ABSTRACT
The Laguna region in northern Mexico has, over the course of the last two decades, undergone a transformation in which the once very important agricultural sector has been pushed to the background by a very rapidly developing industrial sector. Thus, from being known throughout Mexico as a prime producer of cotton and dairy products, La Laguna is currently receiving national and international attention as a major garment producing and exporting region (van Dooren and van der Waerden 1997; Gereffi and Martinez 2000; West 2000). The region has had a very humble garment industry for a long time, but during the 1990s, and especially since the coming into effect of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the regional garment industry has experienced an unprecedented boom. From housing a few important, though not very large, garment companies the region has gone to housing nearly 200 companies and approximately 400 factories. At the turn of the century the industry in the region was estimated to produce anywhere between 4.5 million and 6 million pairs of jeans a week and to provide work to over 70,000 laguneros. The regional garment industry is highly specialised in the production of blue jeans for export to the US. Naturally, the boom of garment production for export has had a profound impact on the region: commuting and migration flows and employment patterns have changed, and industrial infrastructure has improved. Importantly the opportunities for SMEs have also improved.
