During the pandemic that began in late 2019, I have tracked its impact and spent less time watching issues in Mexico. Now time for a change!
Since my years of living in El Paso and Las Cruces in the 1960’s and 1970’s, I have had an eye on the border and Mexico. This include having an office in Mexico City and working with officials of Mexico. Last week I had an ATT repairman at my home and he mentioned that he had moved this year from El Paso. We talked of the Juarez of 30 and more years ago and how in those years it was a safe city to visit, go to restaurants and for that matter that was true for all of Mexico.
Three major changes in Mexico in the last four decades have been increased urbanization with most people living in urban areas and working at jobs rather than on farms and ranches. A second major change has been the movement of factories to Mexican border cities and Northern Mexico. Products with a high labor content can be made much cheaper in Mexico where wages are a fourth or less of those in the United States. These products then are exported to the United States and Canada. A third major change has been the instability of the border and the rate of immigration attempts at the border.
A safe and prosperous Mexico is essential to life in Texas. Texas is the nation’s largest exporting state and Mexico is the first customer! Instability in Mexico is a direct threat to Texas and the fact that matters now are so serious that the State of Texas must respond to what is a Federal Government responsibility to have safe borders is a grave warning!
During the Spring and expanding all weeks since then have be rising rates of people coming to Mexican border cities and intending to move to the United States. Some are Mexicans but others are from Central America, South America and now other areas of the world. We have previously addressed these issues as we looked at the impact of the covid-19 virus on Texas and then in Mexico. In the last several weeks immigrant attempts to come into Del Rio have drawn the efforts of the Federal agency, the Border Patrol and then the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard. Immigration crossings this year have surpassed levels going back over 20 years and pose a variety of health, public safety and other economic concerns.
For many reasons these matters are more of a challenge to Texas and all of us than what we have seen the last 18 months or so from the virus.