One thing became crystal clear at Davos 2026, something many of us have already been feeling on the streets, in the market, and behind the counter of every shop that opens at dawn: the world has stopped discussing how to grow… and started discussing how to survive. Geopolitics has taken over the economy. And when that happens, trade stops being about exchange and becomes a battlefield.
Let’s call a spade a spade: Davos isn’t a symbolic forum; it’s one of the most influential global stages for economic conversation. It’s where major investments are discussed, corporate decisions are shaped, and capital either moves or stalls. That’s why Mexico’s message there was strategic: it was aimed squarely at the world that invests, produces, and decides where to grow.
In that context, it was fitting for Mexico to have a forward-looking presence. Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of Environment, and Altagracia Gómez, Coordinator of the Regional Economic Development Council, presented a stance focused on certainty and confidence: Mexico is poised to leverage global reconfiguration through productive investment, infrastructure, nearshoring, and an orderly transition to sustainability. Their message was clear: Mexico isn’t just waiting for the global wave to pass; it’s strategically positioning itself to ride it.
Davos also reflected the transition to a new world order. The United States set the tone with a narrative of competition and trade pressure, reaffirming a “security-first” vision and a conditional policy: deals only if they benefit the U.S., tariffs as a tool, and economic sovereignty as a priority. The message was blunt: globalization is no longer an open highway; it’s a road with tolls, checkpoints, and rising costs.
On the other side, Europe defended the need to preserve rules and cooperation, calling for regional unity, strategic investment, and energy security. China was present as a structural player on the board: technology, supply chains, logistics, and industrial capacity. Ukraine maintained an urgent call: security is not optional; it is a prerequisite for economic stability.
In short, Davos was a forum that no longer discussed the future… but how to keep the present from spiraling out of control.
A particularly noteworthy stance emerged for its strategic clarity. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that the world cannot normalize the idea of economic integration turning into coercion. He argued that in this new order, “middle powers” must act with coordination and firmness to uphold rules, cooperation, and balance: countries with real economic weight, without hegemonic ambition, but with the capacity to build bridges and curb excesses. This is a relevant concept because it offers a smart way out: not choosing sides, but defending principles, stability, and rules-based trade.
This scenario gives weight to the perspective of Kevin Rudd, who warns that the world is entering a stage of systemic competition between the U.S. and China—not a passing episode but a historic reordering. Rudd argues this isn’t just about trade, but about models, visions of power, and spheres of influence: a rivalry that could escalate without serious diplomacy, permanent channels, and shared minimum rules. The risk is clear: an East-West clash could turn the global economy into a series of crises, where middle powers and their productive sectors end up trapped in decisions made elsewhere.
Now, here’s what wasn’t said clearly enough at Davos: the great powers negotiate from the top, but the crises are paid for from the bottom. In Mexico, this means the millions of family businesses that support entire communities. Family businesses don’t have the luxury to “wait out the storm.” The storm hits them straight in the cash register: rising input costs, currency volatility, logistical uncertainty, less credit, more red tape, and customers watching every penny. In this global context, every mistake costs more. Every day without sales weighs twice as heavy.
And yet, they are the ones holding the country up. Not with speeches, but with sacrifice. They are everywhere: the bakery, the small restaurant, the stationery shop, the local hotel, the workshop, the travel agency, the neighborhood store. Businesses with a name, a history, a surname. Businesses that don’t speculate: they work. Businesses that don’t move capital abroad: they reinvest in their own neighborhoods.
Faced with this new global chessboard, Mexico’s challenge is enormous: to turn global risk into a strategic window. Tourism, connectivity, services, digitalization, and innovation are real opportunities, but only if they reach the ground. Only if they reach the small business, the local shop, the person who opens the shutters every morning.
That’s why, now more than ever, unity is required: a united business sector and a government with a long-term vision. We cannot enter the era of geopolitical blocs while divided internally. When the world fragments, the country cannot afford to fracture.
The agenda is clear: defend the domestic market, boost productivity, promote accessible formalization, provide digital training, and offer useful—not bureaucratic—financing. Because in this global contest, Mexico will only have strength if its foundation is solid.
And here, it’s worth stating clearly, borrowing a phrase now part of the public debate: “For the good of Mexico, the poor come first.” We agree on the principle. But today, facing a new global order, this idea must be completed with an equally urgent economic and social truth: for the good of Mexico, family businesses come first, because they are the ones generating jobs, paying wages, sustaining local consumption, and keeping every community alive. If we want shared prosperity, we must think big for the small: craft public policy from the ground up, with real solutions for those who open the shutters every single day.
Davos showed us the map of the conflict. Our communities show us the reality. And there, where the real economy is decided, lies a national priority: to protect and strengthen family businesses, because they are the beating economic heart of Mexico.
