The Day at a Glance | September 29 2020

The Top

· AMLO and PI will present an infrastructure plan for strategic sectors next week in order to boost the Mexican economy`s recovery.

· The first presidential debate will take place tonight, with the economy, the virus, the Supreme Court, racism and the integrity of the electoral process being the main issues.

· Democrats present a $2.2 trillion dollar fiscal package proposal as a last attempt to reach an agreement.

· The last round of Brexit negotiations begins; October 15th is the deadline to reach an agreement.

Economic environment

Mexico`s President Andres Manuel López Obrador, and the Corporate Coordinating Council (CCE for its initials in Spanish) announced that they will present infrastructure projects that were expected for strategic industries almost a year ago. According to reports, the projects will be led by private initiative among strategic sectors of the economy like energy, tourism, transportation and water. No details have been shared regarding the projects` budgets, but members of the CCE have assured that the proposed projects would be capable of being carried in the short term and medium and long term projects are also being planned to be fulfilled in the future. The agreement is expected to help the economy`s reactivation during the pandemic after the announced projects had been delayed for almost a year because of the lack of agreements between the Presidency and PI. The projects play a part in the National Infrastructure Plan, which was presented last November; new plans were expected to be announced since January for some sectors, such as energy.

The first US Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will take place tonight. This will be the first of three debates, each of 90 minutes, which will begin at 20:00 o`clock Mexico City time. The moderator will be Chris Wallace from Fox News, and the main issues to be discussed include economic policy (taxes, spending and infrastructure), COVID-19, the Supreme Court Justice, racial problems and the integrity of the electoral process. Trump is expected to present details about his plans regarding new tax cuts to boost the economy as well as eliminating regulations; meanwhile, Biden will try to promote his idea of progressive taxes and greater spending in infrastructure and healthcare. Both candidates are also expected to present their stance concerning China; and its possible that Biden will bring up the controversy revolving around President Trump`s tax evasion, which is something that has motivated criticism since the 2016 election. Markets expect greater clarity regarding the political outlook after the debate and will stay focused on the polls.