Frontera norte de México: agenda de desarrollo e integración económica. Reflexiones sobre el Noreste de México-Texas

Mexico’s northern border region, comprised of six states that are of strategic importance to the country’s development, is analyzed
in this article. According to recent indicators, economic and population growth have surpassed the national average in this region. In Ismael Aguilar’s view, the development agenda for this extensive border area poses both challenges and opportunities, encompassing national and local issues that range from the impact of economic and demographic growth on its inhabitants, the management of natural resources and project financing to wider, more complex issues such as economic integration with the United States and the removal of barriers to international trade. Accelerated growth in trade between Mexico and the United States is evidenced most clearly in the area formed by northeast Mexico and Texas and is putting huge pressures on border infrastructure. According to the author, efforts to address the region’s problems in this respect have had unsatisfactory results, as illustrated by events in the wake of September 11. A great deal remains to be done in terms of controlling the passage of people and goods across the border and we need to gain a much better understanding of the challenges facing Mexico’s northern border region and its relationship with the United States. In this context, he concludes, academic research is vital to the taking of more informed decisions.