ARIZONA 360

Border Special

This week, Arizona 360 looks at recent incentives to boost the economy in Mexico’s border region such as a raise to the minimum wage and lower sales taxes, as well as their potential effects in Arizona. In Nogales, Sonora, Lorraine Rivera spoke to business owner Manuel Hopkins, whose family runs a company that imports and distributes restaurant equipment across Mexico. He discussed why competitive salaries are part of his company’s business model. Marcel Joffrey {HOFF-roy}, president of a group representing businesses in Sonora, discussed the current makeup of the state’s maquila industry and how it’s affected by the new benefits. Maquilas are one of the biggest economic drivers in Sonora. Rene Vidal, president of the Association of Customs Brokers in Sonora, explains why lowered tax incentives don’t necessarily apply to imports and exports at Arizona’s ports of entry. Wendee Molina, president of the Maquila Association in Nogales, Sonora discusses how migrants from Central America may help ease a current labor shortage. In Arizona, Stella Perez, president of the Santa Cruz Center, discusses how the provisional community college district serves a binational student body and is helping educate the workforce in Nogales, Arizona. Felipe Garcia, executive vice president of Vamos a Tucson explains how a robust Mexican economy can fuel spending from Mexicans in Arizona. Economist George Hammond discusses a recent study from the UA Eller College of Management that looks at how the devaluation of the peso can also dissuade Mexicans from spending in Arizona, and its greater impacts.