Landa de Matamoros - Economy

Economy

The municipality has one of the lowest average incomes in Mexico. From the 1960s to the 1990, the percentage of economically active people in the municipality declined from 33.5% to 21.2%. It rose slightly to 22.1% in 2000. Over twelve percent of the employment is working in the family without pay. Women make up less than seventeen percent of the paid workforce. To improve nutrition in the impoverished area, amaranth has been promoted as an alternative grain to corn and wheat because of its exceptional nutritive qualities. This is a grain native to Mexico, but its use was prohibited and or discouraged by Spanish authorities because of it religious connections.

Just over 54% of the working population is dedicated to agriculture, livestock and forestry. Agriculture is not a principal economic activity due to the lack of arable land. Most land is used for livestock and forestry. The agriculture that is practiced is traditional and in small plots. Around 3,400 hectares are farmed during the rainy season, principally in Landa, Encino Solo, Palo Verde, La Reforma, La Lagunita, Otates, Tres Lagunas, Acatitlán de Zaragoza, Tilaco, and Valle de Guadalupe. Most crops consist of corn, beans, sorghum, peas and chickpeas and coffee. Fruit trees include orange, peach, papaya, lime, avocado, grapefruit, lemon, sapote, plum, apple and mango. There is also sugar cane and coffee grown. The most important natural resource is forest area. These forests include pine, oak, oyamel, white cedar and strawberry trees. Some fine woods such as red cedar and walnut can also be found. Logging occurs on about 14390 hectares, or about seventeen percent of the municipality's territory. Most are located near the communities of El Madroño, Tres Lagunas and Agua Zarca. Most forest lands are ejidos or otherwise communally owned, with the rest privately owned. There are sixty eight locations dedicated to lumber and over 500 dedicated to collecting other forest products. The declaration of the biosphere reserve has allowed for better control of illegal logging. There are some mineral deposits such as magnesium, silver and lead, but they have not been exploited due to the lack of geological studies. There is also a small petroleum deposit in Tres Lagunas.

About 63,700 hectares are dedicated to livestock such as cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, various domestic fowl and bees. Most occurs in Landa, Agua Zarca, Otates, La Reforma, La Vuelta and Tres Lagunas because of the availability of natural and seeded pastures. Livestock raising has faced challenges due to recent climate changes in the municipality raising the cost of feeding the animals.

Over 18% of the working population is dedicated to mining, construction, industry and manufacturing. Industry is mostly limited to a number of handcrafts such as leather goods and ceramics and some food processing, especially related to corn. Some communities create handcrafts such as wool items, ceramics including jars and comals, palm mats, knitted items, copal incense and wood items such as toys and furniture.

Commerce and services provide over twenty one percent of the employment. The municipality has 195 commercial establishments mostly located in the larger communities. There are no municipal markets, but there are tianguis markets during the weeks in several locations especially the municipal seat, Tilaco, La Lagunita and Agua Zarca La Lagunita holds a large tianguis on Saturday. Most commerce is geared to local consumption and basic needs. There is some tourism, mostly associated with the two mission churches in Landa and Tilaco. There is only one two-star hotel in the community of El Lobo, with fifteen rooms and a restaurant.

It is not known exactly how many people from Querétaro go to work in the United States, nor how many come at the end of the year to visit. Landa has one of the highest emigration rates in Querétaro. Most from Landa migrate to Texas, especially Houston. The dollars that return here have a large impact in Landa and other municipalities of the Sierra Gorda region. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 USD per day comes into the Sierra Gorda region, or about 18 million per year based on estimates of money changed in the area. This quantity is more than the entire municipal budge of Landa and accounts for most of the money residents live on, dwarfing the amount made through the local economy of farming and forestry. The currency itself circulates here, accepted in a number of businesses. In the community of Tres Lagunas, there are three hundred families with at least one member from each in the United States. All of its streets, including the entrance road are dirt. Many of the houses are now of brick or block, with satellite TV, paid for by remittance money, but there is no piped water. Dollars sent back by migrants in the United States is not only received directly by families, it is also used to fund public works projects through organizations such as the Federacion de Clubes de Migrantes de la Sierra Gorda, which includes six groups from Landa de Matamoros. Much of this money is matched two for one by the Mexican federal government. The first community to benefit from this problem was La Lagunita, with an initial offering of USD5,000. Most works focus on paving, water systems, drainage and electricity. This money is so important to Landa and other Sierra Gorda municipalities that there is an annual event dedicated to them each December in Jalpan de Serra, which Landa partially sponsors, called "Día del Paisano".