Maintaining the preference of nonresident investors is obviously of paramount importance and can never be taken for granted. The second route for external impact has been in the public finances, originating, again, in lower oil prices. As with other large oil producers, Pemex, the state-owned oil extracting enterprise, has seen its financial conditions deteriorate significantly.
This, along with more than a decade-long decline in oil production, has resulted in a considerable increase in credit-risk perception. The rise for Pemex credit default swap (CDS) spreads has been more acute than for many other major oil-producing firms. More importantly, lower oil prices have dented the prospects for healthy Mexican public finances.