the trans-peninsular highway: a new era for baja california

The Trans-Peninsular Highway: A New Era for Baja CaliforniaAuthor(s): Jack N. BarkenbusSource: Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Aug., 1974), pp.259-273Published by: Center for Latin American Studies at the University of MiamiStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/174886 .

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JACK N. BARKENBUS Center for Marine Affairs Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego, California

THE TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWA Y

A New Era for Baja California

A s Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez strode to the dedication stand, confetti and rose petals filled the air; and upon raising the Mexican flag at the base of a 135-foot-high statue located in the middle of the Baja California desert, more than 5,000 peopled cheered, "Viva Mexico, viva la carretera" (the highway). The occasion of the recent dedication and praise was the completion of the first paved highway that effectively links northern and southern sections of Baja California. To North Americans who have been numbed by the dizzying pace of superhighway construction, this single, rather narrow, two- lane highway may seem of scarce consequence. But for the inhabitants of the Baja California peninsula, one of the most desolate areas of land on this earth, the 1,061-mile highway heralds a new era.' This paper intends to explore some of the economic and political consequences likely to evolve from the road's existence. More specifically, it examines the basic objectives Mexican officials bring to the highway, and posits the likelihood of the fulfillment of these objectives.

Introduction

Mexicans speak of Baja California in much the same way that we speak of the frontier of Alaska, as the history of Baja

Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 16 No. 3, August 1974 ?1974 Sage Publications, Inc.

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[260] JOURNAL OF INTERAMERICAN STUDIES AND WORLD AFFAIRS

California is a fascinating account of the forces of nature repelling man's attempts to gain a foothold on the peninsula and spread his civilization. Much of the peninsula is hot desert receiving less than an average of six inches of rainfall a year. It contains no permanent rivers or streams. Expansive mountain ranges cover much of the land. Consequently, living off the land encapsuled in this 800-mile-long peninsula has always been a dayt-to-day struggle. While Baja California has witnessed a remarkable population increase in the twentieth century, this increase has been highly concentrated in the northern and southern extremes of the peninsula.2 The central section of the peninsula, covering a length of approximately 600 miles, is still virtually uninhabited.

The isolation afforded by the forbidding nature of the peninsula, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Gulf of California (also called the Sea of Cortez) on the east has not been disparaged by everyone. The well-known drama critic turned naturalist, Joseph Wood Krutch (1961: 14), wrote, "Baja is a splendid example of how much bad roads can do for a country. It must be almost as beautiful as it was when the first white man saw it in 1533-and of how many other regions can you say that?" The peninsula and its islands contain an abundance of plant and animal forms which can only be found there. These include the strange "boojum" tree, giant barrel cacti, rattleless rattlesnakes, and the black jack rabbit. Cali- fornia gray whales make an annual migration from the North Pacific to many of Baja California's bays and lagoons where they breed and calve. Such an abundance of exotic plant and animal forms has led another naturalist to describe Baja California as a "natural laboratory" for speciation, population dynamics, and biogeography (Lindsay, 1969: 1).

With the construction of the trans-peninsular highway, however, the isolation which has so effectively protected this natural laboratory for plants and animals is at an end. The federal government of Mexico has sunk at least $100 million into the construction of the highway over the past three years, and intends to see some return on its investment. We must ask,



Barkenbus / THE TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWAY [2611

then, what payoffs are expected from the highway? What objectives are being sought? What are the chances for accomplishing these objectives?

Mexican Objectives

It appears there are two major objectives linked to the construction of the new road. First, and most obviously, it is designed to bring greater material wealth to the present inhabitants of the peninsula, as well as to all Mexican citizens, by providing a transportation artery which people and com- merce can easily traverse. The opportunity for opening new agricultural and mining enterprises and markets is enhanced by the highway, as transportation time and costs are reduced considerably. Of primary significance, however, the peninsula has now become accessible to a large number of tourists or pleasure seekers who have the time and money to explore the unique desert environment and the over 3,000 kilometers of coastline (approximately twice the coastline of Florida).

This tourist potential has been recognized by the Mexican Federal Commission to Coordinate the Development of Baja California (CODIBAC), formed in 1972 and charged with the task of marshaling public and private cooperation in a development plan for Baja California. CODIBAC envisions touristic "corridors"-four of these areas are located on the Gulf coast and two on the Pacific (see map). It is expected that private enterprise will bear most infrastructure costs of developing these corridors. Federal investment in tourism will be concentrated along the highway, where construction is already far along on moderate and low-cost motels, gas stations, trailer parks, and lodging fields.

