MEXICO CITY, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A solid and strong economy will welcome Mexico's new president and his administration when they take office later this year, said the country's finance minister on Thursday.
"We will be turning over finances that are healthy and in order along with a successful and orderly transition," Jose Antonio Gonzalez, Mexico's minister of finance and public credit, told the press after taking part in a forum organized by the Oxford Business Group in Mexico City.
He said he will not only leave the economy on a strong financial footing, but also with an average annual growth of 2.7 percent during the past five years.
He said the department he heads is ready to work with the transition team named by president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to prepare the 2019 budget. Lopez Obrador and his administration will take office on Dec. 1.
"We will deliver a draft, which is clearly established within the law, and they will begin to make adjustments so it can be sent to Congress before Dec. 15 and then approved by Congress before Dec. 31," he added.
During the event, Gonzalez said that any doubts over the presidential election have already been answered, but two areas of uncertainty still remain.
The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and U.S. tax reform, he said, "could change the dynamic of Mexico's economy" in the medium term.
"Only one uncertainty has been resolved. We know who will be the next president and this administration will make an orderly and successful transition, with finances that are healthy and balanced," he said.
"But NAFTA remains an uncertainty. And during the next six years there will be the challenge of fiscal reform," Gonzalez said.
He pointed out that during the current administration there were economic advances which reflected less dependency on petroleum, more taxpayers and better collection of taxes.
"It's good progress, but there is still much to be done," he said.
"Mexico has faced strong headwinds, the collapse of oil prices, the decline of U.S. industrial production and the U.S. monetary policy that has made a lot of noise around the world, but in spite of this, Mexico's economy has grown an annual average of 2.7 percent," he said.
