Closing the barn door after the horses are out is not a good strategy to combat the spread of this century's first pandemic scare - the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak. That's the analogy President Barack Obama used during his first 100 days in office press conference to answer a question on whether or not to close the U.S./ Mexican border. Sometimes in the midst of a crisis there's a tendency for governments to overreact. Closing international borders in our current state of emergency would be an overreaction.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are various strategies that can be used to help mitigate a pandemic flu outbreak. So far, both the U.S. and Mexico have resorted to social-distancing to help control the spread of the disease by restricting or preventing access to facilities where people gather. In the U.S., the social-distancing strategy has been limited to school closures whereas in Mexico City practically the whole city was shut down. Only in extreme cases is total isolation or quarantine considered.
Still, there are those, including some members of Congress, who insist the only solution to stop the spread of the H1N1 virus here in the U.S. is to close the border with Mexico.
Their argument and justification to do so, however, is 20 years too late. With the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the globalization of the world economy, closing borders is self defeating - the economies of Canada, the United States and Mexico are too intertwined and dependent on each other.
In the late 1990s, I traveled to "La Huesteca," the tropical mountain region west of the coast along the Gulf of Mexico, for the wedding of a cousin.
One of my uncles was thrilled to be returning to the region after being away for more than 25 years. As a young man, he had begun his teaching career there in a remote school house in the mountainous jungle.
My uncle was looking forward to showing me the town where he had taught and the lifestyles and culture of the indigenous Indians. He shared with me, "The men hand-make their sandals "juaraches" from leather and discarded tires. The women braid their hair with bright colored yarn and wear colorful embroidered designs on white cotton dresses."
My uncle and I traveled together, and when we arrived at the village, he was disheartened. The men weren't wearing "Juaraches"; they were wearing U.S. name brand tennis-shoes and T-shirts. The women, too, had abandoned their traditional clothing for modern attire purchased at discount priced chain stores.
Since that time, trade between the countries has increased. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, between 1993 and 2007, U.S. exports to Mexico has increased 228 percent to $137 billion in 2007 and imports from Mexico increased by 444 percent to $210 billion. Trilateral trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico in 2007 totaled $945 billion USD which translates to $2.6 billion in trade each day. Here in California, Mexico continues to be our number one export market accounting for 15 percent of all of our exports.
But, aside from goods that move between the borders, there are also millions of workers and tourists that cross the border everyday. All along the Mexican border, there are factories - "Maquiladoras" - that take imported raw materials from the U.S. and other nations and produce goods for export around the world. Some of the goods that are produced in Mexico are essential to our healthcare industry.
In an article by Carlos del Rio, M.D., chairman of the global health department at the Rollins School of Public Health, he states, "In the event of a serious flu outbreak in this country (U.S.) there would be a need for mechanical ventilator deployments to hospitals. The national stockpile has sufficient ventilators, but the necessary circuits that are needed to operate them are not produced in the United States but in Mexico, so having them come across to this country is critical for taking care of critically ill patients in the United States." Free trade and the global economy have forever changed the interdependency of nations.
The day after the wedding in "La Huesteca" at the mercado (open market) I found some beautiful hair clips that looked hand-crafted by the local Indians. I thought they would be great gifts for my daughters. However, when I turned one over it read, "Hecho en China" - made in China. I showed it my uncle, and he just shook his head. The barn door opened a long time and won't easily close.
Mario Banuelos has lived in Morgan Hill for 19 years. He has served on the south County Dayworker Committee and is a member of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation. He is married and has four children.
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