The economic rewards from tourism facilitated by the highway, of course, will not remain solely in Baja California. Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange for Mexico3 which enables the federal government to import necessary goods and services for national economic development. The



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Figure 1: BAJA CALIFORNIA AND TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWAY

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Barkenbus / THE TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWAY [263]

potential rewards derived from opening up Baja California to the tourist, therefore, would be distributed throughout the country.

The second major objective linked to the highway is the hope that it will further political integration, not only between the two existing Baja California administrations, but even more important, promote national integration with the Mexican mainland. Integration of Baja California within the Mexican national system has historically been weak. Separated by both sea and mountain from the Mexican center of power, Baja California has traditionally been a Mexican frontier, often as responsive to economic conditions in the United States as to those within Mexico.4

The current Mexican government is encouraging development in several outlying regions-including Baja California-in order to disperse the concentration of population which has evolved around Mexico City, and to thereby better incorporate these regions into the national system. The construction of the trans-peninsular highway is one manifestation of this concern. While the highway runs north-south, three new ferryboat lines have been established which serve as an essential extension of the highway to the Mexican mainland. Milton Castellanos Everardo, Governor of the State of Baja California, stressed political integration in his speech at the recent highway dedication saying, "The highway is a bond that will bring all Mexicans together at last and Baja California will be isolated no more, but instead will be a proud part of its nation" (Murphy, 1973: B-1).

Water

The success in accomplishing these objectives is predicated upon a number of factors, perhaps the most important being the availability of water. The basic limiting factor to development on the peninsula remains a lack of sufficient water, the same factor which has retarded development in the past.




Numerous Mexican officials have recently expressed confidence, however, that this barrier to development can be overcome through intensified water exploration and increasing techno- logical capabilities. The federal Ministry of Hydraulic Resources (Secretaria de Recursos Hidraiulicos), for example, is currently drilling for wells throughout the peninsula in water exploration projects. Water deep under the Vizcaino desert is being tapped, particularly along the highway, in order to provide water for the traffic using the road. Officials feel that with proper exploita- tion, considerable water can be found deep underground, especially along Pacific coastal regions. Several border com- munities currently receive much of their water from the Colorado River, but by the time it reaches Baja California, its salt content is exceedingly high. Consequently, a U.S.-Mexican pact has recently been signed calling for the construction of what would be the world's largest desalination plant. If passed into law, this pact will create a $115-million plant located in southern Arizona, and when operating will reduce by as much as 90 percent the salt content of the Colorado River water reaching Baja California. A desalination plant south of Tijuana is already providing up to seven million gallons of water per day. If CODIBAC has its way, a series of desalination units or plants will be constructed in the touristic corridors along the coasts. CODIBAC intends private enterprise to assume the construction and operating costs of these units, as well as provide for adequate sewage treatment.

If, in fact, water can be found or produced in relative abundance, and at costs which are not excessive for the type of development required,5 it appears that the first objective of the road-to increase the material or economic welfare of Baja California and Mexico as a whole-can be accomplished (though how this increase will be distributed is another question). This can be stated with considerable assurance simply by examining various dimensions of the immense tourist market to the north of Baja California.




The Tourist Market

It should be understood that even without the benefit of the trans-peninsular highway a brisk tourist trade has developed in Baja California. Eased border restrictions and easy automobile access to northern Mexican cities such as Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali facilitated tourist traffic. Increasing numbers of adventurous North Americans were using rugged four-wheel drive vehicles to explore and enjoy the peninsula. Numerous airports and graded airstrips in Baja California furthered intemational traffic as well. Baja Califomia's numerous bays and ports lured recreational boats from the north, as well as fishermen wishing to take advantage of the superlative fishing opportunities. In all, it has been estimated that as many as 26 million border crossings into Baja California were taking place in the year prior to the completion of the trans-peninsular highway.

While such toutristic activity has brought relative wealth to a few areas, its impact has been limited. Unable to easily penetrate the peninsula, most tourists to Baja California stayed less than a day. In fact, studies have shown that the average stay of a North American touring Baja California is only four hours-and as a consequence, this tourist spends far less money than would a tourist to the Mexican mainland.6

The trans-peninsular highway, therefore, provides a means by which the tourist can easily travel the length of the peninsula, stay longer, and spend more. Travel agents and Mexican officials have already noted a distinct increase in traffic to Baja California since the completion of the highway. The number of campers and recreational vehicles heading down the highway averaged approximately 3,000 in each of the Christmas holiday weekends following the dedication.7

The travel research division of the Automobile Club of Southern California recently surveyed a representative sample of its nearly two million members to determine the interest in traveling the new trans-peninsular highway. The survey, con- ducted with the advice and assistance of Roberto de la Madrid,



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director of tourism for the State of Baja California, has not yet been completely analyzed, but based upon a 75 percent return to the questionnaire, the preliminary findings are revealing.

