Carlos Slim Helú has announced US$5 billion investment for Mexico.
Mexico City, May 26, 2026
Carlos Slim Helú, Honorary and Life Chairman of Grupo Carso and América Móvil, held his traditional annual press conference to discuss Mexico's economic outlook, investments, inflation, housing, and the country's infrastructure challenges.
During the meeting with the media, the businessman emphasized that Mexico is experiencing favorable conditions to accelerate its economic growth, and acknowledged that wage increases represent an opportunity to reduce poverty and bring more people into employment and productive activity.
Mr. Slim also endorsed the federal government's efforts to contain inflation through mechanisms maintaining gasoline prices stable, also underlining that the country needs to strengthen investment in highway, water, and energy infrastructure to boost national development.
The honorary chairman of Grupo Carso also warned about low oil production and Pemex's financial challenges, while highlighting the government's efforts to facilitate investment by reducing red tape and implementing a one-stop shop for strategic projects.
Press Conference Eng. Carlos Slim Helú
Carlos Slim Helú: Good afternoon, it’s a pleasure… and well, the intention is to talk about the country, about investment, about what happened many years ago, and about what’s happening now.
The part I’d like to start with, very quickly, is simply a brief outline, a reminder, because I think I’ve mentioned it before, that during the Great Depression in the 1930s in the US, there were consequences all over the world; and those consequences in Mexico were very significant.
You may recall that the American economy, apart from the Stock Exchange, experienced a major crash in October 1929. This was followed by a crisis; so, in a way, with the market crash, values fell substantially. Here the economy collapsed, the economy was very bad throughout the 1930s.
In 1934, Roosevelt tried to improve the situation through some activities, somewhat forced investments, but it didn’t work either. The US economy, and of course the world economy, remained in very bad shape until 1938 and 1939.
Then came World War II, and obviously, during World War II, which was a very intense war, all factories had to be put to work. Factories manufactured weapons and a thousand other things; and at that time Mexico was very active, also producing in its factories.
What happened was that, around 1932, a general, who was also a leader in Congress, named General Rafael Melgar, proposed, established, and insisted on promoting a nationalist campaign, which was called "the Nationalist Campaign." That’s from around 1932, the Nationalist Campaign, and its message was: "Consume what the country produces." It was a very important time for promoting the country and encouraging the consumption of Mexican-made products.
This program was very intensive. There was a partnership or collaboration with the National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, which joined the project, the program, along with the legislative and executive branches. Overall, it was a very important campaign carried out in Mexico in 1932.
This led to several decisions. For example, reducing imports and increasing exports, and a series of economic decisions, including import substitution, also from that era. And a major industrialization began—a substantial industrialization. In this promotion of industry, greater importance was given to industry than to commerce, which was very important; commerce was very important, but it also relied heavily on imports that had been going on for many years.
So, the industrialization of the country also began. Investment began standing out, and Mexico began experiencing significant economic growth in 1933. From 1933 to 1981, a period of 49 years, Mexico grew at a rate of 6.2%. It had a very large growth rate of 6.2%, but at the same time, there was also a significant population growth.
The population at that time was around 15 or 18%. The population, approximately, before the Revolution, was around 15%; during the Revolution, many people died, many people left the country, and the Mexican population decreased. It recovered, and by the late 1930s or 1940s, we were approximately 20 million, 18 or 20 million. And the population also began growing considerably; many people came from rural areas to join urban areas. That’s how cities grew, Mexico City and in other states.
Mexico City, at that time, was relatively small, especially the downtown area, where almost the majority of the population lived. There were many other areas experiencing development, dating back to pre-Hispanic times, such as Texcoco, Coyoacán, Tlalpan, Tacubaya, and Azcapotzalco. There was a large population, and Mexico City began to grow significantly.
So, well, that growth was very significant, and above all, there were some very impactful years in Mexico, from 1958 to 1970. We had a great Secretary of Finance, named Antonio Ortiz Mena. The economy grew at 6.8%, from 1958 to 1970, with an inflation rate of 2.2%. Inflation was perhaps even slightly lower than in the US, and we grew at 6.8%.
The previous six years had also seen very good growth, under the Ruiz Cortines administration. Those six years saw very strong growth, but there was a devaluation; the peso went from 8.65 pesos to 12.50. That was in 1954. Interestingly, it devalued a little during Holy Week, and every year before Holy Week, everyone bought dollars or believed that the peso would devalue every year. The Mexican peso had 22 years without devaluation, which, as I say, was worth 12.50.
Then, two more governments came in. The Echeverría administration had economic inertia, and with President López Portillo, there was substantial growth because oil production was boosted.
In Mexico, it’s remarkable; oil production was remarkable, and the oil price was also remarkable. Oil was heavily penalized because the infamous Seven Sisters were buying it from manufacturers, from oil producers, at a very low price. I think it was around three dollars in 1973. And it rose to 40 dollars during those years, before falling a little, then substantially, in the 80s.
Here, oil production was: under López Mateos, 290,000 barrels; under Díaz Ordaz, 370,000 barrels; under Echeverría, 570,000 barrels; Under López Portillo, production was 1,800,000 barrels per day. With De La Madrid, Salinas de Gortari, Zedillo, but especially with Presidents Fox and Calderón, 3,200,000 barrels of oil were being produced daily. This was a significant source of income; for example, under López Mateos, $1.8 billion USD; under Díaz Ordaz, $2.4 billion; under Echeverría, $10 billion; and under López Portillo, $100 billion USD.
From López Portillo onward, oil production was high, and the price of oil was also high. At that time, as I mentioned, oil was worth three dollars per barrel; but under President López Portillo, the average price was $25.80 per barrel. Oil prices dipped somewhat, but during Calderón’s presidency, especially at the end of Fox’s term, and during Enrique Peña Nieto and López Obrador’s presidencies, and currently, oil is valued at around $60 or $70 per barrel. Now that we’re seeing this tragedy of wars becoming almost commonplace, the exchange rate has gone to $115, $100, etc., etc.
Well, oil production was very important during those times; but, going back to the past. We grew at 6.2% for 49 years. Then came a crisis in ‘82, which had effects from ‘81-’82, when there was high inflation in the US, double-digit inflation that was very serious. The US had double-digit inflation, and the head of the Federal Reserve, unfortunately, made very radical decisions there, and raised the interest rate in dollars to 20%, 21%. So, the interest rate that, for example, is currently at three, four, or five percent, was raised to 21%.
