The Mexican State of Querétaro is an example of success amidst the dark stories of corruption, economic struggle, and violence that plague the country.
The state-of-the-art aircraft factory has machines that slice through carbon fiber sheets with lasers and oversized ovens that bake seamless molded fuselages. While it might look like a factory in Montreal, Canada, or Wichita, Kansas, this factory is in Querétaro, Mexico. Located in the north-central part of the country, Querétaro is one of Mexico’s smallest states. At just over 4,500 square miles, it could fit inside the U.S. state of Connecticut, and with a population of just under 2 million people, it is home to only 1.5 percent of the nation’s population. Querétaro’s small size, however, is at odds with its growing reputation as an economic success story, as the state’s governor, José Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa, relayed in his recent visit to UC Berkeley.
