ARIZONA & MEXICO

with the City of San Luis Incubator to promote economic development in San Luis and San Luis Rio
Colorado, with the City of Calexico to create a business incubator, 14 and with the Universidad Autónoma
de Baja California (UABC) to explore participation in activities at their incubator. Please see a list of
agencies in the appendix.
The stakeholders in the region continue to seek and participate in collaborative agreements and
partnerships for purposes of economic development, workforce readiness, and solving cross-border
issues. These ongoing efforts will have a significant impact on improving the quality of life in the border
communities of Arizona and Mexico in the desert Southwest.
Mexico’s Historic Opening Spells Opportunity for Arizona
Andrés Martinez, Editorial Director of Zócalo Public Square, and
Special Advisor to the President, Arizona State University
Adrian Wooldridge, a London-based columnist at The Economist, mentioned to me recently that after spending a week in
Mexico talking to business and government leaders, he concluded that Mexico is the world’s last true believer in
globalization. Adrian’s stark comment stuck with me as an apt description of how much my native country has changed
in the past two decades, and the continuing opportunity it represents for Arizona.
I grew up in a closed Mexico hermetically sealed off from the outside world, a one-party state wedded to an importsubstitution
economic model and a hyper-nationalist political outlook. In those days, even taking an American candy bar
across the border – to say nothing of electronic appliances or other household items – amounted to a high-wire
smuggling act.
Now Mexico boasts 44 free trade agreements, more than any other country in the world, and those agreements benefit
not only Mexican-owned exporters but U.S.-based manufacturers located in Mexico seeking access to the European Union
and other markets. Mexico has also opened up key sectors, such as energy and telecom, to foreign investment.
Mexico’s commitment to an open engagement with its northern neighbor and the broader global economy remains
unshaken despite the recession of the past decade, as an ever-expanding middle class has embraced the notion that
Mexico shares its destiny with its northern neighbor. We often take it for granted, but this strong consensus within Mexico
for more economic and cultural openness, and the striking lack of anti-Americanism in Mexican public discourse, is a
relatively recent development – one that augurs well for a future of shared North American prosperity.
14
http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/local/northern-arizona-university-yuma-calexico-discuss-possible-mou/article_
a6505226-c3ea-11e5-8ed3-8f63d0eb0fdc.html
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Steenstra is a Professor of Finance and Economics and Chair of the Department of Business and Administration, Northern
Arizona University.
Co-authors:
Rosalicia Cordova is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Administration, Department of Business and Administration, Northern
Arizona University.
Rakesh Pangasa is the Director of the NAU Yuma Business Innovation Accelerator and an Assistant Clinical Professor of
Management, Department of Business and Administration, Northern Arizona University.
Jeremy Spencer is a Lecturer of Management, Department of Business and Administration, Northern Arizona University.
APRIL 2016 • ARIZONA TOWN HALL • ARIZONA & MEXICO • 78