Economic and Labor Restructuring in Guadalajara, 1987-2000

Abstract

In Mexico, it is recognized that the urban center most integrated to the North American bloc of countries and that in general is the most economically globalized is Mexico City, where half of the headquarters of the 500 largest companies are located (Rodríguez, 1999; Parnreiter, 2002: 385-389), whose advantage derives from its economic and political centralization over the rest of the urban centers, and which, in view of the Free Trade Agreement, has only reinforced its international management and coordination functions. But at the internal regional level, other cities are being integrated, particularly two cities that follow in size (Guadalajara and Monterrey), the main border cities and some medium-sized cities in extensive regions in the north and center of the country, which is happening as foreign direct investments have flowed in according to the localization strategies of the large transnational firms, or as the large national firms reinforce their links in the global networks. A generalized implication in all large cities that are incorporated into the globalizing activity is the generation, to a greater or lesser degree, of tertiary activities in the productive services subsector, in which international capital is also very interested, such as financial services, insurance, real estate, consulting, legal, customs or foreign trade, design, marketing, public relations, information and administration of computer systems, etc. (Borja and Castells, 1997), a situation that is contrasted below for the case of Guadalajara.