Mexico’s public procurement market

With an approved public spending budget of 8.25 trillion pesos by 2023, Mexico‘s public procurement market is one of the largest in Latin America and the Caribbean, noted the British government.

This market covers a broad spectrum of public spending, from the procurement of goods and services for infrastructure and construction works, to the purchase of supplies for broader sectors, such as health, defense and education.

Recently, on October 1, 2021, Mexico’s Ministry of Public Administration put into operation the Electronic Procurement Follow-up Logbook (BESA), an online tool that allows the Ministry of Public Administration (SFP) to monitor compliance and enforcement of contracts for goods and services from suppliers and third parties that enter into agreements with entities of the Federal Public Administration.

The BESA can audit in real time 80% of the amount of public procurements of the entire SFP and will strengthen the SFP’s auditing systems.

In case of non-compliance with contracts, the BESA foresees a system of supervisory alerts to review possible irregularities that can be prevented, investigated and, if necessary, sanctioned.

On August 26, 2022, the Ministry of Public Administration launched the second stage of the BESA, which incorporates an alert system that monitors and detects irregularities in the execution and compliance of public procurement, leasing and services contracts, from their formalization to the receipt and payment of goods and services.

The Mexican government has made efforts to provide transparency in procurement processes.

Public Procurement

With the publication of their Comprehensive Strategy for the New National Public Procurement System in 2019, they have the ambition to make the federal government’s public procurement system a more transparent and open environment; and contribute to national economic development by promoting strategic planning, social responsibility and the participation of a diverse number of potential suppliers.

However, according to the British government, the market is not without its problems and, although the Mexican government has promoted a standardized approach, companies can face different, and sometimes difficult, conditions and requirements depending on the type of goods or services offered, with variations from one sector to another.

For example, Mexican defense authorities have greater independence in their procurement processes, while public procurement in the health sector has moved to a consolidated purchasing approach through a partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).