Mexican president says economy should grow at least 3.5% through 2024

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's economy should grow 3.5% over 2022, 2023 and 2024, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday in a speech to a massive crowd gathered in the country's capital to mark his fourth year in office.

An economic slowdown, largely in the industrial sector, weighed on to Mexico's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, keeping it slightly below estimates in the third quarter this year.

Analysts have predicted GDP will grow by 2.7% this year, while the International Monetary Fund expects growth to slow to 1.2% next year.

"The economy will increase by 3.5% this year and, I estimate, by that same percentage at least for 2023 and 2024," he said.

Lopez Obrador has recently said we would like to see the central bank balance fighting inflation with the need to protect economic growth.

(Reporting by Diego Ore Oviedo; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio)