Introduction
Social Economy in Mexico traces back to the post-revolutionary period (as early as 1921); nonetheless, there is a recent recognition for it. One could affirm that the social economy is currently facing its institutionalization period, as it was during the second decade of the current century where laws, government agencies and programs were introduced. Namely, the Law on Social and Solidarity Economy, the National Institute of Social Economy with its Advisory Board, and the Program for Social Economy Promotion, one of its main tools for promoting this sector.
On the 1st of December 2019, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, candidate from the Morena Party, took office as the president of the country. He was part of the opposition, which means that he didn’t belong to any of the two political parties that had been holding power during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been the president who achieved the highest percentage of votes in the history of the country (53.19%), so the people expected and still expect he could break neoliberal policies, and really support the social economy.
In this paper, we will review the foundation of the public policy to promote the social economy through its three bases:
- In 2012, the Law on Social and Solidarity Economy (Ley de la Economía Social y Solidaria) was approved. It could be considered the legal basis of the public policy to promote the social economy.
- The Law on Social and Solidarity Economy ordered the transformation of the National Support Fund for Solidarity Companies (Fondo Nacional de Apoyo para las Empresas de Solidaridad, Fonaes) in the National Institute of Social Economy (Instituto Nacional de la Economía Social, Inaes), which could be described as the institutional base of the public policy to promote the social economy.
- Since 2014, the National Institute of Social Economy is in charge of implementing the Social Economy Promotion Program (Programa de Fomento a la Economía Social) with annual operating rules. It could be recognized as the budgetary program base of the public policy to promote the social economy.
The main questions to be answered in this paper are: Are these bases enough to consider that in Mexico already exists a public policy to promote the social economy (or only some isolated actions)? Could the new government really promote the social economy in the country?
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