And, obviously, all the debtor countries, like Mexico, had gone into debt… Mexico’s debt had increased significantly. Besides the $100 billion in oil revenue, and despite the rise in oil prices, income, and production, the debt rose to $50 billion. I mean, we had to pay $10 billion a year in interest… $10 billion a year. This, in all countries that had some debt, caused a major external debt crisis starting around 1982, which greatly hampered the country’s situation throughout De la Madrid’s administration, because there was no credit available, the country was heavily indebted, and it didn’t have the capacity to pay those $10 billion. But it wasn’t just Mexico; it was many countries, especially developing countries, that had to pay these large amounts of interest, in the 20-something percent range, in dollars.
So, that stage passed, and unfortunately, from then on, in Mexico, for 44 years—that is, from 1982 onward—the first six years were very difficult—there was no access to external credit; there were limitations of many kinds. Then that was finally lifted in 1989, and the country began experiencing significant economic activity; however, Mexico’s growth during those years was less than 1.9%. During those years, and to this day, it remains less than 1.9%. This less than 1.9% was accompanied by population growth of more than 1.5; meaning that growth in per capita income, per person, was 0.35, less than 0.4%. In other words, income was less than 0.4%.
I believe that, based on these difficult years—and there were many years; well, some were years of very high income and good economic activity—we didn’t know what was happening to those resources, because in one administration, revenue was $230 billion USD, and in the next, $466 billion USD in oil revenue alone. The following year, it was $304 billion USD and $251 billion USD. In other words, we had a huge income from oil, a huge income, because we had three million barrels a day.
So, in brief, during all those years, the total income per capita rose by only 0.30%, which is very low. And, unfortunately, there has been a significant reduction in the number of employed people who have had to leave or who have gone to the US to work. There is a estimate of 35 to 40 million Mexicans in the US, some without proper documentation, others who, although having complied with necessary times and authorizations, have faced problems.
We know, we see, that the current US government has been harsh with everyone, including some families, breaking them up, etc. But, at the same time, they have a great need for Mexico. They have a great need for Mexico because in the US, the vast majority of the population works in the service sector. They’re no longer in industry, they’re no longer industrial workers, and almost all of them, the vast majority, are in services. And a good percentage are joining the technology sector; they’re preparing for it; they’re working in it. And, as you know, they invented the transistor, but then all that work went to China and Taiwan, etc., etc., and now it’s back in the US.
And, in general, what the US has is a very, very limited, weak industry because it’s no longer competitive. For example, in the automotive industry, it’s not very competitive; but, above all, for example, in the steel industry, where they were major leaders in the golden age of US industry, and now their costs are very high, their hours are short, and they’re not competitive. That’s why you may have heard President Trump mention a 50% tariff on steel imports, and they did the same with copper and other products.
Well, that’s the big issue, the story in pictures. It’s history, but looking at things now, although some are pessimistic and believe we’re in bad conditions, as we do have some problems. One of them, perhaps the most important, is the significant drop in oil production and the situation at Pemex.
The situation at Pemex and the drop in oil production. I was talking about 3,200,000 barrels, right? That’s 3,270,000 barrels per day for six years, during the Fox administration; 2,900,000 barrels under Zedillo; 2,580,000 under De la Madrid—those are fantastic numbers! Right now, we’re talking about, maybe, I don’t know, one and a half million, one million six hundred million, I don’t know exactly how much… Let’s say it’s one and a half million barrels, well, that’s extremely low compared to what it should be.
At this moment, with the barrel price at $100, and $90, and $105, and $110, obviously the ones who are greatly favored are the US. The US, I don’t know how many barrels, but we’re talking about 14 million barrels a day, and probably more; then they have exports or sales of 1,800,000 barrels a day of diesel. We know they have many refineries for gasoline.
So, they’re using enormous amounts, and in addition to that, you know that one of the countries with the most, or probably the country with the most oil resources is Venezuela; but from producing 4 million barrels at one time, it dropped to 600,000 barrels; That’s why it was in those circumstances. It dropped to 600,000 barrels, and I think it had risen by about 800,000; they say it was already at 1,200,000 barrels, meaning their production has increased very quickly. So, we’re seeing very strong activity in that regard, given the major crisis we’re experiencing.
Well, this is a historical overview with some insight into the current situation. I believe Mexico is returning to very important potential conditions to resume its intense growth, its greater growth, let’s say, a growth rate no longer at 1.5% as it was before. And, speaking of per capita growth, in Mexico one could think that, given the significant drop in the birth rate—and a large part resulting from of that drop—many people have left their communities. In the rural sector, a high birth rate was previously essential so that the whole family could work: children, women, young women, etc. But now, there has been a huge growth in the urban area, because before, for example, an example I saw a few years ago in the US, the rural area was 70-something percent of the population and then it became 2% or 3%.
In Mexico, we also have significant urban growth. And women, increasingly under these conditions, have higher levels of education and employment. Therefore, typically, children are born later in life, there are fewer children, etc.; population growth is lower. And it’s very interesting, for example, in all our scholarship programs at universities, especially at UNAM, there are more women than men, in every program; we’re talking about professional studies, there are more women than men.
So, what is the current situation in Mexico? We have a large number of trained women and men. We have a large number of excellent workers; and when they go to work in the US, we see how they progress; how the large American industries in Mexico seek them out. They are very efficient workers, we know them, we have many of them working here, working very well. And there is potential to create more jobs and generate more economic activity, which I’ll discuss later.
So, in terms of the capacity and skill level of Mexican workers, it’s among the highest in many places. In Latin America, I think there are other places with great capacity as well, but in Mexico, the work ethic is remarkable, and the good thing is that it’s being leveled out, that this is starting to be linked to higher minimum wage increases, as is happening; and as has been promoted, and as the business sector is also supporting better income levels. And that also has a very important effect, and has had and will increasingly have, on the socioeconomic level of the population.
It’s very important that the government’s figure of 40 to 50 million people living in poverty is substantially reduced, and even more that those in extreme poverty are included; but that these people are incorporated into education, into work, especially employment, with access to healthcare, etc. This integration becomes very important because it’s not just about supporting the population in that situation, but about integrating them into the economy, into the domestic market, into the national economy, which makes the economy bigger.
