Economy Secretariat Holds Social Economy Meeting for Mexican Cooperatives

ByMexico Solidarity

This article by Braulio Carbajal originally appeared in the July 29, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. The Secretariat of Economy aims to strengthen the thousands of cooperatives in the country so they can be part of the country’s economic strategy, said its head Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón on Tuesday.

At the opening of the “First Social Economy Meeting,” the official emphasized that this event seeks to support the growth of the country’s cooperatives, as well as to increase their size and scope.

The event is taking place within the framework of the “International Year of Cooperatives,” declared by the UN, highlighting the fundamental role they play in the sustainable development of nations.

Ebrard Casaubón emphasized that the Secretariat of Economy will redouble its efforts to promote the development of public policies and concrete actions to support the social and solidarity economy through joint and cross-cutting efforts with Mexican government agencies and entities.

For his part, Luis Gutiérrez Reyes, head of the Social and Solidarity Economy sector, emphasized that today’s meeting is the first of its kind.

This meeting between key stakeholders in the Mexican government and its citizens responds to a strong demand from Mexico’s social economic sector to be heard and taken into account.

For this reason, as part of the economic development strategy for the six-year term, the Secretary of Economy decided to include the Social and Solidarity Economy Sector as part of the Economic Welfare Sectors, creating a direct link between cooperatives, ejidos, social enterprises, and worker organizations with the agency to assist in resolving problems, promote them, and strengthen their growth.

Mexico’s Social Economy, the head of the Secretariat of Economy and Finance noted, has been a fundamental element of the economic development of Mexican families for decades, as it represents a real and effective option for addressing structural challenges such as inequality, financial exclusion, and the lack of opportunities in the most remote regions of the country.

Currently, there are cooperatives for products, consumption, services, and savings and loans. According to data from the Case Study on the Social Economy of Mexico conducted by INEGI, the sector represents 1.6 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product and generates more than 1.7 million paid jobs.

This two-day event will feature the participation of 90 cooperatives and social enterprises from 21 states of the Mexican Republic, dedicated to a large number of activities such as honey, coffee, salt and milk production, other innovative rainwater harvesting, cybersecurity and scientific consulting. There will also be textiles, pastries, mineral supplementation, footwear, amaranth foods and of course savings and loan, all key agents of the economic development of this great country, in addition 41 of them will receive the “Made in Mexico” certificate.