Ciudad Juárez

Ciudad Juárez’s Resilience Journey

In recent decades, Ciudad Juárez has been the site of some of the worst drug-related violence in Mexico. The city’s crime levels, and local industries shutting down due to the global financial crisis, have combined to create high levels of unemployment. However, concerted efforts by the government, civil organizations, and local residents to strengthen law enforcement and risk mitigation systems have begun to gain momentum.

To build on these changes, Ciudad Juárez needs to address the ongoing threat of flooding, which puts both public safety and economic development at risk. For example, plans to deal with storm water by collecting it in groundwater wells may help the city respond more effectively to annual heat waves. This would help protect the city’s most threatened, vulnerable, and transient populations. Ciudad Juárez continues to experience an influx of migrants from other parts of Mexico and countries to the south.

Ciudad Juárez must continue to focus funding and technical capacity on improving its deteriorating infrastructures for power, sanitation, gas, and other services to confront this confluence of challenges.