Mexico has obtained several IMF credit lines to secure its economy since the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, according to information from the Mexican government.

In 2009, Mexico was the first country to use the IMF’s standby credit line program, the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), which allows countries with strong policy frameworks and economic trajectories to request assistance and loans from the IMF when facing potential or actual balance of payments pressures. Mexico has maintained an FCL arrangement with the IMF since 2009.

Since 2017, the amount of FCL access, at Mexico’s request, has been gradually reduced due to an improved outlook with respect to some of the risks facing Mexico and other factors.

IMF Credit

In November 2020, the IMF confirmed that Mexico continued to meet the criteria for accessing the IMF’s FCL and that the IMF Executive Board had completed its interim review of the FCL granted to Mexico in November 2019.

Thereafter, on November 19, 2021, the IMF Executive Board approved a two-year successor arrangement for Mexico under the FCL in the amount of $50 billion, a reduction from the approximately $61 billion FCL access granted in 2019 and the approximately $74 billion FCL access granted in 2018, and took note of Mexico’s cancellation of the previous arrangement.

The Mexican authorities stated their intention to treat the new agreement as precautionary.

Finally, in November 2022, the IMF approved a new two-year $50 billion FCL.

The IMF affirmed Mexico’s continued qualifications for access to the FCL, citing its strong institutional policy frameworks, flexible exchange rate regime, inflation targeting frameworks, fiscal responsibility laws, and well-regulated financial sector.

The government of Mexico remains committed to declining the use of this resource, subject to the ongoing evolution of external risks affecting Mexico’s economy.