ice in 1989, the country had piled up huge
external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was
plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked
on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization.
In 1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the
peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by
law to the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent
years. In 1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the
loss of banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived,
recession; a series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking
system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching 8% in
1997. In 1998, international financial turmoil caused by Russia's
problems and increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced the
highest domestic interest rates in more than three years, halving
the growth rate of the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP
falling by 3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in
December 1999, sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce
the deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. Growth in
2000 was a disappointing 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign
investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay
debts and maintain its fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. One
bright spot at the start of 2001 was the IMF's offer of $13.7
billion in support.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $476 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.8% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6%

industry: 32%

services: 62% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 37% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.9% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 15 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%

Unemployment rate: 15% (December 2000)

Budget: revenues: $44 billion

expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2000 est.)

Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 77.087 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil f