The urban transformation that the Historic Center of San Salvador has experienced in recent months has become one of the most tangible symbols of the moment that El Salvador is experiencing in terms of safety, tourism, and economic recovery.

From the emblematic “crooked house” to Plaza Libertad, the Historic Center has experienced a radical change in recent months that makes this area no longer the one that once was notorious for its congestion and insecurity, but rather a safe place full of activity and life, where history and culture are combined with commercial dynamism.

El Zócalo, a restaurant that proudly flies the Salvadoran flag, announced that it opened the eighteenth branch of the emblematic business at Portal La Dalia, in Plaza Libertad, in the Historic Center of the capital.

Entrepreneurs and investors are beginning to bet again on El Salvador, aware that the country is going through a historic turning point both in its image and in its development potential.

For the government, security has been the fundamental axis of the Historic Center’s transformation. The Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, referred to it during the inauguration ceremony, where she indicated that investments of this type are only a reflection of the trust in the security that has been generated in the country.

“We have been transforming in all aspects: security, commercial atmosphere, infrastructure, and international reputation. Today, the Historic Center of San Salvador is one of the most important and safest places in the country and is a very clear example of commercial reactivation,” said Hayem.

Visibility of the New Era in San Salvador

Walking through downtown San Salvador makes it clear that there is a before and after in the Historic Center.

The abandoned colonial buildings that for years had lost their charm are now being restored, local businesses have opened, and national and foreign tourists are again filling the plazas, cafés, and museums of San Salvador’s historic center.

Music, art, and gastronomy are playing an important role in this urban regeneration that is bringing life to a district that for decades seemed condemned to ruin and fear.

The Historic Center of San Salvador is a living museum that rescues the heritage and is also a symbol of the future of Salvadoran art, with each façade that is restored, a story of resilience and hope is revealed.

Director General of the Historic Center Authority, Adriana Larín, affirmed that the district has become one of the main engines of the economic and cultural reactivation in the city, and the arrival of new investors in the area day after day is a sign of the success of the urban renewal plan.

“Private investment is a clear example of how well-organized public policies, public-private sector work can not only transform a neighborhood but also the entire country’s perception and vigor,” Larín concluded.

Gerardo Pérez, General Manager of El Zócalo, shared this optimism and expressed pride at being able to contribute to this transformation process.

“Our brand was founded in 1991; it is 100% Salvadoran, and today we are inaugurating our eighteenth branch in one of the most attractive and developed areas in the country,” Pérez said.

El Zócalo, for many Salvadorans, is a representation of the national identity with its traditional flavors and recipes in a friendly and modern environment, and the opening in the Historic Center of San Salvador is part of a new stage in the history of this emblematic restaurant.

Revitalization of the Historic Center under the Bukele Government

In this regard, the revitalization of the Historic Center is one of the flagship projects of the Bukele government, which has included the development of public spaces, restoration of landmarks, placement of new lighting, pedestrianization of streets, and strengthening of security through an innovative public-private collaboration model that has been possible under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele.

All these works have not only changed the appearance of the Historic Center but have also transformed its atmosphere. Previously, residents of San Salvador avoided going to downtown after dark, but today they walk through it with their families without fear. And tourists who had no reason to visit the capital because they associated it with traffic jams, daily crowds, and insecurity, now recommend the Historic Center as a must-visit destination when traveling to El Salvador.

Revival of Cultural and Commercial Activities in San Salvador’s Historic Center

The new panorama has also become a scene of reactivation and cultural effervescence, with the return of theaters, art galleries, and open-air concerts that exhibit the work of Salvadoran talent and give pride to citizens.

Artisan and small businesses, such as boutique cafés, are being reborn in the Historic Center thanks to increased pedestrian flow. The streets of San Salvador’s Historic Center are a showcase of how commerce and culture can feed off each other and boost joint growth.

In summary, this renewed confidence in the Historic Center responds to increased security, which has led citizens and investors to feel safe to go out and make economic transactions, be they purchases, food at a restaurant, or even the decision to open a new business.

On the other hand, for urban development experts and economists, the case of the Historic Center serves as an example of how a change in a variable such as security can have a multiplying effect on the rest of the economic and social variables.

Security Conditions Are the Catalyst for Investment Confidence

Citizens must feel safe to walk the streets, spend their money, and invest their savings in their country; and when security and stability are provided, entrepreneurs also have the incentive to open new businesses, generate jobs, and create opportunities.