It’s different to have 50 million people in that situation than for those 50 million to become integrated into economic activity, into employment, into work, into education, and into having good incomes. That’s an extraordinary potential we have, and we have to develop it. Wages have been improving, and we’re already at increasingly adequate levels, and work is how that can be complemented.
So, we’re talking about the current situation. One is that there are a large number of people available or in need of work, and on the one hand, there’s a need to work, and on the other hand, it’s beneficial for people to be working, to be able to enter the workforce.
Other things that I see as very positive are, for example, the efforts the president has made to control inflation. That has been very important, controlling inflation; because controlling inflation prevents it from spiraling out of control and further impacting those with the least resources, or those with a certain income level, because inflation affects them and they lose characteristics or way of life associated with that lower inflation; so, it’s being curbed.
The most remarkable way the president is curbing it is through gasoline. Gasoline prices have risen in the US, and in many parts of the world due to the increase in oil prices. Here, through the existing gasoline tax, the IEPS, she is trying to keep gasoline prices stable. Because gasoline has many effects on public transportation, on transportation in general; it greatly affects all these things. And it has inflationary effects, which is somewhat what the US is trying to curb; but it’s very difficult, if this lasts for many months, to put a stop to gasoline prices as they are doing here.
So, she’s very careful with gasoline, or rather with inflation everywhere, and to protect family spending, to ensure it’s at a certain level and that supermarkets respect it, or accept it, that they agree with it, and that in the morning press conferences they say which stores, where they are selling the family package at one price, at another, all of that is very important.
But on the other hand, it’s also important, from a different business perspective, that the interest rate is at 6.5%. That’s very... well, I would say, I don’t recall interest rates at 6.5% and falling. I mean, the interest rate is at 6.5%, and back in the times of 6.8% economic growth under Ortiz Mena, the López Mateos administration, and Díaz Ordaz, the interest rate at which you could buy demand bonds and such was 9%, with inflation at 2.5%; meaning there was a real return. Today, with inflation of 4% or 4.5%, it’s at 6.5%, meaning the real rate is there, there’s only a 2% additional cost. Back then it was 9% versus 2.5%, and that means that this low interest rate is greatly encouraging investment.
Because what does someone—a company, a business owner, or an individual—prefer? To invest their savings or resources at 6.5% interest, or to invest them in a business project that will yield 12%, 15%, etc.? This makes it easy to think that there is sufficient or a lot of capital available for investment. This is the investment, instead of investing at 6.5%, invest in development, industrial development, and so on.
But there’s also the money in the banks. Mexican banks only have, I think, about 37% of GDP financed. When you look at Brazil, how much do they have? I think 80% or something. In other words, Mexico is one of the countries where banks have the lowest amount of financing as a percentage of GDP. That means they invest very little in business financing and such.
Unidentified voice: 70 to 75
Carlos Slim Helú: In Brazil? And here? Unidentified voice: About 40.
Carlos Slim Helú: 40%, and 70 or 75 in Brazil. That is, it’s very low. It means that if industrial investment, business investment in general, or the construction of everything we need to do—for example, in the real estate sector, in the industrial sector, in the infrastructure sector—starts… That’s very important; the infrastructure sector is very behind, it creates a lot of jobs, as does housing.
I don’t know if you noticed that Infonavit, which hadn’t been functioning properly for many years, the financing rate that workers had through Infonavit, which was 2,200, 2 million 200 or something like that, has now gone up, I think, to 6,600,000 pesos. That’s the limit, the maximum.
Well, that means that previously, a worker who wanted a house could receive a 2-million-peso loan; today, a worker who wants a house can receive a 6-million-peso loan. So, that’s going to encourage building many houses. So, in the real estate sector, there’s a lot of housing construction. But I don’t know if you’ve noticed, they talk a lot about distribution centers. Many distribution centers are being built, like warehouses, and there, for example, commercial companies store their merchandise, consolidate their stock, and from there distribute it to various stores. For example, Walmart, Mercado Libre, Amazon, they distribute... they have their distribution areas, distribution centers.
So, there’s a huge real estate construction project underway. Because of that, as I was saying about housing... the current development, if you look around, for example, there are already many areas, there are thousands, hundreds of buildings, have you seen them everywhere? There will be hundreds of buildings over there in Interlomas, and what’s happening is that in my day, which was many years ago, people wanted to live in houses and not apartments, and now it’s the opposite, people want apartments. But also, if it weren’t for the buildings being constructed, the urban sprawl would reach all the way to Acapulco. I don’t know where it would be. Well, I exaggerated, to Cuernavaca, because if all this building construction were done horizontally, it would be enormous.
So, the growth in real estate investment in buildings and such is another issue. There’s also investment in commercial areas and commercial products.
Well, they’re also building hospitals and universities. You see, since there aren’t enough places to get into UNAM because so many people are applying, they go to the University of the Valley of Mexico, other universities, the University of Monterrey, and so on. From having just one university, like the Tec de Monterrey, now they have many universities.
Real estate construction is huge. I mentioned this before, and now we’re talking about infrastructure. Infrastructure is demanding a lot of labor, and that’s very good. It’s very good, first, because the country needs infrastructure, and second, because it’s a way to create a lot of jobs. So, those are two very important factors.
Now, where is the infrastructure problem? Well, everywhere. For example, you know that going to Querétaro is kind of complicated with the traffic. Well, we’re already building a highway to Querétaro, a section of the Querétaro highway, to open it in two ways. On the Arco Norte section, cars come from Puebla, from all over the southeast, from Interlomas, from everywhere, they go along the Arco Norte, and there will be a special highway there that will lead to Querétaro. All these kinds of things are urgent.
We have problems with water, we have problems with many, many things because of infrastructure. So, look, among other things, at the trains that are being built; gas pipelines and oil pipelines are being built for the oil industry; viaducts are being constructed in cities—the famous elevated highways—because traffic can no longer be managed horizontally. Viaducts are necessary to manage traffic. Aqueducts are also needed; many cities have problems with their water supply systems. Water treatment plants and desalination plants are also needed; waste management services, incinerators, and drilling rigs are required. In short, water management, including purification and upgrading urban water networks, is essential. Electricity generation—wind, hydroelectric, solar, combined cycle, and geothermal—is also crucial; as are transmission and distribution networks, which are behind schedule.
