Mexico 2026: The Main Legal Keys for Businesses
Specialists from the different areas of practice of Garrigues in Mexico analyse, from all perspectives of business law, the main regulatory developments that will impact companies in the country this year.
The year 2026 is shaping up to be an inflection point for Mexico’s legal and regulatory environment. The convergence of recent structural reforms, the gradual roll‑out of secondary legislation, the strengthening of the State’s supervisory and enforcement powers, and the impact of economic and geopolitical factors—such as the USMCA review, the relocation of production chains, and Mexico’s hosting of FIFA World Cup matches—collectively creates a highly complex regulatory scenario for companies operating in the country.
From a corporate and M&A perspective, 2026 presents significant opportunities, particularly in sectors linked to nearshoring, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, financial services, payments, and real estate. While no substantial changes to company law are anticipated, the combined effects of tax, anti‑money laundering (AML), competition, compliance, and the new institutional design arising from judicial reform will directly influence deal structuring, corporate documentation, due diligence processes, and the allocation of contractual risks. This is coupled with a dynamic real estate environment driven by global‑scale events and the expected recovery of the industrial sector, as well as a more demanding framework in tax, AML, competition, and banking and financial regulation that will require more sophisticated and preventive transactional planning.
In tax matters, fiscal year 2026 consolidates a clear trend toward strengthening revenue collection and tax control through a more detailed regulatory framework with enhanced audit, collection, and access‑to‑financial‑information tools. This approach is balanced by selective stimulus programs aimed at regularizing taxpayers, repatriating capital, and addressing specific contexts, such as the FIFA World Cup. For companies, the new tax framework requires a comprehensive review of compliance models, the economic substance of operations, and dispute management, as well as technological and operational adaptation in the face of reinforced obligations in digital, financial, and highly regulated sectors.
In the labor arena, 2026 continues the trend toward growing regulatory sophistication and a sustained increase in compliance obligations. Adjustments to minimum wage and to the UMA index, the consolidation of new inspection protocols—particularly in subcontracting—and the full force of reforms such as the so‑called ‘Chair Law’ configure a setting in which labor costs, exposure to contingencies, and the need for preventive management acquire strategic weight. This is coupled with an active legislative agenda aimed at modifying historical benefits and gradually reducing the workweek toward 2030, forcing companies to anticipate financial, operational, and organizational impacts. Taken together, the 2026 labor framework calls for an exhaustive review of internal policies, documentation structures, safety and health programs, and protocols for dealing with authorities, as well as close coordination among legal, HR, and compliance areas to mitigate risks amid strengthened enforcement.
In administrative and regulatory law, 2026 deepens a trend toward greater intervention, supervision, and sanctioning capacity by authorities at both federal and local levels. The strengthening of inspection, verification, and oversight powers—in sectors such as energy, telecom, infrastructure, environment, health, foreign trade, and public procurement—increases companies’ exposure to complex administrative proceedings, significant fines, and corrective measures with immediate operational impact. In this context, regulatory planning, strategic management of permits, concessions, and authorizations, as well as the design of administrative and constitutional defense schemes that enable agile responses to government actions and minimize contingencies, become especially relevant.
As for dispute resolution, 2026 will be marked by the progressive implementation of judicial reform and by a prolonged institutional transition period characterized by operational adjustments, learning curves, and challenges in terms of predictability and resolution times. In this scenario, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms—particularly arbitration, mediation, and tiered dispute‑prevention schemes—are consolidating as strategic tools to preserve operational continuity and contractual certainty. In parallel, reforms to the National Code of Civil and Family Procedure and to the Amparo Law are redefining litigation and defense strategies, simplifying and unifying procedures, leveraging digital means, and requiring early planning of evidence and interim measures.
Finally, in industrial and intellectual property, life sciences, and regulated sectors, 2026 anticipates a particularly active legislative and regulatory agenda. The possible issuance of the regulations and reforms to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (LFPPI), the incorporation of new patent and trademark figures, the strengthening of enforcement vis‑à‑vis emerging technologies such as AI and ambush marketing, as well as deep changes to the health, environmental, and public‑health framework, are redefining the rules for protecting intangibles, innovation, and market access. For companies in the pharmaceutical, food, technology, and consumer industries, this environment demands an integrated approach to compliance, IP, and sectoral regulation, with proactive legal risk management.
Overall, this report aims to serve as a reference tool for strategic decision‑making in 2026, offering a cross‑cutting view of the applicable legal framework and its practical effects on investment, operations, and business sustainability in Mexico.