Mexico

The introduction of the Popular Health Insurance Scheme (Seguro Popular de Salud, SPS) in 2003 redefined Mexico’s health sector by providing public coverage, albeit limited, to half of the population, which previously had no protection. In a little more than a decade since the introduction of the SPS, Mexico has made vast strides in extending...

Generating revenues of $13.6bn in 2012, Mexico’s pharmaceutical industry is among the 15 largest in the world, second only to Brazil ($16bn) in Latin America. According to ProMéxico, the country’s investment promotion agency, the pharmaceutical industry accounts for 1.2% of GDP, 7.2% of manufacturing GDP and generates 80,000 direct and 300,000...

Attracting 1m medical tourists in 2013, Mexico has claimed the number two spot in the global medical tourism industry, behind only Thailand (1.2m). According to the Ministry of Tourism (Secretaría de Turismo, SECTUR), the industry reached $2.84bn in revenues, prompting the current administration to define a strategy to improve the country’s...

Although it has a number of free trade agreements (FTAs), Mexico’s diversification of export markets has been slow. In 2013, five countries – the US, Japan, Canada, Venezuela and Guatemala – accounted for 84.7% of Mexico’s agrifood exports. In the past few years, diversification efforts have for the most part been directed at penetrating...