So, we have countless needs, and a low interest rate encourages the availability of funds to finance these projects. Therefore, what is needed here, and what is currently underway, is for us to get started on all of these things. For example, regarding oil, we need to produce oil, but we also need adequate refining and the gas that is so important, not only for combined cycle power plants, which we currently import, but also gas for the petrochemical industry, etc.
Construction, industrial development… So, I think I’ve already told you a lot of things; I don’t know if it’s better to go over them again. I forgot to mention that one very important thing has been… The president has placed investment almost at the top of her list, because without investment there are no jobs, no solutions to these issues. Things get delayed, there’s no maintenance, etc. So, a Council has been formed—I forgot, Paco, what’s it called?
Francisco Cervantes: National Investment Council.
Carlos Slim Helú: A National Investment Council, chaired by Francisco Cervantes, which was established by the President of the Republic, who invited us to participate and integrate it. We are a little over 20 people, business owners from Monterrey, Mexico, and various other places. The intention of this Council, which has already met a few times, is, first, to present what we are doing, what we are investing in, and what other investment alternatives exist beyond those we have already discussed. But also, since the meetings are with Secretaries of State, we want them to be aware of what is being done here and to request a simplification of procedures, facilities, institutions, etc., that complicate investment.
So, we are talking about a one-stop shop, for example, and the Government is being very careful to ensure that there is no obstruction to investment. On the contrary, what is being done is to promote investment, and that is the purpose of the one-stop shop, as I mentioned. And it’s been interesting because we’re not only discussing investment and the federal issue, but we’re also talking with the states, about making investments there, which are very important, and even with the municipalities. In these meetings, everyone brings up what they feel is holding them back, what to do, what to correct, and they’re very—how should I put it? —besides being direct, open, and cordial, they’ve been important because we’re already in the majority… in the last meeting, we already proposed, "I’m going to invest this much in such and such things." But other additional things come up because of this. I don’t know if you’d like to comment on anything, Paco?
Francisco Cervantes: As you rightly point out, Engineer, investments, I believe, are the most important thing, along with infrastructure. Investment infrastructure is what can level the playing field right now; especially at this very interesting time that Mexico is experiencing. Yes, it’s true, there are tensions, but investment—Mexico has the great capacity of having this Free Trade Agreement, where we have $2.2 billion USD in daily trade, and the technological aspect is underscoring this, already growing by 17%; and infrastructure, which is what drives the most branches of industry and, above all, generates employment. It drives branches of industry, branches of commerce, of services… So, I think that’s where we emphasize, and the facilitation of permits with the one-stop-shop system, the Mexico Plan, I think that’s the great opportunity for us to still be able to put Mexico on the route to significant growth.
Carlos Slim Helú: And the Free Trade Agreement, which was made in ‘94 with the US, and which is under discussion now, caused Mexico to export more to the US than it imports from the US. And that was because many American companies came and settled in Mexico. They came to set up in Mexico because the workforce is much more efficient, costs are lower, there are no American-style coffee breaks, and all that kind of thing. And so, Mexico’s trade surplus has been very important, which I think is around 250 billion USD.
But, also, one of the subsequent governments opened up to imports. So, many years ago, before the end of the last century, we imported a lot. I think we have a deficit of about 20 billion USD because we import so much from other countries. So, what’s being promoted here is also resolving the issue of import substitution, so that the excess of imports, which is enormous and gives us a trade deficit of about 270 billion USD, we start replacing those imports with domestic production.
And today, they’re talking about a 21% surplus, a 21% increase in exports against a 19% increase in imports. I think it’s one of the few times we’ve had an overall trade surplus. And I forgot to mention that in ‘33, back then, one of the criteria was to import less and export more to avoid capital flight, they said. So, what’s happening now is that there’s an attitude of imports substitution and less imports.
What the US is doing, if you can see it, is deliberately lowering the exchange rate; let’s say, devaluing the dollar. So, why did they make the dollar worth less and then add tariffs on top of that? It’s because the US is heavily indebted, around 39 trillion dollars, and it will probably end this year with around 39 or 40 trillion dollars in debt, about 1.3 times or more of its GDP.
The debt is among the largest, and not only is it among the largest, but it’s also growing. So, President Trump is suddenly tightening the screws with tariffs, etc., to discourage Americans from importing goods. What he’s trying to do is reduce imports and increase exports, so the US imports less and exports more. That’s a very important factor because, suppose the interest rate were 5%, it’s at three.
Unidentified voice. Three, in the US, yes, 3.60.
Carlos Slim Helú: Well, let’s say it was 5% and they owe 40 trillion dollars. They’re going to pay 2 trillion dollars in interest, which is a huge amount of money. Then they have armaments, which cost them, and budget allocated is such. So, they’re running a huge deficit due to the fiscal deficit. The debt is enormous, and that’s why they’re trying to curb it. That’s also why they’re trying to pay less interest and are fighting with the Secretary of the Central Bank—a new one has already been appointed – because inflation is higher than the interest rate. And so, they’re pushing for the rate—I think right now it’s lower than or equal to the interest rate and inflation—it’s around 13%... It could be that inflation is related to oil, because of what’s happening with oil, the increase in gasoline prices, I think the interest rate is below inflation. But, anyway, they’re being careful because they have a huge deficit, and that’s the problem in the US.
So, how does it look, for example, we had an investment plan, we’ve made it more aggressive, we’ve made it more aggressive because, as Paco was saying, we’re looking at the infrastructure issue, well, there’s a lot of work to be done. We have a company called Ideal, which has made large investments, it works exclusively in Mexico. Well, it turns out that in 12 years it hasn’t had any projects, or 14, I don’t remember exactly. And now it’s working on something, for example, it’s going to build the highway to Querétaro, it’s looking at viaducts, it’s looking at other kinds of things.
There, too, the work or facilities of the states or municipalities will be needed, the infrastructure that the State or the government has no resources to finance. We have to find mechanisms, through Banobras, for example, to provide support, like a guarantee, to the company that builds it. The company that builds it for free, a guarantee of a form of payment for the project.
So, there is a lot, a lot to be done. I think it will be noticeable next year, but if you want, we can start with the questions. I think they were longer than the first ones, but those are the questions. Thank you.
Yareth Arciniega from Fortuna Magazine. There is a very important difference in what you were saying earlier about oil production. The president has said many times that the objective of her government is not reaching large numbers of oil barrels, as was done in other administrations, but rather that she has limited it to approximately 1.8, in order not to overexploit the fields. Do you consider the sustainability program the president is trying to implement, this sustainability initiative, is more important than the economic growth oil production could bring to Mexico?
