When binational governors met, both countries benefited

The Border Governors’ Conference could be an opulent distraction, but it was invaluable in solving prickly binational problems. It’s needed now more than ever.

Photo by Mayra Martell

For nearly 30 years, governors from the 10 states spanning either side of  the U.S.-Mexico border met annually in what was known as the Border Governors’ Conference. 

Mounting a conference involving 10 governors in two languages could be a daunting task. During my tenure as liaison for the state of New Mexico, there were sometimes petty discussions over protocol and semantics that would last for days. But there were also lighthearted and collegial moments. On one occasion in 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hosted the event in Burbank, California. We stayed up late one night editing the final draft of the Joint Declaration, knowing that we were expected to get up early to do a walkthrough of Universal Studios where the worktable breakout sessions would take place the following day.

In the morning, we all chugged down our coffees and tidied up the best we could after having slept only a few hours. The first stop was Stage 28 where Universal Studios still had the original set that was built for the 1925 film, “Phantom of the Opera,” and where the border security worktable was scheduled to meet — with a guest appearance by none other than Michael Chertoff, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.  

The delegation members were so groggy from the previous day’s marathon that they weren’t paying much attention to their surroundings.  Noticing how perfectly the set still preserved its grim and somber atmosphere, I couldn’t help but joke, “Well, at least Michael Chertoff will fit right in.”  Everybody (except for Chertoff’s advance team) had a good laugh and then we all went on with our day.

For decades, the conference ran efficiently with a relatively small number of worktables including agriculture, border crossings, economic development, education, environment, health and tourism. Whether the Joint Declaration that was signed each year had much substance or not is still debatable.  But what is undeniable, is the value of the network that existed between the government agencies that were part of this organization.

Both countries are clearly lacking from these relationships now, as tensions mount over which industries should be considered essential in Mexico’s maquiladora industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Washington D.C. and Mexico City, far removed from their industrial bases on the border, scramble to make critical life or death decisions.

Communication between the two countries wasn’t always this fraught. As early as 2005, the Border Governors’ Conference was discussing preparedness for a cross-border pandemic.

In 2009, there was an influenza outbreak that originated in central Mexico, known as the “swine flu,” or H1N1. The valuable networks forged through decades of cross-border conferences helped greatly as federal agencies from both countries oversaw the pandemic response, and state health departments all along the U.S.-Mexico border, exchanged valuable information that impacted public health, trade, and travel.

But sadly, by the following year, the conference was showing signs of dissension. Over the years, it had started  to turn into a costly extravaganza, with each border governor wanting to outdo the next, by adding new subjects of study to the agenda, growing the number of worktables from seven to 13 in five years.  The Great Recession, and shrinking state budgets, as well as growing political discord, further hastened its end. Mexican governors boycotted the 2010 meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, after Governor Jan Brewer supported the controversial SB 1070 immigration initiative. The following year, many of the U.S. governors refused to show, and after that the binational conference did not reconvene again.

I believe that if the Border Governors’ Conference existed now, there would be far less miscommunication between the two countries today. Rather than relying solely on protocols designed by either country’s national governments, located far away from the border, institutions like the Border Governor’s Conference allow border states to establish preparedness agreements unique to the region, which allow them to respond more nimbly  to disruptions that can potentially jeopardize the national security of both countries. 

Currently, Mexico is considering legislative reform regarding tax decentralization. This issue was always a topic of discussion at the Border Governors’ Conference, due to the Mexican border states never having enough tax revenues to match North American Development Bank funding for infrastructure projects. 

Hopefully, from the chaos of the pandemic, one or more of the border governors, will realize what’s been lost, and decide to resuscitate the annual conference. A new iteration of this important institution could come back as a stronger, leaner version of its former self, and as an organization that focused on developing practical policies, not only for the betterment of the entire region, but also for both nations.