MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s 2022 budget is forecasting economic growth of 4.1% for next year, as Latin America’s second largest economy continues to recover from a COVID-19-induced slump, Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O said on Wednesday.
Mexico in 2020 suffered its steepest recession in almost 90 years as the pandemic hit across sectors of the economy, with gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by some 8.5%.
The government this year expects to make up most, but not all of the ground lost, as export activity and the spillover effects of massive economic stimulus spending in the United States, Mexico’s top trade partner, help to drive a recovery.
Presenting the new budget to Congress, minister Ramirez de la O said the plan would focus on the well-being of Mexicans, financial stability and support for regional development, reiterating that no new taxes would be created.
The peso was little moved after the initial presentation, trading broadly flat against the dollar.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; Editing by Dave Graham)
