“President Sheinbaum, at Netflix we share your vision of a vibrant, prosperous Mexico full of growth and opportunity. And we want to play our part in making it a reality,” Sarandos said.

“That’s why today, I’m happy to announce that Netflix will be investing $1 billion US dollars to produce series and films in Mexico over the next four years — growing the audiovisual industry and creating jobs and opportunities all across the country.”

Netflix has been investing heavily in original fare out of Latin America and is keen to highlight the benefit to local film and TV industries and wider economies. It touted the financial boost making 100 Years of Solitude brought Colombia, as first reported by Deadline last year. Today, Netflix said making the film Pedro Páramo in Mexico contributed over MXN375M ($18.4M) to the country’s economy.

The wider $1B announced, however, is of a different magnitude. Speaking at the President’s morning presser, Sarandos said Mexico “holds a special place in Netflix’s own history”.  He added: “It was here,10 years ago, where we produced our first series outside the United States called Club de Cuervos. We created it in Mexico for Mexico — and it paved the way for our programming strategy, which is all about local production.”

Sarandos went in to namecheck other Netflix projects out of Mexico. “A few years later, a film called Roma, which was made here, won the Oscar for Best foreign language feature – it was a first for Netflix and for Mexico,” he said. “We were also proud to produce Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo, which was the Mexican submission for the Oscars in 2022. And a year after that, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won for Best Animated Feature — which was another first for both Netflix and Mexico.”

Netflix launched in Mexico in 2011 and opened its first office there in 2019. Its headcount in the country is about 400. $2 million of the new investment will be for developing facilities at the Churubusco Studios complex in Mexico City, one of the largest in the country and originally opened in the 1940s.

Sarandos presented President Sheinbaum with a shawl, or rebozo, worn by the character Damiana in Pedro Páramo.