Participating in the conference Mexico’s Challenges and Opportunities 2023-2030, held in the nation’s capital, Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal presented the competitive, logistical and geographic advantages that have allowed Yucatan to attract new investments that continue to generate more and better jobs for Yucatecans.
During the extraordinary session of the IPADE Business School’s Continuity and Updating Program, Vila Dosal recalled that this has been achieved due to the promotion Yucatan has had in countries such as China, South Korea, Spain, the United States, Germany and recently in Singapore, where it has been recognized as an ideal place for investment, This is backed by the British consulting firm Deloitte, which in 2021 rated Yucatán as the state with the best conditions for investment, and in 2022 the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) placed Mérida among the top 10 most competitive cities in the country.
These advantages, explained Vila Dosal, have allowed attracting investments from all economic sectors, with more than 350 textile, aerospace, logistics services, real estate, tourism, agro-industrial, automotive and aeronautical projects, among others, with the arrival of large companies such as Accenture, Walmart Group, Tesla, Augusta Sportswear, Invincible Boats, Ace Hardware, PCC Airfoils and others.
In this sense, he recalled that Yucatan is living a historic moment, since 2021 was the year with the highest economic growth in the history of the state and the year with the highest generation of jobs; 2022 was the year with the highest amount of foreign investment, the safest year in history by obtaining the lowest crime rate and the year in which more tourists have come to the state.
Likewise, he said that in his government the priority is those who have the least, therefore, as a result of the efforts to reduce the inequality gap, poverty was reduced as never before, for example, INEGI data in July showed that, at a national level, salaries increased 11% but in Yucatan they grew 17%; the poorest Yucatecans, that is, those who earn the least, in the last 2 years their salary increased almost 50% while, at a national level it only grew 18%.
In the Coneval evaluation, in the month of August, the Governor continued, he reported that we were able to lift 236 thousand Yucatecans out of poverty, this is the best data we have ever obtained, we are the second state with the greatest reduction in the percentage of extreme poverty by reducing it by almost 50%, a figure 3 times more than at the national level which was 15. 7%, which means that 1 out of every 2 Yucatecans overcame this condition; in addition, we obtained the lowest level in the history of educational backwardness and the lack of social security and access to food.
Regarding industry, the Governor pointed out that Yucatan is growing in the secondary sector and, proof of this, is that last year the state’s manufacturing exports reached a growth of more than 12% compared to 2021, according to Inegi; in 2021, industry grew 7.8% compared to the previous year, in addition, it represented half of the state’s total secondary activity; likewise, in 2022, employment amounted to 323,196 workers, which represented an increase of 5,907 workers compared to the previous year.
He emphasized that these indicators have been the result of an effort that his administration has made since the beginning of his term, by increasing the budget of the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) by 81%, from 2.1 billion pesos to 3.8 billion pesos, which has allowed the implementation of the Safe Yucatan strategy, through which a new
Control, Command, Communications, Computing, Coordination and Intelligence Center (C5i), 6,775 cameras, 219 road arches and 2,410 traffic lights to allow or stop traffic.
In addition, he added, his administration has sought to offer security personnel better working and family conditions, with a salary above the national average, access to health care services, including care in private hospitals in case of risk and accidents, we are the first state in Mexico to have a housing credit program for police officers and scholarships are offered so that their children can study at universities, as well as a free public transportation route and discount cards in more than a thousand establishments.
On this day, Vila Dosal spoke about the works and plans that are being carried out in the territory and that come to detonate its capacities, to continue being a reference in nearshoring, where it now occupies third place nationally in taking advantage of this phenomenon.
He spoke of the new projects that are being carried out in the state in the area of logistics with which Yucatan is being transformed hand in hand with the Federation, where he highlighted the expansion and modernization of the Port of Progreso, with which we will be able to increase the capacity of cargo ships and double the number of passengers on cruise ships; the construction of the elevated viaduct in that port, which will help reduce traffic, congestion, accidents, deterioration of roads, noise and pollution in that area.
Another work highlighted by the Governor was the Mayan Train, which will boost economic development through tourism and the transportation of goods and supplies, promoting diverse industries and making us more competitive; and there is the Poxilá – Progreso Train connection project to increase the port’s cargo capacity, making the entry and exit of goods to and from Progreso more efficient.
Vila Dosal affirmed that, with the benefits of these projects, Yucatan has the opportunity to become the new commercial border of the east coast of the United States, which would make southeastern Mexico more competitive.
Other projects being carried out in conjunction with the federation are the combined cycle plants and the construction of the Gran Parque la Plancha, which will be inaugurated on November 19 for the enjoyment of the entire population and neighbors of the area.
To meet the current challenges with modernity and more competitiveness, the Governor indicated that a new public transportation system Va y Ven has been implemented, with environmentally friendly buses, universal accessibility and the use of technology for electronic payment, mobile application, WiFi, among others.
He emphasized that, as in the search for more modern cities, intermodality is being promoted with the construction of 71 kilometers of bicycle lanes and the IE-Tram project, the first electric route in the entire south and southeast region, which will be the only one of its kind in Latin America.
He also shared other important projects that are modernizing the state, the regulatory improvement with the digitalization of procedures and services for citizens and companies and the creation of a Digital Investment Window, the first of its kind in the country and in all of Latin America.
” In order to have the appropriate labor force required by the various economic sectors and to take advantage of Nearshoring”, the Governor said, “Yucatan is promoting the training of students with the State English Agenda to strengthen the mastery of this language with bilingual environments from preschool to university; The International Mobility Program, the Women in ICT Program, through which all those who wish to study any engineering career related to Information Technologies in public universities of the State Government will receive a 100% scholarship for registration and tuition during their entire career, as well as collaborations with the Youth International Foundation and Google. org.”
“In Yucatan”, he continued, “the state is committed to education programs in Cybersecurity, due to the opportunities offered by this sector, so the state is the first place in southeastern Mexico to offer Engineering and Specialization courses in this area, in addition to having specialized laboratories in the same area and Robotics programs for elementary school students”.
