Distant neighbors

Mexico and Central America are neighbors who share a common culture.

Even so, they have yet to realize their joint potential in economic terms.

It’s true that Mexican companies have a strong presence in Central America. They include Carlos Slim’s América Móvil in telecom, Mexichem and Grupo Kuo in petrochemicals, Elektra in retail and finance, the Cinépolis cinema chain, SuKarne in the meat trade, Cemex in construction materials, and Gruma with its flour mills.

Several Central American companies have Mexican investments including Pantaleon in sugar, Grupo Karim’s in textiles and apparel, and the chain of La Riviera duty-free stores.

But total investment volumes are low, as is bilateral commerce.

Mexico sells only 5 percent of its exports to its southern neighbors.

Almost everything goes to the United States.

The main market for Central American countries is the United States, followed by the internal market and Europe.