Environmental Implications of New Mexican Industrial Investment: The Rise of Asian Origin Maquiladoras As Generators of Hazardous Waste

Abstract

Environmental Implications of New Mexican Industrial Investment: The Rise of Asian Origin Maquiladoras As Generators of Hazardous WasteKathryn Kopinak This paper explores some implications of the largest recent investments in Mexican maquiladoras using data collected from SEMARNAP in Mexico and the EPA in the United States. The findings indicate that the increase in Asian origin investment in maquiladoras at the western end of the U.S.-Mexico border has reterritorialized the generation of hazardous waste. Central and eastern cities such as Cd. Jurez and Matamoros, which used to have the plants generating the most, now fall far behind Tijuana and Mexicali, whose new Asian investors have taken the lead. Moreover, South Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese owned maquiladoras have caused their cities to more than triple the amount of hazardous waste generated anywhere else, and theirs are the riskiest materials. These results are interpreted in terms of globalization, which has made it legally possible for the risks of industrial production to occur in areas other than where products are consumed or profits realized. Policies to avoid and reduce risks are suggested.