In this regard, the transformation of San Salvador’s Historic Center not only represents a before and after in the urban development of the area but also embodies the current renewal of the whole country, once known internationally as a country of violence and now seen as a country that is willing to receive investment, innovation, and tourism.

As evening falls in Plaza Libertad, the Salvadoran sun gives the Historic Center’s lights a golden hue. The Plaza Libertad square vibrates to the conversations, laughter, and music of El Zócalo’s customers: signs of life, confidence, and hope in the Historic Center of San Salvador, which is today not only a testament to successful urban renewal but a symbol of a country that is rediscovering its soul in security, opportunity, and national pride.

Which Central American country will be the leader of economic growth in the region by 2025? The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has just released the answer.

Panama to Lead Growth in Central America with 4.1% GDP Expansion

In its 2025 Annual Update, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) shows that Panama will grow by 4.1% this year, consolidating itself as the fastest-growing economy in Central America and the subregion’s great outperformer against a Latin America and Caribbean average of 2.4%.

Panama thus not only heads the ranking of the Central American economies but also of the most dynamic Latin American countries according to ECLAC, coming in fourth overall, just behind Venezuela (6%), Paraguay (4.5%), and Argentina (4.3%).

Growth Rates in Central America

In the Central American subregion, Panama is followed by Costa Rica, which is expected to grow 3.8% this year. Third place is a tie between Guatemala and Honduras, with projected growth of 3.7%. Nicaragua will register 3.1% growth, and El Salvador will post the region’s lowest GDP increase with 2.7%.

The projections for Panama and Costa Rica are significantly higher than the 2.6% average forecast for Central America in 2025 or the 1.0% for Central America and Mexico combined, reflecting the slowdown of the Mexican economy. This confirms that the economy in Central America remains uneven, with Panama and Costa Rica driving regional expansion while other nations face slower growth trajectories.

Drivers of Panama’s Economy

The services sector is still the main driver of Panama’s GDP, with the Panama Canal as its flagship project. In its Fiscal Year 2025, which ended in March 2025, Canal revenues rose by 14.4% to USD 5.705 billion, above budget.

The other big winner has been the transportation, storage, and communications sector, which has again posted excellent results this year due to higher Canal toll revenues, increased net tonnage, and container traffic throughout the National Port System. The logistics industry alone represents about 30% of Panama’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and it is no exaggeration to say that this is the bedrock of the Panamanian economy.

The financial intermediation sector has also posted a positive performance this year, with growth in both deposits and loans at the national level, consolidating Panama as the largest financial center in Latin America. During the first semester of 2025, Panama exported USD 9.762 billion worth of services, which represented a year-on-year increase of 8.3%.

Travel and tourism are also on the rebound, after posting positive results. Panama generated over USD 3.307 billion in travel services between January and May 2025, a 4.1% increase in international visitor arrivals over the same period a year ago.

The subregion has also been fueling demand, with remittances from abroad up by 15.1% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024. According to official figures, Panama’s principal remittance source countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Regional Outlook

Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole continue to be caught in what ECLAC defines as a “low-growth trap.” The average annual growth rate hovers around 2%, a number characterized by “persistent low investment, low productivity, and slow job creation,” in the words of the United Nations Economic Commission.

Sluggish external demand drivers have also lost some steam, as the region continues to expand at a slower pace, in a highly complex international environment with U.S. tariff announcements and high global uncertainty. Looking forward, ECLAC forecasts an average growth rate for Central America of 3.2% in 2026, with Panama leading again with 4.6%, followed by Guatemala (4.0%), Honduras (3.8%), Costa Rica (3.7%), Nicaragua (3.4%), and El Salvador (2.7%).

The United Nations body explains that to break out of this low-growth scenario, Latin America and the Caribbean must “accelerate the pace of productive transformation to increase economic growth and productivity, diversify its economies, and generate more and better jobs.” Strengthening the economy in Central America will depend mainly on innovation, diversification, and integration across regional markets.

The Panamanian Economy: 10 Years of Resilience

Panama’s excellent performance is not a coincidence. Between 2010 and 2022, the Panamanian economy grew at an annual average rate of 5.7%, outperforming many of its Central American peers.

It was one of the few countries in the world, and the only one in Latin America, that was able to grow even during the COVID-19 pandemic. GDP grew by 15.8% in 2021, by 10.8% in 2022, and by 7.4% in 2023.