Carlos Slim Helú: Well, what I mentioned is essentially economic growth across the board. For example, it’s very important for infrastructure, housing, and construction because it generates a lot of jobs. Pemex doesn’t generate as many jobs; at Pemex, it’s about the value of the oil itself. Once the well is drilled, it’s time to extract, and extract oil.
What I think the president is saying, is that she wants to increase Pemex’s production to 1,800,000 barrels per day, which is a very good number. At that level of 1,800,000 barrels per day, Pemex would be in very good shape; but remember that during Peña Nieto’s administration, many international and even national companies participated in bidding processes. So, one thing is the oil that Pemex produces, which it urgently needs to start producing. I think what Pemex should do is concentrate on producing oil. The weak point of Pemex and the country—Pemex’s debts and all that, Pemex’s failure to pay—is because it has low production and a large structure with high costs and expenses. What it should do is produce oil.
Now, it would have been impressive if it had, for example, 2 million barrels, right now at $100. Fortunately, with the oil it has—I don’t know how much, probably 1.4 million, I don’t know, maybe 1.5 million or whatever—it’s selling it, valuing it at $100. So, it can absorb it. So, I think she’s thinking about having Pemex with 1.8 million barrels as soon as possible and with large reserves. I imagine that’s it.
Probably, if oil prices go up, production might decrease a little; or if prices go down, production goes up. I don’t know if I’m explaining myself well, to maintain... for example, if oil is at $80 and it drops to $60, well, maybe because they have reserves, production will increase. Do you understand? That way they can adjust.
Now, on the other hand, I’ll take the fact that you’re going to ask about that to say that in two years, in three years—I’m going to exaggerate, in two or three years—I think we’ll manage to produce about 1 million additional barrels. But, for example, we made an agreement with Pemex, which doesn’t have the resources to finance and pay for it, and for that reason, we made an agreement with Pemex to drill between 16 and 32 wells in a field called Ixachi, which is a fantastic production field. It currently has 30 wells, and how many in Chilaquil? 31 or 34? How many?
Chilaquil: 35
Carlos Slim Helú: My mistake, well… 35 wells. A little while ago, a few months ago, it had 28. There are 35 wells in that large field, and there are about 20 more to drill. Of those 35 wells, some produce 3,000 bbls, others 5,000 bbls. On average, how much do they produce? 5,000 bbls per day per well, and they also produce a lot of gas, so we have to take advantage of gas as well, because we can use all the oil; but we have to take better advantage of gas.
So, that field alone is going to produce about 200,000 bbls. In two years, there’s going to be a lot of investment in oil. There’s a lot of investment in oil, and it’s going to increase. I expect oil production, between private and public… to be around 800,000 bbls, I think. Because there is this well, there is a deepwater field that Australians are operating, they are starting to drill, which is about 2,500 meters deep.
We are partnered with an American company and a British company, as well as with the government and Pemex, in a field that is 180 meters deep, which was very difficult to access with fixed platforms. They were considering using a semi-submersible with anchors, and we expect to begin an initial production run of 60,000 barrels in a year and a half or a little more. That is, once we start working, we expect 1.5 million barrels, and I say in a year and a half, about 50,000 or 60,000 barrels. Then we plan to open other wells to reach production levels of 90,000 or 100,000 barrels in three or three and a half years.
Yareth Arciniega: Thank you very much, engineer.
Fernanda Celis from El CEO: Hello, good morning! Well, regarding this energy topic, I would like to ask, what projects are coming up through Carso, and also in the Pemex partnership? And on the other hand, there are several projects that have been awarded through Carso and América Móvil. I’d like to know if this is part of their close relationship with the government, or if there’s some benefit or advantage involved.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Does our close relationship with the government have anything to do with it? I don’t know what América Móvil has to do with it; I think you’re up to something else.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Oil?
Fernanda Celis from El CEO: xxx xxx xxx
Carlos Slim Helú: Look, América Móvil is a company that started as Telcel, which entered the market when two companies had already been operating for a year. When we acquired Telcel in ‘91, it only had 35,000 mobile phone customers. We made a proposal, which was public, a three-year project, a program to reach 200,000 customers. That was Telcel, and much larger was Iusacell, and the other one whose name I can’t remember. So, there were three of us competing. We were the last to enter the market, and we started with 35,000 customers. We had a three-year plan for 200,000. If I remember correctly, we reached about 220,000 or 230,000; that was in 1994. When the 1995 crisis hit—remember 1995, a very difficult time? —we came up with something that was very successful worldwide: prepaid calls. So, instead of people, who were struggling financially, having to pay a monthly fee, they bought cards with 20 or 50 calls, and they could buy what they wanted and talk as much as they wanted.
We took that from the public telephone system. We operated the public telephone system with prepaid cards; that’s why we made our telephony prepaid. Then, we started the project of making phones, very inexpensive phones, offering them at a very good price, so that people could buy phones very cheaply; they could have phones and buy the cards as they pleased.
So, the initial goal was to have a large number of telephones, and starting in ‘95 we began growing significantly. So much so that in the US we had a company with 130,000 customers, which we acquired about three years later, in ‘96, ‘97, and ‘98. It reached 25 million customers, and we sold it to Verizon, which was the one providing us with NBA know-how, etc.
So, the competitors were there before us, point number one. They did something very unpleasant to us around 2009, I think it was 2010, when we were competing. Even now, after 25 years, Telmex hasn’t been authorized to offer pay TV. First, a cartel was formed, then there was this other thing. The bottom line is, no government has authorized pay TV for us, including López Obrador’s, who had told us he would, because it involves TV networks and the authorization is given to TV networks. Well, even so, Telmex competes without pay TV, so what they do is sell pay TV at a very high price, because they have no competition, and that’s how they sell their products. Well, that’s an issue for América Móvil.
On another occasion, the law states that the entity that defines interconnection charges is IFETEL, back then, or COFETEL, I don’t know if the name has changed, I think it was IFETEL. So, IFETEL decided that we would pay 30 cents to the competitors and they would pay us 20 cents. So, that was IFETEL’s decision. Then, a high-level public official came along and introduced a bill in Congress that would prevent us from charging for interconnection. It took us two and a half years in the Supreme Court to clarify that issue, and, of course, they blocked the non-payment, etc., etc. Abuses they committed with Telmex and América Móvil here in Mexico.
