Note: Among the various corporate regimes under which a Mexican entity may be incorporated, the most common are:
the sociedad anónima (SA) (similar to a corporation in the United States).
the sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (SRL) (similar to a limited liability company in the United States).
the sociedad anónima promotora de inversion (SAPI), which is a type of SA, foreseen as an unlisted vehicle with potential to be converted into a public company.
The General Law of Commercial Entities (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles) (LGSM), provides the legal framework for, among others, SAs and SRLs. The LGSM determines the members of an SA as shareholders and the members of an SRL as partners; the capital of an SA is represented by shares, while the capital of an SRL is represented by equity interests.
SAPIs are governed by the Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores) (LMV) and by the provisions applicable to SAs in the LGSM, to the extent these provisions do not contradict or limit a provision established under the LMV.
Considering that the most common regimes used in Mexico for joint ventures are SRL, SA and SAPI, all of which are privately held entities (that is, not public companies), this Q&A only refers to such entities.