El País and El Economista sign a strategic alliance in Mexico

Spain's leading news service El País has signed a strategic alliance with El Economista, aimed at strengthening ties, initially established on October 5, with the Mexican business and finance daily. The agreement between both publications, who share a common focus, will see El País expand its circulation in Mexico.

Presenting the new agreement at the St Regis hotel in Mexico City, were the governor of the Banco de Mexico, Guillermo Ortiz, education minister Alonso Lujambio, Georgina Kessel, employment minister Javier Lozano; tourism minister Rodolfo Elizondo, and civil service minister Salvador Vega. They were joined by leading figures from the worlds of politics, business, as well as civil servants and company heads from Wal Mart, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, BBVA Bancomer, Banamex and Ixe. The management of both newspapers were also present.

El País director Javier Moreno said the deal was "the realization of a long-held dream: to have a strategic partner in Mexico. This is just the first step in an ambitious enterprise for El País throughout the Americas, ­in the short, medium and long term."

Jorge Nacar, president of the company that publishes El Economista told those present that "we are one of the most influential papers in Mexico. Holding that position is both a privilege and a commitment. Providing timely and rigorous information is just one part of the story. We want to help build a stronger and more prosperous Mexico. We are committed to the values of democracy and business freedom. At the same time, we're all too aware of the growing importance of concepts such as sustainable development and social responsibility."

The director of El Economista, Luis Enrique López, thanked  "the companies who over the past few months had been involved in the project and were committed to taking on the shared challenges. It's a project that has encouraged Grupo PRISA to team up with us to achieve, to the benefit of thousands of El Economista subscribers, what no other media outlet had managed to before: from a number of weeks back, our subscribers receive every day, at no additional cost, a copy of the world's most important Spanish-language general news publication: El País."

The initiative is just the latest in a series of similar deals El País has reached this year, such as those with Argentina's La Nación and the Dominican Republic's El Caribe.