March 07, 2008, cont from front page, 

SPECIAL FEATURES
In 2007, signs of deceleration began to appear; this being something the local government had expected. The government then established economic policies focused on the short and long term and other ideas for the future.

The first consideration was to establish a general strategy that would diversify the local economy, as it’s well known that an economy that depends on one or two sectors runs many high risks, especially considering the movement of national and international markets and the effects of globalization. The second consideration was to consider the environment, paying special attention to water resources. Finally, the third consideration was to pay attention to the other potential production sectors that are generating wealth, not only in the city but in other locations and regions of the same municipality.

This strategy was defined in two fundamental ways:

1) The attraction of investments that work within the policies of state government offering economic and fiscal stimulus and the development of industrial spaces. In the case of San Miguel de Allende, we have established policies to attract clean industry. For example, last year, we signed an agreement with Next Door Software Inc. with an initial investment of US$2 million for a program that will generate more than 500 jobs over 5 years. The municipal government agreed to offer two hectares of land and the state government supported the industrial installations and planned the construction of buildings that required business development. Working within the parameters of clean industry and this being a generator of well-paid employees, this will result in many interesting options for the young citizens of San Miguel. In this moment, we are negotiating with businesses including producers of organic products and fertilizers, businesses that generate alternative technology and businesses that are dedicated to environmental tourism. This is the perfect compliment to the traditional tourism that already exists in San Miguel.

2) Productive promotion that supports all of the already existing but under-developed sectors that have a future and have demonstrated success. The strategy is to connect all these business groups with government programs and resources to correctly accelerate their path to success. These connections can represent unexplored opportunities for visionary investors that are looking for new areas of development with the advantage of living in a safe and culturally rich place like San Miguel.

In this case, we sought to establish contact with the different businesses, apart from real estate development and traditional tourism. We found development in the following areas:

Environmental tourism

Livestock

Agriculture industry

Handicrafts & Jewelry

Natural building material (cantera)

Cactus & Xoconostle

Furniture

Gift items

Organic producers

The results have been surprising. For example, the livestock sector has an inventory with a value of more than US$9 million that holds a specific position in the market in Guanajuato state. For these reasons and many others, we have created small organizations for the businesses that best represent each sector, which are organized under an umbrella nonprofit called Center of Productive and Business Development, A.C. (Centro de Desarrollo Productivo y Empresarial A.C.). This organization has the objective of promoting an economic fund to support the companies, in groups or individually, in the management of economic resources and government programs that can most efficiently support them. 

This is how the government proposes to generate employment, augment the capacity and productivity of the businesses, but at the same time offer investors new business opportunities that protect the environment and our quality of life. If you are interested in finding new opportunities, generating new alternatives and protecting the environment, contact us: Department of Tourism, Economic Development & International Relations; peyretf@yahoo.com.mx, Tels: 415 120 4528 and 29, México, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende.

Francisco Peyret is Director of San Miguel’s Department of Tourism, Economic Development & International Relations.