Mexico

Mexico is one of the priority countries in the DGRV’s project work in Latin America.

Its marginalized population, which is to be given access to the formal economy through cooperatives, is mainly found in rural areas.

For this reason, project activities are concentrated on rural and suburban regions in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Michoacán and Jalisco. In addition to micro and small producers, MSMEs are also supported by the project as members of the cooperatives. By supporting a rural women’s association and the youth committees of the cooperative sector, members of cooperatives or other cooperation models also benefit directly from our project.

Through consultative and advisory services, and the use of tools and training, savings and credit cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives and the creation and development of energy cooperatives are specifically promoted.

At a regional and national level, DGRV collaborates with the cooperative confederations CONFECOOP, CONCAMEX, and the association of agricultural marketing companies, ANEC, in structured advisory programs. Within the framework of these collaborative efforts, the aforementioned associations are strengthened institutionally and thus also their cooperative structures, which contribute to the financial and economic inclusion of marginalized sectors of the population.

A sector concept is being developed with the counterparts to foster the promotion of sustainable production and sustainable financing by cooperatives. The basis for this are study tours and the creation of technical and expert guidelines. In addition, training for the staff members of the Auxiliary Supervision and the Protection Fund (FOCOOP) are being offered, which is expected to contribute to a more efficient and risk-oriented supervision for the sector.

In order to protect the savings of the members of the savings and credit cooperatives, DGRV in Mexico is in close contact with the banking supervisor CNBV. In addition, DGRV provides advice to the relevant ministries and to the subordinate national authorities, such as INAES, the Institute for the Promotion of the Social Economy, and the national development banks, for questions on legal framework conditions and support programs for cooperatives.

There are no energy cooperatives in Mexico yet. However, the energy sector is in a state of transition, and at the same time the Mexican population’s interest and willingness to participate in this transition is growing. This should provide a remarkable opportunity for the cooperative projects initiated by citizens.