Frontera NorteSur, September 1999

Texas Places Representative In Chihuahua

Jeff Moseley, the executive director of of the Texas Economic Development Department will be setting up an office in Cd. Chihuahua as a means of expanding the presence of Texas in the state of Chihuahua and in México in general. The business opportunities for both states are ripe for intensifying their relationship, according to Chihuahua Governor Patrico Martínez.

Martínez explained that the investment opportunities in industry for the neighboring state are in the billions of dollars, and currently, the Texas presence is minimal. Most of the current Texas investments are in business and tourism, but the industrial possiblities need to be explored.

Mosely said that his government is definitely supportive of explanding their interests in Chihuahua. "It makes sense for Texas to be a part of the industrial development of Chihuahua and we are presently discussing how to begin, we are also looking into expanding tourism opportunities."

The only other office Texas has in México is one that opened in 1971 in the capital city.

Source: El Norte

RCA Expands Plant In Juárez

The Radio Corporation of America, RCA, which set up business in Cd. Juárez in 1969 is celebrating its 30th anniversary by adding 600 jobs this summer and 600 more by October of this year. The Juárez RCA plant, which makes television components, was one of the first maquilas in the city.

The plant is currently owned by Thomson Consumer Electronics, a French company which produces 20,000 TV sets a day out of its four plants in Cd. Juárez, including RCA. The plant started by assembling 420 yokes a day back in 1969.

Dave Hakala, vice president of Thomson operations for the Americas, easily acknowledged that RCA came to Juárez 30 years ago because of the cost effectiveness. However, what keeps RCA in the border city is "people, the workers, and the people who supported us [as] financial, government and business partners."

Enrique Perez, vice president of Thomson's México operations, also attributed the continued success of RCA to its employees.

Source: El Paso Times

NAFTA Job Numbers Questioned In El Paso

In early August the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a report saying that El Paso has gained up to 38,000 jobs since NAFTA went into effect six years ago. However, El Paso business leaders have expressed grave doubts about these statistics.

"If we're creating that many jobs in El Paso, why was the unemployment rate still 10.8 percent (in June)?" asked Guillermo Glenn, who has worked with El Paso's displaced employees from the garment industry. Glenn says that the new jobs are in fields such as telemarketing and metal stamping which do not help the people affected by the treaty, such as displaced Spanish speaking apparel workers.

The report indicates that overall Texas created more than 190,000 jobs due to NAFTA, while only 21,019 Texas employees suffered negative effects from the treaty. The report's author, Paul Kengor, a research fellow at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says that "NAFTA critics who complain of El Paso's job losses rarely mention these gains."

The Texas Public Policy Foundation uses a formula from the Department of Comerce that indicates for every $1billion in exports it can be assumed 19,000 jobs have been created and El Paso has increased exports to México by $2.6 billion.

Tom Thomas of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce expressed a need to study the numbers before he could comment.

Source: El Paso Times

Cd. Juárez Industry Suffers From High Turnover

Although Cd. Juárez is renowned for its low unemployment rate because of the maquiladoras, the industry sector is actually suffering from consistent employee turnover. This is due in part to the alleged lack of productive cooperation between the border city's industrial and educational sectors .

Luis Alfonoso Ramos Peña, director of the State Department of Employment, said that industries won't hire the students from the local technical schools, and will instead hire laborers from other cities because they will work for a lower wage. Another problem noted was that employees will quickly leave one position for another as many maquilas are known for low wages and minimal benefit plans.

Although many maquilas offer educational opportunities for their employees, many don't have a "business sense" when it comes to nurturing relationships with their graduates because they will cost the company more. According to Ramos Peña, maquilas overlook the fact that hiring their own will typically improve their competitveness overall in the market.

A "certification" program has been initiated with the hope of bringing standards to the maquila industry and hiring practices in Cd. Juárez.

Source: El Norte