The Short-lived story of Mexico’s special economic zones: An anti-corruption cancellation or a political discourse?

Abstract

This article analyses the cancellation of the 2016 Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a project that sought to increase the economic competitivity of selected territories by attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) through tax benefits and logistical platform commitments; being abrogated in 2019 and relocated to the 10 SEZs supporting the Trans-Isthmic Railroad in 2021 (TIR-SEZs). The paper discusses that, under the façade of anti-corruption, the current President of Mexico (2018-2024) is continuing neoliberal practices; the same ones he has called to accountability for being prone to corruption. This piece uses the theoretical bases purported by Brabazon’s Neoliberal Legal, the Law & Economics and Law & Development scholarships to assess the presence of neoliberal concepts in both the previous SEZs and the TIR-SEZs’ legal framework.