New Mexico in Focus; 508; Lines in the Sand: The Changing U.S.-Mexico Border, Part 1

as so fb major funding for in focus is provided by the mcewen charitable foundation in reaching the cultural life health education environment and spiritual life of the citizens of new mexico ste

gone are the days when only goods and farm produce from trade with mexico seven years after nafta became reality high tech goods and billions of dollars in trader flowing through the border why is new mexico missing out on the profit find out next on and focus has been on the seine these teams are really hello and welcome to unfold this marcy

chopper trade across what is now the us mexico border is as old as the ancient civilizations at once inhabited this land cross border commerce is continued through the centuries helping shape the empires that have traded control of the region in nineteen ninety four with the hope are revolutionizing international trade the north american free trade agreement or nafta was ratified joining canada the united states and mexico into what was the world's largest free trade zone having been in effect now for only seven years' nafta is still a work in progress its champions and critics have already alternatively declared its failure or triumph but its full impact is yet unknown still matter has been changing life in both the us and mexico to find out how nafta has impacted trade between new mexico and its namesake to the south we decided to look at the sister city relationships that exist between the two largest cities in our state and the mexican state of chihuahua they are two states that share an international border and a vision a big profits from commerce albuquerque ensue that she while i have been

sister city since nineteen seventy but only recently have businessmen from both cities began to explore the emerging economic landscape created by nafta as we discovered it's a landscape that has to make and people wealthy on both sides of the border but as yet to prove profitable for most new mexico businesses it's because the people in the united states recently mexican and vice versa because of that bbc tv's

golden state should be to make people realize the state for opportunities and that's it well it's too late one country new mexico shares one hundred and seventy six miles of border with mexico along with a shared language and heritage and yet our dealings with mexico and our neighboring state of chihuahua are virtually nonexistent sudan's two while i was on the original

camino de entre wrote which followed the rio grande to santa fe bringing european and mexican goods via caravans the journey along the camino de out with long and perilous and still the trend continued today new mexico's interaction with mexico has vastly diminish both the mexican federal government and the state government of chihuahuas have indicated intense desire to reestablish closer ties with new mexico in various capacity while there have been notable efforts from the private sector to encourage these relations are state governments executive reaction has been less enthusiastic new mexico i often say that we start from way behind the starting line any any it's ironic it is very sad because there's no other us state i don't care you argue with me if you're from texas arizona california there's no other us state that has such a historical and cultural connection to mexico and just by the mere fact that we were the northernmost part of what was a spanish and

then the mexican empire are you have people had been a new mexico forty years hispanic people the people that came up from mexico with the spanish unsettled here indigenous peoples we have these connections are he just has not translated into very much trade or very much culture or even social connections still there are promising movements the governor of chihuahua with the blessing of president bush and the fox has actively encouraged the state of new mexico to move towards a better working relationship along our border there is no doubt that we are not fully capitalizing on the ability to take advantage of the nafta agreement is we do much more commerce i believe in the aria was the orient that we do with her partner and next our partners in mexico we definitely don't take advantage of it you know why that is i believe is because there are perceptions that exist about doing business in mexico there's the realities that

exists about the business of mexico some of those realities are things such as a uniform commercial code type of a set of laws that protects businesspeople in transactions that doesn't exist in mexico that's very tough they acknowledge it that's a difficult thing to address when you're talking about doing business in mexico that's just one of the many tremendous challenges ahead for the fox administration especially given the sense of heightened expectations in both countries not satisfied with the north american free trade agreement as it is fox soon after his election offered a bold program for making nafta into something more like a north american economic community although his election as president of mexico may be one of the most important legacies of nafta as far as he's concerned nafta his unfinished business here and now they'll to raise the living standards of most mexicans and has so far failed to deliver the large scale flow of capital mexico needs to create jobs for the many young mexicans entering the labor force

real wages and mexico are twenty six percent below their nineteen eighty one levels and dropped steadily after the inauguration of nafta hundreds of thousands of mexicans still cross the us border each year in desperate search for work but it is important to note that of all the persons who crossed the border from the south to the north only one percent do so illegally each year the border sees two hundred and fifty million legal crossing each way mostly mexican shoppers who spend an estimated twenty five billion dollars in the us two billion dollars in sales taxes without receiving any public services fox continues to promote his long term goal of improving mexico's economy enough so that the united states can open its borders to its southern neighbor within twenty years it hasn't done anything and offer new mexico not as nothing more than a treaty i've written for seventy years about

mexico internationally she's going to beat these fallacies in the state is what nafta do for us what's left of this what's nafta that nafta's nothing more than a tool and if you leave the tool and a tool chest and don't understand how to use the tool and educate yourself as to what the tool can do for you to use less new mexico has one of the lowest levels of trade with mexico that any us state last year only two states in the us actually saw their trade with mexico go down west virginia and new mexico mississippi delaware connecticut often behind the dakotas we right behind them in terms of trade with mexico the other issue is that there is a historical prejudice against mexico here in new mexico and that is again i'm talking predominantly about the business elite and the euro american culture but that has been hearing that for four hundred and fifty years and that is that they sang that mexico is filled with poor people only poor people that mexican state law

and sisters and their stereotypes about mexicans are simply not true the reality is mexico has the tenth largest economy in the world and is growing but has negotiated ten free trade agreements covering thirty one countries including all fifteen members of the european union these trade agreements nafta and the rise of the mike milano us coupled with severe border congestion an inadequate infrastructure and other us border states present an excellent opportunity for new mexico to reestablish itself as a major us trade partner with mexico in simple economic terms over the past five years new mexico has exported three hundred million dollars worth of goods and services to mexico during that same period arizona exported about thirteen billion and taxes over one hundred billion dollars would say for the last fifty years and it was miserable i would say that at the governmental level we're doing a lot better at least there's awareness where there wasn't

