POLS 331 Study Guide

Cardenas Era

(Lazaro Cardenas) is Mexico's most famous 20th Century President. He is sometimes referred to as Mexico's Teddy Roosevelt. His presidency has a tremendous impact on the Mexican side of the border. Cardenas is interested in the new parts of the constitution that have not really been put into effect yet. The Great Depression hit Mexico too, sometimes more severely. So, because of that, Cardenas really decides to hit these issues hard. He wants to focus on Mexico's national development. But, of course during the depression, trade took a huge hit. But, because of the border, there is still a ton of trade in the mining and ranching areas. Cardenas wanted to make sure that the Mexicans were employed, so he nationalized a lot of enterprises and property, especially those involving subsoil resources and foreign investments. He nationalized the oil industry, parts of the mining industry, and quite a bit of property. After 1936, he established a colonization policy that would attracted thousands of Mexicans to the Baja California region for work. Cardenas is known as being a nationalizer and establishes Mexican control. He took back a lot from foreign investments. He was very nationalistic. He wanted to make sure that Mexicans had jobs and that the management policies that were associated with foreign investors would have a more positive impact on Mexican workers. You see the border acquire a different flavor after the 1930's. The Mexican government is much more involved and it creates a period of tension of US and Mexican relations. This carries on, but WW2 kind of puts the end to that. WW2 creates a different set of priorities. At first, they were criticized, but then the US saw that Mexico could be a strong ally and support for the US side of the war. They developed military technology along the borders and coastlines. Allowed for refueling stations, communications, etc. Mexico surprisingly compiled and helped the US. Mexico actually sent a troop of Mexicans over Europe to help the US fight. After a long, turbulent period, Mexico and the US sort of became close again. They shared many of the same goals and the same purposes.

Aleman Era

1946-1952. Miguel Aleman. This government was important for the border for two reasons. Historians like to compare the Cardenas Periods to the Aleman Periods. Cardenas was more socialistic and nationalistic in his approach to the economy, Aleman is much more of a businessman and more focused on capitalism and the private sector. Aleman was really interested in seeing Mexico develop and he had a particular interest in the border because he sees that Mexico hasn't been moving quickly enough to emulate the US in areas like reclamation. He puts a massive reclamation program into place. You get this development in commercial agriculture- you get the vegetable trades and this is where Mexico began to stake out part of the American agricultural economy. Tourism- Aleman decides that tourism could be positive. So, decides to clamp down on prostitution, night clubs, and alcohol. He sees this a potential source of investment. Most of the focus is on the coast and the coastline and some of the border cities. Most of the big investment is further south like Puerto Vallarta.

Porfirio

As for the Mexican side of the border, there was a distinctive effect. Their effect really sets in after the US Civil War and the Treaty of Hidalgo. The Porfirian period is when the border starts to take more of a center stage for Mexico. Up until that time, the general view in Mexico City was that Mexico was better off. Mexico sees investment in the United States. They really wanted American industry. Like the book said, there was a lot of interconnectivity with all of the natural resources industries. They had a very open investment policy. Explosion of the mining economy in northern Mexico. Many small cities in Mexico were developed by big investors from the US. The Porfirian period was a period of order and progress and they wanted to jump start Mexico's international development. But, it had it's downsides. There was a lot of inequity in Mexico's development. The Mexican revolution changed Mexico forever (happened after Porfirio).

Presidente Municipal

At the top of the Mexican municipality, the government is comprised of an executive/and or/the president municipal who is equivalent to the mayor.

Ayuntamientos

Basic structure of the city hall. Representative body. Can vary in size. The structure is somewhat strong. Under this, you have branches of municipal governments. The President Municipal, then Mayor oficial, y secretaria.

Gadsden Purchase zone (Chiwawa Sonoran Desert Zone)

Development comes very late to this zone. In the 19th century, this was primarily ranching. They ran from Arizona into Senora. It runs from the rio grande valley (west of El Paso) all the way to the east side of the Colorado River valley. Copper was king in this region and the border didn't matter. Just like ranching, copper crossed the border with no issues. Even if you visit towns on the Mexican side of the border today, the only thing that resembles a Mexican community there is the plaza. It is the most american part of the border- it was developed by gringas. When they built company towns, they didn't care if it was Mexican. They made it look very americanized. There was a lot of boom and bust with copper. The economies in this region were subject to some oscillations. After WW2, you see some of the copper shutting down. Today, it is referred to as the copper triangle. This includes historic mines and smelters. There was a lot of copper development, but some of the older sites that were right along the border took a hit because of aging equipment. In the 1980's, the closing of the smelter in Douglas became a controversy over the air quality.

