Economics

Mexico’s Economy Just Fell the Most Since 2009. The Worst Is Yet to Come

  • GDP contracts 1.6% in first quarter, below the -1.4% estimate
  • Economists see 6.7% drop this year, worse than Tequila Crisis

Workers from the Municipal Civil Protection Unit disinfect outside a restaurant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on April 28.

Photographer: Mauricio Palos/Bloomberg
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Mexico’s economy suffered its deepest contraction in over a decade during the first quarter, and the recession is expected to intensify amid a shutdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Gross domestic product in the three months through March fell 1.6% compared to the previous quarter, according to preliminary data. The result, the worst since the first quarter of 2009, came in below the median estimate for a 1.4% drop from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.