Many conservatives in the United States like to channel Ronald Reagan as the image of the America First doctrine and true U.S.-centric conservatism. This narrative is part of the fiction that is driving today’s far right-wing conservatism that put Donald Trump into office. The problem, though, is that it is all based on a lie. Ronald Reagan dreamt of a future where Canada, México and the United States not only shared a common market to challenge the rest of the world, but also open borders between all three countries. In short, Ronald Reagan wanted open borders between México and the United States.
El Paso and Cd. Juárez currently sit on the crossroads of economic prosperity in the gold rush of the 21st century. The Internet has created a mechanism whereby the borderplex can become the next “Silicon Valley” of the world’s e-commerce rush. With the inherent infrastructure in labor and resources the border region offers, the establishment of e-commerce development and implementation will benefit the region for decades to come. By implementing this initiative as a team, both El Paso and Cd. Juárez would lead the way to global e-trading.
This white paper presents a preliminary concept of how the communities can leverage the Internet as a tool for economic prosperity of the border region, specifically El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
As the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations reach a conclusion it is important to remember what Octavio Paz said, “the precedent of European integration is very important for the future of our region.” Much as been debated about the erosion of cultural identity as three north American countries begin to look forward to closer economic ties. One of the biggest pools of labor live next to the biggest consumer market in the world. It is easy to believe that the free trade agreement is between countries when it is about people. Paz added that México and the United States are “condemned to live together, the past and the future side by side.” The obvious next step is bridging the gap between cultures in the hopes that some day we me reach across the border and offer each other an abrazo, instead of a hesitant handshake between friends.