Border

Different than boundary. Doesn't require legal jurisdiction. All in your head. How we recognize relations and connectivity. Point of origin is where the boundary starts.

Homestead Act

Distributes property to people that wanted to migrate west. See the southern expansion of the mormon communities. See some of these less inhabited areas start to populate along the border. This was an incentive to drive people into areas that were "less attractive" for settlement.

Preventive Police

Do not have the authority to diagnose or investigate a case. They are there to prevent criminal activity. If something happens, their one job is to prepare an account of what happened to a ministerial police officer. By law, they are not allowed to investigate the scene. They are expected to prevent crimes. Can do traffic, prevent people from violating the law, enforce municipal codes, help asentamientos humanos.

1884 Treaty

Everyone decided that they needed to fix the problem of the boundary. They sent engineers and surveyors to the scene. They decided to let the boundary float with the river. But, still, the boundary was actually changing in GPS terms. But, if we have a flood, we are going to re-set the river or re-set the boundary. This was 36 years after the treaty of hidalgo. The two countries realized that they needed to have a permanent agency to do this.

Inter-State Commissions

If you look at Texas, they actually have 3 state-to-state commissions. These each focus on a different city in Mexico. Arizona has the Arizona Senora commission and they do all sorts of things. They are always facilitating cultural and commercial events to showcase items and make contacts. They want to develop constructive networks. They're very active in some of these transportation commissions. They have taken credit for a new expedited passport system like vehicle registry. They fought to get vehicles pre-authorized so they could drive through the border. California has the oldest commission in Baja, CA. However, they let that lapse about 7 years ago. Instead, in Sacramento, they created a new BiNational Border Council. It's basically the BiNational Border Council, just tailored to CA.

Boundary

Legal line that separates one or more states. Result of intense and protracted law. Very technical. Legal jurisdiction.

Mexicali

Mexicali is the only capital of a state located right at a Mexican border. This is the capital of the Baja, California. This also makes it an important part of government. They have attracted a fair amount of investment since they are the capitol. Beyond that, we see a little bit of tourism here. Honestly, it's not a huge deal outside of the immediacy of the Colorado River. Otherwise, it's not that big of of deal. From an ecology point of view, this area was typically an oasis for birds, etc. This has been disrupted by the way that we have handled water issues.

Local government

Mexico kind of has a European way of how they organize their state legislation and local government.

Special Attention

Mexico wants this from the US. Because it shares a boundary, has history, and has been one of the US's closest allies in the past, they want special attention. They are the #2 trading partner behind Canada. Mexico is really aware that the US is their destiny.

Prestaciones

Municipios under Mexican law are very limited to raising funds. They depend a lot on the Federal government. They depend heavily on financial support. They collect taxes, but they flow to the central government. The money flows out of the state, and is then dispersed back prestaciones. These are financial givebacks to the municipios. For most municipios, this is is primary source of funding and they really depend on this. Article 116 that basically prevents muncipios from taking on debt. This is a big problem that goes back to the Mexican revolution. There was a lot of concern about poor communities that would be manipulated by corrupt officials if they borrowed money. Going back to the constitution of 1917, this prevented states and municipios from going into debt. So, there isn't a municipio in the country that can do what Fort Collins does every year- which is to let a bond issue to fund a public work. In Mexico, you cannot do this at all. This limits the capacity of municipios and they become very dependent on the state and the national government and this gives these entities a great deal of control. At the same time, Mexican law, in the last 25 years has expanded the authority and the responsibilities of municipios and now they are more responsible than ever for schools, land use planning, environmental protection. So, the municipios have been trying to gain more authority over their financials- but, they still need federal approval. You also see the local communities taking over responsibility for things like water supply and sanitation, which were previously state or federally dominated in the past.

18th Amendment

Prohibition. It attracts to the border. There were Mexican and US regulations on alcohol. Attracts a lot of tourism and industry in Mexico. However, that is not necessarily a good thing. It is a double edged sword. Draws a lot of attention to the U.S Mexican border. The social image of the border was conflicting. On one hand, there was a sort of prudish idea of how people ought to behave, but others thought it was a good thing to cast that off for a few days and have fun. The border acquires the image of where unseemly things happen- rather distasteful, but it is a double standard. Mexico is a very conservative culture. The idea of the border becomes the "Black Legend". Good citizens would avoid this.

