Frontera NorteSur, September 1999

I have completed my first year editing Frontera NorteSur, and I must say that I find myself a fortunate woman. I am in a professional position (that is, I have a job) which is fulfilling, challenging, meaningful and musters a stress level that, for the most part, I can manage. I believe I have a far greater understanding not only of the U.S. México border as a vital, growing and internationally powerful region, but of the role that FNS has in bringing the news of this region from a bi-national perspective, to the rest of the world. I am proud of the advances this magazine has made in the last year, and I can only hope to continue bringing improvements to a periodical that prides itself in delivering the news of the largest border region in the world to your computer screen.

As sad as I was last month to say goodbye to FNS staff writer Natalia Sámano, I am happy this month to welcome Ruth Ramirez to our writing and translating staff. Ruth is a native of the border and the region, having grown up in both Cd. Juárez and Aztec, New Mexico. With this border perspective, along with her bilingual skills, she is a strong addition to our staff. Ramirez is a sophomore at NMSU, currently studying psychology, and as you can see from her first contributions this month, she has writing skills that will be an asset to FNS and to her future career as a family counselor.

Kent Paterson joins us again this month taking a look at the "food fight" raging on the border. The pros and cons of NAFTA continue to show themselves and food is one area, as Paterson points out, that the battle really hits home. This guest writer is re-locating to México, wanting in on the action of the upcoming presidential elections, (can you blame him?) so we may not hear much from him in the near future, but surely he'll write for FNS in upcoming months.

In fact, Paterson is looking for funding for a project that will take a look at health issues on the border. "Strengthening the Border Health Safety Net" will be a three way collaboration with KRWG (from New Mexico State University), FNS and the Border Health Office of the New Mexico Department of Health. The three groups will work to raise awareness of vital health care issues on the border and connect the listening public with available resources and health care providers in the Paso del Norte region. We'll fill you in as this project develops.

Health issues on the border took an interesting turn this month when FNS discovered that cervical cancer is a killer south of the border. A cancer that has been successfully managed in the U.S. is bringing suffering and death to thousands of woman each year in México. Annual pap smears have become a norm for adult women in the U.S., however this is not yet possible in México, and therefore a relatively curable condition is killing women daily. Not only was this fact alarming, but the fact that one source cited lesbian affairs as a potential risk factor for cervical cancer was astounding. This is an issue obviously needing much greater attention, and FNS will keep you posted as we look into this crucial health matter over the next few months.

We are happy to have the director of the Center for Latin American Studies, Dr. José Z. García, join our writing staff this issue with a two-month summary of security news in relation to the trafficking of illegal drugs. García plans to continue this bi-monthly summary for FNS, and we are proud to have his extensive background in border politics and security policy be utilized for the enhancement of our monthly features.

As he and I discussed his feature over the last few weeks, it occurred to me that the business, the BIG business of drug trafficking, is in fact a marketing miracle, at least according to what one might study in a typical U.S. university marketing class. The industry has no brand names, no logos, no jingles (unless you count the corridos), no air or television time, no full page ads in Sunday's paper, no tele-marketers calling into your home at dinner time, no unsolicited packet of coupons in the mailbox or newspaper, no movie star or major sports figure sponsor, no mascot, not anything of what we are used to from major competitive product markets, and still, still illegal drugs are a multi-billion dollar international, very successful business. Corporation. Industry. Institution?

Successful to the point that a major American corporation got involved as became evident with American Airlines and the bust of some 40 employees this past August.

Can the drug war be won? Is our Governor Gary Johnson right when he says it is a failure? Considering the strength of this un-marketed industry, including its alleged ownership of banks, hospitals, casinos, restaurants, ETC., all over the world, how many soldiers, officers, agents, guns, tanks, or stash house busts will it take to win this war?

Gary may be onto something, even if he has rattled the feathers of his fellow Republicans. Either way, it is always interesting to watch the battles and strategies of the drug war happening right here in our front yard, and it grows even more captivating as we approach an election year that will include presidents of both border countries, the U.S. and México. Let the games begin.

We are happy to announce that FNS is collaborating with the NMSU Women's Studies Program to bring a 2-day mini conference to Las Cruces. "Burials on the Border" will take place on October 1 and 2 and is designed to be a completely bi-national, bi-lingual event that will look at the issues surrounding the nearly 200 sexual murders of women in CD. Juárez over the last six years. This event has border region building as its heart, and the pain and suffering of far too many young women and their families as its soul. Mary Wolf, director of the Women's Studies Program, and I are enlightened and encouraged to see the interest and concern about these issues that has come our way because of this conference. Stay posted for updates and reports on this gathering of community members who want to take care of our border neighborhood and be good to our neighbors.

Another gathering is planned for September and October as the Center for Latin American Studies at NMSU celebrates its 20th anniversary. As information about this event is available, FNS will post it, but in the meantime, to find out more about this Center, just click on http://www.nmsu.edu/~clas

But another discovery was made in August by FNS, and that was the International Trauma Recovery Center, a remarkable non-profit that is making honorable headway in creating recovery centers for victims of trauma including domestic violence in Latin America. Kudos to such an organization and to find out more, go to http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/feat1.html or email us. We'd love to hear from you.

Finally, I am going on vacation for the first full week of September, so the Today News column will be less regular. However, when I return on September 13, we will return to daily postings.

Thanks again for clicking on. Please tell your friends, colleagues and other interested persons about this important site, and tell us what you think. If you've already e-mailed us, thanks so much, and if not, let us know what you like, and what you'd like to see frontera@nmsu.edu. We want to continue being the best online provider of border news, and your input will keep us there.

Best of everything, and as always, keep reading . . .

Anne Marie Mackler, Editor