In the midst of the high desert where the skies meet the mountains and a river runs through the land, there exists a North American metropolis of 2.5 million individuals straddling two nations: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua in Mexico and El Paso, Texas in the United States.
The metropolis, which dates back to the 17th century, today represents a single sprawling contiguous urban agglomeration bisected by a transnational border. Two cities and two realities lie where there should be one. Rivers of asphalt, walls, and chunks of desert flank the Rio Grande on either side, while countless effort and money is poured into keeping the two cities apart; and yet, in spite of it all, Juárez and El Paso cling to one another with the same inexorable force that once pushed waters through this land from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juárez-El Paso. Source: HMDM
The two flags that fly high above the Bridge of the Americas, the main international crossing, belie the true nature of the metropolis: these are not two cities bestriding two nations with distinct histories and societies; they are two cities desperately striving to be one. The 1.5 million residents of Ciudad Juárez and the 1 million
residents of El Paso, for all intents and purposes, look the same (81.4% of the
population in El Paso is of Hispanic/Latino origin), eat the same foods, share
a common culture and, for the most part, a common set of languages. People on
both sides speak Spanish, to a lesser extent English and most are fluent in the
hybrid lect that characterizes the Borderlands: Spanglish.
Residents of Ciudad Juárez work and study in El Paso and shop for cheap clothes and electronics in its Downtown and sprawling malls, while the residents of El Paso seek restaurant, bars and entertainment in Ciudad Juárez, where they also shop for traditional foods, produce and goods. People on both sides of the border—now marked by a gargantuan red “X” fashioned by Mexican sculptor Sebastián—usually also have family on the other side of the river.
Residents of Ciudad Juárez work and study in El Paso and shop for cheap clothes and electronics in its Downtown and sprawling malls, while the residents of El Paso seek restaurant, bars and entertainment in Ciudad Juárez, where they also shop for traditional foods, produce and goods. People on both sides of the border—now marked by a gargantuan red “X” fashioned by Mexican sculptor Sebastián—usually also have family on the other side of the river.
The “X” in Ciudad Juárez. Source: HMDM
View of the border and the “X” from El Paso, Texas. Source:
HMDM
Ciudad Juárez and El Paso are as inextricable and as
interdependent as are Dallas and Fort Worth, St. Paul and Minneapolis or Miami and
Fort Lauderdale. And arguably, given their distinctiveness and their
complementarity, these two cities play a larger role in the life of one
another than many other pairs of cities in North America. In 2012, border
crossings from El Paso to Ciudad Juárez totaled 7 million,
while total trade across the Rio Grande (the erstwhile mighty river that today barely constitutes a creek on its best day) currently stands at USD$69
billion a year. Ciudad Juárez would be a wasteland without El Paso and El
Paso without Juárez would simply not exist.
Above and beyond the violence that Juárez has experienced in recent
years and which now appears to be subsiding, the tragedy of Ciudad Juárez-El
Paso lies in the fact that, unlike in other North American agglomerations
like New York-Newark or even Detroit-Windsor, in Juárez-El Paso there exist physical barriers that limit the interaction between people and inhibit the economic and social potential of the two cities. The long
lines in the international bridges, fees, tariffs and the physical barriers
that cut through the urban mass like scars on the face of the desert make
residents on both sides think twice before crossing to carry out their business
on the other side of the border. In some cases, it can take up to 3 hours in the
scorching heat simply to cross from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso.
The border that runs through Juárez-El Paso is fundamentally different from the border that demarcates the limit between the U.S. and Mexico through uninhabited lands: whereas the latter seeks to keep individuals out from where they want to be, but are “not wanted”, the former slows down the flow of people who want to cross the border and who are generally welcome on the other side. People who live in El Paso live there because they either have
better opportunities there or because they enjoy living there; and despite the fact
that many people in Juárez—if given the opportunity—would move to El Paso, many
would not, because they enjoy their lifestyle in Juárez and because rent and
life in general are more affordable in Mexico. The migratory tension between the residents of the two cities is so low that there even exists a special “Border Crossing Card” for people who live in Ciudad Juárez,
which allows many juarenses
to cross the border as they wish.
Today, it seems as if it is finally becoming clear to individuals on both
sides of the border (and to their political classes) that further integration
between the three North American nations is not only desirable (to be able to
compete in the world as a region and to boost job growth), but in many ways it
is inevitable. Mexico needs the U.S. and Canada and they need Mexico, as well.
Since the Great Recession, Mexico has grown at an average
annual growth rate of close to 4.5%,
while that of the U.S.’s has been closer to 2.0%.