This resilience is the result of a number of structural factors that differentiate the Panamanian economy: the strategic geographic location of the country as a natural bridge between North and South America; a services sector that accounts for more than 75% of GDP; a dollarized economy, which guarantees the stability of the exchange rate; and the sustained investment in first-class infrastructure (ports, airports, and logistics centers).

President José Raúl Mulino announced a record investment plan to boost the economy of more than USD 11 billion in the coming years, focused on the development of an energy corridor that will cross the isthmus, as well as new port terminals and a highway that will connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, all projects that will generate around 40,000 jobs during their construction phase.

The Situation in the Region

The rest of Central America is moving at a much more pedestrian pace, with a number of structural challenges that it must face up to as a matter of urgency. The ECLAC report highlights that the subregion is highly vulnerable to external shocks, given its structural dependence on the U.S. economy for its trade, finance, and migration.

Costa Rica, which comes in second in the ECLAC growth ranking, is being driven by strong domestic consumption and expansion of the technology and advanced manufacturing sectors. Guatemala has also maintained a favorable outlook due to its services sector, private consumption, and remittance inflows. Honduras, in turn, has grown thanks to a solid coffee industry, controlled inflation, and international reserves of more than USD 8 billion.

The challenge for the rest of Central America is to diversify the productive matrix, de-emphasize dependence on traditional low-value-added sectors, and increase capacity for innovation to make a move from reactive to proactive economic growth. A coordinated regional strategy could help strengthen the economy in Central America, enabling it to achieve more balanced and sustainable development across all member nations.

In a recent development, Chile and Canada have announced the successful signing of the strategic partnership agreement modernization, which renews the terms of their longstanding relationship. The new agreement modernizes the 2023 partnership by adding four new pillars in addition to trade, focusing on 21st-century challenges of mutual interest: gender equality, climate change, critical minerals, and Indigenous people. “The modernization of the Strategic Partnership between Canada and Chile reflects the evolution of our societies’ priorities and is a blueprint for future-oriented cooperation between our nations,” said van Klaveren.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Boric met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea and led the official discussions around the modernization, which were concluded in a subsequent meeting between the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs. In a press conference following the bilateral signing ceremony, both Prime Minister Trudeau and President Boric described the modernization of the agreement as a confirmation of Chile and Canada’s historical alliance, as well as a more pointed effort to refocus their shared goals to better address global and local challenges of the present day. The two leaders’ speeches and the official Joint Declaration identified core areas of similarity in Chile and Canada’s approach to international affairs, emphasizing democracy, environmental stewardship, and economic modernization as defining characteristics of both states. The original Partnership for Prosperity and Growth was first signed in 2007, and modernized this year, to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations. However, in its new version, the modernized agreement seeks to deepen and widen the relationship, incorporating a more comprehensive and globally oriented agenda for cooperation.

The Agreement Modernization Expands on the Original Framework

Notably, while trade and investment continue to serve as the foundation for Chile and Canada’s bilateral relations, the modernized agreement includes areas of collaboration beyond the economic, emphasizing the intertwined nature of social, environmental, and economic policies. As van Klaveren said in his opening remarks, the new Framework Agreement for Strategic Partnership “addresses our societies’ evolving priorities” with a joint commitment to implementing free, fair, and rules-based trade in a globalized, climate-constrained world. The inclusion of a pillar on gender equality signals both governments’ shared interest in ensuring women’s full participation and leadership at home and abroad, as well as the equitable application of national and international policy. Climate change and polar affairs, as well as Chilean and Canadian Arctic collaboration, are also central to the agreement, reflecting the existential nature of environmental and climate policy for both states and their citizens. Chile and Canada have ambitious goals and significant capabilities in the sustainable development and processing of critical minerals, a pillar that directly links the other three in the modernized agreement and to the broader 21st-century challenges. Both states have long been leaders in mining for copper, lithium, nickel, and other minerals key to the global transition to renewables, and are taking steps to ensure the sector remains sustainable, safe, and productive in the long term.

