Border Blogs: Expressing our Border Culture

Mexico has become a solid World manufacturing powerhouse, reaching high quality levels and competiveness that have positioned the country at the top levels in a series of industries. Such is the case of automotive industry and Aeronautic, where it is easily possible to appreciate the extent of the installed industry in the country and its impressive exports volume.

But, it has not only been in manufactures that Mexico has reached a leadership place at world level. During the last years, it has reached an every day more important role in the growing world industry of information technology (IT). This complex industry encompasses a wide range of products from software programming and development, to computer equipment, becoming the relevant variable of the knowledge society and the main driver of our times’ technological and communications revolution.

In 2001, Mexico’s IT services exports reached only 50 million dollars. This year, the industry’s numbers will close at an unprecedented level of 4.2 billion dollars in service exports. Undoubtedly, Mexico is the fourth global exporter in software development, and top number on in Latin America, positioned only behind India, the Philippines and China.

In terms of competitiveness, ATKearney Consulting revealed in a recent study, that Mexico occupies the sixth best place in the world for offshore IT services operations. This study ponders different factors such as financial advantages, human factor’s availability and skills, as well as business environment. On the other hand, in terms of industry quality, it has been acknowledged internationally and 350 companies operate according to industry standards such as the CMMI, CMM, and/or the Mexican norm MOPROSOFT, among others with interesting increase within the industry.

Furthermore, according to available data from specialized firms such as Gartner and Forrester, Mexico is also within the five first world places as TI providers with annual exports with estimated increases of two digits for the next years. Within this, Mexico is considered by big industry investors as one of the main destinies for investment, out of a sample of 148 countries.

According to the UN’s report of creative economies, Mexico has also become a one. This study measures the creative industries’ contribution to GDP and includes sectors’ activities related to popular knowledge and cultural legacy, or handcrafts and cultural festivals, to technology, software and services sectors. In its 2010 study, Mexico appears as the first creative economy of Latin America and one of the 20 most important worldwide.

Advances reached in this Mexican industry are the result of an intentional collaboration between de Mexican government and the industry, mainly through the creation of a support program called PROSOFT and an initiative to promote the country as a world class alternative for nearshore in IT solutions (MexicoIT), that has certainly given as a result a Mexican service offer cost competitive and with the highest quality.

On the latest news there has been a lot of discussion about the data that shows a significant decrease in the number of migrants from Mexico towards the US. Mexican migration toward the US in 2000 was 500,000 on average annually. Last year it came down to 100,000.  And there are approximately only 9.5 million Mexican born citizens living in the USA.

There are many good explanations as to why we are experiencing this decrease. They go from pointing out the everyday lower salary differential between both countries, the surveillance increase at the frontier, the better opportunities and income levels in Mexico, the demographic changes in Mexico, to even the organized effect crime that makes migration less attractive, among many others.

But there is another relevant phenomenon that is not much talked about, and maybe it’s even more interesting. It is the American migration towards Mexico and everything points to show that it will considerably grow within the next years. And though it is a fact since the end of the XIX Century, it is a little studied phenomenon. In fact, according to Dr. Sheila L. Croucher it hasn’t even been properly named migration; American immigrants in Mexico are referred to with euphemisms like “expats” or “American community in Mexico” or “retired Americans”, names that avoid showing its real permanent immigrant condition in their new country. Perhaps, the idea behind this attitude might be that no one would want to migrate to Mexico in a definite way, but reality bluntly shows another thing.

According to available data from Department of State, Mexico is the main destiny for Americans that decide to live outside their country; more than a million Americans living throughout Mexican territory. And there are various reasons that motivate Americans to come to Mexico. Among them there are the lower cost of living, home proximity and the access to a great source of culture. Other factors are also relevant for any immigrant to take into account when choosing Mexico as a their home and within them are Mexico’s level of human development, economic progress, democratization environment, access to quality healthcare and the everyday improved access to technology that allows communication regardless of distances.

So according to the main forecasts, American migration heading Mexico will do no other thing but accelerate.

On the one hand, if considering the Mexican population aging process, technically by 2030 it will not be in conditions anymore to send Mexicans to the US. On the other hand, estimates of the 2008 US Population Census show there are today more than 40.2 millions baby boomers and in 2030, there will be more than 72 millions with 65 years or more that will be considering retirement. If only 5% of all of those baby boomers consider Mexico for their retirement, we will have an additional population of 3.6 millions of Americans living in Mexico. For every two Mexicans living in the US, there will be one American living in Mexico.

Sharing citizens on both sides of the border becomes both a challenge and an opportunity for our countries. We have yet to build a community furthermore than what we have done and said we will do til today.

This definitely breaks our paradigms regarding Mexico-US relationship. The issues over which our relationship has been based, like organized crime, frontier security and the south-north migration tend to belong to a soon to be far away past. The real future of our relationship is inexorably related to our migrants and immingrants; Mexicans in the US and Americans in Mexico, and what is possible to create for both countries, with our people.

According to the Environmental Performace Index, issued by collaboration of the Yale University and Columbia University with collaboration of the World Economic Forum and the Joint Centre Research of the European Union, Mexico ranks 43 out of 163 countries.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) loosk at performance indicators tracked across ten policy categories, covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at anational government scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals.

Mexico ranks 43 and has a 67.3 score, which represents the average between its 76.5 score in Environmental Public Health and 58.1 in Ecosystem Vitality. This score is also the percentage as a proximity to the country’s target.

But what does this number mean? We will see how numbers are more than numbers if one takes the time to really look within them.

If one looks across the Americas, it locates Mexico right above Canada, the United States, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, and many others. The median score for the region is 66.8.

Moreover, by looking at how other regions are doing, Europe has a median of 71, where its first quartile scores 65.7. Asia and Pacific has a median of 59.6. and the European Union countries have a median of 59.1.

So Mexico scores better than the median of the Americas, The European Union and the Asia and Pacific countries.

Also, if we look across countries according to its income, Mexico stands with its 67.3 score in the fourth decile group where the median is 65.4. Countries in the third decile have a 62.5 median.

As we said, the EPI Index is comprised by two indicators; Ecosystem Vitality and Environmental Public Health. If we analyse further we can see on the one hand, that within the issues that comprehend the Ecosystem Vitality, on Climate change, which comprises 25% of the score Mexico has 56.4 where its income group median is 51.4. The other 25% of the score is comprised by six indicators where Mexico scores above the median of its income group in five out of these six; agriculture, fisheries, forestry, water and air pollution. Being biodiversity and habitat a bigger challenge still.

On the other hand, within the indicators that comprise Environmental Health score, a quarter of the score is determined by Environmental Burden of Disease where Mexico scores 73.8 above the median of its income group with 62.1. On Water management Mexico scores below by 85.8 to 86.4; but its the average of the 91.4 it has on access to improved drinking water and the 78.2 that still scores in sanitation. On Air Pollution, Mexico scores 75.5, below the income group’s median of 77.5.

Ranking 43 out of 163 can be seen from different points of view. Does an economy and population like that of Mexico’s requires the same management as those of Iceland, Switzerland and Costa Rica whose ranks are 1st, 2nd and 3rd? Clearly not. Comparatively, it also scores better than more populated and richer countries like the U.S., or only richer ones like Canada.

Mexico is doing its job better than many countries like Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, the U.S., Brazil, Turkey. All of them OECD countries, and of course, better than many others. Apparently, the variable is not income, nor size, not population. Mexico stands in its own feet and merit.

This is the result of the leadership and focused work that Mexico has udertaken to protect the environment since few years ago. It is necessary to acknowledge what has worked and made a difference so that it can be a lesson to learn and achieve the next level.