On today’s episode of the podcast we talk about Mexican cycling phenomenon Isaac Del Toro, an athlete who captured the world’s attention with his achievements in 2025.
We also look at how sports have helped shape and develop Modern Mexico’s identify, and how Mexico’s social and political context have impacted the country’s athletes.
Within the world of sports, Isaac Del Toro is Mexico’s top star right now.
Host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks about how he traveled to Italy to watch Del Toro compete at the Giro d’Italia, Italy’s biggest cycling race, and wrote about Del Toro for the British magazine ROULEUR.
Historian David Wysocki talks about his research on the history of sports in Mexico.
They also discuss the culture vs institutions debate.
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On today’s episode of the podcast we talk about Mexican cycling phenomenon Isaac Del Toro, an athlete who captured the world’s attention with his achievements in 2025.
We also look at how sports have helped shape and develop Modern Mexico’s identify, and how Mexico’s social and political context have impacted the country’s athletes.
Within the world of sports, Isaac Del Toro is Mexico’s top star right now.
Host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks about how he traveled to Italy to watch Del Toro compete at the Giro d’Italia, Italy’s biggest cycling race, and wrote about Del Toro for the British magazine ROULEUR.
Historian David Wysocki talks about his research on the history of sports in Mexico.
They also discuss the culture vs institutions debate.
Episode 19: Are Security Problems In Tijuana Scaring Away Nearshoring Investors?
The Modern Mexico Podcast
35 minutes 5 seconds
1 year ago
Episode 19: Are Security Problems In Tijuana Scaring Away Nearshoring Investors?
On this episode of THE MODERN MEXICO PODCAST host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Laura Calderon, the Executive Director of Justice in Mexico, a San Diego-based think tank.
In spite of persistently high levels of organized crime-related violence, Tijuana has become one of Mexico’s success stories when it comes to "nearshoring" investment.
The city has a thriving industrial sector that employs over a quarter of a million people.
Between 2016 and 2022 foreign aerospace, automotive, and electronics companies invested over 11 billion dollars in the state of Baja California where Tijuana is located.
Over 2,500 cargo trucks cross the border to the U.S. from Tijuana every day. The state of Baja California where Tijuana is located received $2.7 billion in foreign direct investment in 2023.
But, this economic success story has not catalyzed a significant improvement in the security dynamic in Tijuana.
Tijuana has earned a reputation as the most violent city in Mexico, and in terms of per capita homicides is often ranked as the most violent city in the world.
Tijuana recorded 10,725 murders during the first five years of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's time in office (2019-2023).
But, we don’t see evidence that powerful organized crime groups are trying to intimidate and extort foreign companies in Tijuana.
Only 12 cargo truck hijackings occurred in the entire state of Baja California in 2023. That’s a tiny figure in comparison to the thousands of hijacking incidents recorded in the industrial states of Puebla and Estado de Mexico in central Mexico.
Calderon says that she thinks crime in Tijuana affects nearshoring companies on a level of about "4 or 5 out of 10."
"The economy is still going. There is a lot of industry, what we call maquiladoras. I think they are designing strategies to create alliances with the local government and ensuring protection for their businesses," she says.
Criminal groups in Tijuana are not killing or kidnapping foreign executives, for instance.
Calderon says that if the security situation in Tijuana is going to improve, Mexico needs to work to improve the institutional capacity of police and prosecutors.
The Modern Mexico Podcast
On today’s episode of the podcast we talk about Mexican cycling phenomenon Isaac Del Toro, an athlete who captured the world’s attention with his achievements in 2025.
We also look at how sports have helped shape and develop Modern Mexico’s identify, and how Mexico’s social and political context have impacted the country’s athletes.
Within the world of sports, Isaac Del Toro is Mexico’s top star right now.
Host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks about how he traveled to Italy to watch Del Toro compete at the Giro d’Italia, Italy’s biggest cycling race, and wrote about Del Toro for the British magazine ROULEUR.
Historian David Wysocki talks about his research on the history of sports in Mexico.
They also discuss the culture vs institutions debate.