Canadian Investment and Chilean Exports

For two decades, Chile and Canada have steadily expanded bilateral trade and investment, which has served to strengthen both economies and create business and employment opportunities in each country. The latest data from Global Affairs Canada and Chile’s Ministerio de Hacienda indicate that total trade between the two nations exceeded CAN$2 billion in 2025, making Canada Chile’s single largest foreign investor. Notably, as in many other countries, mining represents the majority of Canadian investment stock in Chile, with active participation in the energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors as well. In van Klaveren’s press statement, he reaffirmed Canada’s key role in Chile’s economic modernization over the past two decades, bringing not just capital, but technology and high-value-added knowledge transfer. Canada remains the most important trade and investment partner for Chile in the mining sector, with active engagement in exploration, extraction, and innovation in processing and technological applications for Chile’s vast copper, lithium, and other critical mineral resources. As part of the modernization, Chile and Canada have committed to greater regulatory alignment and standardization on issues that directly impact the sector, such as climate change, environmental impact, and social inclusion, in particular Indigenous collaboration and cooperation. This cooperation has not yet been finalized, but it is to include not just dialogue but shared action plans and joint initiatives, with the understanding that foreign investment will support not extractive exploitation but rather responsible stewardship of natural resources.

Joint Action on Climate Change and Energy Transition

Prime Minister Carney made it a point to underscore the particular significance of strengthening cooperation on critical minerals, clean energy, wildfire management, and digital technologies. In other words, Canada and Chile have an opportunity, in both bilateral and multilateral settings, to not only speak but act together to the benefit of their own peoples and the world at large. Canada has supported Chile’s efforts to diversify its economy in the past, and this new version of the agreement is built on that model of mutually beneficial long-term cooperation. The two countries plan to establish closer working relationships with governments, private enterprises, and educational and research institutions with the goal of developing new initiatives on lithium extraction, battery manufacturing, and renewable energy systems, all of which are in high demand on the global market. These initiatives are all already in Canada’s national critical minerals strategy, which highlights international cooperation, responsible sourcing, green innovation, and productivity as the four central pillars to guide the sector’s development over the coming years. Prime Minister Carney also emphasized the importance of cooperation in wildfire management and prevention, an area where both countries are deeply interested and increasingly active as climate change takes its toll.

Cultural Exchange and Social Inclusion

Beyond the more technocratic aspects of the modernized agreement, Chile and Canada have also signaled their commitment to joint action in the area of social inclusion and cultural exchange. Indigenous cooperation is a separate pillar of the new Strategic Partnership, demonstrating the importance the two governments give to promoting and protecting Indigenous peoples and their rights. Canada’s decades-long national reconciliation process provides a potential model for Chile, where government and Indigenous groups continue to discuss autonomy, land rights, and cultural preservation. Joint programs to support education, sustainable development, and local governance could open new channels of communication and best-practice sharing between Indigenous peoples in Canada and Chile. Finally, the gender equality pillar of the modernized agreement dovetails with ongoing domestic policies in Chile that aim to create equal opportunities for women in business, government, and society in general. Both governments have committed to encouraging women’s participation in science, technology, and business leadership, as well as in foreign service and diplomacy, as a priority for building a better future for all.

The Milei government is advancing a package of reforms to bring about a structural change in the Argentine economy. The head of State has designed an economic offensive in Argentina that seeks to dismantle rigid regulations, simplify a complicated tax system, and restore investor confidence in one of the most volatile markets in Latin America. Javier Milei, the economist turned political outsider, has long argued that Argentina’s economic stagnation is a product of an oversized state, labor rigidity, and a suffocating tax burden. Now, from the Casa Rosada, he is putting those ideas into practice with a set of measures that could upend the country’s economic order.

The flagship of Milei’s program is twofold: an ambitious labor reform to modernize the employment system and a drastic tax reduction that, in the administration’s view, will revitalize the productive sector. The scope of the plan is enormous, and so are the challenges that lie ahead. The country’s Congress is deeply divided, and powerful labor unions are gearing up to fight what they consider an attack on hard-won worker rights.

Argentina’s economic crisis is not new. Inflation, which has topped 100 percent, continues to devour wages and savings. For much of the population, a trip to the supermarket is a bitter exercise that makes them feel like hostages of decades of mismanagement and populist cycles. Against this scenario, the economic offensive in Argentina is betting on a bet on radical change: a commitment to tear down old institutions and unleash market forces that, so they say, can restore stability and growth.

Labor Reform: Flexibility vs. Social Protection

The first pillar of Milei’s strategy is labor reform. The proposal is aimed at simplifying the complex rules that regulate the relationship between employers and employees, reducing litigation, and introducing more flexibility in hiring and firing. They argue that this would encourage businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, to formalize employment, reducing the well-known informal work that afflicts nearly half of the country’s workers.

The reform’s defenders argue that Argentina’s rigid labor laws, many of them dating back to the mid-20th century, scare off investment and hinder companies’ growth. By making contracts more flexible and reducing bureaucratic costs, they believe the economy could generate hundreds of thousands of formal jobs by 2027.

