Consuls say Mexico's problems must be tackled with teamwork

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College held a symposium titled, "A Spirit of Cooperation," Monday at the Gorgas Hall Boardroom.

Cecilia Elizondo Herrera, the Consul General at the U.S Consulate General in Matamoros and Victor Manuel Treviño Escudero, the Mexican Consul in Brownsville joined to explain the duties of their offices and how they collaborate to tackle issues that impact both countries.

The talk was part of the Difficult Dialogues Initiative, funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The initiative aims to raise controversial but important topics at select universities and stimulate diverse campus conversation. This event was, according to Communication Program Coordinator John Cook, the least difficult dialogue funded by the grant: the conversation focused on the ways the consuls work together to beat their problems.

Treviño Escudero and Elizondo Herrera said they often worked together to deal with individuals who are arrested or wanted on either side of the border, curbing the flow of illicit drugs and guns from Mexico to the U.S. and vice versa.

"We have problems and we don't put them under the carpet," Treviño Escudero said. "We are facing them."

Treviño Escudero said it was essential to take a proactive approach to fighting the drug war that is tearing Mexico apart, as well as unlawful immigration to the United States.

Treviño Escudero and Elizondo Herrera agreed that the Merida Initiative, a $1.4 billion plan to curb drug violence in Mexico over 3 years, is a tough battle that both countries must face together to be successful.

"We have to share responsibility," Treviño Escudero said.

Elizondo Herrera's speech to those gathered came just two months before she will be re-assigned by the State Department to Caracas, Venezuela. Herrera, who has also served in Australia, Finland, Washington D.C., Rome, Baghdad and Mexico City said her assignment in Matamoros was one of the most rewarding and challenging of her career.

"I'm leaving a huge chunk of my heart here in Mexico," she said.

The consuls also aim to publicize the positive aspects of the border, in the face of many problems.

Mexico exports $215.9 billion in goods to the U.S. annually, and imports $151.5 billion from the U.S., according to Treviño Escudero. Matamoros and Mexico in general, Elizondo Herrera emphasized, are safe to visit if the traveler uses common sense.

"There is a military presence in Matamoros," Elizondo Herrera said. "But if you stay in sections of the city we know to be safe and don't stray to the periphery, you should be fine."

But Treviño Escudero also said cooperation was essential to quickly and effectively tackling potential safety concerns.

"This is part of the new reality we have to face," he said.