What was the nickname of Mexico’s 1994–1995 financial crisis and stock-market turmoil?

Mexico’s 1994–1995 financial crisis and stock-market turmoil was nicknamed the Tequila Crisis.

The crisis began after Mexico devalued the peso in December 1994. Investors worried about the country’s foreign-currency liabilities and its ability to defend the exchange rate, prompting rapid capital outflows. The peso lost much of its value, and financial stress spread through Mexican markets and the wider region.

An international rescue package, involving the United States and the International Monetary Fund, helped Mexico meet its obligations and stabilize the situation. The crisis also demonstrated how quickly investor concerns could move across borders in increasingly integrated financial markets.

“Tequila Crisis” is a nickname, not the formal name of a stock index crash. The term follows a pattern of beverage-based labels sometimes used for emerging-market crises, such as the later Asian financial crisis’s “contagion” descriptions.