Selling Matamoros: Business Groups Push Cross-Border Economic Opportunities

CODEM is expanding its cross-border business network and promoting local companies beyond the border, while Alianza Matamoros is bringing private-sector organizations together to pursue broader

MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — Business groups in Matamoros are moving toward a more active approach to economic development, promoting the city and its companies beyond the border while building broader alliances within the private sector to pursue new opportunities.

The approach reflects a shift from waiting for business opportunities to actively pursue them. The Comité para el Desarrollo Económico de Matamoros (CODEM) is expanding its business network across the U.S.-Mexico border and promoting the capabilities of its members, while Alianza Matamoros is bringing companies, chambers, unions and other organizations together around broader economic initiatives.

For CODEM President René Xavier González, that means treating economic development in increasingly commercial terms: Rather than waiting for investment or business opportunities to come to Matamoros, the private sector needs to actively present what the city and its companies can offer.