Author: OECD.org - Mexico

Mexico’s river basins are under severe water stress. The quality of rivers, lakes and aquifers is declining and floods, droughts, and hurricanes are more frequent. These are some of the alerts signaled in OECD’s Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico.

Mexico is faced with difficult trade-offs as it pursues its economic, social and environmental goals. Like other emerging economies Mexico is balancing the need to protect its natural resources with the need to address high levels of income inequality and poverty.

Following the delivery of the Strategy in May 2011, green growth will be mainstreamed in OECD analytical work to enrich guidance on a number of country, sector and issue-specific areas. This will involve integrating green growth considerations in Economic Surveys, Environmental Performance Reviews and Innovation Reviews.

In Latin American and Caribbean countries the population is growing faster than the world average, intensifying land use and increasing urbanisation. The region is also prone to the negative impact of climate change and natural disasters, putting further pressure on natural resources.

En países latinoamericanos, la población crece a un ritmo mayor que el promedio mundial, lo cual intensifica el uso de la tierra y aumenta la urbanización. La región también es propensa a los impactos negativos del cambio climático y de los desastres naturales.

Tax revenues in Latin American countries are lower as a proportion of their national incomes than in most OECD countries, but are rising slowly. Revenue Statistics in Latin America shows that the average tax revenue to GDP ratio in the 15 Latin American countries covered by the report increased from 19% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2010, after falling from a high point of 19.7% in 2008.

G20 Finance Ministers have welcomed a new OECD/G20 framework designed to help governments develop financial strategies for disaster risk management.

The Secretary-General presents the key findings and recommendations from the OECD’s new report on “Strengthening Evidence-Based Policymaking on Security and Justice In Mexico”.

The Secretary-General will be in Mexico from 1st to 6th November to attend the meetings of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, where he will intervene on various issues, notably on the Global Economy and Framework and on the International Financial Architecture.

On October 18, Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto ended his European tour with a visit to OECD headquarters in Paris where he delivered a keynote address on Mexico’s challenges and its role in a changing global landscape, followed by a press conference with the Secretary-General.