Those are just two comments; there are many more! For example, those who received subsidies in the competition—normally, one competes with another national company, etc. There, we competed with both, with the largest in the world, which was AT&T, and with the largest in Latin America, which was Telefónica. I mean, we weren’t competing with La Lupita and… no, it was Telefónica and AT&T. They were the largest, one in Latin America and the other in the world, in terms of their customers.
That’s where we operated. Well, first in long distance, we competed against AT&T; the second largest long-distance operator was MCI, and they were associated with Banamex, associated with Bancomer, and associated with Alfa, which was one of the big companies, also with all of them. We competed with all of them, so, real competition. We entered practically in ‘91—how many years has it been? —35 years. We’ve had competitors, all competitors bigger than us, enormous. And, the truth is, Telmex employees have been very efficient, they’ve done great things, they resolve many issues, they handle many matters, and, truly, it’s thanks to them that Telmex has survived as it has.
Oh, excuse me, and then we’ve grown to other places and we’re in 24 countries, there is no other telecommunications company in 24 countries, none!
Alejandro González from DPL News: Good morning, Engineer! Good morning, everyone! I’d like to ask you, since you’ve already told us a bit about this approach with the government to avoid hindering investments in different industries. I’d like to ask you, specifically in the telecommunications industry, what conversations have you had with this government precisely to avoid hindering these investments? Especially when we’re seeing a Telecommunications Regulatory Commission with the same regulations as you. A 5G tender is coming up that’s also limiting you. So, what have you discussed with the current government to avoid hindering these investments? Thank you!
Carlos Slim Helú: What was the first part?
Arturo Elías Ayub: Yes, what have we discussed with the government regarding investments in telecommunications?
Carlos Slim Helú: Specifically, telecommunications? Let me explain a little before that. What has been interesting, and unusual, is that there has been private communication with the government to promote and execute investment in general.
In telecommunications, historically, Telmex and Telcel have made large investments in Mexico. From the beginning, the figures were stratospheric. Because it was about laying the network, then laying the fiber optic network. It has been an enormous investment to build towers; I think we have 25,000 towers; building towers and the network and thousands of other things. That has been a very large investment.
Now that things are calmer, we have to make investments in more towers, to have fiber optics everywhere; I don’t know how many, I don’t know how many kilometers and kilometers of fiber optic we have. And we’ve gone from copper... right now we’re collecting copper... to fiber optics. The copper that cost so much, tons and tons, is disappearing. I don’t know how many tons it could be, more than 10,000 tons, many tons of copper. You still see copper; we’re collecting it and collecting it and collecting it, because we’re making fiber optics, fiber optics.
So, that’s a standalone job, independent of anything else, and it’s very expensive and takes a lot of resources. Then, there’s also a lot of spending, investment made in new customers, having fiber available, because we had copper. I think we have about 15 or 20 million homes with copper, which is gone and being removed. Now, we have about 600,000 or 700,000 homes with copper, of which about 90,000 are in rural areas, where we don’t have, we can’t, we don’t offer fiber. But, copper is available at a very low price and with 15 megabytes per second. That’s the situation we have to live with. At the end of the 20th century, do you remember… what were the names of the companies that owned the internet?
Arturo Elías Ayub: American Online.
Carlos Slim Helú: American Online, which had pure copper, bandwidth of 56 kilobytes. Now we’re talking about 1,000 megabytes, 500 megabytes, instead of 56 kilobytes, and it reached a value of 100 billion dollars or thereabouts. He bought Warner, Time Warner. The value of the shares, it gave shares in exchange and, boom!, it became Time Warner and American Online.
All in all, it’s been a lot of investment, but that’s because there’s a lot of replacement going on; we are constantly replacing and replacing. Right now, the work is laying cable and removing copper. This year we’re planning to eliminate about 400,000 copper lines, or more if possible; and I think that by next year we’ll have only fiber optics.
And, obviously, with the towers and the work that’s been done, we’ve had 5G for many years now, which we announced; not everything is 5G, but we already have a lot of 5G in all 24 countries, not just Mexico. So, we have a lot of 5G, but there are countries—it’s very curious, Argentina was one of them a few years ago, I don’t know if it still is—where people, for economic reasons, were still using 2G. Because with 2G, something Telefónica did in Mexico, which I think was a big mistake, when they reached at least 3G in the networks, they cut 2G users off. We, I believe, haven’t cut off 2G service. We’re giving people a chance; we’re letting people with 2G phones continue using them. We haven’t cut their 2G off.
Now, what kind of investment do we have? Well, we have a lot of investment in 5G. We have about 26,000 towers. So, we’re installing 5G; there are still places without coverage in some areas, etc., etc. President López Obrador was interested in government intervention, so that’s why he bought Mexicana de Aviación, this bank, that bank, and in telecommunications, he bankrupted Altán, a company that had been started before Peña Nieto’s administration, I think, or a little before that, I don’t know. It was bankrupt, it owed 30 billion pesos, I don’t know exactly how much. The government bought it. It’s the one that operates, it’s operating mainly with a single client, but it’s very happy there with that one client. But it’s the one that’s supposed to build the network or do the work in marginalized areas. So, it’s sort of a joint effort between the Federal Electricity Commission, which handles the telecommunications side, and a company called Altán. Altán is looking to provide service in marginalized areas—more than marginalized, remote areas, or areas where there are no networks, etc.
Juan Carlos Villarreal from Consumotic TIC: Thank you, Engineer! I’d like to ask about the registration of telephone lines in the case of Telcel. How are they doing with that number? And, if so, are they proposing an extension? And, regarding economic competition, what does the disappearance of Telefónica or the purchase of Telefónica by the consortium mean for Telcel? Thank you.
Carlos Slim Helú: No, I think what happened with Telefónica has been very sad because it was the leader in Latin America, and it’s already left almost every country; only Brazil remains. It wants to stay in Brazil, but it’s already sold all but, let’s say, all but one. So, it’s sold them all. Now, in Mexico, since spectrum rental is very expensive there, unfortunately, it’s very expensive in Mexico, so it preferred to cancel its spectrum and joined forces with AT&T. So, it saved on spectrum costs and that’s it. And what it’s doing in Mexico isn’t unique; it has already sold Argentina, Peru, Chile, it has sold everything; it only has Venezuela left, and has been a leader in Brazil. We’re already catching up with them in Brazil. It’s also downsized in Spain; so, as I understand it, it’s in England, Germany, Brazil, and Spain.
