The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and financial inclusion: regional asymmetries and intersectional inequalities

Abstract

This paper critically analyzes how, one hundred years after its founding, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has played a central role in the country's macroeconomic stability. Recently, its monetary policy has been aligned with the targeting inflation model, limiting its actions to functions considered "technical," excluding objectives such as full employment. However, the role of central banks has recently begun to be questioned more forcefully, and proposals have been made to expand their functions, incorporating unconventional instruments and adopting mandates aimed at regionally balanced financial inclusion, gender equality, and sustainable development. In this context, we propose a critical reading of Banxico's actions from a heterodox perspective, underscoring the need for the institution to assume a more active role in promoting development. Specifically, financial inclusion is presented as an urgent challenge, given the persistent regional, ethnic, and gender gaps in access to basic financial services. The article is structured in three parts: a theoretical approach to the transformative potential of central banking; An empirical analysis of financial inequalities in Mexico based on the National Survey of Financial Inclusion (ENIF); and, in the final reflections, a discussion aimed at rethinking the role of Banxico in building a more equitable national financial architecture, capable of promoting a development strategy with greater dynamism in economic growth rates, combating inequalities, and achieving greater social justice.