Arrieta: Mexico can help the United States with space exploration

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Mexico can play an important role in helping the United States with its space exploration endeavors.

This is the view of Judith Arrieta Munguía, Mexico’s consul in Brownsville. Arrieta was a panelist at a Brownsville Chamber of Commerce luncheon titled “Bridging Borders & Beyond – The Impact of US-Mexico Relations and Space Exploration in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Moderating the panel discussion was Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business. In a question to Arrieta, Hamer said one of the “great developments” of recent years was Mexico becoming the United States’s No. 1 trading partner. He put some of this down to nearshoring.

Arrieta agreed. She said trade between the two nations was worth almost $900 billion in 2023.

“Nearshoring is a win-win because nearshoring is coming to North America and Space allow us to see North America with no frontiers. If we were up there in a rocket, that’s how we would see North America,” Arrieta said.

“What is our place in Space? We have around 400 enterprises producing for France, for European countries, etc., for the U.S., of course. And we are now the 12th (largest) exporter worldwide of aerospace parts. And we are into low satellite research.”

Judith Arrieta Munguía, Mexico’s consul to Brownsville. (Photo credit: City of Brownsville)

Arrieta stressed the importance of human capital.

“You cannot have those beautiful rockets we have seen without the minds of young and creative people. So, we are investing in that,” Arrieta said, referring to a video shown earlier by Kathryn Lueders, general manager of SpaceX’s Starbase facility at Boca Chica.

“So, yes, we can partner here with Texas and with the Valley because just next door in Matamoros we have an amazing technological university. Besides these science hubs in, of course, Monterrey, Queretaro, but other places as well.”

The other panelists were SpaceX’s Lueders, Norman Roy Garza, Jr., executive director of Texas Space Commission, and Helen Ramirez, city manager of Brownsville.

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of everything Judith Arrieta Munguía said during the panel discussion at the Brownsville Chamber event:

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