US Companies Still Rushing To Juarez

Mexico’s Ciudad Jurez is one of the most violent places on earth. Drug gangs fight endless battles with each other and police in the streets and alleys of Jurez’ poorest neighborhoods. In the past 28 months this city of 1.5 million, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, has recorded 5,200 murders.

Even though Jurez is the center of Mexico’s war on drug dealers, it’s holding its own as the center of maquiladoras, the special zones Mexico developed 30 years ago to attract investment. “It’s a dual reality,” explains Bob Cook, president of the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., a group that encourages multinationals to invest on both sides of the border.

In return for building factories in the maquiladoras, multinationals get favorable tax treatment, pay low wages (sometimes as low as $4.21 a day), and take advantage of worker training sponsored by the local government. After mass layoffs during the recession, Jurez factories have added 27,000 workers in the past 10 months. Blue chips like Johnson & Johnson, Delphi Automotive, and Scientific Atlanta show no signs of leaving. El Diario, the local daily, is filled with help-wanted ads from Lear, Delphi, Siemens, and other companies.

Read the full Business Week article here.