Construction here is booming. U.S. tourists and residents arrive in droves -- buying million-dollar homes or paying hundreds for luxurious overnight hotels. The economy is growing at an average rate of 15 percent, compared with 3 percent for the rest of the country.

The result: fierce competition for Mexican workers by both U.S. and Mexican employers in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo -- a resort community commonly known as Los Cabos.

In many ways, this area represents the kind of prosperity that Mexico wants to duplicate in other parts of the country to keep its workers at home. And much of that investment -- in the billions of dollars -- comes from Americans seeking a second home and a different lifestyle.