On this episode of THE MODERN MEXICO PODCAST host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Laura Calderon, the Executive Director of Justice in Mexico, a San Diego-based think tank. In spite of persistently high levels of organized crime-related violence, Tijuana has become one of Mexico’s success stories when it comes to "nearshoring" investment. The city has a thriving industrial sector that employs over a quarter of a million people. Between 2016 and 2022 foreign aerospace, automotive, and electronics companies invested over 11 billion dollars in the state of Baja California where Tijuana is located. Over 2,500 cargo trucks cross the border to the U.S. from Tijuana every day. The state of Baja California where Tijuana is located received $2.7 billion in foreign direct investment in 2023. But, this economic success story has not catalyzed a significant improvement in the security dynamic in Tijuana. Tijuana has earned a reputation as the most violent city in Mexico, and in terms of per capita homicides is often ranked as the most violent city in the world. Tijuana recorded 10,725 murders during the first five years of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's time in office (2019-2023). But, we don’t see evidence that powerful organized crime groups are trying to intimidate and extort foreign companies in Tijuana. Only 12 cargo truck hijackings occurred in the entire state of Baja California in 2023. That’s a tiny figure in comparison to the thousands of hijacking incidents recorded in the industrial states of Puebla and Estado de Mexico in central Mexico. Calderon says that she thinks crime in Tijuana affects nearshoring companies on a level of about "4 or 5 out of 10." "The economy is still going. There is a lot of industry, what we call maquiladoras. I think they are designing strategies to create alliances with the local government and ensuring protection for their businesses," she says. Criminal groups in Tijuana are not killing or kidnapping foreign executives, for instance. Calderon says that if the security situation in Tijuana is going to improve, Mexico needs to work to improve the institutional capacity of police and prosecutors.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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