Juárez:  Coronavirus and the Maquila Industry

Diario de Juárez reports this morning that three maquila plants, and possibly two more, have admitted they may face delays in their production schedules because of delays in their supply chains stemming from the coronavirus crisis in China.  Pedro Chavira, president of the major maquila association (Index) in Cd. Juárez is quoted in the report as saying that the affected maquila plants have begun to seek new providers to avoid delays in their supply chains.  This will not be easy since managers have only a short time frame to find new providers before having to cut production schedules.  Local suppliers will have trouble replacing these supplies since some materials face protective ("amparados") measures in China and "it is difficult to find new suppliers in just two or three weeks."  Most of the affected companies produce electric and electronic products.

Diario notes that of the 326 maquila plants in Juárez, 29% produce electronic products such as televisions, refrigerators, computers, and cell phones.

Note:  Maquila plants in Juárez often require strict adherence to "just in time" production schedules to get their products on the road.  Student groups I took to tour maquilas in Juárez a few years ago were always impressed with the sometimes minute-by-minute precision in the scheduling links between the production line, packaging, and the loading of the trucks to cross the border into the US, just a mile or two down the road.  At that time US federal authorities were cooperating with the maquila industry to permit inspections at the plant, followed by sealing the truck doors, instead of requiring inspection at the border crossing itself.  We characterized these and other measures as "redefining the geographic boundary lines and definitions of the border."

Three More Executions In Juarez Yesterday

Diario de Juárez reports this morning a man was found dead (LPNM correction at 1:50 pm:  wounded, not dead) with a gunshot through an eye, lesions on his body, and his hands severed.  A cardboard sign was nearby warning those who steal cars, auto parts, and those who buy those vehicles. An agent of the municipal police explained the sign was signed by a "criminal group" ("grupo delictivo") that operates in the city.  Two other men were executed in different parts of the city.  Update:  the man, still alive, was taken to a hospital  Diario update at 12:40 pm:  The severed hand of the wounded man were discovered just before noon in the colonia Margarita; he was found earlier in the morning in the colonia Partido Romero, an adjacent neighborhood.