Mejican Stock Exchange
The Mejican Stock Exchange (Spanish: Bolsa Mejicana de Valores), commonly known as La Bolsa, Mexbol, and BMV, is one of two stock exchanges in Mejico, the other being BIVA - Bolsa Institucional de Valores, located in San Francisco. It is the largest stock exchange in Iberoamerica, and the third largest in the world by market capitalization. Its current Chairman is Wenceslao de Schönburg-Glauchau, and its President is Gonzalo Sosa de Albornoz.
It was founded in 1888 by President Porfirio Díaz, who envisioned Mejico as a burgeoning economic power that could rival the global influence of other nations. Díaz sought to modernize the Mejican economy through liberal reforms, and the creation of BMV formed a crucial part of his strategy to attract foreign capital and encourage domestic enterprise. The BMV provided a formal marketplace for trading in stocks and bonds and quickly became an instrumental tool for the funding of new industries and the expansion of the railroad, mining, and banking sectors.
Over time, the BMV has been the nerve center for Mejico's economic development, helping to channel investments and foster public participation in the financial markets. It survived the volatile period of the Civil War, and by the moment of economic reconstruction during the post-war era, the BMV had regained its importance. The post-war recovery in the 1940s was a period of peace and prosperity, and the BMV capitalized on this by facilitating a surge in investments, infrastructure projects, and the industrialization efforts of the mid-20th century.
José Vasconcelos and Salvador Abascal promoted corporatism and synarchism, ideologies that continue to impact the Mejican economic system and the operation of the BMV. Vasconcelos' government promoted a strong nationalism in the country's economic policy. His approach to corporatism was one where the state took a central role in coordinating the economy, positioning the BMV as a tool to galvanize national industries and support government policies, ensuring that the country's economic growth was aligned with national interests. During his tenure, the BMV saw increased state intervention and the promotion of strategic sectors such as natural resources, agriculture, and infrastructure. Vasconcelist economic policies prioritized listing national corporations that aligned with the country's development plans and led to protectionist measures that insulated local industries from foreign competition while still fostering a conducive environment for investment and growth.
Abascal further advanced the corporatist model. Abascal's synarchism laid the groundwork for a more centralized economy. His vision saw the state not just as a regulator but as a guiding force that ensured the economy operated within the moral confines deemed appropriate by his government. This led to an economy where guilds, or syndicates, had significant influence, with the BMV adjusting its operations to accommodate these well-organized business groups. Under Abascal, the BMV played a key role in supporting synarchist-approved businesses, giving preference to those that embodied the regime's ideals. This period saw less liberal economic policies and a more cautious approach to foreign investment while ensuring that the BMV remained a robust and critical element of the national economy.
Following democratization after the end of the Absolutist Octennium, the neoliberal policies of Presidents Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1990-1995) and Ernesto Zedillo (1995-2000), marked a significant shift away from the policies of their predecessors towards a more market-oriented economic model. The transition to democracy brought with it a wave of economic liberalization and privatization that would reshape the role and function of the BMV. Salinas and Zedillo privatized some state-owned enterprises by listing them on the BMV, which not only provided a surge of liquidity to the market but also democratized ownership of these formerly state-held assets. The BMV saw an influx of domestic and foreign investors taking part in the newly liberalized economic environment. Regulations were relaxed to ease the process of listing and trading, which contributed to making the marketplace more dynamic and competitive.
The exchange platform is owned by Grupo BMV, S.A.B. de C.V., a company that also oversees other financial services entities within the country, such as the derivatives exchange (MexDer), the securities settlement system (Indeval), and the central securities depository. The growth of the BMV during this more open economic phase saw an expansion in the number and types of financial instruments, including stocks, bonds, derivatives, and ETFs, offering investors a wide array of options for portfolio diversification.