The relevance of the state involvement in the face of a sustainable and socially inclusive economic strategy in Mexico, the case of its south-southeast region as a likely socially inclusive and sustainable regional development pole in the country

Abstract

Mexico’s South-southeastern region (here on ‘Macrosouth’) has traditionally been lagged and impoverished vis-á-vis Mexico’s northern and center region, which comprise, altogether, the so-called ‘Macronorth’ (encompassing northern, northwestern, western, and center regions). With the sole exception of highly private investment concentration on the Mayan Riviera of touristic nature, the rest of the ‘Macrosouth’ region (encompassing the Gulf of Mexico, South-pacific and Southeastern region) and its states down to the Gulf of Mexico and South Pacific region have remained isolated and disconnected from the Riviera bonanza zone, featuring better living standards, high economic growth, and better employment opportunities.

Under this framework and the emergence of a new democratic leftwing government in Mexico with strong social support and commitment to promoting a balanced regional development throughout the country, under a socially inclusive strategy it results explainable its emphasis granted on fostering a balanced regional development, under a socially inclusive strategy, its decision to earmark mammoth public productive investments toward the referred region, such as the Mayan Train and the Mexican Corridor (Dos Bocas Refinery in Tabasco state) all of them immersed in the same Macroregion aiming to paralleling foster economic growth and well-being within this region and diminishing the prevailing asymmetric gap between North and South.

Although the unprecedented public investments channelized so far into the Macrosouth are expected to promote an economic bonanza in this region, there is no guarantee whatsoever that such growth will render seamlessly and simultaneously a socially inclusive and sustainable development in such a region for the coming years as conceived by Mexico´s ongoing economic strategy. Under this context, the article aims to highlight some remarks and challenges ahead to overcome to implement a socially inclusive and sustainable regional strategy in this Macroregion in the coming years and the role of the State as an unavoidable key agent in attaining a balanced, socially inclusive and a sustainable approach in such region.