MONTERREY TO HOST 2009 BORDER GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000297

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO ONDCP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI SNAR ETRD SENV SCUL SMIG EIND EINV ECON
PREL, PGOV, MX
SUBJECT: MONTERREY TO HOST 2009 BORDER GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE

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1. Summary. The 17th annual Border Governor's Conference,
slated for September 2 - 4 in Monterrey, is billed as the
largest bi-national venue of its kind. The governors of all ten
border states, joined by Foreign Minister Espinosa and Mexican
Ambassador Sarukhan, are expected to attend this meeting to
address issues affecting this unique border region that shares
strong cultural and environmental ties. Many agreements are
undertaken on the state-to-state level and this year's
conference will feature recommendations from 13 working groups
on the environment, wildlife protection, education, logistics
and international crossings, energy, agriculture, economic
development, border security, emergency and civil protection,
health, science and technology, tourism, and water. The
conference will also introduce a new Border Strategic Master
Plan that will serve as the roadmap for bi-national cooperation
along the border. End Summary.




2. The U.S.-Mexico border region is the focal point of most of
the major social, economic and environmental issues facing both
countries. The border includes the U.S. states of California,
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and the Mexican states of Baja
California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and
Tamaulipas. With a rapidly growing population currently at 83
million, the region is facing increased demands for
infrastructure and environmental challenges and opportunities at
all levels of government. The region remains an economic
powerhouse - border states GDP currently accounts for 25% of the
total of both countries. (Note: The definition of the border
region used by the conference - the entirety of the 10 states
along the border - differs from the North American Development
Bank (NADB) and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission
(BECC) definition which only includes a swath of territory 100km
deep on the U.S. side and 300km deep on the Mexican side. End
Note. )




3. While many issues will be discussed at the conference,
security, the economy and the environment will take precedence.
Violence in the border has risen dramatically since President
Calderon started his offensive against the drug cartels.
Narco-related deaths will likely reach a record in 2009 and
Mexico has seen more drug violence spill over into civil
society. All states along the border are actively pressuring
their respective federal governments to do more to curb
narco-related violence and will likely request additional
federal funding. The border states are also looking for ways to
share resources and information between law enforcement agencies
on a state level. Previously, the Border Governor's Conference
had pushed for the formation of an informal mechanism of
contacts between federal, state, and local police on both sides
of the border. While such an organization was created, given
concerns from the U.S. side about the transparency and
reliability of Mexican interlocutors that effort appears to have
stalled. Two specific issues expected to be raised by Mexican
states at the upcoming meeting are the importation of weapons
and bulk cash into Mexico.




4. On the second issue of the economy, Northern Mexican states,
where many American businesses and maquilas are located, are
highly dependent on trade with the United States. Oftentimes up
to 90% of the state's exports will head north and a surprising
large number of these transactions are with a neighboring U.S.
border state. The members of the economic development working
group plan to offer recommendations on how to improve
competitiveness in the region and save employment during the
economic recession. In 2009, Mexico's economy will likely fall
far more than the U.S. economy. Most economists feel the worse
of the recession is over, but the border states are preparing to
cope with a long recovery period.




5. For the third major issue, the environment, the conference

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will highlight energy and water concerns. The border region has
water-limited conditions and conservation measures and projects
to increase water supply are essential. As for energy, the
border governor's representatives will be looking for ways to
promote renewable energy sources and to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from the area's factories. The northern Mexican
states are already leading Mexico's efforts to promote clean
technologies. They will look to expand these projects as they
view environmentally-friendly production essential for continued
growth in the region. The U.S. states have a strong incentive
to cooperate on environmental issues since pollution on one side
of the border hardly ever remains on the same side.




6. The highlight of the conference will be the presentation of
the Border Area Strategic Master Plan (or "Plan Indicativo" in
Spanish) by the Woodrow Wilson International Center and Mexico's
Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Focused around the major issues
of competitiveness, sustainability and security, the Strategic
Master Plan aims to be the roadmap for creating an open,
efficient and high functioning border area. The plan will
consist of concrete medium and long term goals that will
encompass all relevant stakeholders in government, the private
sector and academia. Nuevo Leon Governor Jose Natividad
Gonzalez Paras had hoped that the binational Pacific Council
would be able to release its recommendations on U.S.-Mexico
relations at the Border Governor's Conference, but it now
appears that the Pacific Council document will be launched
separately.




7. Comment: The organizers of this year's conference have
welcomed USG Executive branch participation in the conference.
(At previous conferences, state-level officials were not
completely informed of federal opinions and regulations.)
Additionally, many of the resolutions from the conference will
call on federal governments to take action. If your office is
interested in sending a representative, please contact
Monterrey's Political and Economic Officer Tim Hall at
HallTO@state.gov. End Comment.
WILLIAMSONB