In democratic societies, it's common to have uncertainty during election times. On election day, and after all votes have been counted, the decision of the electorate is made public: if they chose the male or the female candidate, the leftist or the conservative, the young one or the one not so young. Only then can we get a glimpse of the course the country will take in our immediate future.
Uncertainty is present in all industries and sectors, and our economy isn't the exception. Perhaps it's the first area to refrain from launching new projects until the plans of the presidential candidates are known.
Mexico, as a part of global economy and interested in foreign investment as a source of job opportunities, needs that the current candidates running for President of the Republic detail their proposals to provide certainty to those willing to put their capital in our territory.
The country has reinforced areas that have made it competitive at an international level. The most obvious example is the automotive industry , which has even managed to surpass the oil industry – which was, for decades, the main source of our exports.
Precisely, in order to revitalize the energy sector, a few years ago private capital was allowed to be invested in the exploration and exploitation of oil fields.
Domestic and foreign consortia have participated in the tenders yet among all the presidential candidates, only Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed reverting the reform; however, in an interview published today by EL UNIVERSAL with Olga Sánchez Cordero – a collaborator of the candidate – she rules out the scrapping of this reform.
All candidates say they want more development, and thus, welfare, for the country, yet they have different ideas of how to get us there.
For this reasons, candidates have the duty to explain in detail their proposals for all sectors. Doubt and uncertainty aren't helpful for the political climate, let alone for the economy.
During the 90's, the phrase of the then- Democrat candidate Bill Clinton became famous: “It's the economy, stupid,” meaning that the chief demands of the citizens were to see progress reflected in their purses.
That phrase rings as true now as it did back then and it's still frequently used in any election.
It would be unfortunate that the lack of clarity regarding the economic route proposed by each candidate began to take its toll before election day on July 1.
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