High-tech once again a priority for Mexico

By Bob Keefe
COX NEWS SERVICE

TIJUANA, Mexico — When you think of high-tech countries, Mexico probably isn't the first to come to mind.

Mexican cities like this one are known more for their sweatshop-like maquiladoras that churn out cut-rate shoes and shirts, not state-of-the-art factories making semiconductors and software.

But in an effort to catch up with other parts of the world, Mexico is trying once again to beef up its technology sector.

In Mexicali, about 75 miles west of Yuma, U.S. developers are building an industrial park to lure semiconductor makers and other high-tech companies that might otherwise end up in Taiwan or China.

At college campuses in Tijuana and throughout the country, administrators are putting technology training at the top of the curriculum to compete with high-tech talent in India and Israel.

Young Mexicans hoping for good wages are responding. About 400,000 students are currently enrolled in information- technology-related programs in Mexican universities. The schools now produce about 60,000 new IT-trained graduates each year.

The Mexican government, meanwhile, is trying to sell their country as tomorrow's technology hotbed.