Simon Levy is a doctor in law, a postdoctoral researcher in data science at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the few Western voices deeply trained at the School of Law at the People’s University of China in Beijing. He was Undersecretary of Planning and Tourism Policy of Mexico (2018–2019), and he resigned to become one of the most ferocious critics of Morena and the so-called fourt transformation movement.
Simon Levy presented the transition plan he is developing with the United States to remove Morena from power, based on three pillars:
- Economic security.
- Zero tolerance for crime.
- Transforming Mexico into an infrastructure powerhouse.
The Economic and Security Strategy — Mexico in the 21st Century: From Reactive Partner to Sovereign Architect of Its Own Destiny — 11 reforms, 1 actionable agenda, 1 historic window that cannot wait
Simón Levy · Washington · March 2025
There are moments in a country’s history when the window of transformation opens with unusual clarity.
Not as a metaphor, but as an operational reality: external conditions, institutional pressure, and the collapse of previous models converge at a turning point that demands decisive action, not deliberation.
Mexico is at that point today.
The reshaping of the world order, the structural return of nearshoring, the US designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and the migratory pressure that Washington has turned into a tool for bilateral negotiations are not abstract threats. They are a concrete call for a strategic refounding of the Mexican state. Either Mexico acts with a statesmanlike vision, or it will continue to be a spectator to the destiny that others assign it.
The bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States generated record trade of $839.892 billion in 2024, making Mexico the US’s main trading partner for the second consecutive year, surpassing Canada ($762.056 billion) and China ($582.463 billion). That same year, remittances sent by the Mexican diaspora reached a new all-time high of $64.745 billion, according to the Bank of Mexico, consolidating their position as the country’s main source of foreign currency, representing 44.4% of the total foreign exchange entering the national economy.
And yet, this unprecedented economic interdependence coexists with a growing asymmetry of narrative power and agenda-setting. Washington defines the terms of the migration debate, the fight against drug trafficking, and border security. Mexico, in turn, reacts.
This document proposes reversing that equation.
Not through confrontation, but through institutional strength, economic creativity, and active sovereignty. The structural reforms presented here are interconnected: each one reinforces the others, and together they create a country radically different from the status quo.
“Mexico’s greatness is not negotiated with Washington: it is built here, with this generation, with these decisions. What is lacking is not diagnosis. Mexico has the best economists, the best jurists, and the best strategists in the hemisphere. What is lacking is the will to execute.”
— Simón Levy
Here’s the full plan:
https://transicionmexeua2030.tiiny.site
I. The Big Bet: From Tijuana to Tamaulipas
Imagine a 3,145-kilometer strip that doesn’t divide two nations but merges them into the largest hub for investment, entertainment, healthcare, and logistics in the Western world. A zone where international capital finds legal certainty, world-class infrastructure, and simultaneous access to the two largest markets in the Americas.
This isn’t a distant vision: it’s an institutional engineering project that can be implemented during this presidential term, with precedents in Dubai, Singapore, and the economic zones of southern China.
The Mexican Border Region has everything it needs to become what those models took decades to build.
It has the geography, demographics, connectivity, and, above all, a pent-up demand for investment that is simply waiting for clear signs of certainty and state leadership.
The model is structured around five mutually reinforcing elements.
FIRST ELEMENT: THE AMNESTY AND RECONVERSION LAW FOR NARCO-CAPITAL
Under a conditional amnesty decree coordinated with U.S. federal agencies, organized crime actors who voluntarily participate in the program return 60% of their documented illicit assets to the State. The remainder is legalized through its mandatory conversion into investment capital within the Orinoco Drug Belt, subject to ongoing supervision by the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the bilateral agreement.
Former criminal operators become regulated investors: real estate owners, shareholders in legal casinos, and financiers of medical and agribusiness developments. The Colombian experience with the conversion of criminal assets into productive capital, coupled with a robust institutional framework, generated over $12 billion in revenue over a decade. Mexico, with an economy three times larger and a border with the world’s largest market, can multiply that result.
The BMAI would be initially capitalized with $50 billion contributed in proportions negotiated between the governments of Mexico and the United States, with open participation from the private sector, institutional pension funds, and multilateral organizations such as the IDB and the World Bank. It would have binational governance with a board of directors of 12 members and a four-year rotating presidency.