Juan Carlos Villarreal of Consumo TIC. And, the telephone registration issue!
Carlos Slim Helú: The registration issue is very complicated. I think it’s growing more easily in postpaid plans, but the timeframe is too short. So, it’s slow for everyone. We think we’re moving fairly quickly with postpaid registration, because it’s already being implemented for all new customers. I’m not entirely sure about the prepaid system. I think they should review it again to see what can be done to make it more efficient, for the benefit of both the customer and the regulatory authority. But it’s in progress; thousands, I’d say millions, of registrations are being processed. But remember, there are 140 million or more customers. Maybe even more!
Andrea Navarro of Bloomberg: A few days ago, Moody’s downgraded Mexico’s credit rating. How concerned are you about the country’s ability to maintain investment, its investment grade? And, on another note, could you give us an update on the status of the Lakach project, which you have with Pemex?
Carlos Slim Helú: Now, about the Lakach gas project, we looked into it. The initial idea was for four participants; then for us to participate. So, we looked into it, and it turns out to be irrational. It turns out that it’s, I think, at 900 meters, and then it’s about 65 km offshore; so, operating at 900 meters... And then it turns out that what four wells produce—that’s what they told me, four wells—but let’s say six wells from Ixachi, it’s the same gas that comes out 65 km away.
Pemex had made a significant investment there, we’re talking about more than $1 billion USD, and they have materials required for the site. But it’s irrational to look for gas 65 km offshore, which then has to be transported there, with a gas handling network 900 meters deep, when the gas coming from Ixachi onshore, from four wells, is the same gas you already have there. So, it’s irrational to start working and operating offshore when there’s already a place onshore.
We’re talking about 35 wells. They have a significant amount of gas—in terms of value, I think it’s as much gas as oil, or even more. So, what needs to be done is to use that gas, not go 65 km offshore and make irrational, billion-dollar investments.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Are we going to withdraw from the project?
Carlos Slim Helú: No! We never got involved, or we almost didn’t! We ran the studies. Pemex already had it, they had already made progress, they had a large investment, and they had most materials.
Andrea Navarro from Bloomberg: And what about Moody’s? The credit rating?
Carlos Slim Helú: Ah! Well, what can I say? I think Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. There are many intellectuals—what, should I become critical? Look, I think one of the mistakes that has been made—I recommend you read Guillermo Tovar’s book on the History of Mexico—I think there have been many technocrats who come with perfect scores from US universities and then come here to the most important financial areas. So, that’s why we grew at 0.4%, 0.3%. With those excesses, when, for example, there were 466 billion dollars in revenue, where was it? What were they doing with it? It was a huge amount of money to invest!
So, I think investment fell far short, and then they liked to implement tax reforms. "We have to do a tax reform!" They would implement the tax reform, inflation would rise, and when inflation rose, the interest rate would rise, and things would get complicated because investment would be slowed down. When you have interest rates of 20%, 15%, investment slows down.
So, I think they’re really insisting right now that the debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 60%, because they’re assuming there won’t be any growth this year. Let’s say it grows by six, which leads to a fiscal deficit of four, well, that’s already a four-point increase. If, on the other hand, it grows by one, then it’s three points, but if it grows by three, then there won’t be a fiscal deficit.
So, they’re already predicting it will be 60% by the end of the year, almost religiously. But that 60% isn’t very high either, because the US rate is 103% - but what about Brazil’s? We have several figures there, right? They’re around 80%. And why is Brazil doing so badly? Because, I would say, exaggerating, the interest rate in Mexico is 6.5%, in Brazil it’s 15%; 15% is the interest rate.
So, obviously, there you’re more inclined to invest in interest rates, to invest in making investments, in materials. With 15% interest, what more do you need? Because inflation in Brazil is very low, too. So, it has a real interest rate, it’s the highest real interest rate right now, I don’t know, in Latin America for sure, in other places, I don’t know.
So, honestly, this idea that it’s heavily indebted, and that because it’s indebted, they lower its rating and credit rating... It’s two or three people who decide that, and what they should be looking at is what it’s investing in. But, if we manage to start investing and growing as expected, then that rating is irrational. That’s my opinion, I mean, it doesn’t worry me at all, although it does have effects, and then they say, and then they say that investment is slowing down and that it no longer has access to external financing and other nonsense.
Ximena Tolama from the podcast "La Estrategia del Día" - Bloomberg Línea: Engineer, good afternoon! Listening to you talk about investments, I see you’re enthusiastic that President Claudia Sheinbaum is placing it first.
Carlos Slim Helú: No! Imagine! What happened in ‘82 and ‘83 when nobody was investing.
Ximena Tolama – "La Estrategia del Día" - Bloomberg Línea: In that sense, you would be participating in the projects of this Infrastructure Law that the president is promoting, and if so, which ones would Grupo Carso be involved in? Are you planning to invest?
Carlos Slim Helú: I already told you which ones! For example, we’re building gas pipelines. We’ve been doing this for many years now; we’re doing projects for Pemex. We used to build platforms for Pemex, which they’re not building now, and jack-ups for drilling, which we’re going to use for ourselves. And drilling. We have 19 drilling units, and 12 of them have been out of service for 12 years or more. They’re not being used.
They weren’t used by the previous administration, nor by the governments before that, nor by Peña Nieto’s. Those 12 units are just sitting there. Well, there’s one that’s being used for geothermal energy for Pemex, over at Cerro Prieto in Mexicali, and I think it’s being leased out… and I think there was another one being leased out. But right now, with these units, what we’re proposing to those working onshore is that they use our equipment, lease it to them, and work with it. We’re in talks with them, mainly with private companies.
Ximena Tolama – The Strategy of the Day - Bloomberg Línea: And, listening to you talk about interest rates, I remember you saying on 2019 that investing in Mexico was a paradise, precisely because of the interest rate, when it was around 8%. Today we’re two points lower, at 6.50%. Do you still consider it a paradise, or how should interest rates be managed?
Carlos Slim Helú: I think that being able to get financing at 6.5% is paradise. Imagine if they lent you money at 7.5%, or 7.5%, or 8%; or those famous stock market bonds that are issued for financing through securities certificates, if they lent you money at 7.25%, 7.5%, it’s fantastic.
