Mexico is part of global value chains… but it does not control them. And in today’s economy, that difference means everything. The world no longer produces for efficiency. It now produces for survival. Geopolitical tensions, logistical disruptions, and economic security concerns have shattered the linear model that dominated for decades. Today, value chains no longer follow predictable routes: they are designed, negotiated, and defended. In 2025, global trade surpassed $32

Latin America is not losing competitiveness because of a lack of investment. It is losing it because it does not know how to move that investment. That is the uncomfortable paradox few want to acknowledge: growth exists, capital is arriving, yet logistics—the invisible infrastructure that connects everything—remains the weakest link. For years, the region’s economic narrative revolved around manufacturing, natural resources, and macroeconomic stability. Today, that conversa

European regulation is no longer a European issue. It is the new frontier of global trade. For decades, the rules of international trade were defined by treaties, tariffs, and multilateral agreements. Today, that power is quietly shifting to another arena: regulation. And in that arena, the European Union has chosen to play in a different league. It does not compete on price. It competes on standards. The result is a structural tension that Mexico has yet to fully grasp:

The border between Tijuana and San Diego is not only the busiest in the world. It is the most powerful binational region on the planet and the core of the border economy between Mexico and the United States. Yet Mexico still does not manage it as the global strategic asset it truly represents. At a time when nearshoring is reshaping global supply chains, the Tijuana–San Diego corridor has become the most efficient connection point between North America and Asia. This region

Mexico trains engineers it cannot find, exports talent it cannot retain, and attracts investment it cannot scale. This is not a paradox—it is a structural failure. The country is not losing talent; it is failing to integrate it. In a global economy where the speed of connection defines value, Mexico continues to operate with disconnected pieces. The data is clear. According to the World Bank, Mexico maintains one of the highest rates of engineering graduates in Latin Americ

For years, scientific diplomacy was seen as a distant conversation among foreign ministries, universities, and multilateral organizations. Not anymore. In Mexico, that logic has begun to scale down and reach the ground where competitiveness is truly won or lost: cities and their local governments. The municipality that understands how to connect talent, research centers, technology companies, and international cooperation will not only attract academic prestige; it will attra

At a time when the global economy is reorganizing at an unprecedented pace, cities have ceased to be merely administrative centers and have become true nodes of economic, political, and strategic power. Today, development is no longer defined solely by national governments, but by the ability of municipalities, counties, and states to integrate into global networks of cooperation, competition, and innovation. In this context, Mexico faces a silent yet decisive crossroads: c

Full credit for the article and core ideas: Víctor Jesús Hernández Salinas. Editorial adaptation for interAlcaldes based on his text “The Paradox of Automation.” The great promise of automation was simple, produce more, decide faster, and reduce errors. But Víctor Jesús Hernández Salinas’ warning is more uncomfortable—and precisely for that reason, more valuable, the more we delegate critical functions to digital systems, the more fragile our institutions can become when te

There are territories that manage streets, permits, and public services. And there are others that, without being a country or even a state, end up functioning as showcases of economic, technological, and diplomatic power. Miguel Hidalgo belongs to that second category. Not only because of neighborhoods like Polanco, Chapultepec, Lomas, or the corporate corridor that connects with Reforma, but because it concentrates a part of Mexico that competes, negotiates, attracts capita

Mexico and Colombia are entering a phase in which the social economy has moved beyond the margins to become a strategic pillar. This is no longer just about cooperatives, mutuals, or community savings institutions as mechanisms of social containment, but about an economic architecture capable of sustaining employment, integrating territories, and adding productive depth at a time when Latin America is once again facing modest growth and insufficient investment. The World Bank