Mexicali customers have seen a grocery expenditure increased by 45 percent, the Chamber of Commerce President said
A local business leader said Mexicali families increased their grocery expenses by 45 percent in a year.
Mexicali Chamber of Commerce President Lidia Granados told La Voz newspaper prices of eggs, tortillas and milk have triggered expenditures up.
This week, the price of a carton of eggs has surpassed the $5 USD threshold in some stores.
The newspaper said in the case of tortillas prices have reached about $1.50 USD per kilogram or around two pounds.
“There have been increases (of prices),” Granados said.
Prices of items like lentils, beans, bread and soap have also gone up.
Granados said price increases have impacted both customers and businesses.
Lithium extraction under study
A state official said no date has been set in order to start extracting lithium from local geothermal fields.
Baja California Secretary of Economy Kurt Honold told La Voz newspaper Mexico’s national lithium company must first study the amount of the mineral in the state that can be extracted.
Those studies are expected to be conducted within a year.
Mexicali’s Cañón del Diablo area in the geothermal fields of Cerro Prieto are under consideration for mining.
All lithium reserves found will become property of the Mexican Department of Energy, Honold said.
Once lithium studies are finished the government will contract private companies for lithium mining. Those companies must be American, Canadian or Mexican.
Sec. Honold expects such companies are installed in Mexicali.
Housing costs climb
Housing costs have risen so much that homeowners have relied on public loans to expand their houses for their children.
Baja California Center of Economic Studies President Roberto Valero told La Voz newspaper quality of life is not improved by government gifts or housing programs like the ones enacted.
Back in the nineties most residents owned their homes as mortgage loans were accessed through easy requirements.
However, after a series of unsolved economic crises and failing policies the percentage of home renters increased, Valero said.
The center’s president said figures confirm his statements as last year mortgage credits requested before the Mexican National Institute of Housing for Workers plummeted 36 percent compared to 2021.
Also last year, the institute recorded the lowest numbers of mortgage credit loans in 17 years with 19,270– a 28 percent decrease compared to 2021.
Valero said two out of every three loans were requested for home improvement.
Between 2014 and 2022 credit requests for home improvement increased 179 percent while mortgage credit loans declined 70 percent in the same period.
Inflation
In 2022, the state reported an 8.72 percent inflation rate that also impacted home purchase.
Valero said in the last two years home prices increased 47 percent.
In the meantime, little over half a million Baja California employees or half the state’s civilian workforce earned on average two minimum wages.
Low salaries has led the institute to record 35,718 default mortgages in 2022 — a 91 percent increase compared to 2018.
«Obviously, people don’t stop paying their mortgages because they like to,» Valero told the newspaper. «We cannot blame solely on the pandemic.»
While low-cost housing is available, residents cannot afford payments as those homes are located far from people’s jobs.
Valero said the Inter American Development Bank pointed out Mexicali and Tijuana became an example of urban chaos based on their bad traffic engineering and high cost of public transportation.
Valero suggested enacting new urban redevelopment projects, relocation of businesses and improvement of street infrastructure to address the housing issue.
Downtown parking lot construction begins
A new parking lot for 200 vehicles is under construction in downtown Mexicali.
The state Department of Infrastructure and Urban Development said the parking lot is located between Ignacio Altamirano Street and Reforma Avenue Alley.
Secretary Arturo Espinoza said the two-story parking lot includes ramps and stairs, as well as parking spots for handicapped people.
The state official said Wednesday that construction just began.
Espinoza called drivers and pedestrians to keep an eye on while driving or walking in the area to avoid issues.
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