Of the sample, 40 percent had not visited Baja California in the past five years. In fact, at the time of the survey, 68 percent of the total number of respondents were not even aware of the new highway (publicity increased considerably as the road was nearing completion). Most striking, however, was the finding that 53 percent of the individuals sampled indicated that the existence of this highway would encourage them to visit the peninsula. It must be noted, of course, that what people do and what they say, can vary to a great extent. And we have no way of knowing in this case the degree of encouragement necessary to lead to action. Nevertheless, applying the 53 percent figure to the Automobile Club's total membership produces approximately one million potential visitors from this club alone.

Perhaps just as revealing as the survey is the fact that several foreign firms have offered in the past to build such a highway if they could operate it under tolls. According to one report (Saldana, 1973: 111-6), "one builder calculated that the crush of traffic would be so overwhelming that he could give the highway to Mexico after five years."8

From all indications, therefore, the decision to build the trans-peninsular highway in order to tap the tourist market and to reap economic profit, appears to be sound. In order to understand why North Americans will flock to this arid and isolated peninsula, however, one requires further explanation.

California

The attraction of Baja California to U.S. citizens can be shown by highlighting the changing nature of life in California, the state immediately north of Baja California.

California has become the most populous state in the union, with approximately 20 million inhabitants. With the great influx of inhabitants, the landscape of California has been



Barkenbus / THE TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWAY [2671

transformed drastically, leading to the widespread destruction of wilderness, of open spaces, and of vast agricultural areas- features which once characterized California. In its place has come urbanization. Fully ninety percent of California's inhabitants are now enclosed within urban-suburban areas (the highest state urban-suburban percentage in the nation). Population growth and urbanization are particularly characteristic of Southern California, the area immediately adjacent to Baja California.

The transformation process has been detailed before and is familiar to us all. Open spaces are replaced by housing developments. Agricultural areas are ovelTun by criss-crossing superhighways. Supermarkets and shopping centers proliferate. As a result, twentieth-century civilization has engulfed Cali- fornia. While relatively few Californians would wish to revert to nineteenth-century living conditions and standards, a keen sense of what has been lost in this transformation exists. Consequent- ly, Californians go to great lengths to recapture at least the spirit of the wilderness experience for short periods of time. Perhaps it is the desire to capture this experience which makes Californians three times as mobile as the average U.S. citizen.

The difficulty is, of course,-that the Californian is running out of room to capture this experience. The California State Park system is overflowing. From July 1968 to June 1969, 219,000 persons were turned away from state park units during daylight hours and another 148,000 could not be accommo- dated overnight (Bonnicksen, 1972). The lack of sufficient camping facilities in California has already led Californians to go elsewhere. In a year long study of attendance at one state park in Oregon, it was discovered that fifty percent of the total campers were from California, and thirty percent had traveled from the Los Angeles area, over 1,000 miles away (Fellmeth, 1971: IV-166).

Even the vast California desert is suffering from too-intensive use. Off-road vehicle traffic in the California desert has been increasing at approximately four times the national average (Peterson, 1973: 9). A study has shown that this traffic is



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causing significant ecological damage to the desert (Bureau of Land Management, 1968), and this finding precipitated a Bureau of Land Management regulation plan which recently went into effect.

The beaches of California are also being overrun. It must be recognized that of California's 1,051 miles of coast, only 40 percent is publicly owned, and, according to one study, a mere 89 miles of this 40 percent can be termed sand/swimming beaches (Finlay and Van Til, 1970). A projection of future beach use shows that "in 1980, the crowds at Los Angeles' 34 miles of beach alone will almost equal the number of people who used the entire coastline in 1969" (Finlay and Van Til, 1970).

While the Californian's access to open space in his own state is declining, his ability to travel outside his state to take advantage of this resource is increasing. Leisure and vacation time for the U.S. worker has been continually increasing in recent decades. In addition to time, the Californian has the economic means to travel long distances, as per capita income is high in California relative to most states.

