Mexico

Introduction

Mexico is a country located in North America with a North Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea coastline. Neighboring countries include Belize, United States, and Guatemala. Mexico is crossed by two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North America. The government system is a federal republic; the chief of state and head of government is the president. Mexico has a free market economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. Mexico is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Capital	Mexico City
Language	Spanish; over 30 Amerindian languages
Religion	Roman Catholicism (with Amerindian elements); various Protestant churches
Population	95 million
President	Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Economy

Income Level	Upper Middle Income
Level of Development	Developing
Economic Trivia	Mexico has free trade agreements with over 50 countries including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan – putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements.
Trade	Top 3 Trade Partners (2018): United States, China, and Canada Top 3 Exported Goods (2018): Motor Vehicles & Parts, Electrical Machinery, and Industrial Machinery
Top Industries	Food and Beverages; Tobacco; Chemicals; Iron and Steel

Relationships

Even brief exchanges and questions call for an introductory buenos días (good day) or buenas tardes (good afternoon). Male friends show their affection openly. Often they will embrace heartily on meeting and stroll arm in arm.

Government employees, including police officers, sometimes will accept or even ask for the mordida (literally “bite” or bribe).

In contrast with Americans, Mexicans set little store on punctuality. In fact, arriving at a dinner or party on time is considered rude.

Living Conditions

About two-thirds of Mexicans are poorly housed. The poorest peasants and urban dwellers build their own adobe huts or wooden shanties. Only half of all dwellings have piped water and flush toilets. However, almost 90 percent have electric lighting. Improvised settlements, or shantytowns, cover the fringes of Mexico City and other cities.

Family Life

Widespread poverty forces households to stay together for economic as well as social reasons. The household in many cases includes grandparents, aunts, and uncles as well as parents and children. Married children and their spouses also remain part of this unit until they can afford to set up their own households.

Family solidarity extends even beyond blood ties. Compadrazgo , or godparent-hood, plays a very important part in Mexican life. One study of a Mexico City shantytown found eighteen different occasions for involving godparents in celebrations. In return for his or her aid, a godparent expects loyalty, affection, and respect from the child and parents.

Clothing

The more traditional forms of women’s dress include a wraparound skirt, sometimes flounced and embroidered. Also included are the huipil , a sleeveless garment with holes for the head and arms; and the quechquemitl , an upper outer garment with an opening for the head only. The china poblana costume consists of a richly embroidered white blouse and black shawl, a flounced and spangled red-and-green skirt, high-heeled colored slippers, bracelets, earrings, strings of beads, and ribbons or flowers in the hair. Traditional peasant attire for men consisted of pajama-like trousers and tunic of unbleached cotton, a serape (used as both a blanket and a cloak), sandals, and wide sombrero . This attire has mostly given way to jeans, shirt, shoes or boots, and a straw cowboy-type hat.

Food

The staple of Mexican food is corn, supplemented by beans, squash, and chili peppers. Cornmeal is patted into a thin pancake called a tortilla. Together with any of a variety of fillings, it forms a soft sandwich-like taco. (The crisp-fried “taco” known in the U.S. is a tostada ). Fried in chili sauce, the taco becomes an enchilada. The tamale is cornmeal dough wrapped around a filling of meat and chilies, then wrapped in paper, corn husks, or banana leaves for cooking. Tacos made with a tortilla of wheat flour are called burritos. Mole is a rich chili sauce that sometimes contains chocolate, which is native to Mexico. Mole poblano , traditionally the national dish, consists of turkey (a native bird) topped with a spicy mole.

Education

Six years of education are free and compulsory for children from ages six through fourteen. However, many—a majority in rural areas—do not complete the required six years. About one out of ten Mexicans cannot read or write.

Enrollment in secondary schools has increased greatly in recent years. About four out of every five elementary-school graduates now enter high school. Some receive vocational training, while others continue on to one of the nation’s 260 institutions of higher learning. The most important of these is the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in Mexico City.

