MexMoves

This week on MexMoves, we interview Carl Emberson, Director of Resort Operations and Marketing at Punta Mita, one of Mexico’s leading luxury destinations. With decades of experience in high-end hospitality, including at Mayakoba and The St. Regis Punta Mita, Carl discusses the remarkable growth of Mexico’s luxury tourism industry, what attracts wealthy international visitors, the economics of operating world-class resorts, and why 2026 is proving a challenging year for the sector.
We also look at the week's biggest business and financial stories:
Mexico's extraordinary AI export boom and US datacentre backlash: Exports to the US jumped 40% in September, driven partly by soaring demand for computing equipment. But could Democratic election victories and growing opposition to US data centres threaten that growth?
A surprisingly good earnings season: Mexican corporate profits beat expectations in 3Q26, with mining, construction, banks and discount retailers showing encouraging results. The stock market has also staged an impressive rally.
Mercado Libre: Mexico's e-commerce growth remains strong albeit slowing, but Mercado Pago is expanding rapidly, with more than 18 million monthly active fintech users.
Western Union and remittances: Traditional money-transfer companies face growing competition from fintechs.

We interview Alejandro Doria, Head of Bulkmatic México and President of AmCham's Northeast chapter. Celebrating 30 years in Mexico, Bulkmatic connects North American rail networks with Mexican factories, transporting essential raw materials for manufacturing. Alejandro discusses the company's plans to invest up to US$500 million in logistics infrastructure, the outlook for North American trade, the USMCA review, regulatory challenges and highway security.
We also chat with Omar El Gohary, the entrepreneur behind G2K, acquired by ServiceNow, on the challenges and opportunities of implementing AI in Mexican businesses.
First, Eduardo and Damian discuss some of the week's min business and economic news:
Mexico's pre-Muertos conference circuit: Takeaways from Milken, Mexico Tech Week, FinTech México, Nazca, Hi VC and other gatherings on the state of play in Mexico AI, infrastructure, venture capital, StartUps, FinTechs, SME financing and the challenge of turning well-intentioned plans into investment and then cashing out.
More 3Q results: Why OXXO and Bara are outperforming Walmart and Chedraui, BBVA Mexico's strong lending growth and signs of recovery in Mexico construction from Cemex.
Trucking protests: Highway blockades, cargo security and the controversy over  taking back tax breaks for larger transport companies.

This week on MexMoves, we interview Darío Coronado, CEO of Smart Fit Mexico, which has more than 500 locations and 1.3 million members. We discuss how Brazil-based Smart Fit rapidly overtook the incumbent Mexican gym chains to become by far the country's largest fitness club by membership and revenues, the economics behind its impressive growth, changing fitness habits, expansion into smaller cities, and whether younger Mexicans are becoming more health-conscious.

Also this week:

Mexico's Economic Recovery: Surprisingly strong third-quarter economic indicators suggest growth is accelerating, while encouraging corporate earnings point to a recovery in consumer spending. Is Mexico finally emerging from its economic slowdown?

América Móvil's Strong Results Amid AT&T's Exit: Carlos Slim's telecom giant reports another strong quarter, while AT&T Mexico is also showing improving results ahead of its sale. What will change now that Televisa is set to take over ATT’s Mexico business?

Mexico's Hidden Corporate Tax Increase: Proposed changes to tax deductions could significantly increase effective corporate taxes without changing the headline 30% rate.

Digital Payments: Can Mexico Replicate Brazil's Pix? Mexico approves a major digital-payments reform, but CoDi has failed to gain meaningful traction. We examine why banks have little incentive to promote a free payment system that competes with their lucrative card businesses.

Mexico's Traffic Nightmare: We examine a new study on the staggering amount of time and economic productivity lost to traffic congestion in Mexico's cities.

This week on MexMoves, Marc Spiegel, the American investor whose Innovatio Capital acquired Querétaro FC, joins to discuss the business of Mexican football. Why invest in a Liga MX club? What makes Querétaro attractive? Can Mexican football become a bigger business, particularly with the spotlight of the 2026 World Cup? And what needs to change to attract more investors?
We also speak with Vincent Speranza, Managing Director of Endeavor Mexico, about the key findings of a joint report with Glisco, released this week, on the state of LatAm venture capital. Aggregate investment jumped in 2025, but the number of funding rounds remains depressed, startups struggle to scale, and exits are elusive.
Plus, Eduardo and I discuss some of the week's biggest business stories:
Televisa and Fintech Advisory agree to buy AT&T Mexico: A US$2 billion deal that pits Fintech’s David Martínez, and Televisa’s Bernardo Gómez and Alfonso de Angoitia against Carlos Slim and family. Who will come out on top? Why did AT&T throw in the towel?
Time to worry about Mexico's AI exposure? Server exports are booming, but could a Wall Street AI tech selloff threaten one of Mexico's fastest-growing industries?
Viva–Volaris merger: A combined 75% domestic market share. Is Mexico about to approve an airline monopoly? And what would that mean?
AHMSA's phantom buyer: A US$1.4 billion bid collapses, leaving the bankrupt steelmaker's future in doubt yet again.
Slim's latest investment vehicle: A proposed listing of INCA reveals an empire spanning prisons, petrochemicals, hospitals and Chinese cars.

Tourism Woes and AHMSA
Description
This week on MexMoves, we speak with David Razú, CEO of Afore XXI Banorte, one of Mexico’s two largest pension managers, with roughly US$100bn in assets under management. Mexico’s Afore system now manages close to US$500bn, and it is getting much bigger: mandatory pension contributions are rising from 6.5% of wages toward 15% by 2030, creating tens of billions of dollars in additional annual inflows to invest.
We ask Razú whether workers are earning good returns, how regulation has changed Afore investment, whether Mexico’s capital markets are deep enough to absorb this growing pool of savings, and how much more should be allowed into foreign assets, infrastructure, private equity and private credit. We also discuss informality, whether higher payroll pension costs could push more workers outside the formal system, consolidation among Afores, and the tension between financing Mexico’s development priorities and maximizing risk-adjusted returns for workers.
Before the interview:
- Energy Investment and Natural Gas Security: Mexico’s dependence on US natural gas comes back into focus after a temporary reduction in cross-border supplies. Mexico imports roughly 75–80% of the gas it consumes and has only a very small storage buffer. At the same time, the government is pushing around US$57bn of electricity investment and almost US$8bn in gas pipelines through 2030, alongside new generation, transmission and renewables.
- Tourism: airport and hotel data are flashing warning signs in some of Mexico’s biggest beach markets. September passenger traffic was down roughly 9% in Cancún, 10% in Puerto Vallarta and 8% in Los Cabos, while parts of Tulum and the Riviera Maya are seeing weak occupancy and reduced airline capacity. Mexico is still attracting plenty of visitors, but some major resort destinations are having a difficult year.
- AHMSA: the extraordinary bankruptcy saga enters another critical phase, expertly documented in our sister podcast Whitepaper 10. CIESA has submitted a US$1.4bn bid for AHMSA and Minera del Norte, but still needs to prove the money is there. If it fails, creditors including Cargill and Afirme could emerge as an alternative rescue. We look at decades of failed buyers, restructurings and Alonso Ancira’s control of the steelmaker, and why restarting the Monclova complex matters for the regional economy.