The Future Of U S Mexico Relations

The editors of this collection of sixteen articles argue the relationship between the United States and Mexico is at its most tenuous in recent memory. Each article explores the future of US-Mexico relations, focusing on relevant topics such as trade, water, drugs, health, immigration, environmental issues and security. Employing a strategic foresight methodology, the authors use past trends and identify pivotal drivers to predict, based on indicators, at least three possible outcomes for the next few decades: a baseline or continuity scenario, an optimistic version and a pessimistic one. They also articulate the implications each forecast has for both nations. Most chapters are co-written by a scholar from the United States and another from Mexico. While acknowledging it is impossible to predict the future, they nonetheless describe what could occur. Ultimately, the authors of the articles in this fascinating volume make recommendations to achieve a peaceful, integrated and prosperous North America that will drive the world economy. The book is required reading for anyone interested in the binational relationship and the well-being of citizens in both countries.

The future of U.S.-Mexico relations : hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, May 20, 2014.

Five freshly decapitated human heads are thrown onto a crowded dance floor in western Mexico. A Mexican drug cartel dismembers the body of a rival and then stitches his face onto a soccer ball. These are the sorts of grisly tales that dominate the media, infiltrate movies and TV shows, and ultimately shape Americans' perception of Mexico as a dangerous and scary place, overrun by brutal drug lords. Without a doubt, the drug war is real. In the last six years, over 60,000 people have been murdered in narco-related crimes. But, there is far more to Mexico's story than this gruesome narrative would suggest. While thugs have been grabbing the headlines, Mexico has undergone an unprecedented and under-publicized political, economic, and social transformation. In her groundbreaking book, Two Nations Indivisible, Shannon K. O'Neil argues that the United States is making a grave mistake by focusing on the politics of antagonism toward Mexico. Rather, we should wake up to the revolution of prosperity now unfolding there. The news that isn't being reported is that, over the last decade, Mexico has become a real democracy, providing its citizens a greater voice and opportunities to succeed on their own side of the border. Armed with higher levels of education, upwardly-mobile men and women have been working their way out of poverty, building the largest, most stable middle class in Mexico's history. This is the Mexico Americans need to get to know. Now more than ever, the two countries are indivisible. It is past time for the U.S. to forge a new relationship with its southern neighbor. Because in no uncertain terms, our future depends on it.

The Bilateral Commission on the Future of United States-Mexican Relations is a group of private citizens who have been working over the last two years to reassess long-term patterns of change and continuity and to make recommendations for private leaders and public authorities in both countries. This report offers an insight into the issues and challenges facing this commission, as well as their recommendations. The report is organized around five of the most important issues that will face the two countries through the rest of this century and for each, the fundamental trends are identified and realistic opportunities for bilateral cooperation are assessed. Contents: include: The Nature of the Relationship; Economics: Debt, Trade, and Investment; The Process of Migration; The Problem of Drugs; Foreign Policy and Inter-State Relations; and Education for New Understanding.

Relations between the United States of America and the United States of Mexico have always been ambivalent at the best of times. This holds true today. On the one hand Mexico is the United States single most important supplier of imported oil. On the other hand human trafficking, illegal immigration, and drug and weapon smuggling create significant tensions - on both sides of the border. Law enforcement agencies and armed forces of both nations work closely together, both in training and in the conduct of real-world counternarcotics operations. Washington remains the most vital source of technical assistance and equipment for Mexico's security agencies. Yet despite this partnership and support, some analysts in the United States despair at the apparent inability to suppress the Mexican crime syndicates. These cartels, with the aid of mercenaries recruited straight out of Mexico's most elite military units, are beginning to gain control over entire towns and regions. Terms such as "Lebanonization" or impending "Failed State" are making the rounds in academic circles and on television talk shows alike. Here, nine policy experts specializing on Mexican security affairs and US-Mexican cooperation discuss the state and future of US-Mexican partnership. The nine essays were originally presented as expert testimony before Congress in May and June 2013.