For the numerous reasons cited above, officials in Baja California have good cause to be optimistic regarding the potential tourist market. Though California will probably provide the great majority of visitors to Baja California, many citizens of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas can also be expected to take advantage of the trans-peninsular highway. There appears to be, therefore, a fortunate congruence of interest between Mexicans and U.S. citizens regarding the means by which Baja California's "resources" should be utilized.

Political Integration

As stated previously, a second objective of the trans-peninsular highway construction is to promote political-especially national-integration. There is good reason to believe, however, that this objective will be infinitely more difficult to achieve




than the first objective of economic profit. The reason for this pessimistic forecast stems essentially from the nature of the activity designed to accomplish the first objective. This deserves elaboration.

The meaning of national, political integration is well understood as a general "sense of community" or a "sense of unity" among those people located within the geographical confines of a nation. Integration is furthered when national allegiances or identity come to dominate other, and thereby subordinate, community loyalties or bonds. To properly put this in the context of Baja California and the Mexican national system, however, we must be more precise.

Political scientists have discerned four basic dimensions of national integration, two of which have particular relevance to Baja California.9 Mexican officials primarily envision the trans-peninsular highway's political impact in terms of horizontal integration. Horizontal integration entails "the degree to which members of a national political system have facilities for communication and transactions with other members" (Mor- rison and Stevenson, 1972: 904). Hence, integration is deter- mined by the frequency of transactions, usually measured by such things as travel flows, message flows, and trade flows. As Karl Deutsch (1969: 102) has stated, "the more varied and numerous the transactions that hold a region together are, the more pronounced and solid the region is likely to be."

Consequently, the trans-peninsular highway and the aug- mented ferryboat service as an extension of the highway, will undoubtedly increase significantly the transactions between Baja California's two political divisions, and between the peninsula as a whole and the Mexican mainland. Auxiliary infrastructure development on the peninsula can also be expected to lead to greater horizontal integration: advanced telecommunication facilities are now being introduced to the peninsula; several airports capable of handling jet traffic from the Mexican mainland are also under construction adjacent to the highway.

While these developments are certain to lead to increasing transactions, the bulk of these may not, however, be between




Mexicans. It appears that the primary effect of the highway's construction will be to facilitate transactions between U.S. citizens and Mexicans of Baja California. If this is indeed the case, the degree of horizontal integration afforded by the highway and accompanying developments, may be completely negated by the absence of another dimension of political integration, namely value integration.

If increased tourist traffic from the United States is to be the primary result of the trans-peninsular highway construction, its impact will be to diminish what value integration already exists between citizens of Baja California and the Mexican mainland. Value integration involves the "degree of value congruence in a society" (Morrison and Stevenson, 1972: 905). It should be recognized that when the U.S. citizen travels he brings more than his eagerly sought dollars; he brings his civilization. It is well known in the tourist business that when the U.S. citizen travels to another country, he finds himself pulled by opposing psychological forces-the desire for novelty and the desire for familiarity (or put another way, the desire to discover a new world while at the same time find a reassuring familiarity). Consequently, the U.S. tourist either opts for or demands a bit of both, enabling such contradictions as the Nairobi or the Istanbul Hiltons to flourish. In Baja California such elaborate facilities exist only at the southern tip of the peninsula, but their primitive counterparts of our civilization-the camper, trailer or wagon-afford essentially the same service. One observer (Logan, 1973: 3) has already cited the apparent contradiction in the tourist traffic that comes to Baja Cali- fornia: "One of the curious aspects of these recreation seekers is that they come to the desert or the coast to escape the city-and then re-create the city, and its detriments wherever they stop."

The point of this is not only to demonstrate that the tourist brings the artifacts of his civilization with him, but to also indicate that he transforms the nature of the society in which these artifacts are placed. Citizens of Baja California, whose livelihood is based upon providing services for the tourist, will



Barkenbus / THE TRANS-PENINSULAR HIGHWAY [ 2711

inevitably be drawn into aspects of the tourist's society. What may well develop, then, is a culture which is neither Mexican nor American, but a combination of specific features drawn from both. One scholar (Price, 1973: 155) has noted that there is already a third culture along the California-Baja California border resulting from the "syncretization" of Mexican and American cultures. With growing U.S. contact and influence south of the border areas, made possible by the new highway, we can expect cultural adaptation to spread throughout the peninsula. Consequently, in terms of value integration, less, not more, Mexican national congruence can be foreseen with the advent of the highway.

