Exclusive: Incoming mayor of Monterrey holds high level meeting in Mission

2 months ago 69

MISSION, Texas – A small group of businessmen from Texas and Mexico had the chance to meet with the incoming mayor of Monterrey, Adrián Emilio de la Garza Santos at a luncheon in Mission on Tuesday.

The private meeting was hosted by former Mission mayor and businessman Armando O’Caña and held at La Fogata Restaurant. Two elected officials were present: Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, and state Sen. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen.

The two-hour discussion focused on international trade, economic development, specific infrastructure projects, security, nearshoring, water, tourism, and strengthening relations between Monterrey and the Rio Grande Valley.

The Monterrey metropolitan area is the second largest in Mexico with an estimated population of 5,341,171 people as of 2020. The city itself has a population of 1.1 million.

De la Garza, an attorney, takes office in late September. But he is not a new face to the people of Monterrey. He served as mayor of the industrial city from 2015 to 2021. He also served as attorney general of Nuevo León from 2011 to 2015.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Rio Grande Guardian was provided the opportunity of an exclusive interview with De La Garza.

Asked what the purpose of the meeting was, De la Garza said:

“One of the purposes was to strengthen the links between our different authorities. The city of Monterrey, the cities here in South Texas, this closeness that we have is not only territorial. We have a closeness of roots, because we are a community that has many roots together. There are areas of opportunity.”

Asked if the meeting was productive, De la Garza said:

“We had already made progress a few years ago with the mayor (O’Cana) and the congressmen (Gonzalez and Hinojosa) who were here. We had made progress in some plans, some projects, and we even started an office where there was a link for economic development in the region. We are going to resume this under the new administration. We want to be able to continue strengthening these relations.”

Asked if he learned anything new, De la Garza said:

“Yes, because you always learn something new. For example, the issue of the water proposal that they (the U.S. businessmen) are doing, and how we can take advantage of part of the infrastructure (this was new). So, among many other things, I was very struck by the issue of the opportunity of water.”

Asked what the current state of the economy is in the region, De la Garza said:

“I think we have to take into account the benefits of this region. There is a global situation (nearshoring) that can help to further detonate the economic development of this region. I’m not just talking about Texas, but also about Nuevo León and Monterrey. I’ve been saying this for a few years. There has been a demonstration that there is an important opportunity. So, the current status is that we have to take advantage of this possibility of growth that we have for this area.”

Asked how serious the water shortage is in Monterrey, De la Garza said:

“Well, currently, right now, Monterrey, thanks to some rains that have arrived… we have to be careful not to have a serious situation in the next two years. However, we have to plan. The water is important, especially because of the growth that the metropolitan area of Monterrey is having.

“As happens in many areas of the world, where there is population growth requires us to have new mechanisms, new tools to have water, this water is potable. We have to take the best decisions in planning and in strategy, as cities and as regions, to guarantee the water supply.”

Asked what the main challenges will be, once he assumes the office or mayor, De la Garza said:

“Well, particularly in Monterrey there are many challenges. The challenge of the mobility that the city has, which has been seen as clumsy due to different situations, the infrastructure that is being carried out, the lack of public transport, urban development. Another challenge will of course be the issue of security. Today, in Monterrey, the citizens feel that it is an insecure city.

“We are going to solve the security issue, which is one of the main demands of the Monterrey people. But also, one of the important challenges is to make Monterrey an industrial city, an economic city of growth. This is one of the main reasons that brought us here (to the Valley), where we can strengthen these ties to take advantage of the growth of this region and that this region can also take advantage of the growth of Monterrey.

“In addition, the sectors of education and health. We will be giving specific funding to be able to strengthen the economic development of the city of Monterrey.”

The Guardian also interviewed Congressman Gonzalez at the end of the meeting. Asked about the meeting, Gonzalez said:

“We had a very important meeting with the future mayor of Monterey, one of the most important cities in Latin America and the second most important city in Mexico that happens to be very close to our southern border. So, we were able to talk about issues that are important to both of us, such as security, trade, tourism, natural resources. So, a lot of great conversations and I think this is a person (Mayor-elect De la Garza) that we need to continue having communication with.”

Asked about the discussions on water scarcity, Gonzalez said:

“It was a great conversation because we notice that borders don’t necessarily change the needs of people, right? We both need water, we both need energy, we both need so many of the same things. And we are looking at working together. Ideas such as desalination, moving water from the rivers to reservoirs and ways to be able to work together so we can farm together, we can do commercial operations together. I think he (De la Garza) is a great ally and a good friend.”

Gonzalez noted that the Monterrey metropolitan area is growing fast.

“Mexico is our number one trading partner and Monterey is the most important city to our region. Texas benefits more by this trade than any other state in the country. And I think having relationships like this with mayors and governors… in two weeks I will meet with President Sheinbaum, to continue the conversation that we’re having here at the ground level. Being able to have ideas that we can continue to work together that improve people’s lives,” Gonzalez said.

During the meeting, Gonzalez brought up the conversation of nearshoring. Asked about this, he said:

“One of the issues that I brought up with him (De la Garza) is nearshoring, which should be a huge benefit for Mexican nationals and for Mexican small and medium-sized businesses. But they also have been very careful of the Chinese government imposing into these businesses and trying to position themselves with the new nearshoring possibilities in Mexico, knowing that we (the United States) are moving away from some of the products, moving away from the importation of Chinese and Asian products. Many of the Chinese businesses are coming to position themselves in Mexico and I think that’s something that we need to be careful with.”

Asked if anything in the meeting surprised him, Gonzalez said:

“Well, every time I sit with other leader, I learn something new about what’s happening in the world. You know, he (De la Garza) is an expert in security. He knows a lot about trade. He’s managed that city for before, so he has a lot of information. He was also a state prosecutor for Nuevo León during one of the most complicated periods of the insecurity for the state. And he was able to bring those the insecurity level way down. So those are things that I think are important for us here in South Texas. This is something we are grateful for and it’s good to have friends like the mayor that we can keep communicating with.”

Sen. Hinojosa could not stay for the entire meeting. As he was leaving, he gave an interview to the Guardian.

“It is very important that we have very strong relationships with our Mexican political officials, our counterparts, for the simple reason that Mexico is one of the strongest economic partners that we have, not only here in Texas but in our country, in the United States,” Hinojosa said.

“So, these kind of connections and conversations are very productive and very positive as they relate to how we can grow our economy on both sides of the border, to benefit our families, to create more jobs and for security. These conversations are very beneficial.”

Asked about the water scarcity issue, Hinojosa said:

“Water is an issue with both Texas and northern Mexico. And we share information as to how we try to approach it, to increase our capacity for water here in Texas. Some of the issues dealing with the industries are, how to maximize their output of production, but at the same time minimize the use of water. Our priority is always to make sure that people have good drinking water and then we have water for irrigation to grow our food and certainly also to be able to have industry grow and locate along the border.”

The Guardian also asked O’Caña, the organizer of the meeting, for an interview. However, O’Caña said he would decline the opportunity to speak because he did not want people to think he was still in the public arena. He said the meeting was called from a private sector perspective.

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