But unions and opposition leaders warn that the reform could reverse decades of progress in worker protection. They fear a step towards precarious employment, less job security, and weaker collective bargaining power. For them, the labor reform is not modernization; it is deregulation at the expense of social justice.

This ideological battle is at the heart of Milei’s presidency, trying to reconcile the need for competitiveness with the preservation of social cohesion. The fight over labor reform will be key to the economic offensive in Argentina, since it sets two visions of progress against each other, one based on market dynamism, the other on social rights.

Tax Reduction: A Radical Simplification

Along with labor reform, the Milei government is advancing an equally audacious fiscal proposal. The president has proposed eliminating up to twenty different taxes, many of which are considered inefficient or distortive. Among the taxes to be repealed are some that are repeated between the national and provincial levels, generating a network of red tape that discourages investment and production.

Defenders of this tax reform argue that Argentina’s tax pressure is one of the highest in the region and has long choked private initiative. Simplifying the system and reducing the overall burden would make the country more competitive and attract both domestic and foreign capital. This boost of confidence, they hope, will translate into job creation and sustained growth.

Critics, on the other hand, point out the fiscal cost that this proposal would entail. Argentina’s public finances are already stretched, and eliminating taxes without a clear plan to offset the loss of revenue could jeopardize essential public services such as education, health, and social assistance. The government argues that the expansion of the formal economy would eventually offset the initial revenue loss, but many economists and opposition lawmakers are skeptical.

The challenge, therefore, is to find a balance between fiscal prudence and economic stimulus. Done carefully, the tax reform could mark a turning point in Argentina’s long-term economic recovery; badly managed, it could deepen the fiscal deficit and trigger new instability.

Political and Institutional Resistance

In addition to the technical aspects, the success of Milei’s reforms also depends on his ability to lead a fragmented political landscape. The president faces a Congress in which his party has a minority of seats, forcing him to negotiate with governors and opposition groups that have little interest in giving him excessive powers.

Labor unions, historically powerful in Argentine politics, are already mobilizing strikes and demonstrations to defend what they call “conquests of the working class.” The Peronist opposition, still reeling from the electoral defeat, is already sniffing that confrontation as an opportunity to regroup and reassert its hegemony.

Milei, however, remains undeterred. In his speeches, he frames the conflict as a battle between those who want to maintain the status quo and those willing to break with decades of stagnation. His rhetoric is appealing to sectors of the population that are exhausted by inflation, corruption, and the recurrent crises. But to maintain that support he will have to provide results, lower inflation, create jobs, and restore confidence.

A Paradigm Shift or a Risky Gamble?

For many observers, what is at stake is more than a series of policy changes: it is a paradigm shift in how Argentina understands the state and the market. The economic offensive in Argentina that Milei is leading could redefine the country’s trajectory and open the door to a more liberal, investment-friendly model, similar to the changes that have taken place in Chile or even in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.

However, Argentina’s reality is unique, with deep inequalities, institutional fragility, and a population accustomed to the State’s hand. Whether Milei’s experiment can achieve prosperity without unleashing new cycles of social protest remains to be seen.

For now, optimism and skepticism coexist in equal parts. Investors are watching closely, unions are on the move, and ordinary Argentines continue to live in daily inflation and economic uncertainty. What is clear is that Milei has unleashed an economic offensive in Argentina unlike any seen in decades, which could propel the country towards long-awaited stability or plunge it into a new cycle of turbulence.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) confirmed in its latest report that Mexico foreign direct investment (FDI) reaffirmed its position as one of the most attractive in the first half of 2025. According to the organization’s document “Foreign Direct Investment Flows in the First Half of 2025,” the country is in the top five of the main recipients worldwide with USD 34.265 billion in FDI. The amount reflects that Mexico remains the most relevant among the receiving economies in America, underlined by reinvestment in profits.

Mexico foreign direct investment improves its standing: OECD

The OECD’s report was issued amid a scenario of global economic uncertainty, where trade growth is at a low level, interest rates are at their highest in more than a decade, and geopolitical conflicts continue to take place. In this situation, Mexico’s FDI has stood out by maintaining an important level of activity. “Global growth in the first half of 2025 was hampered by weakening trade, a high level of interest rates, and continued geopolitical tensions. The outlook remains highly uncertain, as many countries continue to struggle with high inflation, higher public and private debt, and tighter financial conditions, while China remains under pressure,” the OECD explained.

