Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias
Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias| Tijuana, Basic Information Page 4 | ||
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government to restrict some investment in new manufacturing and industrial operations that are heavy water users. Indeed, the water supply presents a serious bottleneck for future economic and demographic growth of the region. The demand for water will exceed the supply in Tijuana by the year 2000. Municipal authorities estimated that currently potable water reaches more than 90 percent of the dwellings in Tijuana through the potable water distribution system of filtration plants and pipes. Some 20 percent of the water is lost through leakage in the distribution system. The rest of the population relies on deliveries by tank trucks (pipas) at a cost that is two to three times that of piped-in water from the system. Moreover, there is no quality control for delivery vehicles nor for the storage at the residences, usually in 55 gallon barrels. For many years, there have been proposals that San Diego and Tijuana cooperate on construction of an aqueduct to bring water from the Colorado River to address future water demand. Officials from both cities are now discussing the matter through the mechanism of the Binational Water Council that was formed in 1998 as part of the Border Liaison Mechanism (BLM). The BLM is based on a presidential agreement that enables local representatives of the foreign relations departments to convene local and state officials in the border region to talk directly about binational issues. Telecommunications Tijuana, in 1990, was served by 107,372 telephone lines for 61,492 residential, 43,973 commercial, and 1,907 public telephone installations. Although Mexico privatized its telephone system and attracted foreign investment, it will be several years before significant bottlenecks in telecommunications are eliminated and rates for calls across the border |
fall. In the border region, the installation of cellular networks has helped enhance service in Tijuana, but the service is very expensive. Although growing rapidly, Internet connections are still expensive in Tijuana and adequate data transmission lines are still in short supply. Privatization of telecommunications and increasing competition brought by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are gradually improving phone service in Tijuana. Some 23 post offices serve Tijuana, but the postal service is unreliable. As a result, most businesses and many private individuals maintain post office boxes in San Diego for mail form the United States and other foreign destinations. Within Tijuana, businesses employ couriers for hand delivery of mail. Economy Tijuana's economy is one of the most dynamic in all of Mexico. To a significant extent, this is due to its dependence on the economy of Southern California, particularly with respect to the tourism sector, the maquiladora (assembly) industry, and the approximately thirty thousand commuter workers that live in Tijuana and work in the San Diego region. The linkages of the Tijuana and San Diego economy are important. However, reliable data are not always available and there are significant gaps in data availability for understanding the connections between the economies of San Diego and Tijuana. This has led to some exaggerated claims by groups that actively market business opportunities in Tijuana and the region. In 1987, Mexican border transactions (spending in San Diego that did not pass through federal customs) totaled about $340 million dollars. In addition, San Diego export to |
Tijuana and maquiladora related expenditures in San Diego accounted for about $525 million. These expenditures accounted for about 2 percent of San Diego's GRP, or about 2.5 percent of employment in San Diego. Since 1987, the importance of Tijuana to the San Diego economy has grown, but no reliable recent estimates are available. More current estimates of Mexican spending in San Diego vary from $1.1 billion to $2.8 billion. The former is based on estimates by the Banco de México and is likely the most accurate figure. San Diegans and other visitors spend about $700 million in Tijuana, which accounts for about 28 percent of Tijuana's gross regional product. The maquiladora industry (in 1991) provided an added value of $329.4 million, accounting for approximately 15 percent of the gross regional product. In 1991, Tijuana's gross regional product was about $2.3 billion. For purposes of comparison, it should be noted that the economy of San Diego is some twenty times larger than that of Tijuana. Presently, San Diego's gross regional product is about 80 billion dollars; that of Tijuana is likely not much more than five billion dollars. This significant economic asymmetry between the two neighboring cities is central to the realities of the binational region. Tijuana is a city in a developing country with few resources to provide services to its citizens. San Diego, by contrast, is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. The asymmetries in local government budgets illustrate this difference in available resources. The 1996 budget of the Municipality of Tijuana, excluding capital expenditures from federal and state transfers, was nearly 53.5 million dollars. In contrast, the combined budgets of just the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego are about 3.4 billion dollars. |
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