LatAm in Focus: What’s behind Mexico’s AI-Fueled Export Boom?

But there are caveats to Mexico's export surge. " There are a lot of things that need to be assembled that we’re actually buying from third parties in the Southeast Asia region to assemble over here and then to sell it to the United States,” notes economist Sofía Ramírez. In a conversation with AS/COA’s Carin Zissis, the executive director of think México ¿cómo vamos? covers how the United States’ top trade partner can leverage its established manufacturing and logistics capabilities to help develop integrated, cross-border production of advanced-tech products.

In this episode, we also hear from Jesús Silva Elizalde, associate director of Arizona State University's Diversifying Semiconductor Supply Chains program, about the potential for the sector to drive workforce development in Mexico. Silva highlights that while manufacturing in general is increasingly automated, producing semiconductors "is still very manual," adding that it's crucial to look at labor growth across "the extended supply chain, where we're talking about chemicals, we're talking about mining, [and] we're talking about logistics,” among other sectors.

Could the results of the U.S. midterm elections possibly herald a chill in the AI and data center boom? Both experts say that short-term shifts will likely be outweighed by long-term needs of a trade partnership in which the United States absorbs more than 80 percent of Mexico’s total exports. “Possibly the pace of Mexican computer goods exports might slow down a little bit. But at the very end, it's not that the U.S. is going to demand less tech services or less communication services. So I think we will have to figure out...where the data centers are going to be built,” says Ramírez.

At the end of the day, adds Silva, " I think that it is very important to point out that no matter which color is in place in the White House or in the local mansions, this is a national security topic for the U.S.”

Our guests

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Sofía Ramírez is the executive director of México ¿Cómo Vamos?, an economic policy think tank. She regularly produces economic and social analysis for national and international media outlets. In 2024, Forbes México recognized her as one of the country’s most influential economists.  

She previously served as deputy director in applied research at Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad, where her work focused on anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability. Ramírez also has prior public sector experience, having worked as a minister at the embassy of Mexico in Washington, director general of the Technical Secretariat of the National Security Council, and chief of advisors to the Undersecretary of Population and Migration at Mexico’s Interior Ministry. 

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Jesús Silva Elizalde is the associate director of Arizona State University's Diversifying Semiconductor Supply Chains program. He is also a research fellow at the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, where he conducts research and provides insights on topics such as nearshoring, and regional integration. He previously served as an economic and trade advisor at Mexico's trade office in the United States.

Through his work, Silva utilizes data and policy to foster and strengthen bilateral relationships between the United States and Mexico. 

This episode was produced by Executive Producer Luisa Leme and Associate Producer Khalea Robertson. Carin Zissis is your host.

Learn more about Mexico’s advanced-tech sector in a report produced by The North American Project, an initiative co-founded by México ¿Cómo Vamos? and the U.S.-Mexico Foundation.

Share and subscribe at Apple, Spotify,YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Access other episodes of Latin America in Focus and send us feedback at latamfocus@as-coa.org. 

The music in the podcast is "Prince” performed by Juanjo Gómez for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at musicoftheamericas.org. Share your love for Latin America: Join Americas Society.  

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.