Mexico Businesses See Drug Violence As Bigger Threat Than U.S. Downturn

Mexican business leaders are growing increasingly concerned about violence tied to drug cartels, saying it’s the biggest threat to the economy, a survey by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu showed.

The impact of violence is the biggest threat to the economy according to 57 percent of executives, up from 49 percent in March and 22 percent in December 2009, said the June 7-29 poll of 381 Mexican business leaders released today. The second-most cited concern was a U.S. economic slowdown.

“The U.S. economic situation and political discord in our country have lost importance in the view of executives as the main threat for the economic development of Mexico,” Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu said.

Almost 25,000 people have been killed in fighting among gangs, the police and the army since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006, fueling a debate about whether his strategy of taking on narcotics traffickers has failed. The government estimates violence shaves 1 percentage point from gross domestic product each year.

Latin America’s second-biggest economy is recovering from its worst contraction since 1932, after shrinking 6.5 percent last year. The central bank forecasts the economy will grow as much as 5 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adriana Lopez in Mexico City at adrianalopez@bloomberg.net; Jonathan J. Levin in Mexico City at jlevin20@bloomberg.net

• Tweet
• More
  • Business Exchange
  • Buzz up!
  • Digg
• Print
• Email