Mexican economy to face several uncertainty in 2018, says minister

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican economy will face uncertainty in 2018, from more than just its presidential elections, said Minister of Finance Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya on Monday.

"There is uncertainty on various fronts...this has been said for a long time," said the minister in an interview with Televisa.

Beyond the 2018 presidential polls, Gonzalez Anaya pointed to the tricky renegotiation of NAFTA that Mexico is carrying out with the U.S. and Canada. Another factor is the fiscal reform in the U.S., which is still being discussed north of the border.

Negotiators from all three countries are meeting in Washington this week for special talks, outside the official negotiation rounds, to try and move forward on pending matters where profound differences still exist.

"The other great point of uncertainty is the exit process of Great Britain from the European Union," said the minister, who took the job on Nov. 27, after his predecessor Jose Antonio Meade stepped down to run for president.

Gonzalez Anaya also added that insecurity continued to be a major factor for uncertainty.

He said that, in his role, the best option was to continue the fiscal discipline Mexico has shown. "These conservative policies, fiscally speaking, have been working well."

On Sunday, the Ministry of Finance said that Mexico could reach a new budget surplus in 2018. For 2017, the government predicts it will end the year with a budget surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP, the first surplus in nine years. Enditem