Adams Omis Treaty

Sets the boundary north along the Sabine River to the Red River, then west. 100 miles north to the Arkansas River. Ends around Mt. Evans and then goes over to the Pacific. 1819. Was a series of steps. Provides a definition to the two countries. The first real boundary treaty. Has the reputation of not being a well-administered treaty. See a legal agreement that is not surveyed. Leaves a lot to the imagination and neither country policed it. Lots of uncertainty. Helped to open up westward expansion and the Louisiana Purchase. Texas succession raises new questions about the boundary. Was it valid? Not specific enough. Mexican/American War in 1846. Over where the boundary was. Mexico didn't agree. US government Federal patrol began operating at the border and someone fired a shot. That is how the war began.

Permeable Border

The border is permeable. To a degree, the border creates economic opportunities. It has created these opportunities for many, many years. It varies and shifts to what is happening on the border, but there are a lot of similarities too. Culture? Is the boundary a barrier to culture? Society and culture do interpenetrate a bit. Cultural ideas jump boundaries- they create tensions, but opportunities as well. This boundary effect is best visible in the border region. Mexico has a very different perspective than the US when it comes to things like international relations. The general take is that the US knows its role in the world community. Today, the US is the dominant world power.

Ranching and the Economy

There has been a very long history of this. With mines and ranches and both sides of the border. This area is also very indigenous. There are a few reservations there. There is a lot of traditional development. This area really became a pole of attraction for tourists and Sunbelt migrants. We see a remarkable migrant tourism that is really important for the economy in the area. A lot of this was driven by the military. Fort Machuca is another base. This was founded during the Mexican revolution. It became the mainstay of the town of Sierra Vista. This was Arizona's fastest growing city. It also communicated a message of tourism. This is one of the most birdy places in North America. It is subtropic, but also dry. You see some really unusual nature here. The other thing about this area is the Sonoran River Valley is beautiful, so lots of people want to see this. Once word about this area seeped out into the news, people were flocking here. Benson, AZ is a neat place on the border. The population goes from about 5,000 during the regular year to over 100,000 during the winter months.

Alien Exclusion Act

There were restrictions on major US ports in the Pacific (Asian Exclusion Act). Immigration did not stop. It went south. It migrated from the ports of Seattle and San Fran, etc, to the ports of Marzipan and further south. There was a steady stream of Asian immigration into North America, but it favors Mexico. This meant that the primary mode of accessing the US became the not-well regulated Mexican border. You get a steady stream of Asian immigrants. What does this mean for the border? It means there are a lot of Asians. Interestingly enough, the border has a lot of Asian inhabitants. (Chinese restaurants per capita is the same as San Fran at the border). Compared to some other parts of the country, it has a bit of an Asian flavor.

Ministerial Police

These are the state police. They can investigate and get involved in a case. They are more closely linked to the justice system and to the courts. You don't see ministerial police at the municipio level.

Location Theory

They use this to anticipate what is going to happen in a particular area in terms of its economic development and prospects. What do you think happens when you run a boundary through a community (an international boundary, that is....) What happens to the economic prospects? You have less opportunities. Location theorists tell us that if we have an international boundary (doesn't matter where it is) we are diminishing the economic opportunities for the communities that live at the boundary and this is happening on both sides of the border. Why is that? The implication of this divide is that you can't just sell your wares anywhere. There are different systems in place on both sides of the border. Different ideas of investing, licensing, business, property, etc. The north side is losing all of the opportunities of the south side, and the south side is losing all of the opportunities of the north side.

Bloc voting

This is almost like slate voting, just the other way around. As an elected official or party official, you can rely on the town to vote on you or the candidates you select. For 100 years in Texas, people voted democratic on a bloc vote. The border played a huge role. If you wanted to be successful in Texas politics, you had to be on Wells good side. Otherwise, he could kill it for you in a snap. It was a one-man game.

