Mexico's federal government has introduced several measures to eliminate non-transparent practices in its public and private sectors in order to stimulate private sector growth. Anti-corruption initiatives, activities and legislation have also increased significantly since 2000. However, reports and surveys indicate that corruption has taken on institutionalised dimensions in some economic sectors. Another pressing issue is the fact that local politicians and police are frequently accused of being involved in corruption and of collaborating with powerful drug cartels in the Northern States of Mexico. Nevertheless, there are great variations in the level and impact of corruption within the different Mexican states.

Positive developments in relation to corruption and investment:

• Mexico has a strong anti-corruption legal framework; however, enforcement of legislation remains a problem.
• An increasing number of public agencies and initiatives have been dealing with anti-corruption in Mexico since a change of government in 2000.
• The federal government has introduced several initiatives that reduce the number of contact points between companies and front-line officials and these initiatives have helped remove some of the possibilities for extorting bribes in return for public services.
• The country has made great progress in increasing transparency by, for example, passing a Freedom of Information Act of 2002 (in Spanish, as amended in 2006) that ensures access to information for citizens at all government levels. The improved access to information is a major step towards increased control over public spending and activities.

Risks of corruption:

• Corruption is on the increase, with the total bribes paid in Mexico rising by 18.5% to 2.75 billion USD in 2010, according to a TI Mexico survey.
• The degrees and types of corruption that companies encounter in Mexico vary a lot between the federal, state and municipal level. For more information on this, please see this profile's special page, Regional Differences in Corruption and the Regulatory Environment.
• Observers generally agree that public procurement still suffers from a range of problems and that corruption remains widespread.