@misc{37823,
title = {Independent Country Program Review: Mexico 2019-2024},
author = {King, Dana Michael and Pedraglio, Roxana and Legarreta, Regina and Barcellos, Andreia and Romero Castelan, Brianda  and Rojas-Hosse, Andrea and Rubio Jaramillo, Nicole Mishel and King, Julie and Garay, Ingrid and Soriano, Alejandro and Motta, Marialisa},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.18235/0013941},
abstract = {This Independent Country Program Review (ICPR) assesses the relevance, implementation, and contribution of the IDB Groups 2019-2024 Country Strategy (CS) with Mexico and the related Country Program (CP). The review aims to enhance accountability, inform the Boards consideration of the next CS, and offer the Government and external stakeholders an independent perspective on the IDB Groups work. The 2019-2024 CS set objectives that were consistent with Mexico's national development challenges during the period, as well as IDB Group corporate priorities. However, the CS lost relevance by failing to reflect the significant shift in national priorities outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP) for the 2019-2024 period. Weaknesses in the theory of change, indicators, and risk assessment further constrained its usefulness. IDB investment lending fell by 80% compared to the previous period, though policy-based lending remained stable. More than half of programmed IDB operations did not materialize, disbursements decreased significantly, and cancellations exceeded US$1.6 billion, affecting progress across several CS objectives. By contrast, despite a one-third drop in approvals of long-term financing, IDB Invest quintupled its short-term financing and increased disbursements of both long-term operations and short-term financing, supported by a diversified set of instruments and strong treasury operations in Mexico that enabled local-currency solutions. The CP achieved medium contributions in education, labor markets, access to credit, and territorial planning. Contributions were low in health, water services, public finance, rural productivity, and subnational fiscal management, due to cancellations, limited scope, or lack of evidence. The ICPR highlights: (i) the importance of strengthening dialogue and coordination with government to ensure strategic alignment and an agile response to changes in context; (ii) the need to refine the IDB and IDB Invests value added proposition, emphasizing their technical expertise and support for the continuity of development processes; (iii) the importance of improving the generation of evidence to be able to demonstrate and deepen the IDB Group's contributions to that value proposition; (iv) the need to use technical cooperation strategically, to continue contributing in contexts with lower demand for investment financing, and to explore with the government the best approaches to support national priorities; and (v) the opportunity to continue building on private sector engagement and the diverse instruments of IDB Invest, enhancing synergies with the IDB's work and its demonstration effects.},
url = {https://doi.org/10.18235/0013941}
}