The Secretary of Economic Development of Tijuana (SEDETI), Alejandro Mungaray Lagarda, revealed that Tijuana registered a reduction of 9.9% on the poverty rate in the last 2 years, becoming the municipality with the greatest drop on this issue in Baja California.

According to the latest study by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policies (CONEVAL), it was reported that Baja California was the second state nationwide regarding poverty rate reduction with 9 percentage points, going from 22.5% to 13.4%.

Mungaray Lagarda stated that Tijuana is the city that has contributed the most to these numbers, participating with a 55% reduction of poverty in the state. He claimed that the synergy between the three levels of government has carried out a crucial role on this achievement as well as the public policies promoted by the 24th Municipal Administration of Tijuana led by mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramírez.

"The visionary leadership by mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramírez has been a decisive factor, as it has shown a genuine commitment with the wellbeing of the majority, promoting public policies that not only help the development of high added value industries, but also the most vulnerable people in society," he said.

The head of SEDETI said that the coordination between the federal, state, and municipal spheres has allowed them to implement effective strategies to improve economic conditions in the region and this effort is reflected on a significant drop of 10.9% on the income gap between the poorest and richest inhabitants of Tijuana in the last 6 years.

"This not only reflects a statistics change, but an attitude change to coordinate together federal public policies that are very relevant, such as the increase of the minimum wage, with state policies that promote foreign investment and compensatory policies by the 24th Municipal Administration of Tijuana. This is in regards to self-employment and micro-businesses aid, and family strategies linked to an increase in remittances, where Tijuana is 1st place nationwide," Mungaray Lagarda highlighted.

Lastly, the head of SEDETI stated that these historic numbers are not only proof of this region's commitment with the country's progress, but also reveal Tijuana's efforts as a key and essential actor in this transformation.

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