Mexican mayors agree need for better perception of Mexico in U.S.

REYNOSA — The mayors of Mexican border cities agreed during a meeting here to work on improving the perception that their northern neighbors and people from other countries have about them.

The confrontations between the military and organized crime members definitely do not help, they agreed, but for some unexplained reason they are magnified abroad, they say.

"I can assure you that 85 per cent (of Reynosa’s daily activities) are positive and 15 per cent are not, and they make it look as though 95 per cent (of daily activities) are illegal and that is not true," Reynosa Mayor Oscar Luebbert Gutierrez said in Spanish. "The ones who live here, we know it."

He said the Mexican government must think about its stance on armed conflict with cartels, especially after four recent shootings in his city.

"Is it correct to engage in confrontations during the day in high-traffic areas, around schools or strip malls?" Luebbert asked. "Is this necessary?"

"We are paying a high cost to fight a problem that we did not create," Luebbert said. "Because we have to accept that the violence here is related with the high demand (for illegal drugs) in the U.S., and no matter how much effort the Mexican government does, by using the force like it has in the past, I think it will not be enough if the consumption is not drastically reduced in the United States."

EXCESSIVE FORCE

The mayors said it they must establish continuous communication with their counterparts on the U.S. side of the border.

"I’m always in contact with Yuma County authorities," San Luis Rio Colorado Mayor Manuel de Jesús Baldenebro Arredondo said in Spanish. He was the only mayor from the state of Sonora attending the meeting.

Nevertheless, Baldenebro criticized what he called "excessive force" used by U.S. federal agents in the border in response to attacks from organized crime members and illegal immigrants.

A few days ago Border Patrol agents used smoke bombs to respond to a "provocation" from human smugglers, Baldenebro said.

"We understand they were provoked but we thought the grenades were too much and immediately made a formal complaint through the Mexican Consulate," Baldenebro said.

"But we prefer to work with them. If they notice that too many people are near the border line, we will send the local police, not to arrest the illegal immigrants, but our presence deters them from jumping over the fence or throwing rocks at the agents. Our presence also deters organized crime members who themselves violate the human rights of the illegal immigrants" Baldenebro said.

San Luis Rio Colorado will host sport competition between police officers and firefighters from both cities later this month, he said.

"We work together. We will hold a U.S. fugitive, even before we get the communications from the Mexican authorities, because of the good relations with the local (U.S.) authorities. We hear it first from them," Baldenebro said.