Mexico’s National Development Plan 2013-2018

The National Development Plan (NDP) is the instrument that fulfills the function to drive toward development and a clear path to achievement of all the objectives of a Country and sets before us a vision for the coming years and gives integrity to the policies to be undertaken.

The National Development Plan 2013 - 2018 is not a short-term political ploy, said President Enrique Peña Nieto when he was announcing the plan, "...but rather a way to bring profound changes to the country in areas of security, productivity, quality of education and overall prosperity."

"Mexico has the historic opportunity," said Peña Nieto, "...to carry out a profound national transformation that will trigger the development of our country over the next few decades." This is what President Peña Nieto wrote on the administration's website: "This is the moment to act for Mexico, to move Mexico!"

The National Development Plan 2013 -2018 contains five general goals:

• To achieve peace in Mexico that will advance democracy and security.
• To make Mexico more inclusive to all citizens, while protecting their social rights.
• To improve the quality of the education system so that youth in Mexico can meet the challenge of an ever-more competitive world.
• To promote prosperity by stimulating economic growth in a way that Mexicans will feel the prosperity directly in their pockets.
• To consolidate Mexico as a responsible international player, defending international law and promoting free international trade; do this by showing its solidarity with other countries.

The president of the Institute for Industrial Development and Economic Growth (IDIC), Raul Gutierrez Muguerza, handed the Secretariat of Economy (SE) a broad proposal for improving the country's industrial manufacturing sector. In a statement, Raul Gutierrez explained that this approach was part of the consultation process for the preparation of the National Development Plan 2013-2018.

The president of the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing (INDEX) Luis Aguirre Lang also had the opportunity to present his economic proposal to the National Development Plan 2013-2018.

Leo Zuckerman is one of the most respected journalists of Mexico with a National Journalism Award (2003) and is always looking to get to the bottom of events in real time. He doesn't agree with the creation of a National Development Plan. He published at Excelsior: "Why do we need the NDP? Answer: to enforce an anachronistic law. As usual at the beginning of every administration, we are hearing ads inviting us to participate in drafting the National Development Plan (NDP). Again I advise the same as I did six years ago to don't do it. It's a waste of time and money based on nonsense that is in the Constitution".

Eduardo Ruiz Healy is considered by Forbes as one of the top leaders of opinion in Mexico. He is a Journalist in radio, TV, internet and print media that expressed about the NDP: "We will have to be aware that during the next few months on the beginning of the apply of the lines of action of the National Development Plan, such as to promote the inclusion and effective participation of State and Local Governments for the agreement and decision making of national public policy, promoting unique coordination agreements for development, clearly defining the coordination of efforts among the three levels Government, the implementation of a program seeking new areas of opportunity for effective decentralization strategies and initiatives promoting law to clarify the areas of competence and responsibility of each order of government."

Manlio Fabio Beltrones, coordinator of the PRI in the Chamber of Deputies expressed in a printed document: "At the start of the regular sessions in September, we will need the ability to complete this cycle of economic transformation with the reforms in the energy and Inland Revenue, and the road map that sets the new direction of Mexico in the National Development Plan".

Julio Faesler served as Ambassador of Mexico in India. Furthermore, in the diplomatic sector has been Mexico's Commercial Counselor in Britain and Belgium, and was the first Director General of the Mexican Institute of Foreign Trade. He expressed this way about the NDP: "The National Development Plan announced by the President suggests the intention of the State to rescue the rectory that has been denied prevailing by the neoliberal fashion in the last 30 years. This new presidential administration lacks a clear national policy for industrial development that needs to be accompanied by the public, also agreed commitments, assumed by the actors responsible for creating production units according to goals quantified with timelines in strategic sectors of the NDP."

An innovative aspect of the NDP 2013- 2018, is that it has indicators to measure progress on the proposed objectives. In this way they become clearer as achievements and this will help quantify how many objectives and goals have been reached. It seems that the political conditions are ripe for the National Plan to be carried out.

Note: The complete National Development Plan document can be downloaded at http://pnd.gob.mx/