Principled Foreign Power

This means that unlike the US (which is a world power) Mexico is a regional power, it has historically taken a view that actually goes way back to the end of the 19th century to the Porfirian period. This view is that Mexico must adhere to certain key principles of international law and international community. No other country has been completely steadfast about these principles. These principles are enshrined in the constitution. The Mexican president is chief of state, but he is bound by certain constitutional principles and practices. This is not true for Obama or American presidents. Mexico has one of the biggest embassies in the world. Worked with the US to help with the information flows. Mexico plays close attention to the US. What happens in the US gets reported on page one in Mexico all the time. Mexico gets a much lower profile in the US news. The US maintains more diplomatic international relations than any other country in the world (Things are hugely bureaucratic. Mexico is very important to the US. It is one of our top priorities. We have a very elaborate relationship.

Slate Voting

This means that when you go into the polling booth to mark you voting ballot, you vote for a party. In effect, this means that you vote for the president municipal candidate of your preference and then you vote for all of the regidores who are associated with that party (you vote for a big group of people based on their party- so things will either be in the hands of the PRI or the PAN). People are choosing to have their government run by one single party each term

Sieve Theory

This says that it is only a partial barrier, not a barrier to everything. It does have a restricted quality, which, in this idea looks at reasons why boundaries are always being inter penetrated. Why is this happening? How does the boundary shape the market? It makes drugs worth more money in the United States. A lot of goods have differential prices on both sides of the border and it creates issues with supply and demands. Differential economic conditions- the very factor that drives markets. A boundary is a market-producing reality and it creates markets. It creates markets that might not otherwise exist if we had a 360 degree economic zone. What are some of the unique markets? Drugs, health care, retirement, the vegetable trade, education opportunities, business opportunities, maquiladoras... How does the border create jobs? Specialized services, coyotes, drugs... Legal specialized services are translation (spanish to english) and it is required every single day in dozens of industries.

US Mexican BiNational Commission

This was basically a regular meeting of the cabinet officials (the heads of the US major agencies) with their counterparts in Mexico. This happens on an annual basis, sometimes more frequently. Once again, this is something that you don't see anywhere else in the world except for Canada. What is tells you is that our relationship is sufficiently complicated and thick that it requires the direct involvement of the most senior officials of US government at least on an annualized basis. In this situation, Mexico gets a fair and unusual amount of attention.

Consultative Mechanism

This was the only time in US history when the US assigned two PERMANENT US ambassadors to a foreign country and this lasted 4 years. This was because the US recognized that it's relationship with Mexico had reached a point where it needed additional attention. This was symbolic of the complexity of things. It didn't work very well because it was so out of whack with conducting ordinary diplomacy with other countries. Mexico was a good sport and they accepted this dual credentialed ambassadorship. Eventually, when the Reagan administration came into office, they decided to get rid of it, but they also saw the complexity. The problem that this was designed to solve hasn't gone away.

The Newlands Act

U.S. funded irrigation acts for arid states in the southwest

Fronterra

US/Mexican border is no longer a frontier and some say that it may never have been a frontier. "Poor Mexico... So far from God, so close to the United States." There was a time when the border region was relatively unknown. People were ignorant. In Mexico, la fronterra (the frontier) and US in border. Goes back to Cortez. We see European encounters with the border. During this period, things were very frontierish. The border takes shape over centuries, especially differing by the inhabitants. The railroads provided connectivity- the border was not well-defined for a long time. It was regarded as risky and uncertain. On the U.S side, they didn't take much interest in the region until Lewis and Clark. 19th century. No treaty or formal agreement until 1890. It took a really long time.

Mexican Revolution

a lot of the fighting occurred along the border. The longest part of the fight was fought at the little town of Naco on the Arizona border. It was fought in late 1913, early 1914 and it was a precursor to WW1. It included trench warfare, remotely-detonated mines, biplanes. Many of the border towns on the US side provided safe havens (it's where they would put their outposts). People like Pancho Villa would legally cross the border all the time. The US reacts to the Mexican revolution in an interesting way. The Neutrality Act was signed by the US, meaning they could not get involved in any wars. However, they were still worried. They moved some of their troops from Oklahoma to the US/Mexican border. The US tries to figure out how it is going to react to turbulence in Mexico. Because the border was becoming much more regulated and important. The revolution was very destructive. Tons of farms and railroads were destroyed.

Gloria Molina

a member of the LA board of supervisors. Elected in 1991. First hispanic on the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful county in America.

