Martín Paredes

Having grown up in Mexico and spending time in other countries like the United States, among others, invariably the joke about Mexico would always center on the notion that we are nothing more than campesinos taking siestas under the nopal every day.

Mexico is much more than that and to help dispel some misconceptions about my country here are some facts to ponder. I’ve categorized them based on economy, technological innovation and global participation.

In October 2007 I was honored to serve in a panel discussion about technology on the border for the Biztech tradeshow.

Mr. Able Rodriguez of KINT TV was the moderator.

The panel consisted of:

Pablo Salcido who discussed the highlights of economic development technology initiatives in the Paso Del Norte region. Pablo Salcido is the Chief Operating Officer of The Paso Del Norte Group.

El Paso City manager, Joyce Wilson spoke about government leadership by example.

An e-El Paso Initiative Plan - Leveraging the Internet for a vibrant and economically prosperous borderplex was written in June 2001.

Abstract

El Paso and Cd. Juárez currently sit on the crossroads of economic prosperity in the gold rush of the 21st century. The Internet has a created a mechanism whereby the borderplex can become the next “Silicon Valley” of the world’s e-commerce rush. With the inherent infrastructure in labor and resources the border region offers, the establishment of e-commerce development and implementation will benefit the region for decades to come. By implementing this initiative as a team, both El Paso and Cd. Juárez would lead the way to global e-trading.

This white paper presents a preliminary concept of how the communities can leverage the Internet as a tool for economic prosperity of the border region, specifically El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México.