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.
Paper No. 7: What can be done about Cd. Juárez? (April 15, 2010) Essay
By Martin Paredes
Martín Paredes is a Mexican immigrant who built his business on the U.S.-Mexican border. As an immigrant, Martín brings the perspective of someone who sees México as a native through the experience of living abroad. As an immigrant, Martín sees America through an immigrant’s eyes. Straddling the U.S.-México border for many years, Martín understands that the imaginary line separating two countries on a map creates two cultural identities that merge creating a culture that is unique to the borderland. But as an outsider, Martín sees an El Paso devoid of the tribalism that divides El Paso but unites it at the same time, leaving many El Pasoans ignoring the underlining corruption that permeates throughout the city. Martín has lived and experienced the growth of the Mexican drug cartels throughout his life, first as a child and when building a business in a city that was once labeled the “most dangerous city in the world.” Through it all, Martín sees what many ignore about El Paso - both its uniqueness and the many fine individuals that call El Paso home, but not ignorant to the undercurrent of political intrigue and corruption that underlines the city. Since 2000, Martín has been reporting on the border politics, the corruption and the public policy of one of the most unique communities in the world by exposing the secrets few dare to. An engineer and a creator, Martín creates multimedia projects, including writing, about topics that few explore while making his living in the exciting world of internet-driven technology.