The economic goal that never came: World Cup falls short of boosting Mexico

MEXICO CITY, July 17 : The World Cup left stadiums packed and millions of fans euphoric in Mexico, but failed to lift a sluggish economy weighed down by weak investment and uncertainty over the upcoming review of the North American trade agreement (USMCA).The tournament, which ends Sunday after more than a month of matches across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, had Mexico host 13 of 104 games. However, it fell short of ambitious official tourism targets aimed at boosting gross domestic product (GDP), which contracted in the first quarter."The World Cup will not structurally change the trajectory of the Mexican economy," said Humberto Calzada, chief economist at Rankia. Calzada noted the tournament offers only a short-term stimulus for an economy the government expects to grow betwee