And why was it a paradise, if I remember correctly? What was the rate? Well, look, now it’s even more of a paradise! Because a rate of 7%, financing at 7, 7.5%, wow! Even for mortgages, for example, for all housing programs, private or Infonavit or whatever, having interest rates of 7.5%, is great! Because inflation is around 4, 4.5%, so you’re paying a real interest rate of 2 or 3%. This is more paradise than it is from 2019.
Adriana Urrea - Amexi Agency: I want to ask you first your opinion on security issues, especially situations that have occurred, for example, with Governor Rocha, Moya, and all this.
Carlos Slim Helú: No, don’t even ask me about that, ask me about investments.
Adriana Urrea - Amexi Agency: Well, I want to ask you about another matter, Engineer. Telmex might go on strike next Friday because an agreement hasn’t been reached with workers regarding benefits and any new positions. How is that going, and what message would you send to the workers? And finally, your perspective on the 2026 World Cup.
Carlos Slim Helú: Look, I’m no longer negotiating with Telmex, nor am I involved, nor am I doing anything about it, and I don’t know what’s happening. I think you know more than I do. Now, as I was saying, the staff is excellent. There’s been a delicate issue at Telmex, as there is at Pemex and elsewhere, where they set the retirement age at 48 and 53, which is outrageous. So, we have these insane retirement ages, which are hitting Telmex very hard. And there’s another limitation, but we’re looking at other alternatives to try to... There are about 41,000 retirees. Many more retirees than... and what’s the reason? Early retirement is complicated; I imagine it’s similar to what’s happening at Pemex. So, they’re negotiating salaries, but I don’t think they’re too bad; I’ll look into it.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Your expectations for the World Cup? I see France and Spain as the favorites.
Carlos Slim Helú: No, well, no. Saying who’s going to win or what? I think we’re the ones who should win! Because they say that I don’t know how many billions of pesos are going to come in, but a lot! So, I think that’s what’s attractive, the good part for Mexico. Even though it’s just a few games and all the tickets, the cost of venues, and everything else are incredibly expensive, I think it’s excessive.
Gabriela Frías of CNN: Good afternoon, I wanted to ask you…
Carlos Slim Helú: Were you here last time?
Gabriela Frías of CNN: I was here last time and I spoke to you about President Trump, and what your opinion was about President Trump. But today I want to ask you about investments, because you said business leaders are meeting to discuss investment commitments. I’d like to ask you to share with us how you are addressing the issue of insecurity, or security, and legal certainty. What are local and foreign businesspeople asking for to have greater confidence and invest? How are you addressing this topic in these meetings? What are they planning to do or ask of the federal government? Thank you.
Carlos Slim Helú: In summary, what about legal certainty?
Gabriela Frías of CNN: Security in general, security for businesses, for workers, and then, legal certainty for investments that will be made in Mexico. Thank you.
Carlos Slim Helú: Well, it has always been a problem, but I think that the whole issue of legal certainty... well, I don’t see it as serious... never... I don’t see that the governments... Look, first, when I mentioned 1933, 1934, there have been many presidents, none of whom have been re-elected. And they are from the 4T, from the PRI and the PAN, from all sides, they haven’t been re-elected. That’s very important, and I don’t think I’ve seen, or felt, that they implement expropriation policies or anything like that; rather, they buy things. For example, they bought Altán, and Mexicana de Aviación as well. So, I don’t think so, I don’t see many problems there, it’s not a point of contention, as far as I can see.
Cassandra Garrison, Reuters: I would like to ask if there are new talks with Pemex regarding new joint venture contracts or contracts in other areas, and if you are also interested in participating in fracking projects, once the group of experts decides whether to endorse Mexico moving forward with this to increase natural gas production.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Regarding new projects, whether we are looking at new projects at Pemex, and whether we are interested in participating in fracking projects.
Carlos Slim Helú: No, not fracking, because we are already saturated. So, look, we are working on the Ixachi project… which we are financing over 21 months per well. So, it is being financed in such a way that it becomes payable through the well itself. No, we’re not currently considering any more projects. We have the one we bought from PetroBal, we have the Zama project as a partner, etc. So, we’re not thinking about any more projects.
Pablo Chávez from Aviación 21: I’d like to know your opinion on the country’s airport infrastructure. How do you see it for the coming years? And, following the cancellation of the New Mexico City Airport, in which you were previously very involved, I’d like to know your perspective on the development of the Mexican airport system. Has it been what was expected after the cancellation of the NAIM, or would it be necessary to revisit the issue of a new airport like the one in Texcoco? Thank you.
Carlos Slim Helú: No, I think it would have been very good if it had been built there in Texcoco. There was never any confusion about that; I don’t know who spread it. I had no involvement, nor any interest in being a partner in the airport. What we had was that the construction company had a section of work underway there. So, what struck me most when I really understood the airport was that it was in the middle of—look, the most marginalized area in Mexico City is in the northeast; so, the airport was right in the middle of that whole area, and what I was saying was that it could bring all those people up to the middle class. So, my goal wasn’t just the airport itself, but everything the airport represented: bringing the entire population, which was about six million people, up to the middle class.
Unidentified journalist: Only about the Trans-Isthmus Corridor! It’s been said that Grupo Carso will be one of the major drivers of the Interoceanic Train’s growth…
Carlos Slim Helú: No, I think that one needs a little tweaking, because this is Porfirio Díaz’s project.
Unidentified journalist: Well, good morning. First, I’d like to ask you what you discussed yesterday with the President of the Supreme Court of Justice? You also just mentioned that during President Andrés Manuel’s administration, there was talk of removing the obstacles to obtaining television concessions. What happened with that issue? And, given this Manichean worldview, where is the country’s economy heading?
Carlos Slim Helú: Look, it was a very, very interesting and important conversation, because many years ago we had a bail program for people who were either innocent or in jail because they were poor and couldn’t afford bail. So, we’re coming back, talking about reinstating, restoring that support for the people who are there because they’re poor or innocent, and yet they’re there. So, that was the conversation. Well, thank you very much.
Unidentified Reporter: About this year’s investments.
Arturo Elías Ayub: How much are we going to invest this year?
Carlos Slim Helú: Wow! Five billion dollars, more or less.
Arturo Elías Ayub: Thank you! Thank you!
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