Mexico is gathering economic momentum and with the current administration’s
pro-growth agenda it is likely that Mexico will soon be able to cement the
foundations for even greater bouts of growth in the coming decades. The U.S.
and Canada are poised to benefit greatly from this growth, but to do so they must commit
to further integration that increases investment and commercial activity across
the three borders and, above all, the flow of capital, technology and human beings.
Obama’s visit to Mexico and Central America earlier this month highlighted the newfound understanding that only through further economic
cooperation will North America be able to keep its position as an industrial
and economic leader in the world. The U.S. and Canada possess the capital, the
technology and the technical know-how and Mexico brings to the table vast
amounts of natural resources and a youthful and creative population that is eager
to learn and to grow.
North American integration still constitutes a frightening prospect
for people on both sides of the border, however. Decades of mistrust and
deep-seeded fears stand in the way of further cooperation.
But the integration of regions seems to be inevitable in the present global economic context and our objective now should thus be to guide this process in such a way that we can make sure it yields the results that we want, by putting forth the best that
each party has to offer. Americans must realize that Mexico is an up-and-coming
nation with an open and growing economy, a maturing democracy and an increasingly urban society; they should realize that it is in their interest to help Mexicans attain their full
potential. Mexicans, meanwhile, must overcome their animosity towards the U.S.
and the inferiority complexes and resentment that have accumulated over
generations.
A Bolder Approach
to Borderland Integration
The economic, political or social integration of nations is complex, particularly when they are so distinct from one another as are Mexico and the U.S. This process, if it is to occur, must be a gradual one whose full implementation must be preceded by many partial policies and programs that test the waters of assimilation. An economic and social experiment that puts to the test greater integration between the nations of North America could be carried out in Ciudad Juárez-El Paso by physically and politically fusing the two cities into one.
The idea is not to eliminate the border between the U.S. and
Mexico altogether, but rather to ensure that the border does not get in the way of the vital
economic and social interaction that takes place between both nations in this Borderland
metropolis. As the Rio Grande was once rerouted out of the Chamizal Park in
Ciudad Juárez, the border should be detoured so as to create an integrated
Transnational Metropolitan Zone (TMZ), a “border island” within the two
nations, neither Mexico nor the U.S., but both.
The flow of individuals, capital and technology between the
two cities would no longer be controlled and while more bridges would be built to
facilitate crossings, rather than being manned by border agents, they would
remain free and unencumbered, as do the Golden Gate or the Brooklyn Bridge. Border security would be relocated to a perimeter 30 or
40 kilometers away from the city center of this new unified metropolis, Northern
Pass (or Paso del Norte), and both
nations would have the ability to control the flows to and from the TMZ as they
do today.
TMZ limits shown in red. Source: Google Earth
A Transnational Metropolitan Authority (TMA) would be formed
to oversee all public services and public activities and while each of the nine
cities that today constitute the urban agglomeration could retain their own
government, their scope and function would be like those of the boroughs in New
York or Mexico City. The government of the city as a whole, its operations and
all public services related to urban development, security, education and all
other activities that Ciudad Juárez and El Paso today carry out individually
would remain within the domain of the TMA. The TMA would be composed of a
Council elected by residents on both sides of the border and would be led by a
TMA Mayor, also publicly elected.
Surely, these dramatic changes would pose new challenges to
current institutions on both sides of the border as creative solutions would
have to be devised for issues such as taxation, social programs, citizenship
and a broad array of political and social concerns. And, of course, a
precondition for the feasibility of such a program would be that the level
of violence in Ciudad Juárez be lowered at least to the level of that in El
Paso (safest large city in the U.S.), no easy feat, but by no means impossible.
All of this will require a great level of compromise from
both cities and both nations (not to mention the states of Chihuahua, Texas and possibly New Mexico), but the benefits would be massive for both countries. First, through greater integration and transnational production and commerce this already-booming metropolitan area would be able to unleash its full economic potential. El Paso's economy managed to grow at an annual average rate of 4% from 2008 to 2011 (well above the U.S. average) and after years of decline Juárez today is rapidly recuperating the hyper-commercial nature of its heyday. Second, this urban laboratory could serve as a platform wherein both nations could experiment with different policies for
optimizing the benefits of further integration. Third, the union of
Juárez and El Paso could serve as an opportunity to lift the quality of the
institutions in Juárez (and elsewhere in Mexico) to the level of those in the U.S. Finally, the success
of this first attempt at physical integration could also serve as proof to
Mexicans and Americans alike of the benefits of transnational integration and could serve as a blueprint for an agenda for further economic, political and
social cooperation across the three nations of North America.
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