuss the growing trend of nearshoring investments in North America, particularly in Mexico. According to the 2023 World Investment Report, greenfield investment project announcements were up 15 percent in 2022, growing in most regions and sectors. Industries struggling with supply chain challenges, including electronics, semiconductors, automotive, and machinery, saw a surge in projects. Mexico has seen a substantial increase in investment inflows in the past two years. In 2022, Mexico received 35 billion U.S. dollars; in the first quarter of 2023, the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) was 18 billion U.S. dollars. How can nearshoring enhance Mexico’s competitiveness and foster economic growth in North America? What domestic policies Mexico must implement in order to keep the investments going into the country?
These events will respond to these questions by giving participants the opportunity to hear success stories from companies that have implemented nearshoring strategies and learn best practices that local governments are deploying to help companies navigate these associated complexities. The first session featured Gabriel Yorio (G’15), vice minister of finance of Mexico. Yorio will comment on the advantages, challenges, and opportunities Mexico has in this context, including Mexico’s strategy for capturing investments in southern Mexico. The conversation was moderated by Alejandro Werner, GAI founding director. Upcoming sessions will feature representatives from public, private, and nongovernmental sectors and will take place on July 24 and July 31.
This event was held in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation to English available.
Featuring
Gabriel Yorio (G’15) is vice minister of finance of Mexico. He previously served as head of the Public Credit Unit and in charge of the Treasury International Affairs Unit. In the professional field, Yorio has specialized in the public sector, holding positions at the World Bank, the National Bank of Public Works and Services, and the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Mexico City. As a public sector specialist at the World Bank, he participated in more than 20 projects aimed at improving the performance of the public sector in more than 12 countries in different regions of the world. Previously, at Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos, S.N.C, he worked as deputy director of technical and financial assistance and as manager of credit and financial advisory. Additionally, in the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Mexico City, Yorio was director of public debt. Yorio has a degree in economics from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Campus Monterrey. He has a master's degree in economics from the Colegio de México and another in public policy management from Georgetown University at the McCourt School of Public Policy.
Alejandro Werner (moderator) is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and public credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
