The Money Cities Are Leaving on the Table
- Editorial
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Decentralized international cooperation has become one of the most underestimated—and poorly used—tools by local governments in Mexico. While cities around the world leverage technical assistance, funding, and knowledge exchange to accelerate development, many Mexican cities still treat international cooperation as a secondary, bureaucratic matter, or as an issue reserved exclusively for the federal government. The result is clear: missed opportunities, wasted resources, and territorial lag.
In a global context shaped by climate crises, migration pressures, economic transformation, and growing competition among cities, international cooperation is no longer a diplomatic courtesy. It is a concrete lever for local development.
What Is Decentralized International Cooperation?
Decentralized international cooperation refers to collaboration schemes between subnational governments—states, municipalities, and cities—and international actors such as other local governments, multilateral organizations, cooperation agencies, universities, and civil society organizations. Unlike traditional cooperation between national governments, this model operates from the local to the global level, offering solutions tailored to territorial realities.
In practice, decentralized cooperation allows cities to access specialized technical assistance, non-reimbursable funding, knowledge transfer, institutional innovation, and best practices in public policy. It is not only about receiving resources, but about building local capacities to address structural challenges.
In Mexico, local governments’ participation in international cooperation has a clear legal foundation. The 1992 Law on the Conclusion of Treaties authorizes states and municipalities to sign interinstitutional agreements for specific cooperation and sister-city partnerships, as long as they remain within their legal competencies and aligned with national foreign policy.
This framework has enabled hundreds of Mexican local governments to engage in cooperation projects across areas such as urban development, environment, water management, public health, mobility, security, education, and institutional strengthening. The problem is not the absence of legal authority, but the lack of strategy to fully use it.
The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) plays a central role in coordinating international cooperation efforts in Mexico. Working alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AMEXCID has promoted cooperation schemes that actively include subnational governments.
According to official records, there are currently more than 150 local-level cooperation projects, involving over 700 national and international institutions. Approximately 78% of these projects are technical cooperation initiatives, and nearly 35% focus on the Mexico–United States relationship, highlighting the vast potential of binational cooperation for territorial development.
These figures confirm that decentralized cooperation is not marginal—it is active, but still underutilized.
One of the most common mistakes is to equate international cooperation solely with financial aid. In reality, decentralized cooperation operates through multiple modalities:
Technical cooperation, aimed at strengthening institutional capacities and public policies.
Knowledge cooperation, facilitating peer-to-peer exchange between cities.
Financial cooperation, through grants, funds, or blended mechanisms.
Academic and scientific cooperation, linking universities and research centers.
Triangular cooperation, involving developed countries, developing countries, and local governments.
Cities that understand this diversity are better positioned to integrate cooperation into their strategic planning, rather than treating it as an isolated or extraordinary resource.
Decentralized cooperation with the United States represents one of the greatest opportunities for Mexican cities. Beyond federal-level bilateral relations, there are hundreds of possibilities for direct collaboration between cities—especially border, metropolitan, and migration-linked communities.
Issues such as water management, climate change, urban mobility, technological innovation, local economic development, and migrant services have been successfully addressed through binational local cooperation. However, many cities still lack the technical teams needed to identify, design, and manage these projects effectively.
The main challenge for decentralized international cooperation in Mexico is moving beyond isolated projects. When cooperation is not embedded in a local development strategy, its impact often fades once the project ends.
For cooperation to generate lasting value, it must be treated as public policy, with clear objectives, alignment to municipal or state development plans, defined responsibilities, and evaluation mechanisms. Cities that have benefited most from cooperation are those that use it to transform institutions—not just to execute short-term actions.
More than a lack of external resources, the biggest obstacle to decentralized cooperation is weak internal capacity. Many cities lack specialized personnel, clear procedures, or administrative structures capable of managing international projects.
Strengthening or creating International Affairs Offices, or equivalent structures, is essential to professionalize cooperation efforts, coordinate local stakeholders, and ensure continuity beyond political cycles.
Decentralized international cooperation is neither a concession nor an external favor. It is a strategic tool that allows cities to accelerate development, improve public policy, and strengthen their position in a competitive global environment.
Cities that fail to incorporate cooperation into their planning are, quite literally, leaving resources, knowledge, and innovation on the table. The challenge is not accessing cooperation, but knowing how to use it strategically—through a territorial lens and with strong institutional capacity.
In a world where challenges are increasingly complex and global, cooperation between cities is not an idealistic option—it is a pragmatic necessity for better governance and for building more resilient, competitive, and inclusive territories.
Written by: Editorial
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