Both cities face similar yet distinct problems due to a failure to adequately measure air quality in their cities.
Both cities operate under the federal regulatory umbrella (NOMs for environmental health and ecological emergencies). However, the enforcement and rigor of vehicle and industrial emissions regulations paint contrasting pictures. Mazatlán, pressured by its growing vehicle fleet and significant port industrial activity, has had to implement, albeit intermittently, vehicle inspection operations.
The challenge is enormous: tourist, cargo, and private transportation clog the roads. Tepic, with a less aggressive industry and a smaller vehicle fleet, seems to breathe an air of greater regulatory calm. The danger lies in complacency. The lack of robust mandatory inspections and permanent industrial inspection programs in both cities is their greatest debt.
Regulation is not an expense, it’s an investment. Political will is measured not in speeches, but in the ability to enforce the law against the automotive and business lobbies, a test that defines the environmental future.
Economic Impact: The Bill We All Pay
Air quality is not an abstract issue for environmentalists; it is a major economic determinant. For Mazatlán, the impact is direct and brutally clear: its hallmark is tourism. A bad day with a visible cloud of smog over the coast or ozone alerts drives away visitors, damages the image of the “Charming Port,” and translates into canceled hotel reservations and reduced economic benefits.
Poor air quality increases cases of asthma, bronchitis, and cardiovascular disease, overwhelming the public health system and reducing worker productivity due to absenteeism. In Tepic, the cost, although less obvious, is equally corrosive.
It affects the attraction of talent and high-value investments, those companies and professionals that prioritize well-being. A city with clean air is a magnet for the knowledge economy; one that neglects it condemns itself to mediocre development. The cost of inaction always far exceeds investment in emissions control and sustainable mobility.
Mazatlán and Tepic face the same challenge at different stages. The port is waging a present battle against a visible enemy, where the economic consequences are immediate. The capital of Nayarit has the unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others and strengthen its development with intelligent, preventive planning. Air quality is the barometer of a city’s true modernity. It is not measured in large buildings or shopping malls, but in the lungs of its children and the clarity of the sky.
The choice is not between economy and ecology; it is between a short-sighted and predatory economy or a sustainable, resilient, and attractive economy. Today’s air is tomorrow’s bread. Whether that bread is poisoned or the basis of its true prosperity depends on what they do, or don’t do.
Translation of an article by Lidia Lizárraga for El Debate
Lidia Lizárraga is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience in the media. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of El Debate Mazatlán.
Source: El Debate
