Mexico: GVCs network development and the emergence of interactive cities

We close this book with three chapters on aspects of cities and regions in Mexico. Ruiz focuses on two major industries – automobile and pharmaceuticals, and two minor industries – pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and shows how the development of interaction in global production networks (CGV) has increased interaction between regions and cities and has led to positive complementarities with activity in nearby towns. Automotive production is concentrated along the US border and down the center of Mexico to Puebla. Electronics is located in Baja California and Chihuahua in the north and then in the center, principally in Jalisco, and the south of Mexico. Pharmaceuticals and medical devices are far less developed and are concentrated in the areas around Mexico City, to the east in Jalisco and along the US border. The challenge for smaller cities and regions is to insert themselves into CGVs in these industries and to develop growth in interactions among the larger cities.