Recruitment practice

In a 2017 Offshore Group survey in Saltillo, Coahuila, the primary source of employment awareness in Social Networking sites like Facebook (two-way communication) and the second is Newspapers (one-way communication) (tetakawi, 2017). It is also essential to have someone within the company that can recommend a potential candidate for a position (Carrillo, 2017). Who an individual knows is weighted highly, so if someone knows someone who can support them for a placement, they are more likely to get that job versus someone without that recommendation (Carrillo, 2017).

Although platforms on Social Networks are considered the primary source of employment awareness, employers legally cannot look at the social media of a potential candidate (Bufete Diaz Miron y Asociados, 2018). Social Media is considered private information and any involvement by the employer can be viewed as an offence (Bufete Diaz Miron y Asociados, 2018). 

Requirements for Foreign Employees to Work

For any employer, at least 90% of its employees must be Mexican nationals.

In addition, all technical and professional employees must be Mexican nationals, unless there are no Mexican nationals qualified in a particular specialised field, in which case the employer is allowed to temporarily employ technical and professional foreign nationals, but in a proportion not exceeding 10% of those working in the relevant field of specialization. There are two additional conditions:

(1) employers and foreign workers have a joint obligation to train Mexican workers in the specialty of the foreign workers;

(2) physicians working in enterprises must be Mexicans. These provisions do not apply to directors, administrators, or general managers of enterprises.

Also, all physicians, railway employees and employees on a Mexican-flagged ship must be Mexican nationals, Mexican civil aviation crews must be Mexican by birth. The recruiting, screening and hiring process is the same as for nationals; however, foreign employees must have a valid work permit before being hired.

The law limited authorisation for foreign nationals to work in Mexico is also subject to the requirements of the Migration Law, in force as of May 25, 2011, which establishes the following types of immigration status for foreign nationals in Mexico:

• Visitors: may not pursue employment in Mexico.
• Temporary residence: may not pursue employment, although they may file for work permission, and the length of their stay is linked to the person to whom they are linked in Mexico, not to exceed four years.
• Temporary residence with work permission: granted to those foreign workers whose work visa is sponsored by a Mexican company. The maximum length of a temporary residence card is four years. Students fall into the category of temporary residents.
• Permanent residence: all foreign nationals holding a status of permanent residence are allowed to work in Mexico. A permanent residence card does not expire. Foreign nationals under this status may start accruing time in order to file later for the naturalisation process. The Constitution grants foreign nationals the same individual guarantees as Mexican citizens, subject to certain restrictions and provisions as defined by law.

Selection Practices 

When going through the interview process, be sure to confirm the time of the interview as it will be considered tentative until the discussion has been established (tetakawi, 2017). At the start, if the meeting, shake hands with the person who is doing the interview and wait until that person has told you that can call them by their first name (Commisceo Global, n.d.)

During the interview, a domestic company is allowed to ask any question as there is no limitation in terms of questions that can be requested from a legal standpoint (L&E Global, 2016). If a potential employee is going through the selection process of an international company, there is a higher likelihood of having international guidelines and policies they are required to follow. 

When it comes time to hear back from a company, do not expect a straight no. If a potential candidate received the job, they would hear back from the company directly about the job. However, if they did not receive the job then when communicating with the Human Resources department it might be said that “it is a question of time”, they “will call you back”, or there was “a delay with the selection”. These answers should be perceived as a no as in Mexico; it is often regarded as offensive as directly telling someone ‘no’.

Miscellaneous Information 

Cultural Characteristics in the Workplace

In comparison to other countries, Mexico ranks high in terms of the score in power distance (Jackofsky et al., 1996). With a higher power distance, there tends to be a focus on distinct order making sure that things are well-defined and constantly there (Jackofsky et al., 1996). There is also the focus that managers are to be listened to and not challenged as it is considered rude to do so; the decision-making process is also completely centralized (Jackofsky et al., 1996). There is a low value on individualism, meaning there is more of a focus on the group at large instead of the individual (Jackofsky et al., 1996). 

