Who benefits from the spending of the Macaladoras? By Ramon Salcito. Amid so much debate about the true impact of the Macualadora and manufacturing industry in Ciudad Juarez, there is one fact that is rarely put on the table with sufficient clarity. How the sector's spending is actually distributed. And when reviewing the figures for January 2026, the conclusion is hard to dispute. The maculadora industry, first and foremost, is a massive generator of income for the population. That is, the biggest beneficiary is the worker. Of a total expenditure exceeding 15.2 billion pesos, more than half, around 52%, is allocated directly to staff salaries. That is, wages and salaries. This is not a minor detail or just another component within the cost structure. It is by far the dominant item. Simply put, the main customer of the Maquiladora in Juarez is its own workforce. We're talking about the fact that, in January, the factories allocated 7.961 billion pesos to payroll. This represents 52% of all the money the Macualadora industry spent to operate in a single month here. If we add to this the Social Security contributions, 1.168 billion pesos, and the benefits, 983 million pesos, which together represent another 14% of the expenditure. The weight of the labor component becomes even more evident. We are talking about nearly two-thirds of the money generated by the Maquilladora industry ending up, directly or indirectly, in the pockets of workers or in mechanisms linked to their well-being, such as the Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS, retirement savings accounts, and the National Housing Fund Institute, Infinavit. In contrast, other sectors traditionally associated with local economic development are lagging behind. Domestic inputs represent just over 8% of total spending for the month, 1.269 billion pesos, confirming a structural pattern. The McCalladora industry continues to depend heavily on imported components. Meanwhile, spending on domestic services, although more significant at around 25%, does not compete with the weight of payroll as the main channel of economic spillover. This breakdown allows us to clarify a key idea that is often lost in public discourse. The greatest social beneficiary of the maculadora industry is not the local business owner or the supply chain, but the worker. It is in labor income where the sector's economic impact on the city truly materializes. And this has important implications. On the one hand, it explains why any adjustment in wages, such as increases to the minimum wage on the border, has an immediate effect on the industry's operating costs. But on the other hand, it also makes it clear that these increases are not simply a blow to competitiveness. They are, in fact, a direct expansion of economic benefits to the social base. At the end of the day, the Maquilladora industry in Ciudad Juarez operates under a very clear logic. It imports inputs, assembles value, and distributes income. And in that model, payroll is not just another cost, but the true engine that sustains the local economy. Services, another major spending category. But while payroll accounts for the core of the economic impact, spending on services reveals how the McQuilladora industry operates locally. Because that 25% of total spending that remains in domestic services is not uniform. Breaking it down reveals a much more telling picture of the economy that revolves around the industry. Of the total services consumed in the local market, almost 3.9 billion pesos. A significant portion is concentrated in what is classified as others, which actually corresponds to maintenance, repair, and operation, the famous MRO. This category alone accounts for more than 2.7 billion pesos, making it the primary expenditure on services. In other words, keeping machinery, production lines, and all industrial infrastructure running is, after paying wages, one of the most resource-intensive priorities in the Macquilladora industry. Beyond MRO, other components also shape the local value chain. Professional services, ranging from consulting to customs procedures, exceed 330 million pesos, reflecting the administrative and logistical complexity of operating within a system deeply integrated into foreign trade. It's not just about production, it's about compliance, documentation, and timely and accurate movement of goods. Freight costs, meanwhile, exceed 229 million pesos, confirming something that is evident on the border. Logistics is not an add-on, it is the backbone. Every product assembled in Juarez is designed to be moved, and that movement generates a constant flow of revenue for carriers and logistics operators. To a lesser extent, but not insignificantly, are payments for the rental of movable and immovable property, totaling approximately 586 million pesos. This includes everything from industrial buildings to specialized equipment, demonstrating that a significant portion of the productive infrastructure operates under leasing rather than ownership arrangements. A model that offers flexibility but also creates dependence on certain suppliers. Other areas such as personnel supply or subcontracting have a much more marginal share within the total, which suggests that, at least at this time, the industry maintains a relatively integrated operation within its own plants, without depending excessively on the outsourcing of processes. Taken together, this breakdown reveals that, while payroll is the primary channel for social benefits, services are the ecosystem that enables daily operations. From machine maintenance to customs clearance, there is an entire network of local economic activities that thrive on and depend on the dynamism of the Macquilladora industry. In total, the Maquiladora spent 15,284,000,000 pesos in Ciudad Juarez in January 2026, and as can be seen, the greatest benefit goes to society.