Is it complicated to carry out procedures in Mexico?

The requirements to carry out certain administrative, political or legal procedures are more complicated to comply with than they really should be.

Is it complicated to carry out procedures in Mexico?
How complicated is it to do business in Mexico? Photo by Scott Graham / Unsplash

Mexico's fiscal and administrative framework is complex, this country is one of the most advanced in Latin America in this aspect, but it still has certain shortcomings that have led 72% of Mexicans to complain about corruption in the procedures, according to a survey by the Spanish newspaper El País in its Mexican edition.

Many Mexican citizens consider that the requirements to carry out certain administrative, political, or legal procedures are more complicated to comply with than they really should be. This is also related to the lack of clarity in the processes to carry out such procedures, which has led to the creation of web portals that seek to help Mexican citizens with any of their procedures.

If we talk about transparency in the procedures, Mexico is undoubtedly one of the countries that least comply with it. The fact that the procedures are so complex and the requirements so complicated to comply with has caused corruption to be the order of the day in these processes, even in those related to public entities. Based on data from the El País Mexico study, for example, 7 out of 10 Mexican citizens consider that it is complicated to comply with the requirements and formalities set by the government to open a business.

This problem becomes more striking when Mexican companies expand to international countries, especially European or North American countries. Unfortunately, bribery is the order of the day, according to a study by the NGO Transparency International, and excessive bureaucracy does not help facilitate the procedures for Mexicans. Many citizens end up resorting to these unlawful practices to speed up their bureaucratic procedures.

In siempremexico.net you will be able to find the solution to any of the procedures you are trying to carry out. The website is divided into different sections, including political procedures, legal procedures, work procedures, health procedures, and procedures related to cars.

Difficulties to carry out procedures in Mexico

Long waits to be attended

The Mexican paperwork system is quite complex and has commonly focused on solving these formalities in person, which causes long waits at the points where the formalities are carried out. Latin American citizens need an average of 5.4 hours to carry out a procedure through the public administration, Mexico is within this average. Mexican citizens waste a lot of time to carry out a procedure, and it must also be taken into account that it can take several days to complete. Only half of the procedures are resolved in a single attempt.

Excessive bureaucracy

Mexico has a serious problem of excessive bureaucracy, and it is not exactly agile. This slowness at the time of processing any procedure leads to problems of transparency and bribes to speed up the wait. The requirements to be able to carry out a procedure are usually much more complex than in any other country, in addition, they are not usually specified clearly at the point of realization of that procedure. Public workers are also sometimes not committed to the correct completion of these procedures.

Paying to speed up procedures

Due to the excessive bureaucracy mentioned above and the long waits to be attended to, many Mexican citizens are forced to pay to speed up their procedures. The main problems that lead to this are the abuse of performing paperwork in person, the lack of standardization of processes, the lack of transparency of public and private entities, and the dishonest behavior of workers.

Unfortunately, it is quite common for Mexican citizens to have to resort to bribes to access basic public services such as medical attention, enrollment in an educational center, filing a police report, or obtaining a driver's license. Although this does not mean that everyone can afford these procedures, those with lesser resources will have to go the ordinary route. To get an idea of the magnitude of this problem, 30% of Mexicans claim to have paid a bribe at least once in their lives to carry out a procedure.