The magazine that analyzes the power of Mexican municipalities in the economy, governance and Mexico's relationship with the world.

While Texas has built mechanisms to attract Mexican companies and investment, many municipalities in Mexico still view their diaspora primarily through remittances. A much larger economic opportunity exists: turning Mexican entrepreneurs, professionals, and business leaders into a network for investment, suppliers, knowledge, and access to the U.S. market. For decades, many Mexican municipalities learned to measure their relationship with communities in the United States thro

Mexico is rapidly expanding its industrial infrastructure. But when jobs grow far from housing, transportation and services, part of the cost of investment is ultimately transferred to workers, families and municipalities. Mexico has 477 industrial parks, with another 103 currently under development. Together, the new projects will add approximately 21.5 million square meters of industrial space. The country's productive infrastructure continues to expand. Housing is moving a

Industrial investment can transform a city's economy. But when factories, industrial parks and logistics centers expand faster than infrastructure, economic success can quickly become a governance problem. A factory can arrive before the city is ready A municipality can win a factory and, at the same time, begin to lose control of its growth. Industrial investment is usually announced through capital figures, job creation and square footage. That makes sense: new plants gener

Collective remittances can multiply local investment and reshape the relationship with the diaspora—but only when rules, transparency, and public accountability are in place. In some Mexican communities, a paved street, an equipped classroom, or a water network does not begin at city hall. It begins at a migrant gathering in Los Angeles, Chicago, or Fort Worth. There, people who left their municipality pool resources for a project postponed for years. This is not distant phil

Schools, healthcare centers, care facilities, and community spaces are not secondary projects. They form the economic and social foundation from which a municipality can expand opportunity and reduce inequality. The most visible public works project is not always the one that generates the greatest social return. A bridge or highway interchange can transform the landscape and quickly become a symbol of government action. A neighborhood library, care center, or nearby clinic w

South Korea turned roads, ports, energy, and connectivity into a development policy. Mexico has the resources and a historic industrial opportunity, but it must still guarantee continuity, evaluation, and local capacity. For decades, Mexico has discussed infrastructure as a succession of projects: which highway to build, where to locate an airport, how much to invest in a railway, or which region should receive resources first. South Korea asked a different question: what pro

The difference lies not only in the available budget, but also in the institutional ability to diagnose problems, evaluate alternatives and sustain each project after its inauguration. Every municipal administration wants to leave behind a visible public work. A plaza, market, park, sports complex or cultural center provides immediate evidence of government action. Yet when the political term ends, some projects continue generating economic activity and well-being, while othe

For years, Mexican municipalities competed to attract investment by offering available land, tax incentives, or affordable labor. That logic is no longer enough. Territorial economics is entering a new era in which the real competitive advantage will no longer be infrastructure alone, but a territory's ability to understand who it is, what it can offer, and where it intends to grow. This week's five articles published by interAlcaldes appeared to address different subjects: l

Puerto Vallarta has already proven that it can attract visitors. Its next test is more complex: turning tourism pressure into better public services, sustainable infrastructure, and quality of life for the people who sustain the destination. Puerto Vallarta’s problem is no longer attracting tourists. It is keeping tourism success from overwhelming the city that receives them. Every new air route, occupied hotel room, or cruise call confirms the destination’s strength, but it

Tourism growth can create jobs and investment, but it also exposes failures in water, mobility, sanitation, and public safety. The municipal challenge is to turn temporary pressure into permanent infrastructure for residents. A city may celebrate record hotel occupancy while its residents face congested streets, irregular waste collection, low water pressure, and overloaded emergency services. This contradiction is common in tourism destinations: the visitor economy expands w

In a market where cities compete for visitors, investment, and talent, what distinguishes a place can generate jobs and value. The municipal challenge is to turn that distinctiveness into shared opportunities without displacing the community that keeps it alive. What Cannot Be Copied Many Mexican municipalities pursue development by offering the same package: land, incentives, connectivity, and an image of modernity. These factors are necessary, but they are rarely enough to

A city brand does not begin with a slogan. It is built by turning identity, urban policy, and innovation into a shared economic advantage. Cities no longer compete solely for tourists. They compete for talent, investment, conferences, companies, students, creative industries, and international attention. Faced with this pressure, many governments make the same mistake: they commission a logo, design a campaign, and present a slogan before deciding what position they want to o

Investment, talent, and visitors no longer compare countries alone: they choose cities. To compete, urban areas must turn their identity into a verifiable economic experience. Many cities want to become brands before proving that they can function as competitive local economies. They invest in logos, campaigns, and major events while neglecting the permits, mobility, public safety, land, and services that shape investment decisions. The problem is that companies, skilled work

Artificial intelligence, data and digital services are already within reach of municipalities. The difference will lie in their ability to turn them into more efficient, trustworthy and durable institutions. Technology is no longer the main obstacle to modernizing local government. Cloud platforms, digital identity systems, artificial intelligence models, data analytics and automation tools are now available to municipalities of different sizes. Yet having access to technolog

Digital service windows, online payments, and application tracking offer a path toward lower costs for residents. The challenge is proving how much time and administrative discretion the model actually eliminates. In many Mexican municipalities, completing a procedure still requires traveling to an office, carrying paper copies, waiting in line, and hoping that no additional requirement forces the applicant to start over. The cost extends beyond official fees: it includes tra