A one year of the government of Joaquín Díaz Menathe Yucatan economy has not shown clear signs of evolution or structural transformation, says the economist Gabriel Alejandro Rodríguez Cedillodoctor in Government and Public Administration.
Interviewed about his assessment of the Huacho Díaz government, which turned one year old on October 1, the specialist said: rate a 6 in economic material.
For the academic, the entity maintains a “natural inertia” in its economic developmentwithout significant advances or measures that boost its internal dynamism.
“Yucatán maintains a certain natural inertia in economic matters. It is not an economy that has disruptive variations that allow it to expand its capabilities,” says the coordinator of the International Trade degree at the Autonomous University of Yucatán.
The economy of Yucatán, dependent on the federal government
Rodríguez Cedillo describes the Yucatecan economy as “incrementalist”, gradual and highly dependent on the federal budget and external dynamism.
According to him, the growth observed in recent years was strongly influenced by federal investments, such as those destined for Maya Trends and road infrastructure.
“Today we are barely reaching 2% growth. Clearly this shows us that this federal investment created dynamism”
Gabriel Alejandro Rodríguez Cedillo
Without these stimuli, he emphasizes, the local economy returns to its normal dynamics, that is, a slow growth, no internal drive nor local market activation policies.
Yucatán, with a weak economy in the first year of Joaquín Díaz Mena
“Really, what we are seeing in this first year of government, to call it this way and put a time period of the current administration, is a economy that returned to its normal, incremental, weak dynamicswith weaknesses and dependent.”
Regarding the foreign investmentsays that Yucatán remains an attractive destination, although the reasons that make it desirable are not necessarily sustainable.
“They are companies that require a lot of labor. And obviously there is not much job offer here, so this leads them to say, as a natural consequence, labor is cheap”, explains the economist.
Another factor that attracts these companies is the facilities granted by governments state and municipal subsidies, such as energy subsidies, land, and the absence of strict labor regulations.
“The government, in its inability to generate an infrastructure that amplifies economic activity, resorts to making it easier for companies to establish themselves,” he points out.
However, this dependence on foreign investment could face obstacles, such as rising energy pricesa product of the disorderly growth of real estate development and intensive local demand, as well as the competition for land between the industry and the real estate sector.
“We are already seeing it with the power failures. We are not an industrial statebut we are bringing a lot of people from outside and growing extensively”
About whether the tourism strategies have paid off in investments, the doctor points out that, despite the attention that tourism receives in official discourse, its contribution to the state’s Gross Domestic Product remains limited.
Failures in the economic policy of Yucatán
“We have a bad economic policy in Yucatán because we put tourism as a predominant sector, but it is among the sixth or seventh place in contribution,” says Rodríguez Cedillo.
The academic highlights that many strategies in the tourism sector have focused on promotional campaigns with novel names, without real innovation in products or infrastructure.
“Promote what we already promote, repromote with different name… they really are name changes to do the same thing,” he warns.
And he mentions as an example that there has already been talk of “Mayan Sanctuary”, “Tourism Capital”, “Cultural Capital”, etc.
“I mean, they really are name changes to do the same because we have the same products, we have the same infrastructure.”
They see “error” in the growth of tourism infrastructure
“The hotel infrastructure is growing, but the leisure and entertainment infrastructure is the same. There there is a mistake in this logicit has to be the entertainment infrastructure first and then the hotel infrastructure,” he explains.
Furthermore, he continues, tourism faces new challenges such as increase in price of Méridawhich has discouraged national tourism, while international tourism often depends on the flow from Cancun.
“We have taken tourism as a cutting-edge sector, which also has low added value, and everything we have done in terms of promoting that sector has been based on a promotional logic.”
Economist points out that Yucatán does not have its own economic policy
In tax matters, Rodríguez Cedillo considers that the State continues to depend on the federal allocationwithout its own economic policy to support local reindustrialization.
By 2026, the economist anticipates that the state government hopes that federal projects such as the branch of the Mayan Train and the new high port in Progress.
Regarding the labor market, Dr. Rodríguez Cedillo highlights that informality It plays an important social and economic function in Yucatán, by preventing unemployment from increasing and containing poverty.
“Informality must be see it from a perspective of how it contributes to the economy. “It contributes more than what remains,” he maintains.
There is a lack of work incentives in Yucatán
For the specialist, the problem of informality is not only a lack of benefits, but lack of income and incentives labor.
“The labor market in Yucatán doesn’t have many incentives. The only incentive is that you will not be unemployed and you will have a secure income. What size? Well, whatever there is”
Economist rates Joaquín Díaz Mena’s first year with a 6
Questioned about his evaluation of the first year of government of Díaz Mena, the specialist gives him “a 6”.
“We would be talking about we have not done anything in economic matters. “I would fail the Huacho government or we would pass it with a 6,” he says bluntly.
“I think that number 6 would be good, because At least he hasn’t left the pending tasks attended to. that have been left by past administrations.”
“It has managed the residuals of the federal government and the last administration, but has not been active in building infrastructure that expands capacity.”
“The rescue is that there are real estate developments, but that does not correspond to it…, We give it a rating of six”, he emphasizes.
What needs to be improved in the government of Joaquín Díaz Mena?
In his opinion, the Díaz Mena administration has lived from investment delays past, without proposing a clear vision of development.
To improve the rating, consider urgent serve key economic sectors such as technology and agroindustrial, historically neglected areas.
“Yucatán has agricultural potential, I don’t know why we haven’t had an agricultural plan. agroindustrial economic policy “It would be an important element.”
Rodríguez Cedillo highlights that Yucatán faces an uncertain economic future if it does not redefine its productive course and reduce its dependence on the outside world and the federal budget.
For the specialist, without structural measures that aim to expand internal productive capacity, the State runs the risk of remaining anchored in a passive, dependent economy with low added value.