This nation lives in the shadow of a more powerful and richer neighbour, with which it carries out the bulk of its trade and to which thousands of its people migrate each year. And while the scale may be very different, there are many parallels between Mexico and the Irish Republic of 15-20 years ago.
These parallels are not lost on Dr Luis Ernesto Derbez, Minister of Economics in Mexico. For this reason, Ireland was the only other European country he visited last week following his chairing of the Ministerial Trade Council between Mexico and the European Union in Brussels that came into being under the free trade agreement of July 2000.
"There are similarities between the two countries, except for the fact that you are getting out of that shadow [of the neighbour] faster than we are," said Dr Derbez. "So, what we can learn from the Irish example is how you can diversify your trade and your relationships and become truly the kind of nation you would like to be."
Dr Derbez was appointed Minister of Economics in the cabinet of President Vicente Fox, the man who in last July's elections ended 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
President Fox has promised to introduce a host of reforms, including an entrepreneurial policy, further trade liberalisation, fiscal and tax reform, and a balanced budget, together with a comprehensive social agenda.
As the new regime puts together its programme for government, Dr Derbez says it is looking to Ireland as an example. In coming years he is keen that Mexico will parallel the Ireland of today.
"If we look at the success stories you have had in terms of venture capital programmes, in terms of the reorganisation of employment and the industrial policies you have in place, in terms of the social consensus programmes or networks you use to reach that consensus, we would like be able to build something similar in Mexico," he said.
Mexico is also hoping to emulate the success Ireland has had in moving away from an over-reliance on one key trading partner. The US currently accounts for 85 per cent of Mexico's trade. "That's too much. It is good that we have increased our trade, but at the same time, the level of dependency we have with the US economy is such that, now it is going through a slowdown, it is affecting us strongly," he said.
Dr Derbez is relying on last year's free trade agreement with the EU to alter the situation significantly. He described the agreement, which pledges both sides to a far-reaching reduction of mutual tariffs as a prelude to an eventual free-trade zone, as a "win-win" accord for both sides.
It gives Mexican exporters potential access to 370 million consumers. For members of the EU, the accord opens up a fresh market of 100 million people and puts investors on the same legal footing as their US and Canadian competitors, with back-door access to North America.
Mexico is Ireland's largest trading partner in Latin America, accounting for one third of the State's total trade with that region. But Dr Derbez also sees other benefits for Ireland.
"We see Ireland as a gateway for Mexican investment going through Europe. We really need to set up businesses in Ireland," he said.
The agreement will also allow Irish and Mexican companies to form strategic alliances - something he sees as particularly attractive, given the similarities in size between many Irish and Mexican companies. Trade liberalisation has benefited large enterprises in Mexico. Wealth as a result of NAFTA has not been evenly distributed, he said.
"The small and medium-sized enterprises in Mexico have been left behind. Our purpose is to create the conditions so that we can have more strategic alliances with small and medium- sized enterprises in both NAFTA and EU areas. There is a concern that globalisation is not for everyone, it is only for a few selected ones. We have to change that," he said.
The trade deal with the EU was the subject of contentious debate in the Mexican Senate. But Dr Derbez said the accord is backed by a majority in Mexico.
"There is a strong constituency for free trade in Mexico and that constituency is convinced we can use the EU market like we did the NAFTA market. "Today, Mexico is an experienced exporter and experienced international partner. Because of that, people who were opposed to these kind of treaties in the past are now more willing to give them a chance," he said.
The fact that the pact included a clause that binds the future of the accord to democratisation and respect for human rights in Mexico also caused some debate in the country.
"There were trade issues of course but there was also this very special clause that we had never seen in Mexico, in which a group of countries were telling us what kind of democratic system system we should have. With the election of Mr Fox, that is no longer an issue. We have proven now that we do have a democratic system," said Dr Derbez.
The smooth changeover of power has demonstrated the strength of democracy in the country, according to Dr Derbez, and also ensured that a crisis in investor or money market confidence, which many had predicted, did not materialise.
But other problems loom on the horizon. President Fox's National Action Party (PAN) made huge gains in both houses of parliament but will have to seek consensus from one or other of the main opposition parties for his programme of reforms. He has also raised expectations among Mexicans - expectations that may be difficult to fulfill.
"We are finding through surveys that most Mexicans - 70 per cent - know the administration will not be able to bring major changes in one year to 18 months. Most people's expectations are midterm. It is reassuring because it implies that people are realistic. I think what you will see over the next few months is tremendous support for the government's programmes to be approved by Congress," he said.
Again, he said, there were lessons to be learned from Ireland's experience.
"It won't happen in six years. I hope one thing we will learn from looking at Ireland's experience is that it will take 10 to 20 years. So, let's look at the long haul rather than trying to solve everything right away," he said.
One parallel with the Ireland of today is a desire by government to end regional disparity and build a national infrastructure to sustain economic development.
"Regional growth has been completely different, with the northern part of Mexico growing at a rate of 6 per cent and the southern part at less than half of 1 per cent. We have to provide the right environment for business to happen in the south. And this requires major infrastructural development," said Dr Derbez.
The government has also launched a programme to support small and medium sized enterprises.
"If you can put together a programme which will have credit and resources for training people so they can be more productive and which will help them to integrate themselves as suppliers in the chain of production of the large enterprises which are exporting, you will create employment and have much better income distribution," said Dr Derbez.
But implementing these programmes will require massive funding - something Dr Derbez hopes will be met by fiscal reform. Tax reform will be across the board, according to Dr Derbez, and will include consumption tax, corporate tax and personal income tax. But one area in which Mexico will not be following Ireland is in adopting a low rate of corporate tax.
"Ireland is a daring experiment and I am not sure we are ready to reduce taxes to that level," he said.
