Emergent Vulnerability in Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America: The Case of Mexico

摘要

Over recent decades, Latin America has seen its position in the world order erode. Its share of total world exports has significantly declined. A broad opening to foreign investment has economically depressed many local initiatives, and the region's economic growth is now largely dependent upon foreign capital. Nevertheless, an incipient trend has become established that reflects a change in preference for foreign capital destinations, shaped by the degree to which a science-technology base is present. This draws attention to the fact that tax facilities, proximity to markets, and cheap labor are insufficient factors to guarantee the cycle of capital, since what stands out is the outgoing transfer of the innovation activity itself. Latin American governments have done little to build an attractive science-technology platform that could allow our countries to join these rapidly growing chains of commodity production. This ultimately suggests that greater exclusion is to be expected. In this article, the case of Mexico is highlighted as an example of these trends.