The organization’s report confirmed that worldwide FDI was stable in the first half of the year, reaching approximately USD 663 billion. This result was little change from the prior years, given the fact that global economic conditions had not encouraged large movements of capital in or out of borders. However, within this context, the OECD pointed out how the distribution of global flows had changed among countries.

Mexico Ranks Fifth in the Global Recipients of FDI

In this way, what the OECD described was a landscape of flows where the most favored economies had been mainly those that registered an important internal reinvestment or strong industrial performance. In the general ranking, the countries that would be the preferred ones among investors would be the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In this list, the United States is in first place, with USD 149 billion; Brazil, in second place, with USD 38 billion; the United Kingdom, in third, with USD 37 billion; and Canada, in fourth, with USD 36.869 billion. Rounding out the first five is Mexico with USD 34.265 billion. This way, the Mexican economy was above other large economies in Europe and Asia.

Mexico’s profit reinvestment

In this regard, what is notable about Mexico’s position is the origin of its FDI inflows. For the OECD, the main characteristic of the Mexican economy is that its FDI is mainly explained by profit reinvestment. This means that Mexico’s FDI was driven not by capital injections from abroad but by local companies that are already in the country and that decided to reinvest the profits that are made here rather than returning them to the country of origin.

This situation is described in OECD as a general trend by which a large part of the Mexican FDI was made up of profits reinvested by the same companies that were operating here. The sectors in which this situation is seen would be manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and electronics. In all of these, Mexico continues to be very competitive as a production and export platform and is the main destination of large companies.

Mexico’s FDI and other countries

In this sense, the OECD report showed that this process is not something unique to Mexico, since in other economies of similar size, it is also notable that the main driver of investment has been the profit reinvestment by the companies themselves. Germany and France are OECD members, where these figures would be more important in relative terms. In this case, it is noteworthy that the German economy, and even France to a lesser extent, has registered better FDI figures than Mexico.

For the OECD member countries, global FDI increased by 8% to USD 249 billion in the first six months of 2025. According to the OECD, most of the FDI increases in 2025 resulted from intra-company loans, or intercompany lending within multinational groups of companies. Reinvested profits also made a significant contribution, especially in Mexico, Germany, and France.

On the other hand, total cross-border M&A values declined in both developed and emerging markets. Fewer transactions were carried out in each case compared to the previous year. While developed market M&A activity softened somewhat, that of emerging markets was particularly affected. M&A activity in these markets also tends to be more sensitive to financial conditions, commodity prices, and exchange rates.

As the OECD itself points out, some sectors have registered positive peaks. Among them, investment in green technologies in advanced economies, with investments in clean energy, electric vehicles, and charging infrastructure, or infrastructure for the development of artificial intelligence, is reaching record levels. However, these peaks are still limited given the drop in FDI inflows into new projects around the world.

OECD’s Outbound FDI

The OECD data reveal that between these organizations’ member countries, outbound foreign direct investment fell 19% during the first half of 2025. The sharpest declines in overseas investments were recorded in Canada, Australia, and Sweden, according to OECD data, which cited weaker domestic savings and changes in corporate investment priorities as a result of market uncertainties. In contrast, France was the only other major developed economy to increase its outbound FDI in the first half of 2025.

The OECD report indicated that Japan was the world’s largest source of FDI during the first half of 2025, with USD 64 billion invested abroad. It was followed by France, with USD 49 billion. Third place in the world’s major economies’ FDI sources was for the United States with USD 26 billion. The report also noted that Japanese corporations have continued to expand abroad despite the higher cost of financing and lower domestic growth. This is due to their long-term strategic planning horizon.

Mexico maintains a favorable long-term FDI performance

As the OECD itself notes, Mexico foreign direct investment data shows that the economy’s good performance in this indicator in the short, medium, and long term will be maintained. In this sense, a context such as the current one, with a greater desire on the part of large companies to maintain or increase investments in the countries where they are located, will only have a positive impact on Mexico. This is because these companies have in the national space a geographically strategic location, with excellent infrastructure and a wide network of free trade agreements that allow them to supply not only their main market but also other destinations.

For Mexico, factors such as its location, the value of free trade agreements or the vast number of people with a good academic and professional training have been determining factors to ensure a high performance in terms of receiving foreign direct investment. In addition, the work carried out in recent years in infrastructure or energy has been another key element. The prudent management of macroeconomic policy, with monetary and fiscal policies that have allowed, among other things, to contain inflation expectations in a context of global shocks, has been another characteristic that has allowed Mexico to remain a safe haven for investors.