THE MAQUILA INDUSTRY A regional overview SALOMON JUAN MARCOS VILLARREAL Salomon Juan Marcos Villarreal an important textile

entrepreneur shared his point of view of the Maquila Industry in Mexico: The importance of the assembly industry as a whole in the economic structure of the Mexican federal entities. The most salient conclusions are that this industry has provided a substantial contribution to new jobs and is a major player in existing employment, as well as in the generation of added value and foreign exchange. Considering the characteristics of the Mexican population, the assembly industry was benefited from the abundant nonskilled labor used in this manufacturing processes. Geographical location was a determinant in channeling investment into assembly industry; he said this occurs mainly in the northern border strip, considering the involved transportation savings. Generation of foreign income by assembly industry served to offset shortcomings in traditional manufacturing industries, and at times contributed to a significant surplus in the aggregate manufacturing income. Mexican inclusion in the world economy as a secondary export model is associated to the boom of these assembly operations, considering their disassociation from the performance of the domestic manufacturing sector, and a growing intensity of its dependence on the American production cycle. ------