While Brazil and Mexico have proven financially resilient in the face of tighter global financial conditions, insufficient structural reforms in both countries and global economic fragmentation will stymy their economic growth in the coming years. However, compared with Brazil, Mexico is poised to fare better for the remainder of the decade thanks to its stronger economic fundamentals and closer trade ties with the United States. Mexico has been able to avoid a major financial crisis for nearly 30 years, while Brazil hasn't experienced a major crisis since 2002. This is owed to the fact that both countries benefit from solid external debt positions and manageable external financing requirements, while limited foreign-currency mismatches enable them to adjust to external financing through currency depreciation rather than precipitous and often financially damaging currency devaluations. Indeed, while the Mexican and Brazilian economies experienced downturns in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis, as...