Bracero Agreement

a signed agreement with the United States about labor or guest workers. After 1942, the Mexicans and the Rosie the Riveters are helping the US wage on the war on the home front. It is a huge change for Mexican labor. There were many recruitment stations built on the US border. This was eventually abandoned in 1962. It helps to communicate and to inform Mexican citizens of opportunities in the US and how you access them. This is the beginning of an institutional relationship and became the number one driver of immigration to this country. This was a legal, official program. These people were documented workers. Texas and California take most advantage of this program. This continued to have a significant stake. This is the period in history where the US cooperates with Mexico about immigration.

Gadsden Treaty

adds territory to the US south of the original line. Driven by the effort to develop and track the land. They move forward with the regulation of the border. Now see the completed boarder as we know it. It is still negotiated today. These were works in progress. They specified that the boundary would be a riparian boundary, meaning it ran down the center of the river. The boundary is not a straight line- it is squiggly. This caused a lot of problems. It took more than 100 years for Mexico and the US to solve that problem. It was well recognized by the 1870's by a number of legal claims. The boundary would fluctuate as the river rose. This was a problem. Tons of people who lived along the boundary were complaining. It ended up being the boundary crossing the boundary.

Regidores

are elected to serve on the city council- they are on the board. These folks serve three year terms until JUST this year (not yet in effect until 2018) all of these people served one term and one term only. Mexico has historically practiced the world's most extensive system of term limitations for elected officials. You will find why term limitations don't work. People do not have enough time to accomplish everything they need to. This means that you have a complete turnover in city or municipal government every three years, and then they cannot return to the government for at least 3 years. It means that you have a lack of continuity in government. Municipio government is all about partisan competition

Jefe politicas

are hispanic and local people that started getting involved. You need jobs. The county is a major source of public jobs. High level of corruption. The border becomes this place where you see these corruptions of politics. Everyone needed an in. This does change, but ironically, the hispanic civil rights movement started in Texas.

Raza Unida Party

born in 1970. Famous in Denver. One of their most notable activists was Porky Gonzales, but he heads it in Denver. As this expanded, it grew out of the mexican youth organization, which was out of south texas. It scared the hell out of the democrats because it was a direct challenge to boss politics. The bosses had so successfully manipulated the hispanic vote and they weren't giving much back to the community and people felt that this was unfair. They wanted change. It ran a candidate for governor in 1972 and he got about 6% of the state vote, which doesn't sound like a lot, but he got about 25% at the border. This was scary to the democrats and they decided that they needed to do something and actually nominate hispanic candidates. It is the only ethnic 3rd party in America that has some success. They run hispanic candidates. Then, the democrats get religion. The real impact was transforming Texas politics and making thee democrats more responsive.

1963 Chamizal Treaty

came about after 20 years of intense negotiations after WW2. Involved 5 US presidents. At one point, Truman in 1947, actually told congress "solve it on the Mexican terms.. I don't care". He was so tired of it and just wanted it to be solved. However, the State Department refused mainly because Texas refused. It's a textbook case of the limitations of presidential power and that state power can be more important. Of all of our borders, it's the one over where American states have the most control. This agreement was important because it created a jam in solving all other Mexican issues. They were not going to solve any other treaties or issues until this was solved.

BiNational Agencies

cities of border towns typically have their own binational offices. They need insurance to cross the border, but there is only a very few of privileged people that can cross the border whenever they would like. If you are a state official, you cannot cross without some hassle. Typically, these municipal level bodies focus on trade and culture, and economic development. They provide a window for communicating with city councils and mayors.

1889 Treaty

creates the international boundary commission. The commission oversaw the boundary treaties. From 1889, we get regular surveillance, regular management of the boundary, and we get our very first bi-national commission between Mexico and the US. It enables the two countries to cooperate in public policy. This is an important thing. The problem with this was: it was not retroactive. This meant that there were literally dozens of different situations that were just up in the air and still in dispute.

Article 115

deals with the powers of municipal government. The constitution specifically refers to states as municipalities.

