Mexicali is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California and seat of the Municipality of Mexicali. The City of Mexicali has a population of 690,00, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 1,000,000; making the city and metropolitan area the second most populous in Baja California. The city maintains a highly educated and skilled population, as it has modernized and become an important population center in the desert region. Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the Mexico–United States border adjacent to its sister city Calexico in California, with which it forms a dual-state, international population center, Calexico–Mexicali.
The municipality of Mexicali is divided into the city main and 14 Administrative Districts, which are mainly located in the outskirts of the city and the largest populations in the Mexicali Valley. These Distrital offices offer municipal services such as Urban Planning, Vital Statistics, Street-Vending Inspection, Compliance, Public Works and Community Development and are, each, supervised by a Municipal Delegate. Civic Center – In this sub-area are located the main federal, state and municipal buildings. Not far from the Civic Center is the New River, where there are other prominent buildings and premises like the CEART (State Center for the Arts) and the Mexicali Zoo.
In its beginnings Mexicali was an important center for cotton production for export, until synthetic fabrics reduced the worldwide demand for the fiber. Currently, horticulture is the most successful agricultural activity with scallion (green onion), and asparagus being among the most important crops. Cotton and wheat are still grown, but low government price guarantees and subsidies make wheat farmer protests an annual event. There is an annual agri-business fair, which if unfunded by public money given to by the government, it would have been dead a decade ago, named AGROBAJA, in March of every year, drawing people by the thousands, from all over Mexico and from the United States. The current prospects for economic growth in Mexicali rely on in-bond and assembly plants (maquiladoras), which come due to low wages and loose worker right laws, include companies like, Selther, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, Paccar, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions, CareFusion, Bosch, Price Pfister, Gulfstream, United Technologies Corporation, Kenworth and Kwikset. Mexicali is also home to many food processing plants such as Nestlé, Jumex, Bimbo, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, and Sabritas.
Mexicali also relies on tourism as a medium to generate revenue, and visitors cross by foot or by car from Calexico, United States, every day. Tourists are mainly attracted to local taco stands, restaurants, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs. Near the border, in walking distance, there are many shops and stalls selling Mexican curios and souvenirs. Arizona and Nevada residents look for medical and dental services in Mexicali, since they tend to be less expensive than in the United States. Pharmacies sell some drugs without a prescription and at much lower cost than in the US, but some medications still require a doctor’s prescription, although several accessible doctor offices are located near the border as well. Mexico’s drinking age is 18 years old (vs. 21 in the United States) which makes it a common weekend destination for many high school and college students from Southern California.
Mexicali hosts four main shopping malls, the most visited being Plaza La Cachanilla, located a mile away from the US border. The mall hosts a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of items, ranging from cheap Mexican curios to expensive imports. The Plaza La Cachanilla also represents a common place for people to socialize, especially during Summer days when the weather reaches high temperatures, many families come and spend the day inside the air-conditioned mall. For recreation, Mexicali has bath halls, bowling alleys, traditional cantinas, car clubs, strip clubs, movie theaters, museums, a zoo, a convention center, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants for every choice of food. Galerias del Valle, holds a WalMart Supercenter, a 12-screen movie theater Cinepolis, two casinos, and a food court, plus a large array of stores that sell many items needed for daily living. It is located on Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas at Calle 11.
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