Little could anyone imagine in 1964 when IBM established an electronics operation in Guadalajara how Mexico's electronics industry would evolve.

            From television sets in Tijuana to computers in Guadalajara and software in Puebla , the electronics industry is a relatively new and important sector in Mexico . It includes the production of computers, audio, video, telecommunications equipment, office machines, biomedical and scientific control and measurement equipment, in addition to parts and components. It represents today 30 percent of Mexico's manufacturing exports.

            The Mexican electronics industry is composed of two main segments:

            •Domestic manufacturers that supply the national component market.

            •Maquiladoras (which include associated or subsidiary firms engaged in the manufacturing and assembly of electronic products for export).

            The maquila segment is by far the more important of these two segments. In the electronics industry, maquiladoras account for approximately 94 percent of total exports and 70 percent of imports.

            Although Mexico only represents about 0.6 percent of the world’s information/technological market, its proximity to the United States (37 percent of the world’s information/technology market) combined with a general growth trend and opening of the market with NAFTA should allow for continued growth of this market and an excellent springboard for re-export back to the United States and into Latin American markets.

            The first electronics manufacturer to set up operations in Guadalajara was IBM in 1964.

            Guadalajara , Mexico ’s second largest city, located in Jalisco in western Mexico , has become the Silicon Valley of Mexico and Latin America .

            Attracted by the stable and dexterous workforce...

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