A meeting between a U.S. congressional delegation and current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City last week centered on strengthening ties between Arizona and Mexico before the presidential transition in the country.
Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Greg Stanton, both Arizona Democrats, were part of a bipartisan, bicameral delegation from Congress that discussed migration, water issues and nearshoring, specifically the relocation of commercial operations from the U.S. to Mexico.
Stanton said it was the highest-level delegation to visit Mexico City since Sheinbaum won election and likely would be the highest-level delegation to visit before her inauguration in early October.
“She was sincerely interested in increasing the working relationship with the United States and with members of Congress. It was good in terms of relationship building but good in terms of substance as well,” Stanton said.
Sheinbaum was the first woman elected to executive office in Mexico’s history after an election cycle with unprecedented voter participation. On June 2, nearly 60 million Mexicans went to the polls to vote for a historic number of women in public office across the country and a majority of left-wing candidates from the ruling party, Morena, including the president-elect.
“We spent more time talking about Arizona and our economic relationship with Mexico than any other topic in the entire meeting. (Senator) Mark Kelly was there as well and we were able to talk specifically about building a long-term and durable security relationship in North America with the United States, Mexico, and Canada,” Stanton said.
“As part of the security relationship, (we) would be continuing the efforts of the current administration to reduce migrant flows up to the southern border of the United States.”
Migration at the forefront of discussions
The number of migrant crossings between border points of entry is at its lowest since the start of President Joe Biden’s administration, and the U.S. wants to sustain this trend, Stanton said.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, June 2024 saw the lowest number of encounters on the southwest border since 2021. Last month, almost 24% fewer encounters were reported than in May and 27% fewer than in April.
One of the top border security priorities for the delegation is to reduce the flow of fentanyl and other drugs coming from Mexico, Stanton said. Fentanyl is currently the deadliest drug in Arizona, causing 60% of drug-related deaths in the state, according to Jeff Johnston, Maricopa County chief medical examiner.
Another important aspect of the binational relationship focuses on mitigating the flow of weapons into North America by strengthening security across the continent.
“The eyes of the world will be on North America as the World Cup is contested in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, so we need to work together closely to make sure that we have the safest possible World Cup experience for visitors from across the globe who will be coming (here),” Stanton said.
“We can use the need to integrate our security teams for World Cup security … as a model for security for decades to come thereafter.”
Nearshoring: An opportunity to integrate economies
The booming semiconductor industry in the state also emerged as a priority issue for delegates. According to Stanton, the two countries are uniquely positioned to develop a supply chain boosting economies south and north of the border.
“This is a nearshoring moment, the opportunity for the United States and Mexico to better integrate our economics,” Stanton said. “(It’s) an opportunity for North America to better take advantage of tensions with China, and make sure we grow and develop the semiconductor industry in the United States and North America to become a work leader in this arena.”
Arizona leads the industry nationally, and according to Stanton, its border location offers unparalleled opportunities for job expansion in the region.
Since 2020, the semiconductor industry in Arizona has received more than $102 billion in capital investment and created over 15,700 direct industry jobs, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.
The Colorado River and decades-long bonds forged by water
Water-related issues were among other priorities that the delegates addressed during their trip. The topic came up not only due to the water shortages that too often upend ordinary life in the hosting city but also because of a key water source that connects the countries.
Arizona and Mexico have an agreement to use the Colorado River, which supplies water to cities on both sides of the border. According to the Water Treaty of 1944, Mexico is guaranteed the delivery of more than 488 million gallons of water from the Colorado River each year, the majority of which is delivered at the Northern International Boundary (LIN) in the Morelos dam in the state of Baja California and through the Sánchez Mejorada Canal in Sonora, bordering Arizona.
In the U.S., Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming depend on this river for water supply. In March the U.S. Department of the Interior announced agreements to prevent its reservoirs from falling to critical levels, endangering water supplies and energy production. Responsible water use and sustainability have been a large part of Stanton’s legislative agenda throughout his congressional career.
The visit also included meetings with the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, Mexico’s current Minister of Finance and Public Credit Rogelio Ramírez de la O, and future Secretary of Foreign Affairs Juan Ramón de la Fuente, among others. Delegates also visited a migrant shelter and joined a roundtable on human rights.
Other congressmen on this visit included eight Democratic senators and representatives from Delaware, California, Texas, and Illinois and one Republican senator from Indiana.
As a gesture of goodwill, the Arizona congressmen presented Sheinbaum with a book by Arizona Poet Laureate Alberto Ríos titled “The Theater of Night.”
“At a moment of change in Mexico as they prepare to inaugurate their first woman president, this visit was valuable to deepen cooperation on issues like migration, security, trade, and economic development that are critically intertwined with the United States,” Kelly said in a news release.
Kelly is being vetted as a possible running mate and contender for the U.S. vice presidency by the Kamala Harris campaign. Biden announced on July 21 that he would not seek re-election and endorsed his second-in-command for the office.
Arizona is one of the seven swing states that could decide the results of the U.S. elections in November. Additionally, Latino voters have taken precedence in the presidential race this cycle with more than 36 million Latinos eligible to vote this year — 4 million more than in 2020. Latinos currently make up the second-largest voting-age group at the state and national levels. Approximately 85% of Arizona Latinos are of Mexican origin.
“Mexico is one of our most important economic partners, and we see it every day in Arizona with cross-border commerce and travel along our ports of entry that we are working to upgrade. I look forward to partnering with President-elect Sheinbaum and her cabinet to address our shared challenges as we continue strengthening the historic relationship between both of our nations,” Kelly added in his statement.
Reach La Voz reporter Silvia Solis at[email protected].