Asentamientos Humanos

easily the most politically important office in terms of its functionality in a Mexican municipio. Housing. These are the people in charge of housing. The provision of housing happens differently than it does in the US. Just even looking at the commercial market, you would see that mexico has a much less vibrant private sector of housing. If you said, sure, I am just going to live in Mexico for 6 months... But, good luck with the housing and renting part. You will not find any flyers about housing. You may find things online, but these are targeted at the wealthy and business travelers. There is no rental market built up yet. It is beginning to accelerate, but it is a very slow process. Less mobility in Mexico. Believe it or not, Mexicans don't want to migrate- they migrate out of necessity. Asentamientos Humanos have their hands full. People migrate for work, but rather than migrating to the united states, their first choice or mas preferible is staying in Mexico- they just want to go to another city. They also typically go somewhere where they know someone like family member or friend. However, many of these people have very few resources. When they finally meet up with that family member or friend, they will be welcomed, but they are only given about a week to stay (like any place). Mexicans are very family oriented, but at some point, that individual is going to have to find their own housing. That person will go out to find some space. They are going to land there, claim it, and live there. (Las Paracallistas- parachuters) They basically are going to go camping. Asentamientos Humans are contacted because people are camping on their land. Asentamientos Humanos goes out and talks to the people and tries to persuade them to leave. They don't make much different because the people don't want to leave. Do they get the police involved? No, they typically wait. One of the reasons for this is that Mexico regards housing as a human right. Mexican communities know that housing is a serious matter and that it needs to be available. Meanwhile, these campers are really making a serious house. There is probably more than one family as well (strength in numbers). Within a week or two, chances are they have been contacted by a group of people that are essentially advocates for homeless people in Mexico. These advocates will do the talking with asentamientos humanos. Things start to get very complicated. Adding to the complication, this is a new group of voters. The advocacy group will make sure that asentamientos humanos and the presidente municipal know that. Voting is also a human right. Asentamientos Humanos is basically the mediator between some of the most powerful forces in mexico- migration vs. private sector.

Lower Colorado River

is another unique zone. It's primary municipal parts are the cities of Yuma and San Luis border. On the California side, the city of Mexicali/etc.The Yuma area was historically agricultural. The little town of Yuma in the 19th century wasn't much of anything. When Arizona became a territory, they put a prison there. But, that was about it. What really caused Yuma to take off was the harnessing of the Colorado River for agriculture. This started in 1905. What has really boosted Yuma in the past 25 years is the Sunbelt Tourism. Port Site, a little pace north of Yuma goes from 50 people in the offseason to over 1 million. They have the largest flea market and vegetable trade in North America. It gives you a sense of the economy. There are a lot of Canadians that come down for this. That influx has had other effects. Now, there is a lot of medical tourism. A little town near there has become the top destination for any kind of surgery, any kind of medical procedure and you would save 50% of what you would pay in the US. It is very cheap, but very professional. It's a niche economy.

The Barrier Theory

is in many ways, the prevailing perspective on international borders. This is the one that we have most come to expect when thinking about borders. How are borders barriers? How do they function in that way? What is being separated? People, politics.. It's a diplomatic process. Obviously, both sides have some different ideas about citizenship. It is important to understand this. There is a significant impact on border cities and border states. Certain areas, there are regional economics.

Winter Vegetable Trade

is one of the most important agricultural trade with the US. Direct result of the Aleman hydro project. It was in southern Senora. What you see here is the development of commerce and and it all flows through the port. It is so huge that they had to build a new port of entry. The winter vegetable trade is interesting because (goes from early november to the end of march) americans will eat Mexican veggies. Cucumbers, lettuce, cauliflower, etc. This goes all the way back to the late 1950s and it is a very well developed economy and it benefits people all over America.

Municipo Libre

is the only municipality constituted to represent. The number of municipios differ by state. There tend to be fewer along the border rather than in the mexico interior. The reason for this is historic- that's where the people were. The municipios all have the same basic structure. That is dictated in part by Article 115 and also by practice because the national government oversees (el gobernacion) is to impose a certain uniformity on municipal representation.

San Diego/Tijuana

is the wealthiest part of the border. The combined population of Tijuana has over 2 million and San Diego has over 3 million. So 5 million together. Very diversified economy. San Diego was a port city and a naval hub. It was a very important military site for the US. Then, it has promoted itself as a tourist destination. Tourism became a very big deal. San Diego also became a very important industrial area for aviation and aircrafts. San Diego emerged as one of the most vibrant economies in all of California. In Tijuana, they got a big boost with prohibition. Lots of recreative type investment. In the late 1930s, this took a hit and after WW2, Tijuana lingered on cross-border tourism. The maquiladora industry really changed things. Today, they are the leading maquiladora industry with over 700 plants. If you own an electrical appliance, changes are, it was made there. They are the television center of the world. Tijuana then became a financial center because there is lot of investment and they have to finance the maquiladoras. Tijuana then became a vibrant industrial financial center. There is a lot of integrated development here. San Diego really depends on the Tijuana economy. Like the San Diego Padres, there is a caravan of about 10 buses that come directly out of Mexico to watch the game. There are lots of crossovers and trades between the two. All of the big retailers in US know this and they direct advertisements at the Mexicans. Most of the border is thought of as a poverty zone, but definitely not Tijuana. It exceeds Mexican standards.