Mexican Employment Law 

There are six sources of employment law in Mexico: Constitutional Rights, International Treaties Approved by the Mexican Senate, Precedents of the Supreme Court of Justice, General Rules of Law, Traditional, and General Rules of Fairness (ICLG, 2019). Mexican Federal Labour Law (MFLL) protects individuals who are employed; there are three types of employees: unionized, nonunionized, and entrusted employees (ICLG, 2019). It should also be noted that, under law, no more than 10% of a company’s employees can be non-Mexican (Flynn, 1994). 

There are seven minimum employment terms that employers in Mexico have to observe. 

1 – Vacation Time: 1 year of employment is six days, two years of employment is eight days, three years of employment is ten days, and then the fourth year and later vacation days increase by two days for every five years of employment (ICLG, 2019). 

2 – Vacation bonus – “25 per cent of the salaries related to vacation days” (ICLG, 2019)

3 – A Christmas bonus will be awarded in the amount of 15 days salary (ICLG, 2019)

4 – A maximum of 48 hours for day shifts per workweek (ICLG, 2019)

5 – Minimum one rest day or day off per week (ICLG, 2019)

6 – A type of profit-sharing scheme (ICLG, 2019)

7 – Adhere to a minimum wage of MXN 80.04 per day (subject to change as laws are introduced) (ICLG, 2019)

As a citizen, an individual cannot be discriminated against within the hiring process or their job (ICLG, 2019). If there is a case of discrimination, the employee can file a claim before the “Labour Court or the National Board to Prevent Discrimination” (ICLG, 2019). In cases of discrimination, it is the onus of the employer to prove that there was no discrimination within practices or policies set forth (ICLG, 2019).

There is no obligation on the employer to give advance notice to employees (ICLG, 2019). The typical practice is terminating the employee and having that day being the last they come into work. In the case that there is a belief of wrongful dismissal, an employee can sue to be reinstated at their job or have severance pay (ICLG, 2019). 

Women’s Rights

Under the MFLL, a woman has a right to 12 weeks off, six weeks before the birth, and six weeks after (ICLG, 2019). A pregnant woman is also entitled to the following rules:

• May not perform industrial tasks in the night and cannot work under hazardous conditions (ICLG, 2019)
• The six weeks leave after birth may be extended if there are complications from birth that don’t allow them to return to work (ICLG, 2019) 
• After coming back from leave, a woman is entitled to two 30-minute breaks to nurse the baby (ICLG, 2019)
• When the woman returns from leave, she can go back to her job as long as it has been less than a year since she left (ICLG, 2019)
• “The employer should have enough seats available for pregnant women” (ICLG, 2019)
• During the 12 weeks leave, the Mexican Social Security Institute pays the mother 100% of her daily salary as a social security contribution (ICLG, 2019). If there is an extension of the leave, then social security will pay 50% of their daily salary of social security contribution for up to 60 days (ICLG, 2019)

National Holiday’s

There are 13 national holidays in Mexico; seven are official federal holidays, and six are not official national holidays but are widely observed throughout the country (Public Holidays Global, 2019).

Bibliography

Commisceo Global (n.d.) Mexico – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette. Available at: https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/mexico-guide [Accessed on: November 1st 2019] 

Fun Mexico Facts for Kids – Interesting Information about Mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/mexico.html

HR in Mexico What You Should Know (online.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.workforce.com/news/hr-in-mexico-what-you-should-know

Hiring Practices in Mexico. (2019, July 12). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://knowledge.leglobal.org/hiring-practices-in-mexico/

HR and Recruitment in Mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.startupoverseas.co.uk/expanding-a-business-in-mexico/hr-and-recruitment.html

L&E Global (2016) Hiring Practices in Mexico. Available at: https://knowledge.leglobal.org/hiring-practices-in-mexico/ [Accessed on: November 1st 2019] 

Mexicans. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mexicans.html

Recruitment Process. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.sgs.mx/en/our-company/careers/recruitment-process