Frontera NorteSur December 1999/January 2000

It's been an interesting several weeks for Cd. Juárez as you may know from watching your television or reading your local paper. For the first time in a long time, you received border news from just about any major news source you wanted. Of course, the only news being presented was on the "narcofosas" and the combined efforts of security agents from both sides of the border, many donning black ski masks, to dig up suspected graves of drug trafficking victims.

Media from all over the world came to the border to watch the unearthing of several ranches on the outskirts of Cd. Juárez. Journalists waited with baited breath for another booted skeleton to be pulled from the "killing fields" which were expected to yield over a hundred bodies. But after three weeks, and eight bodies, the media went home, and the city and the border carry on.

In the short run all that publicity didn't do much for the city's image. Even a close friend said they wouldn't be Christmas shopping down in Juárez this year. But the mayor, governor and residents on both sides of the border never quit working to negate the bad rap the region had unfairly received. They rallied to let the world know that yes, they have a problem, and it's a big one, but NO the problem is not definitive. Cd. Juárez is much more than drug cartels, and narcofosas.

It may be worth noting that "narcofosas" can also be translated as "narco-sewers" which is wonderfully appropriate. But on a more metaphorical note, the newly coined term can also be translated as "narco-nostrils." Were I an editorial cartoonist, on this page you would see a drawing of a large nose, and cocaine would by flying up the American nostril, and dead bodies would be dripping out the Mexican nostril. Maybe it's a blessing I'm not an artist, and I can just let the metaphor speak for itself.

And in the long run, let us hope that news about the great things the city is accomplishing also managed to leak out, and maybe Cd. Juárez will be the recipient of positive growth, major investments and at least some compassionate and kind energy and prayers.

As you read this month's issue you will see that there are many things going quite well for the border city and region. Tourism is up, employment is stable, production is skyrocketing, new schools are being built, and security agencies are opening lines of communication. The border is going to receive a number of new crossings and bridges, the arts world is alive and well and binantional coalitions are strong and active. Fortunately, we're bringing you a bit of what CNN missed when they were here a couple of weeks ago solely to watch masked men dig up dead bodies.

Interesting that the suspected dead bodies of drug trafficking vicims brought the world here, however, two hundred bodies of dead women over the last six years didn't quite bring the media out in droves. Is this symbolic of a new "globalized" sensibility? The bodies of female victims of mass sexual murders is less interesting than the skeletons of eight or nine victims of one of the most violent businesses known? Or maybe just more frightening? It must also be noted that the very same ranches that are being dug up are in strikingly close proximity to the sites where numerous women's bodies have been found. All of these crimes may not be so disparate.

On a related note, Chihuahua's special investigator of crimes against women reported that homicides of women are down, only 22 this year compared to 42 last year. And fewer of the homicides are motivated by sexual violence. Although I know this is somehow good news, it doesn't feel quite right to tout it that way. Especially when I know that domestic violence in general on the border has been on a steady increase, and it's not stopping, and neither is the impunity that encourages it.

There are other unfortunate increases in Cd. Juárez. Drug addiction, especially among the youth, is increasing, teen suicides and pregnancy are increasing, obesity is on the increase, taxes may increase for foreign owned maquilas which could deter new investment. On an ironic note, security agenices increased protective forces for the busy holiday season, but the Governor increased the hours for selling and buying alchohol. The latter seems a bit contradictory considering that one of the main purposes of the Zero Tolerance plan was to control crime by controlling alcohol sales. Maybe government and security agencies need to open a few more lines of communication.

The border goes into the new millenium with a lot of baggage from what's soon to be called the "old century." But for all of the problems, social, political, environmental and more, that the border region and the the city of Juárez are carrying, there are none being ignored. If the government is not seeking and finding solutions, than civil society is working diligently toward that end, and civil society is definitely a binational, bilingual and bicultural effort. It takes two to tango, and believe me, the border is dancing as fast as it can.

Nonetheless, this region also goes into the millenium with the world watching, and maybe that will inspire investment, planning and prayers, maybe there will be less backdoor efforts towards stigmatizing and criminalizing the U.S. México border and more civil efforts towards promoting and enhancing the region.

Here on the home front, Frontera Norte Sur has had a good year, and thanks to all of our readers. We're receiving about 1,000 hits a month now; that's 1,000 e-mail addresses looking in, and that's about 940 more than we had a little over a year ago. Whether you're just stopping in, or a regular reader, drop us a line frontera@nmsu.edu We'd love to hear from you.

As you may know, this issue is a combined issue. Because of holiday scheduling and staff changes, we're publishing two six-week digests instead of three four-week digests over the holiday season. So we'll post again at the end of January, and then monthly for the remainder of the year.

Speaking of staff changes, we are quite pleased to welcome two new student writers. Both Lupita Minjares and Jim Herrera joined us in November. They bring reliability and dedication to the office, in addition to their language and writing skills, and we are glad to have them on board.

Kent Paterson has returned from his travels in México and contributed this month. As always we're glad to have him writing with us.

Also, Dr. Jose García has again shared his expertise with Frontera, and because of the intense drug war and security news on the border over the last few months, we are fortunate to have Dr. García providing perspective.

I am sad to see Tierra Cruzada, our poetry feature for the past several months, move into the archives. It was a wonderful visual and literary contribution, and I am forever grateful to Paige DeShong and all the artists for collaborating with us in presenting that great anthology on the internet.

But I am equally pleased to be showcasing two border poets in our new poetry feature. José Manuel García, a Spanish professor for New Mexico State University, and Gilberto Prado, a graduate student of Spanish Literature at New Mexico State. They have submitted recent manuscripts and we will be featuring translated excerpts over the next few months.

Happiest of holidays to all of you. May the new year bring you more blessings than woes, more wisdom than strife, and may you find success and creativity in all of your work.

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