Texas Border Economy Prospered Under Fox

Like most bloggers trying to give readers a statewide political picture, I too often fail to bring my readers important Valley news. Luckily, there are a ton of excellent RGV blogs (check out the sidebar) already doing that.

Anyway, I ran across this story in the Brownsville Herald and thought it was very interesting and worthy of a mention:

It seems as though the border economy in recent years has been significantly aided by the administration of now-former Mexican President Vicente Fox:

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox’s pro-business and U.S.-friendly policies helped the border region and the state of Tamaulipas prosper, local observers said as the reigns are handed to a new, already controversial leader in Mexico.

Fox completed his six-year term as president Friday when he was replaced by recently elected Felipe Calderon.

Under Fox, agriculture, housing, press freedom, economic stability and business growth were positively impacted here, experts said.

“The bottom line is that we have benefited,” said Professor Anthony Zavaleta of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. “If you look at the last six years, the economic growth along the Texas border is just phenomenal on both sides.”

Growth in the business sector is largely attributable to Fox’s support of North American Free Trade Agreement and new infrastructure and businesses that accompanied the trade agreement’s implementation, Zavaleta said. More business means more people, though that has not necessarily helped the border region, he said.

There is good and bad about this, of course. It’s great to see the Valley in an economic boom, but NAFTA has also seen the loss of many manufacturing jobs from Texas to Mexico, which is not a good thing.

The Herald does point to other downsides as well, though:

Increased migration to the region has increased the strain on border cities to accommodate more people, affecting housing, transportation and other social services.

And, though I’m no economist, we all know that devaluation of the peso can play havoc with the economy on this side of the border. I wasn’t particularly aware, however, that problems with the peso were worse along the border. Check this out:

The stability of the peso under Fox has also had a significant impact on the region, said Clemente Rendón de la Garza, Matamoros city historian.

“That affects us a lot, and a devaluation affects us on both sides,” he said. “Thanks to (Fox’s) economic policies on the peso and in the border region that helps us greatly.”

Very interesting.