Our traditional way of doing politics and managing industry is based on a lack, not only of economic resources, but mostly of political will or capacity to transform what needs to be activated: productive and commercial growth. An unattractive challenge because it is a medium- and long-term transformation, but not facing it forces us to live today with the consequences of unemployment, informality, poverty and migration.

The justification of state intervention in the production system and trade patterns through industrial policy requires breaking the paradigm of market power as the only driver of productive development and understanding state intervention as a complementary alliance that accelerates the identification of different sources of growth, the development of new production capacities, guaranteeing the supply of public services that improve industrial productivity and commercial competitiveness. Public policy that protects sensitive production sectors from bad commercial practices and ensures open competition, under equal conditions.

Modern industry is undergoing three main pressures: technological transformation, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. Transformations that require the design of a dynamic industrial policy in which capital, technology and labor correspond not only to new industrial standards, but also to the relocation of the production chain as a result of geopolitical pressure. For example, the United States through the Chips and Science Act seeks to expand its semiconductor industry or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates the transition of the energy industry; two laws that prompted Mexico to issue a decree last week to promote productive investment due to the phenomenon of nearshoring, establishing accelerated tax deductions for investments, varying from 56% to 89% in 2023 and 2024; and also guarantees an additional 25% deduction over three years

for the costs of training workers, with a focus on the development of human capital. Ten sectors included in this regulation are highly exportable: electronic components, semiconductors, batteries, motors, electronic equipment, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, agribusiness, medical instruments and cinematography.

Integrating industrial policy as a strategic goal for getting out of the trap of production stagnation and deindustrialization that characterizes our country is necessary, urgent and responsible. It requires an industrial political leadership that gets rid of the mentality of scarcity, that tends to manage scarcity and feels it as a political achievement. When industry becomes politics, a new mentality must emerge: more agile, flexible and collaborative to meet the challenges of market and commercial transformation; leadership that governs the creation of social prosperity. This mentality would differentiate the next government if it wants to extend its presidential term. (OR)