Infrastructure and Energy Plans to Boost Growth in Mexico

Mexican GDP will "accelerate" towards 4.3% next year, partly because of infrastructure and energy plans detailed by the government this week, analysts say. Enrique Peña Nieto's administration put forward secondary legislation on energy reform to the Mexican senate on Wednesday, spelling out the fine print of plans set out last year. That followed the government's unveiling of a MXN7.75trn ($596bn) four-year infrastructure investment plan earlier in the week. The infrastructure package calls for 70% more investment - from private and public sources - than that under a similar plan by the previous administration. It was well-received by markets, with analysts describing it as "substantial" and "ambitious". "[The plan] should go a long way to ensuring that the economy is Latin America's relative out performer over the coming years," David Rees, emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note on Thursday. "As such, we continue to expect GDP growth to accelerate from last year's disappointing 1.1% towards 4.3% next year."