Yucatán is the state that has grown the most in the country in the last two years since it managed to increase the generation of jobs in the Mexican export industry by 44% during 2019, the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry president (Index), Luis Aguirre Lang during a meeting with Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal.
In that sense, Vila Dosal and the business leader agreed that despite these positive results, now the challenge is to resume the rhythm during the Coronavirus pandemic, generate the jobs that Yucatecans need, and keep working.
During the meeting with the Governor, the manager stressed that also, through the implementation of the Economic Boost Program for Industrial and Regional Development, the State Government managed to increase direct foreign investment, which went from 57.9 million dollars to 117 million US dollars in 10 months in 2019, which meant an increase of 102% from the previous year, and made Yucatán improve 24 positions by going from the 30th place to the sixth when it comes to economic growth during the past year. At that point, and despite the complicated economic and health scenario that the health emergency has caused, Yucatan remains an attractive and fertile ground for the arrival of new foreign capital, because, until last September, the FDI in the state comes to 112 million US dollars.
“In Yucatan, there is a public impulse to promote the export industry, which permeates a culture of good practices in productivity, sustainability, technology transfer, and world-class manufacturing process”, said the business leader in the presence of State Secretary for Economic Development and Labor (Sefoet), Ernesto Herrera Novelo and the presidents of Index Yucatán, Alberto Berrón Bolio and San Luis Potosí, Jesús Aguirre González.
Given this, Herrera Lang gave Vila Dosal, on behalf of the National Index Council and for the first time in the history of this body, the recognition of the Merit Index 2019, which was planned to be awarded since last February, but due to epidemiological conditions due to the Coronavirus pandemic was scheduled until this date.
When taking the floor, the Governor highlighted the contribution of the export manufacturing industry sector and the coordination that it has always maintained with his administration, especially in these difficult times of health and economic crises.
“The reality is that in the supervision we have done to the companies in the sector, we see that the protocols are being complied with and, with this, they help us educating workers on preventive measures that they can replicate at home with their families. We hope that 2021 will be better than 2020, we know that we are going to face important economic challenges, but in the case of Yucatán what we are seeing is the continuation of the economic recovery, and we believe that we have very important competitive advantages ”, Vila Dosal pointed out.
Before members of the Board of Directors of Index Yucatán, the Governor pointed out that one of those advantages is security since we are not only the safest state in the country but also so far this year, crimes have dropped by 52 %, so we are the federal entity where these have been reduced the most in the country.
On the subject of regulatory improvement we have been working hard. According to the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness (IMCO), Mérida is the best city to invest in all of Mexico, the third most competitive city in the country and in regulatory improvement, Mérida is also the first place, added Vila Dosal.
After remarking that Yucatán is the third place on the issue of regulatory improvement, the Governor highlighted that the manufacturing industry is an important sector that drives the economy by generating well-paid jobs with social security, which are sorely lacking, which is why the importance of continuing to work with textile manufacturing in the state and with the aerospace industry in Mérida.
In this context, Vila Dosal referred to important investments that will be developed in Yucatán in the coming months, such as the expansion of the Progreso port, where there are already 2 letters of intent signed with the Fincantieri company, which will allow Yucatán to venture into the naval industry to have an area for the maintenance of cruise ships and, in the medium and long term, also another for the construction of boats.
This will generate an entire infrastructure of companies that provide services and the generation of many jobs, which also means that the port will be in better conditions, which will contribute to increase competitiveness and benefit companies in the sector, we believe that very good things are coming for Yucatán, added the Governor.
At the meeting, Vila Dosal took the opportunity to ask the industrialists to extend to their workers the so-called measure and prudence during the Christmas holidays to prevent the number of cases of Coronavirus from increasing and this put the state’s hospital capacity in trouble, in order to continue next year with the economic recovery of the state.
Recalling that the manufacturing industry annually captures an average of 1,800 million pesos in investment and more than 7,000 million of imported fixed assets, the national president of Index indicated that for it to be successful, fundamental aspects are required, in addition to the regulatory framework How to enjoy and maintain public safety, have the necessary infrastructure in terms of communications and logistics, energy supply at competitive costs and have human talent trained to solve the challenges that result from investors who are the true multipliers of employment.
Fortunately, Yucatán has everything to attract more investment and generate more jobs, with a future profile for families and companies, Aguirre Lang concluded.
