Mexico is currently in the research phase, according to reporting in El Sol de Mexico. This research has largely involved determining the legal, administrative, and technical requirements of issuing and maintaining a CBDC. The Bank of Mexico said this initial phase also involved determining a budget. Prior statements suggested that Mexico’s CBDC would be ready by 2024, but it is unclear if this timeline is still realistic. Furthermore, it is still unclear what shape the CBDC will take if the government still moves ahead.

CBDC History and Development

In 2019, Bank of Mexico deputy governor Javier Guzmán delivered a speech where he said the “possibility that privately provided electronic means of payment take place [has] stimulated central banks’ interest in CBDCs.” While not cited explicitly, it’s likely Guzmán was referencing Facebook’s Libra project and the wider realm of cryptocurrencies. He further said a CBDC could reduce the costs of distributing cash, enhance the payments system, counter illegal activities, and improve financial inclusion. However, he also acknowledged that a CBDC could destabilize the traditional financial system.

In December 2021, the official account of the President of Mexico tweeted, “The [Bank of Mexico] reports that by 2024 it will have its own digital currency in circulation, considering these new technologies and the latest generation payment infrastructure to be of utmost importance as highly valuable options to advance financial inclusion in the country.” Notably, there was no such report on the Bank of Mexico’s website at this time.

In 2022, Bank of Mexico deputy governor Galia Borja Gómez delivered a presentation on the challenges and prospects of CBDCs. The presentation largely revolved around explaining CBDCs within the context of international and domestic improvements to payment systems. Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund published a consultation paper stating the Bank of Mexico “has recently undertaken a plan to launch a central bank digital currency [with a] primary objective of this initiative is to promote greater financial inclusion.” However, contrary to the president’s initial 2024 prediction, El Sol de México reported that the timeline for a Mexican CBDC had been moved up and a launch was not expected until 2025.

In 2023, El Sol de México reported that the Bank of Mexico was still researching the legal, administrative, and technological requirements for issuing a CBDC.

In April 2024, the Bank for International Settlements announced Project Agorá, a project in collaboration with the central banks of Mexico, France, England, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States. According to the announcement, the project is meant to “explore how tokenisation of wholesale central bank money and commercial bank deposits on programmable platforms can improve the monetary system.” Project Agorá moved to the next phase in May 2024 with a call for private-sector participation.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Mexico earned a 60 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. Although problems are widespread within Mexico, many do not relate directly to the issuance or use of a CBDC. With that said, corruption in Mexico is very much a concern as a CBDC could exacerbate this issue.

Corruption has been seen across multiple levels of government in recent years. The U.S. Department of State reports that officials on federal commissions, officials in agencies, and governors have faced investigations for corruption. Likewise, Freedom House reported that “Despite Mexico’s relatively comprehensive anticorruption framework, implementation of existing mechanisms is lacking in practice and high levels of impunity persist.” The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.