If you sell spare parts at Abossey Okai, import electronics through Tema, run a hotel in East Legon, or manage a factory in Spintex, you probably did not wake up this week worrying about events in Mexico. Why would you? It is thousands of miles away. Different language. Different politics. Different problems.
But here is the uncomfortable truth about today’s world: when a major economy stumbles because of insecurity, everyone eventually feels it, even if the connection is not obvious at first.
Mexico is currently experiencing fresh unrest following reports that security forces killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. In response, parts of western Mexico, including cities such as Guadalajara and the resort hub of Puerto Vallarta, saw roadblocks, burning vehicles, and temporary business shutdowns.
For Mexico, this is about cartels, crime, and security forces. For Ghana, it is about something more subtle: the price of instability.
Mexico’s long battle with organized crime intensified after the Government of Mexico launched a sweeping crackdown in 2006. The idea was straightforward, take out the kingpins, weaken the networks, restore order. What followed was more complicated. Some groups fragmented. Others adapted. Many expanded beyond drugs into fuel theft, illegal mining, construction, logistics, and port activity.
In short, crime moved from the shadows into the bloodstream of the economy.
When that happens, the consequences are not only measured in crime statistics. They show up in freight costs, insurance premiums, factory output, and investor confidence. Transport routes become riskier. Companies pause operations. Tourists cancel trips. Executives quietly reconsider expansion plans.
Mexico is one of the world’s major manufacturing centres for automobiles and electronics. If production slows in Mexico, companies in the United States adjust. If they adjust, suppliers elsewhere feel it. Eventually, that ripple travels into shipping schedules, pricing structures, and availability of goods in markets like Ghana.
We have seen this movie before. During COVID-19, disruptions in factories we had never heard of ended up raising the cost of cement, car parts, and basic appliances here at home. The lesson was painful but clear: supply chains are global, and shocks travel fast.
But beyond supply chains, there is a deeper lesson for Ghana.
Investors are pragmatic. They do not say it loudly, but they think it constantly: is this country predictable? Can my staff operate safely? Will my trucks move without disruption? Will contracts be enforced? Stability, in this sense, is not an abstract concept. It is a line item in an investment decision.
Mexico still has immense economic potential, yet its long-running security challenges have imposed a reputational cost. That cost shows up as higher borrowing rates, cautious foreign capital, and slower business expansion in certain regions.
Ghana has spent decades building a different narrative. We market ourselves as stable, democratic, and business-friendly. That reputation has helped attract multinational offices, regional headquarters, and diaspora investment. But stability is not a permanent badge. It must be defended.
When illegal mining continues unchecked, when smuggling networks undercut legitimate businesses, when complex financial crimes linger unresolved, those are not just governance debates. They are business risks. Each unresolved issue chips away, slowly, at confidence.
Mexico’s experience shows what happens when criminal influence grows deep roots in economic sectors. Reversing it becomes expensive, politically draining, and socially painful. The longer it persists, the harder it is to untangle.
For Ghana, the point is not to dramatize or compare ourselves recklessly. It is to understand that economic strength rests on more than GDP growth figures. It rests on the invisible confidence that tomorrow will function roughly like today.
If trucks can move.
If contracts will hold.
If the state can respond when challenged.
That confidence is what attracts capital. That confidence is what allows businesses to plan five and ten years ahead. That confidence is what keeps entrepreneurs from moving their money elsewhere.
Mexico’s unrest is tragic for its citizens but also serves as a lesson for Ghana.
In a world where capital can move at the click of a button, competitive advantages are not things you take for granted.
