Understanding the different perspectives of social enterprises in Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico over forty terms are used to refer to different subsets of entities that could be considered as social enterprises, but it is not just a matter of names or fashions because each of those terms includes some entities and excludes others, as is demonstrated graphically in the document using the definitions for the concepts of greater use. The purpose of this article is to identify and characterize the different types of social economy entities with information about their corporate purpose, economic sector, activities, type of mission, target groups, public and private support they receive, the corporate bodies and surveillance they must create (governance) and the social enterprise models to which they belong. Based on these two exercises, we compare the legal definition and the forms of social organization that are part of the social sector of the economy (SSE) as well as three legal figures that it excludes with the dimensions and indicators of the International Comparative Project of Social Enterprise Models and EMES International Research Network, to determine the relevance of that concept. The conclusion is that the SSE, as a result of political pressures and the lack of a clear concept, the Program for the Promotion of the Social Economy is not really directed to the social economy nor encourages it, and is restricted to distributing government support among the actors considered in the Catalog of bodies of the social sector of the economy. Finally, the minimum elements required today to define and promote a public policy to foster the social economy in Mexico are presented.

Keywords: social sector of the economy, social economy, civil society organizations, cooperatives, third sector, Mexico.