My intention is not to be pejorative. The passing of traditional life appears to be a price most Baja Californians are willing to pay for the rewards from tourism. If, however, Mexican officials seriously desire political integration to be fostered by the road and its auxiliary development, they will have to take active measures to counter the spontaneous or natural political effects.

Concluding Remarks

In terms of priorities, the political objective Mexicans bring to the highway may be subordinate to the economic objective. In this case, the deleterious effects of the highway on political integration may be of scarce consequence. What cannot be ignored, however, is the potential impact of tourism upon the natural resource which lures the tourist and his wealth in the first place-the uniquely preserved environment of Baja Cali- fornia. A look at tourism's impact on the environment around the world gives little cause for encouragement. And witness to the California experience, the natural environment is a resource vulnerable to depletion. The balance, then, between establishing facilities, such as the trans-peninsular highway, which attract and allow the North American to experience Baja California, while not destroying the essence of the experience in the




process, is a delicate one. Planning toward achieving this appropriate balance must begin immediately if the highway is to have a positive impact over time.

NOTES

1. President Echeverria's dedication trip to Baja California, in itself, was revealing of the current state of development in Baja California. Because of the inadequacy of lodging facilities for the President and his party, the President slept on a ferryboat anchored off the peninsula his first two nights there.

2. The State of Baja California (Norte) which extends southward from the U.S. border to the twenty-eighth parallel has grown from 46,000 inhabitants in 1930 to 800,000 inhabitants in 1970. The vast majority of this growth, however, has been concentrated in the border cities of Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali, as their economy is closely linked to the United States. The Territory of Baja California (Sur), extending southward from the twenty-eighth parallel, has increased in population from 47,000 inhabitants in 1930 to 100,000 inhabitants in 1970.

3. Mexican government sources estimate that total revenue from tourism throughout Mexico in 1970 produced gross receipts of approximately $2.5 billion.

4. Indicative of the close relationship with the United States is the fact that the State of Baja California changed to Daylight Savings Time to match the recent U.S. adjustment. The rest of Mexico has remained on standard time.

5. Water requirements vary according to the nature of resource utilization. Urban activities, for example, generally require less water than rural agricultural activities.

6. During 1971, the tourist to Baja California spent an average of $8/person per day. The average for Mexico as a whole in 1971 was $22/person per day.

7. Service stations in Baja California were overwhelmed by this volume of traffic, and, consequently, gasoline shortages were reported. Steps are being taken to prevent such shortages in the future. Mexico has no "energy crisis" as such, as it imports only a very small percentage of oil for its needs.

8. Mexican law, however, prohibits toll roads unless they are paralleled by a free road.

9. For a concise summary of the four dimensions of integration (horizontal integration, vertical integration, value integration, and centralization) and possible means for their measurement, see Morrison and Stevenson (1972).

REFERENCES

BONNICKSEN, T. M. (1972) "The big space squeeze." Cry California 7 (Fall): 10. Bureau of Land Management (1968) The California Desert. Sacramento: California

State Office of the Bureau of Land Management.




DEUTSCH, K. W. (1969) Nationalism and Its Alternatives. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

FELLMETH, R. C. (1971) Power and Land in California. Washington, D.C.: Ralph Nader Task Force Report on Land Use in the State of California.

FINLAY, S. P. and D. J. VAN TIL (1970) "Californians need beaches-maybe yours." San Diego Law Rev. 7 (July): 608.

KRUTCH, J. W. (1961) The Forgotten Peninsula. New York: W. Sloane Associates. LINDSAY, G. E. (1969) "Natural values of Baja California." Presented at the

Seventh Annual Symposium of the Asociacion Culturil de las Californias, April. LOGAN, R. F. (1973) "A plea for planning in Baja California." Presented at the

Eleventh Annual Symposium of the Asociacion Cultural de las Californias, April. MORRISON, D. G. and H. M. STEVENSON (1972) "Integration and instability."

Amer. Pol. Sci. Rev. 66 (September): 902-927. MURPHY, V. (1973) "Baja California Highway dedicated by Mexico chief." San

Diego Union (December 2): B-1. PETERSON, E. J. (1973) "Planning and managing for the land environment."

Presented at the First International Conference on the Relationship Between Tourism and the Environment in Baja California, October.

PRICE, J. E. (1973) Tijuana: Urbanization in a Border Culture. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame.

SALDANA, L. (1973) "A 'thousand-mile dream' in Baja." Los Angeles Times (November 14): 11-6.



the trans-peninsular highway: a new era for baja california

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