Go out in Mexico City to a popular bar or restaurant these days and the chances are that you may have to wait for a table. Book a mariachi troupe to play at a party or a wedding, and the prices you will pay are unlikely to be much less than a year or two ago.
As Mexico braces itself for the worst economic performance in at least 60 years – private sector estimates suggest that gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 7.2 per cent this year – economists are increasingly asking themselves why there are so few signs of hardship compared with previous downturns.
