Though Cemex became a large global player years ago, it is still very much a Mexican company (meaning it lacks the maturity and balance of most global players). It is still largely controlled by a few families in Monterrey (and occasionally as employees we'd have to deal with some cousin or nephew of the CEO of EVP who had a position of authority far beyond his merit). All of the top execs are men from Latin America or Spain. As such, Cemex suffers from a dearth of perspective and a surfeit of testosterone. Hence it took on far more risk than it could reasonably afford. There is also a "Cacique" (strongman) top-down approach in which the little people serve the big people. There are many problems with this approach not the least of which is that it greatly impedes communication.
