Related Articles
-Editorial
Following a long-awaited meeting with Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila and statewide business and economic development councils, Octavio Sandoval, President of the Mexicali Business Coordinating Council (CCE), said critical issues such as the energy crisis and public safety remain top concerns for the business community in the state capital.
“This was our first official meeting in nearly two years with the governor, local development councils from the five municipalities, and business leaders from across the state,” Sandoval told reporters. “It was a chance to reengage and collectively address not only economic development, but also social issues that deeply affect us.”
Sandoval said the energy crisis that caused frequent blackouts in Mexicali this summer was a central topic. He explained that the business sector had been pressing authorities for two months on the cause of the outages and the lack of investment in infrastructure.
“After much insistence, it was finally confirmed that the outages stemmed from a failure to activate solar power plants in Ejido Cuernavaca, San Luis Río Colorado, and Puerto Peñasco. These plants are technically ready but haven’t been put into operation due to basic delays,” Sandoval said.
While local businesses previously pointed to insufficient investment in substations and distribution systems, state officials acknowledged that this infrastructure backlog dated back to the previous administration. A maintenance plan is now underway to recover from a six-year delay, with new investments expected to be included in the 2026 state budget.
“Blackouts have decreased this year compared to last, but they remain unacceptably high,” Sandoval emphasized. “This problem doesn’t exist across the border in Imperial Valley or Yuma, despite sharing the same climate.”
The business leader also raised concerns about public safety, citing recent violent incidents in Mexicali that have heightened the perception of insecurity among residents.
“Despite official statistics showing a decrease in crime, people don’t feel safer,” Sandoval said. “Perception matters — and right now, it’s at nearly 80%. That’s a 10-point jump in a very short time, fueled by poorly handled media events.”
Sandoval criticized a recent incident in which local police raided a home in the Balboa neighborhood during the early morning hours, allegedly acting on a domestic violence complaint. The house, it turned out, belonged to a state prosecutor.
“Family violence cases should be handled by a specialized unit created by the governor, not with 12 patrol units smashing down a gate at dawn,” he said.
In terms of strategy, Sandoval advocated for greater coordination with federal forces such as the Navy and Army. He argued that the municipal police force is ill-equipped to handle the challenges posed by organized crime in the Mexicali Valley.
“The local police are preventive and focused on traffic duties,” he said. “They don’t have the weapons, the training, or the logistics to face these threats. Putting them on the front lines is risky and unjustified.”
Sandoval also spoke about the economic impact of high electricity costs on residents and businesses. He noted that households with average or minimum-wage incomes pay between 800 and 1,000 pesos monthly during the summer — equivalent to 15–20% of their income.
“No other region in Mexico sees such a high percentage of income go toward electricity,” he said.
The cost is also felt by businesses, who pass it on to consumers. “If a restaurant pays 20,000 pesos a month in electricity, that cost is factored into the price of the food,” Sandoval explained. “It’s either the customer pays more, or the business earns less — or both.”
He concluded by urging authorities to take swift and coordinated action to address both infrastructure deficiencies and the root causes of insecurity, stressing that both are essential to ensuring Mexicali’s long-term stability and economic growth.