MEXICO CITY — In an aggressive bid to move beyond low-wage factory jobs and toward an entrepreneurial economy, Mexico is producing graduates in engineering and technology at rates that challenge its international rivals, including its number one trade partner, the United States.

President Felipe Calderon recently boasted that Mexico graduates 130,000 engineers and technicians a year from universities and specialized high schools, more than Canada, Germany, or even Brazil, which has nearly twice the population of Mexico.