Mexican Business Confidence Plummets: Only 2 in 10 Ready to Invest

Business confidence in Mexico has sharply declined, with only two out of every ten entrepreneurs believing it is currently an opportune moment to invest, according to the Confederation Patronal of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex). This figure represents a significant drop from the previous quarter, when four out of ten business owners shared a more optimistic outlook on developing new projects.

The primary drivers behind this diminished confidence are persistent insecurity and a lack of legal certainty, issues that profoundly impact the willingness of businesses to commit capital. Juan José Sierra Álvarez, president of Coparmex, highlighted that the intention to expand operations, including hiring more staff, opening new branches, and developing new products, has fallen from nearly 63% to 50.3% over the past year. This shift indicates a move from growth-oriented strategies to a more defensive posture.

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Mexican companies have moved from expanding to resisting, and when a company changes its growth plans to a containment strategy, Mexico loses its capacity to generate new jobs, increase productivity, and attract capital.

"Mexican companies have moved from expanding to resisting, and when a company changes its growth plans to a containment strategy, Mexico loses its capacity to generate new jobs, increase productivity, and attract capital," Sierra Álvarez explained. He emphasized that businesses desire stable rules of the game, consistent reforms, improved security, and greater certainty, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises that are focused on survival.

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When we talk about businessmen wanting legal certainty, we are talking about trust that is not decreed and can be destroyed in a day.

Insecurity remains the foremost obstacle to business activity, with approximately half of all companies reporting being victims of a crime in the past year. While the overall rate of victimization saw a slight decrease, the data from the #DataCoparmex first quarter 2026 study revealed significant regional disparities. Michoacán reported the highest victimization rate at nearly 59%, followed by Nayarit and Jalisco, both around 57%. Conversely, Campeche, Coahuila, and Oaxaca showed the lowest rates.

For the first time, extortion, including "derecho de piso" (protection payments) and phone scams, emerged as the most prevalent crime affecting business owners. Alarmingly, nearly 20% of extortion cases were perpetrated by individuals claiming to be authorities or acting on their behalf, suggesting a concerning level of corruption or abuse of power. In response to these challenges, nearly six out of ten entrepreneurs have increased their spending on security measures.

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It is the crime that has businessmen on their knees... there is even more serious data: in 19.5% of cases, the extortion was carried out by authorities or people who pretended to be.