2023-11-30 08:00:00
The international economy is in a state of fundamental transformations.
The main catalyst for these was the COVID pandemic, which had the effect of radically dislocating global production and supply chains.
Right now, the war that Russia has inflicted on Ukraine is also generating new arrangements in international trade and finance that will have serious repercussions in the near future.
As always happens in cases of economic restructuring, unprecedented opportunities arise for actors who are willing to take advantage of them.
The case of Mexico is, in this sense, paradigmatic. Its proximity to the largest economic power on the globe, as well as the fracture of the supply networks that came from Asia to the US market, make Mexico a country with great attractiveness for investors throughout the planet.
The problem is that the Mexican economy is very heterogeneous in terms of competitiveness. If we understand this concept as the capacity of a Region, State or City to attract investments and human talent, we see that our country is very uneven.
According to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, there are geographic areas in Mexico capable of competing head-to-head with any region in the world. Among the most competitive entities are Mexico City, Querétaro, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Baja California Sur and Jalisco. On the other hand, however, states such as Veracruz, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero have very low levels of competitiveness.
Regarding the competitiveness of cities, Monterrey is the most competitive city among the largest; Saltillo, Querétaro and Guadalajara follow. Among medium-sized cities, Durango and Mazatlán top the list and among small cities, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.
What have these regions and urban centers done well? According to the same Institute, there are several criteria that must be met to be competitive.
First of all, innovation needs to be promoted in order to create and attract knowledge that allows increasing efficiency and generating more value.
Secondly, it is essential to generate human capital ready to adapt to the next technological challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
Thirdly, we must promote dynamic and diverse economies that generate better conditions for development.
Fourthly, it is necessary to encourage international opening that tends to facilitate access to new markets.
Fifthly, it is essential to create a rule of law that guarantees the security of people and provides certainty to investment.
These are the minimum necessary to provide a community with the tools that allow it to be competitive.
The future of Mexico depends on ensuring that the areas of the country that have been left behind can reduce the gap with respect to the more developed areas. That is our great economic challenge.
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