In 1981, when world oil prices plummeted Mexico was not spared. The oil price drop created economic chaos throughout the country. The value of the peso sank from below 100 pesos to the dollar, to 100, then 200, and continued dropping, reaching more than 3,000 pesos to the dollar by the late 1980s.

While Mexican national companies and their workers suffered the consequences, one sector made dramatic advances — the maquiladora industry. The reason? As the value of the peso dropped, and wages were unable to keep up with the exchange rate, labor in Mexico became a bargain in dollar terms. Low pay is the fuel for attracting foreign manufacturing companies.

From 1983 through 1990, Tijuana's maquiladora industry experienced phenomenal growth in excess of 20 percent each year. Hundreds of companies rushed to open assembly operations there. This in turn created an industrial park construction boom.

Thus Tijuana was spared much of the economic upheaval. But not all was well. Tijuana industrial visionaries realized that while many foreign companies were settling in their city, the growth was chaotic, without an eye to the future and lacking a master plan for future infrastructure. And a great percentage of the foreign companies were small. So even though Tijuana had the most foreign owned maquiladoras, it was far behind other cities in the number of jobs created.

Around that time, Enrique Mier y Teran — considered by many to be the father of the maquiladora industry in Mexico and a leading Tijuana industrialist and visionary — recommended to a group of peers the creation of a nonprofit Tijuana Economic Development Corp.

The idea won the support of industrial park and large land owners like the Lutteroth, Fimbres, Bustamante, Limon, Muzquiz, Carrillo and Sander families; leading law firms such as Baker & McKenzie and Pasero y Abogados; and accounting firms like Deloitte & Touche, KPMG Peat Marwick, Arthur Andersen, Ernst and Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, all by then with offices in Tijuana.

The DEITAC, or Desarrollo Economico de Tijuana, known in English as Tijuana Economic Development Corp., was formed in 1989 as a nonprofit organization and given the mission of providing guidance, long-range planning and organized economic development promotions for the region. For Mexico, this was a novel idea — a great experiment.

Despite the many problems facing Mexico and the city of Tijuana, DEITAC plows on and has achieved great successes over the years.

Today foreign companies that wish to move to Tijuana to avoid environmental responsibilities would find the doors closed. This has come about due to legislation and the willingness of industrial park owners to abide by those laws. DEITAC has played an important part in creating consciousness that a safe environment is good business for all.

Industrial infrastructure always is a problem as Tijuana experiences an annual rate of growth exceeding 4 percent. Like San Diego, Tijuana suffers water droughts and there is the constant need for more and more electrical power for industry, commerce and residents.

Much of this is being alleviated with a responsive government at all levels since Baja California became the first state in Mexico to make politics more than a one-party contest. Power plant construction, natural gas pipelines and water aqueducts from the Colorado River are all in development.

Labor is another problem as unemployment is below 3 percent, creating a phenomenon of more jobs than workers. DEITAC began promoting educational programs to progressively attract industry needing fewer but better, trained workers.

DEITAC also helped organize the Tijuana Economic Development Council, which in turn has fostered working relationships with the city's economic development department, and the state Secretariat for Economic Development. DEITAC and the Tijuana EDC have reached across the border forming alliances with organizations such as the South County EDC, the San Diego Regional EDC, the San Diego Regional Chamber and the Otay Mesa Chamber.

Tijuana has a high concentration of Canadian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, European and United States companies with successful operations. DEITAC continues to promote its region as well as the San Diego region as a good place to locate.

DEITAC offers potential industrial investors complete service including business indoctrination and specific information. For more information, check out its Web site: www.tijuana-edc.com.

— HispanicVista.com.