Businesswoman Altagracia Gómez Sierra, in charge of outlining the relocation strategy within Claudia Sheinbaum's campaign team, states that development projects in this area must be directed to achieve the goal of what they call shared prosperity.
Gómez Sierra, Regional Economic Development Coordinator, chaired more than 40 forums and hundreds of meetings with investors and business leaders to gather their proposals.
The idea was to plan what nearshoring could be and how to capitalize on it, so that it becomes a development opportunity in the country's regions.
One of the main challenges is how to direct investments from relocation to areas of the country with resource availability.
Various strategies were used to outline a plan, said Gómez Sierra during a visit to Heraldo Media Group, ranging from linking entrepreneurs and governments to mapping the availability of logistical infrastructure, resources, and human capital to establish companies.
In addition, the guidance provided to companies through the Ministry of Economy helps plan investment development by directing it to areas of the country that are more feasible to absorb it.
A fundamental role is the interconnection between the regions of Mexico, through corridors implemented in this administration and the development hubs in the middle, and how to connect them with the United States.
"If you look at how the corridors were established, their vocation is to connect the Gulf with the Pacific and the north with the center of the country […] The corridors have 92 percent of metropolitan areas, which are only a third of the municipalities and 9 percent of the entire territory, but 46 percent have a direct connection point with the border," she explained.
The idea of this strategy is that the projects reflect goals such as inclusion, that investment reaches all states to reduce inequalities, that there is innovation, and to advance in digitalization to have efficient processes that are sustainable by generating economies of scale.
"In Mexico, historically, little is spent on infrastructure, regardless of whether it is done well or poorly, 300 billion pesos is nothing. If you want to double the country's growth, I am not saying you have to double the investment, but more investment is needed," she stated.
Another major obstacle they have sought to overcome is the lack of skilled personnel, a hot topic among entrepreneurs seeking to strengthen their operations within the country.
Altagracia Gómez explained that to land nearshoring, three fundamental axes are followed: strategic policies, priority sectors, and strategic infrastructure. Within the first is the issue of training.
"Right now, 60 percent of the companies arriving say there is not enough skilled personnel. This does not negate the numbers we have, there are 159,000 engineering graduates, which is double that of Brazil," she said.
In their diagnosis, they found a disconnection between academia, industry, and government. Currently, only 817 companies have agreements to implement dual education models. The idea is to have 2,500.
"What we did was take an inventory of what companies are lacking, and yes, they lack engineers, doctors, specialists, etc. But they also lack transport operators, forklift operators, training technicians, bilingual tour guides," she explained.
The inventory served, among other things, to find that many needs come from technical careers or certifications that do not require four years of study.
"What I say is that if we want, and we do want, a nearshoring that does not provide competitiveness through low wages, then everything else must be low," she commented, referring to the need to reduce logistics, energy, and other costs in general.
Another strategy to capitalize on nearshoring comes from guaranteeing security solutions to the main threats faced by companies, such as theft, extortion, and protection payments, among others.
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