Mexican Business Investment Sentiment Falls Below Pandemic Levels

Mexico City — Mexican business leaders’ willingness to invest has plummeted to its lowest level since records began, falling below the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data from Coparmex, the country’s largest employers’ organization.

Data Coparmex, released Aug. 27, shows only 23% of business owners consider the current environment a good time to invest in Mexico. That represents a drop of 16.5 percentage points from the previous survey, when the indicator stood at 39.5%.

In other words, just two in 10 business leaders see favorable conditions for channeling funds into new investments.

The figures are even more striking when compared with the pandemic years. In 2020, when the economy faced one of its most difficult periods, the investment climate index reached 37% — 14 percentage points higher than the level recorded in the first half of 2026.

After the pandemic, the indicator showed a strong recovery and remained above 50% between 2021 and 2023. But in 2024 and 2025, it slipped back to around 39%.

Uncertainty and insecurity dampen investment

Angel Garcia-Lascuráin, Coparmex’s national vice president for economic development, said the main obstacle cited by business leaders is economic uncertainty, named by 25.2% of respondents. Insecurity follows at 20.9%, political uncertainty at 16.6%, and high input costs at 9%.

The findings reflect growing caution across the business sector, which is navigating an environment marked by doubts over the economy, political conditions, and trade pressures from the United States, particularly around the future of the USMCA trade agreement.

Nayarit, Colima and Guerrero among the most pessimistic

The mood is even more negative in several states. The lowest investment sentiment is in Nayarit, at just 12.5%, meaning about one in 10 business leaders there sees favorable conditions.

It is followed by Colima at 13.3%, Guerrero at 14.8%, Yucatán at 17.9%, Baja California at 18.1%, and Sinaloa at 18.3%.

The results show that business caution is not an isolated phenomenon but a perception that extends across different regions of the country, with some states’ investment sentiment well below the national average.