Population, territory and sustainable development

85
In Mexico, low-population-density areas fall into at least three broad categories: (i) the two states
on the Baja California peninsula (Baja California and Baja California Sur); (ii) the mainly desert states on
the northern border with the United States of America (including Sonora and Chihuahua); and (iii) three
states on the Yucatán peninsula (Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán). Since the 1980s, these three
areas have been among the main drivers of Mexico’s regional economic and demographic dispersal, a
process which is examined in further detail in chapter VII. The opportunities these places offer are not
agricultural but associated with mining (Campeche), industry (northern border, including Baja
California), and services, particularly international tourism and the associated production linkages on the
Yucatán and Baja California peninsulas. The Government has fostered this process using a series of
measures, including subsidies, benefits, public investment, administrative decentralization and
regionalized institutions.
The migration rates for each of the states can be calculated using the recently released 2010
census data, showing the extent to which these low-population-density areas have maintained their appeal
(see figure V.1). Quintana Roo (where Cancun is located) retains its appeal, with a net immigration rate of
14.6 per 1,000 between 2005 and 2010. The international tourism industry is the springboard for the
state’s unfailing drawing power. Unexpectedly, the most sparsely populated state in the country, Baja
California Sur, actually has the highest net immigration rate. The reason for this is not clear, but
international tourism is undoubtedly a significant factor. Furthermore, it is likely that the violence and the
economic crisis affecting the other state that makes up the peninsula, Baja California, may have shifted
the direction of migration flows, not only from Baja California, but also from other states, especially
Guerrero and Sinaloa. Conversely, the appeal of the northern border, particularly Chihuahua, has
plummeted, probably on the back of the economic crisis in the United States and the increasing violence
experienced in the region.
Figure V.1
MEXICO: NET INTERNAL MIGRATION RATES BY STATE, 1985-2010
(Per 1,000 inhabitants)
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
Baja California
Baja California Sur
Campeche
Yucatan
Quintana Roo
Coahuila de Zaragoza
Chihuahua
Sonora
State
1985-1990 1995-2000 2005-2010
Source: Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE) - Population Division of ECLAC, Database on
Internal Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean (MIALC) (1990 and 2000 censuses); and National Institute of
Statistics and Geography (INEGI), calculations on the basis of special processing of census microdata (2010).