The Monitor

McAllen city leaders and owners of the Bert Ogden family of auto dealerships hope a newly opened BMW outlet will add a little sparkle to North McAllen.

January 08, 2010 7:17 PM

REYNOSA — Mexico’s maquiladoras added thousands of jobs and boosted production in late summer 2009 after a nearly two-year free fall that left thousands unemployed and shuttered dozens of factories, according to statistics from the Mexican government.

Few said that the statistics released in December by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (INEGI) alone signal recovery, but coupled with the surprising recent acceleration in U.S. manufacturing, the gains in Mexico are bolstering confidence the world’s economy might be on the mend. Analyst said that over the past year, factories were able to sell off inventory after shutting down. Now, with production levels more in line with demand, industry observers said it’s likely Mexico’s factories have reached the bottom.

With the opening of the new UTPA McAllen Teaching Site Aug. 26, access to advanced education will now be a few miles closer for many Rio Grande Valley residents, saving them travel time and costs.

Initiated by The University of Texas-Pan American in partnership with the City of McAllen, the new 10,000-square-foot leased facility is located at 1800 South Main Street in the Main Place Shopping Center adjacent to the La Plaza Mall. A map showing the site’s location is available at www.utpa.edu/mcallen.