Private Sector as Policy Entrepreneurs in Mexico's 2020 Pension Reform: A New Model for Latin American Welfare State Transformations

This article examines the pivotal role of private-sector actors as policy entrepreneurs in Mexico’s 2020 pension reform, offering new insights into welfare state transformations in Latin America. Through the analysis of elite interviews and policy documents, it argues that private-sector leadership, coupled with a gradual implementation approach and cross-sector collaboration, facilitated a major reform in a historically challenging policy area. This case study extends theories of policy entrepreneurship to private-sector actors in welfare state reforms and provides a potential model for other Latin American countries struggling with pension system challenges. The success of Mexico's reform challenges traditional assumptions about pension reform processes in the region and highlights the importance of cross-sector collaborations in overcoming political and institutional obstacles.