◼ BMAI · PORTFOLIO OF 5 MEGAPROJECTS
Pacific High-Speed Rail · La Paz → San Francisco · 2,800 km
$45–$60 billion USD
49 New Technological Customs Offices · 100% AI Scanning
~$8 billion USD
6 Next-Generation Ports · Pacific + Atlantic
$15 billion USD
Desalination Network · 80% Wastewater Treatment
$8 billion USD
Northern Agricultural Revolution · Projected Return
$8–$12 billion/year
Total Leveraged Investment (IDB/WB Multiplier Effect)
$200–$250 billion USD
The most ambitious project in the portfolio is the High-Speed Rail Pacific Bullet: a high-speed rail corridor from La Paz to San Francisco spanning over 2,800 kilometers. From San Francisco to Tijuana in under two hours.
The precedent set by the Hong Kong-Shenzhen corridor generated over $200 billion in real estate appreciation within its area of influence. Baja California has the geography, the beauty, and the latent demand to replicate this phenomenon on a continental scale.
III. Money is Crime: Follow the Money as a State Doctrine
The entire security architecture described in this document has a backbone that most analyses ignore or underestimate: organized crime money doesn’t disappear simply because a kingpin is captured or a cell is dismantled. It is recycled, laundered, reinvested, and reappears, financing the next generation of criminals. As long as the financial flow of drug trafficking remains uninterrupted, the hydra will continue to regenerate heads.
The most conservative estimates from the World Bank and the UNODC indicate that transnational organized crime launders between $800 billion and $2 trillion annually through the global financial system. Fentanyl alone generates an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion in annual revenue for the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG. This money moves: in cash across the border, in structured remittances, in real estate purchases in Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles, and through shell companies in Delaware and the Cayman Islands.
“Capturing the kingpin generates a headline. Freezing his money destroys his organization. Every dollar traced is more valuable than ten arrests. An arrest leads to a trial, an appeal, and often a release. A well-executed asset freeze destroys an organization’s operational capacity immediately and irreversibly.”
— Simón Levy
The proposal is a Financial Intelligence Unit for Warfare (FIU), built upon the existing Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) but with three critical expansions: real-time access to records of international transactions under the FATF treaties with the 39 member countries; a permanent joint unit with the U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN, the most powerful equivalent in the world for tracking illicit flows; and a team specializing in crypto assets with forensic capabilities to trace transactions on blockchain, the new preferred channel for international money laundering.
IV. The 11 Reforms of the Transition
The reforms that follow are not academic exercises. They are state actions with deadlines, responsible parties, and measurable indicators. Each one reinforces the others. Together, they create a country radically different from the status quo.
01 ⚖️ Terrorist Designation and Conditional Amnesty
Two paths with no gray areas. Amnesty: 60% of assets + legal investment in the Gaza Strip. Without accepting it: total war between two states.
▶ $3.75–4.5 billion recoverable in the initial phase
02 🏗️ Special Economic Zones for Border Regions (ZEEF)
Triple helix model: State + private + binational. Corporate income tax at 12%, accelerated depreciation, zero internal tariffs. North: +600,000 jobs. South: +180,000 jobs.
▶ 780,000 direct jobs · $180 billion MXN in additional consumption/year
03 🛰️ Technological Border Security
Drones, seismic sensors, optical recognition, and AI to monitor 3,145 km. Documented results in Israel, Australia, and CBP pilot programs in Arizona.
▶ −40% undetected border crossings · $2.4 billion investment over 5 years
04 💸 Sovereign Control of Remittances
National biometric traceability with FinCEN. Remittances in 2024 reached a record $64.745 billion (Banxico). The FATF and the DEA estimate that 8–12% contain illicit funds.
▶ $5–7.7 billion recovered from organized crime annually
05 🤝 Mexico-US Bilateral Fund (FBMX)
$20 billion over 7 years with a rotating dual presidency. Mexico as co-architect, not executor of another’s agenda. Destinations: shared intelligence, interdiction, fentanyl.
▶ $20 billion capitalized over 7 years · Replicable with Canada
06 🏛️ Binational Judicial System (SBIJ)
Complete renewal of prosecutors’ offices: competitive examination, ongoing background checks, guaranteed budget.
Source: Simon Levy
