Mexico Takes the Lead in the Latin American Film Industry with a New Production Incentive
(Article originally published in Portuguese on February 18 in the Revista de Cinema)
Last week, in a ceremony held at the National Palace, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, alongside Oscar-nominated actress Salma Hayek (the initiative’s poster girl) and Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza, announced a comprehensive program to strengthen the audiovisual industry and attract major productions to the country.
The initiative provides economic and fiscal incentives, especially aimed at independent productions and those from Indigenous communities. Coordinated with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the program is based on a revision of the 1992 National Film Law, modernizing the entire production chain.
The main pillar of the plan is a new 30% income tax incentive in the form of a “transferable tax credit,” applicable to projects carried out in Mexican territory. The benefit covers feature films, series, documentaries, animation, and post-production, with defined minimum spending levels and the requirement that at least 70% of expenditures be directed to local companies.
The new incentive comes at a time when producers are seeking support in Mexican states, with Jalisco being the only state currently offering an incentive in the form of a cash rebate. In Brazil, only Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have their own incentives, with no federal program in place. Although efficient, the model adopted by Mexico is more bureaucratic than a cash rebate, despite having been successfully implemented in countries such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
The program also strengthens the screen quota, extends the minimum required exhibition period, and establishes mechanisms to protect the rights of dubbing actors in the face of advances in artificial intelligence. In addition, it seeks to consolidate Mexico as an international hub for audiovisual production, strengthen cultural sovereignty, and generate jobs.
The initiative takes place in a challenging international context, marked by threats of tariffs on foreign productions by the United States. According to Claudia Curiel, the plan represents progress by recognizing cinema as a cultural right.
By integrating the promotion of local content, technological regulation, and production incentives, Mexico is becoming a benchmark in the Latin American audiovisual industry. It remains to be seen whether Brazil will follow this example after years of debate in Congress.
*Steve Solot is President of the Latin American Training Center (LATC), Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group – ASG/DGA, member of the ACRJ Business Council for Cultural Affairs, and Co-Leader of the Entertainment and Tourism Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Rio de Janeiro.
