According to INEGI data, Sonora’s economy is 58% larger than Sinaloa’s. Those of Baja California and Chihuahua are 62% and 55% higher. This, according to the behavior of the state Gross Domestic Product of 2022, expressed in dollars. The per capita GDP in Sonora is 61% larger than in Sinaloa. In BC it is 30%, in Chihuahua it is 26% and in BCS it is 44%. All older.
In economic dynamism in neighboring states, the relative lag of Sinaloa deepens. At the end of last year, Sinaloa ranked 15th at the national level, according to the GDP generated, and 17th place in terms of GDP per inhabitant. But the most astonishing thing is that the entity also ranked 17th nationally for its production in the primary sector.
In other words, an economy like Sinaloa’s, which has traditionally been known and recognized for its ample capacity to produce grains, vegetables, raw materials, and food products, has now been displaced to below the national average table. Given that the primary sector is in sharp decline, and that the industrial sector is practically non-existent, economic growth is only observed in the so-called service sector.
Sinaloa is an entity of retail trade, franchises, restaurants, hotels and small administrative and personal service establishments. True, all this generates employment. But this job is low-paying, low-benefit, and requires only workers with low professional training. For this reason, in this 2023, the IMSS ranks Sinaloa as one of the entities with the lowest salary level in the country.
The data shows that the reactivation of the Sinaloa economy has not been a priority for anyone. The federal government does not promote large investment projects in this entity, and the state government has lacked initiative to promote investment, public or private, with a high regional impact. There are no programs to diversify production, or to incorporate technological innovations.
It is argued that the state GDP is growing, but it must be admitted that such growth is illusory. It comes from the opening of commercial businesses that are not linked to the regional production plant, and therefore do not generate stable and well-paid jobs. Undoubtedly, the service activity is important, but it does not generate a multiplier effect for investment in the rest of the productive sectors.
The real economy is deteriorating rapidly, while the illusory economy gives the feeling that everything is going well. For this reason, when talking about the regional economy, the authorities have one opinion and the citizens have a very different one. Sinaloa lacks an economic development strategy. There are no programs to encourage production and industrialization, nor to attract investment. But the economic and social problems are accumulating.
#economy #Sinaloa