Chamizal Dispute

it is a little piece of land that straddles the Rio Grande. It is about 700 acres. Unfortunately, it was located right between Juarez and El Paso. It was about about 2 miles outside of both sides. The two countries just couldn't agree. There was continuous dispute going back to the 1860's. It was not settled by the 1884 convention. The two countries continued to debate and discuss because they both wanted the land. The problem was, had the rio grande changed due to water level? Everyone in each country saw it differently. The US agrees to arbitration. But, they get the Canadians involved. They made an international panel with one American, one Mexican, and one Canadian. Both sides presented their facts and the result was that they couldn't agree. This meant that the Canadian decided. He was sensible and he recommended dividing the track (moderately favorable to the US) and the US went ballistic. They claimed that the Canadian jurist had violated the terms. The US refused to accept the decision. Because of this, this issue became a famous case throughout the world. The issue lingered forever. This issue is very important in international law because it puts a spotlight on international arbitration.

General Law Counties

means that counties are authorized to administer state law subject to state stipulations and guidance/management. The problem is that the nature of county governance depends a lot on the rules, but the oversight from the state as well. County governments were historically viewed as regional zones of the American government. As a result, there was a keen desire to control local government. There has been a lot of neglect of county government. What you see in Texas is there is a tendency for the county to look after themselves. When it comes to preserving their discretion, they have resisted reform. Texas is one of the hardest places to change local government.

Pluralism

means that hispanics have achieved a lot over the past 40 years along the border and in the US in terms of gaining access to state and local government.

Conference of US Border Governors

meets annually. They have an office where the exchange notes and develop common plans and policy. The idea of this is to identify issues that are common for the US Mexican border on which state-level governments can cooperate and create systems. This could be any number of things ranging from security issues to economic development issues to transportation issues. Basically, anything that affects those sister cities and states along the border. There is a lot of symbolic politics going on, but they can from time to time be very useful. It's a vehicle for state-level concerns from either side of the border. Something that would get their attention would be: border bridges. For example, are there enough bridges across the Rio Grande? Traffic is backing up at crucial times of the year. This is an area where governors can make a difference. The US Department of Transportation and the Mexican Transportation department can get together and make things happen.

Home Rule Cities

most of the larger cities and border states will be these. Originated in the United States during the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century. It enables voters to adopt a home rule charter that acts as the city's basic governing document over local issues; however, state law continues to prevail over statewide concerns. Most cities along the border do this now.

Boss politics

occurred in a number of places. One of the places where it appears very dramatically is in the border counties, particular in Texas. In the 1880s, what happened along the border was there was more influx by Anglo speculators, developers, ranchers who competed with existing hispanic families for influence along the border. The hispanic families (in Texas) were very interlocked with hispanic families in Mexico. Spanish was the language, not English. You begin to see a demographic change. Boss politics is often associated with the management of immigration policies and along the border, it's mostly about settled hispanic communities that happen to be different from the anglos who are moving into the region. Boss politics is associated with a system of favors and personal loyalties. It is used to manipulate electoral systems, the provision of services, in exchange for support. In 1880, there were several powerful families living south of Corpus Christi. They were very dominant- classic bosses.

La secretaria

s basically the notary- they sign all of the official documents. These municipalities govern in 3 centuries. They are dealing with circumstances that are very traditional. They look like the 19th century. They also deal with 20th century, and if they are of sufficient size, chances are they are governing in the 21st century. It is still true in Mexico that a municipio have to provide services. They have to provide a place for people to come sell their goods. Markets are a place where people can come and sell their wares for a small rental fee. People like the ambiance of the market over the supermarket in smaller cities, but in larger cities the supermarket is readily available. There is a need to serve a broader spectrum of humanity. Not only are municipios strapped for resources, but they have a difficult task. Municipios are more like counties. They have their main districts and los alrededores (the surroundings).

Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo

signed in 1848. Famously awards the US half of Mexico in exchange for $15 million. The boundary is set at the center of the Rio Grande. Talks about who was responsible for regulating the boundary. Work in progress, but it was the first regulated boundary in North America. The US promised that they would: 1. Prevent the incursion of all people north of the Rio Grande 2. Prevent filibustering

Agriculture

the area talked about above is one of the most important agricultural areas in the world. It was mostly developed by American investors. The money, the capital, investment, and development was all pretty much done by the US, with the help of a few Mexicans. Once the Colorado River was harnessed, this place just took off. There is more infrastructure invested in agricultural production invested here than almost any place in the world. They have tile drains under the dirt almost every 3 feet to prevent salinity. You can get almost 14 cuttings of hay here, while in Colorado, you maybe get 3 or 4. You can grow almost anything here. It is one of the most productive agricultural hubs in the world. Interestingly enough, we have seen Mexicali emerge as an important maquiladora hub and a an energy hub. If you are in Arizona or Utah, some of your electrical energy is coming out of Mexico.

1970 Boundary Convention

the definitive, final government treaty that defines our boundaries. It provides a formula for solving the rest of these issues. Chamizal gets divided almost just like the arbitration of the Chamizal Dispute. The Canadians were right pretty much all along. At the end of the day, it just boiled down to a fairness issue. Brings an end to this long dispute and both sides make concessions. The international boundary becomes fixed and that if the river moves, it would have to be re-set. But, it also says that neither country is permitted to take works on it's side that would impair the integrity of the boundary line as it is currently understood to exist. Unless, it is by mutual agreement. (No country can do something on it's side of the border that would affect where it is legally know.) Today, all of this is done with GPS and satellite. This also sets the maritime boundaries out to a 12 mile floating limit. They literally can move, according to where the river is.

Non Intervention and Self Determination

these are the principles that the Mexican president must adhere to. Mexico has not supported the US on any mission. For example, there is no way that Mexico would go in and help the US in Syria. Mexico takes a purist approach. It is not going to get involved in anything like that. It doesn't think is the right thing to do, plus it serves its international interests. What we do see is the structural relationships. There is a kind of standard relationship at the international level between the two in terms of how the countries approach the two. The US, unfortunately, treats Mexico the same way that we treat Brazil or any other country in the Americas. Mexico doesn't like that and they argue that they deserve a higher priority. It has made this case for years in DC with no avail.

Border Liaison Commission

they operate out of US consulates up and down the border. The US Mexican border liaison commissions use the consulates as convening bodies that bring together government reps and agency officials, prominent citizens, elected officials, ect. They discuss particular issues. If there is a problem, this commission is likely to get involved. They bring interests together to solve a wide range of issues and problems. These problems can be: agricultural, border gangs (not necessarily drug-related)

Globalism

treating countries more or less the same. In fact, you'll see that principle honored in the breech and it gets violated frequently. The US has a certain kind of outlook on the rest of the world- they think that they should treat the world with a standard set of expectations. It's kind of how the State Department works. The US has a pragmatic orientation for its politics. It is basically trying to treat different countries in the same manner diplomatically. Mexico is generally thought to fall into middle powers... Mexico was the 12th largest economy in the world. This means that in LA, it is in the top 3 economies (Mex, Brazil, and Argentina) Mexico has a unique history and a certain set of concerns: one of the things that is true is that the US figures hugely in Mexico's thinking. Mexico pays attention to what the US is doing. The US is their most important diplomatic problem. All the rest of LA matters less to Mexico than the US. It tends to want to be treated in a special way.

Filibustering

unauthorized military expeditions for territorial expansion. Go in and set up shop. Create your own government and then appeal to a larger government for protection. Mexico wanted assurances that they could prevent this. In 1853, they add to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

James Wells

was a classic boss. He came to Texas as an attorney. Marries into a powerful ranching family, so he has connections. He surveys the landscape and realizes that he needs to learn spanish. He provided legal services to the hispanic community between the hispanics and Texas State Government. If you needed to have an immigration issue dealt with, you wanted to exchange property, or get a license, you would talk with James Wells. He was willing to be an advocate for the hispanics. But, he also understood that power came through the democratic party, so he made it a point to become a member. Then he got himself elected to be a county judge in Cameron County, TX. Now, in addition to asking for other favors and expecting loyalty for services, he could also determine who got to vote. I