Paper No. 7: What can be done about Cd. Juárez? (April 15, 2010) Essay

Juárez and major parts of Mexico are in a crisis forcing many in our community to ask, what can be done? The answer is simple yet complicated. It is easy because the bilateral actions taken by the United States and México are the answer to the crisis. The difficult part is accepting this. Although many in the United States and México view each other with distrust, the reality is that both countries are symbiotically dependent on each other. For both to prosper, we must embrace each other as partners. Unfortunately, the perception, both internally and externally, is that México, in general, is corrupt and beyond redemption. This notion is often distorted and perpetuated by extreme points of view. The reality is that both México and the United States have made great strides toward building upon their partnership and more importantly, dealing with the bi-national problem of organized crime on both sides of the border.