before i mean and that's happened in the last fifteen years in addition to the advertising all of the infrastructure and support that has to happen you got to have all of the things i just have the participation by the entities that matter the city of elk state in mexico city bureau of the stage duo university mexico sendhil apps will solve labs all of the different entities that can use this lisa garcia is a member of the mayor world by national working group a group comprised of ten members five from kuow i'm ann five from albuquerque their mission is to develop and promote opportunities in business tourism and culture between the two cities once we can get a flight between chihuahua in albuquerque and maybe mexico city then i think things would just automatically start happening if we can transport people go so therefore sources and we need to speak like they do in the first place

but whitey while while besides the fact that we are neighbors the cities of albuquerque and she well i had been sister cities for thirty years the pieces she was city is located two hundred and thirty miles south of the mexican border and a quick look at the city and show you why many investors throughout the country are saying she well is not only the ideal location to do business but it's also a place to enjoy a different kind of tourism for work for two hours it's very special there are there are r murrow the city was officially

founded in seventeen oh nine and its historic building stands scattered around them easy right paid for in part by a special tax on silver the richly decorated eighteenth century stone cathedral was built between seventeen seventeen and eighteen twenty six what that's brought facade embellished with statues of the twelve apostles there is no more impressive ecclesiastical building in northern mexico in the adjacent last of the autumn us is she well as city are occupying center stage in its conference room visits buildings claim to fame as the largest conference table in the world according to wrigley's believe it or not column five blocks away is the most ill person what is this building functioned as the national palace for two years during the french invasion and as president what is his official residence during a

sixty four two blocks north of the state government palace and its murals depicting the state's history the building originally the site of a jesuit monastery needed substantial repair center being damaged by fire in the nineteen forties and the regional museum is one of mexico's finest example of art nouveau constructed between nineteen oh seven and nineteen eleven now houses exhibits of archeology and history chihuahua city is also the home of the museum commemorating poncho via ironically the museum of the revolution is now owned by the mexican army vs former fifty room mansion was turned into a museum by his widow lived here probably showing it off to visitors until her death in nineteen eighty one what she was history is beautifully showcased in these ornate buildings tourists can also experience the bounty of the region at the met about local black and i i love of my head about ten

meetings on how his sister cities should be the first ones to start going to reform or years her insurance but now he's in a different level and we need to proceed into a different higher level of commerce in really do intelligence agents in full force for for our people or insuring mr kirchen yeah the mayor of chihuahua and his group of them appeared numerous

times now and entertain them probably five or six times they love coming up here and then the model in downtown out turkey their wishes to do the same in downtown show always sent some of our experts down there to meet with him about redoing their hotels and revitalizing chihuahuas downtown which is a very picturesque place already and so yeah they're very interested in him in keeping this commerce going on and they feel as i do that the cross cutting issue on the stein is airlines announced between our cities and if we get that done you can really see things you can drive the joy in about eight hours now through something that has soul and you can move goods back and forth in a controlled goods in new mexico and get him there within a day and so all of those links are in place witnessing is a direct flight so that businesspeople have the facility and of access to both markets both going and coming because the

mexicans are interested in looking at opportunities particularly here in albuquerque i actually think the direct flights between your jaw or three times a week in mexico city would feel now moment certainly would feel so it's something that i'm excited about oprah could pull off another promising movement is the sun but that is a border crossing just west of el paso but in new mexico soccer that isi has to have one of the highest industrialization our growth growth rates of any product in the state it's it's absolutely the state's largest economic development project there's about thirty four companies and south of the us are right now about twenty four twenty five or manufacturers almost all of them are from other state arkansas that the us is actually blew me it's obvious that rail access three industrial parks in soccer that us attracting out of state companies and that's really the opportunity for the state of new mexico the original pioneers forge the camino de our trade route again seemingly insurmountable

odds and despite great personal risk to day the risk is now reopening these channels the zimmers opposing the damage but the lemons you've been near santa catapulting these homeless know go to work at the mill is heavily on we were authentic in both the polarizing blimp senior years that's really unusual to see the new reality part one of the left behind that innocent more and as you know intellectual desperately needs and estimates this really who's expanded markets and mexico's don't know whether it's through the direct flight between our two cities for the use of that that is the border

crossing one thing remained clear that it's time to bring our trade relations with mexico with a vision for the future production on this program began last summer well before the events of september eleventh but like with so many other things a terrorist attacks have helped place a chill on trade with mexico the faltering us economy has had serious repercussions on the mexican economy which was already stagnating mckinnon authors featured in this program have seen massive layoffs in september and workers on both sides of the border face an uncertain future still economic recovery is expected and many new mexico firms are still positioning themselves to enter into business in mexico next week we'll look at another important aspect of the us relationship with mexico immigration mexican immigrant labor is perhaps even more important to this country's economy and trade but just as presidents bush and fox are calling for major immigration reform terrorist strike within our borders

changing the way many citizens and lawmakers feel about immigration so what happens to immigration reform now watching focus next week to find out a mercy chop up for everyone and in focus to respond to this program received weekly email previews of the show or to find out more about him focus visit the end focus less a w w w dot pay an emmy tv dot org the major funding provided by the charitable foundation of a cultural life and how education environment in the spiritual life of the nation to purchase video cassettes are transcripts of this or other episodes of unfocused call one eight hundred two eight five six more like to be a dress on your screen

we specify dates and subject of the program but additional funding for this program was provided by the city of albuquerque and the university of new mexico center for regional studies the pieces the pieces these videos fb as

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