By Dr. Jose Garcia, professor of Government, New Mexico State University
During August controversies over gambling were well covered in the news both in New Mexico and Cd. Juarez. In New Mexico the central issue remains the legal status of gaming on Indian reservations after compacts were signed last year between Pueblo and Mescalero Apache tribes and the governor of the state. Earlier in the year U.S. attorney for New Mexico, John Kelly declared that the compacts--meant to normalize gambling relations between the State of New Mexico and the tribes--were invalid, since they had not been approved by the state legislature. Indian tribes, however, continued to operate gambling casinos, a development legalized in July when District Judge Martha Vasquez ruled the casinos could continue to operate temporarily.
Indian gambling in the U.S. is complicated by the juridical status of Indian reservations, which essentially are islands within states, subject only to federal, but not state, laws. Tribes within reservations are free to create their own governments, and the relations between tribal and state governments in the United States are still evolving. The Governor of New Mexico had signed compacts with some Indian tribes within the state hoping to improve relations with the tribes and to levy a tax on the casinos' business for the benefit of the state. Among the controversies raised by Indian gaming in New Mexico, in addition to those posed by the challenges they present to state-tribal relations, are (1) the negative effects apparently felt by the horse-racing industry, controlled closely by state government, which has suffered a significant drop in revenues since the advent of Indian gaming a few years ago; (2) the effect of Indian gaming on total gross receipt taxes for consumer goods and the tourist industry in areas near casinos; (3) possible adverse effects of gambling as addictive behavior, especially for indigent or lower-income populations; (4) possible difficulties in establishing effective controls over money generated in casinos.
In El Paso the Tigua Indian tribe operates a casino on Indian land at Ysleta, and for severa lmonths rumors in Cd. Juarez have circulated about the potential for establishing gambling ther eas a revenue-generating industry. On August 8, 1996 an article in Diario de Juarez written by F . Medina and B. Vazquez, announced that a group of investors from Mississippi, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mexico had presented a proposal to the leaders of the Cd. Juarez National Chamber of Commerce, stating they would be willing to make a minimum investment of $200 million (US) per casino. Accompanied by gaming commissioners from Las Vegas and Mississippi and US banking representatives, they indicated they believed Cd. Juarez would be an ideal site to pioneer casino gambling, should the Mexican federal government approve the establishment of gambling, which is now prohibited but under serious consideration. They added they believed the Pronaf would be the favored site for locating the casinos.
This announcement provoked a strong reaction from Bishop Emeritus Manuel Talamás C., who condemned the negative effects of gambling. According to Norte, Talamás said, "we forget that to create jobs for one hundred persons we are going to affect thousands, and then have to face (more) liquor consumption, drug addiction, and prostitution." He added that at Ysleta (in El Paso) each person leaves 20 or 30 dollars and only one wins."
In addition, there was a negative response from Servando Sarabia, executive director of the Association of Maquilas of Juarez, who suggested this type of business is often run by mafias who use casinos to launder dirty money. Asked by Norte about financial benefits to be derived from gambling, Sarabia stated that when the greyhound racing track was opened, citizens were promised that it would generate a new school each year. "I want to know just where those schools are that were derived from those earnings...We categorically reject the project to open casinos in the city and we have let state government know our feelings."
At a forum organized on August 22 by Estudios Economica S.C., other business leaders spoke out against gambling as well. Miguel Angel Calderon, from Canacintra, declared that "we've seen this type of business here, from 1908 to 1934, and it turned us into the capital of vice, a nest or organized crime, and, in the end, into Sodom and Gomorrah City." At the same meeting Enrique Fernandez, of Coparmex, said, "Casinos are not businesses, but rather a black hole, an organized form of social plunder."
Evardo Medina, of Camara Nacional Industria y Comercial (CNIC), said, "casinos are not the solution to the nation's problems. We are worried; they should be zoned; if they are going to come they should come with the whole package; they should bring their own infrastructure. They should build their own bridge." Nora Yu, of Canaco, was the only one at the meeting who spoke out clearly in favor of gambling, although she expressed the opinion they should be located outside the city, not in hotels and restaurants, that there be a special tax for the city and state, and that strong regulations should be placed on all activities.
Clearly the prospect of gambling in Juarez has become controversial. At the national level, gaming in Mexico is being promoted by the Department of Tourism, the committee on tourism in the legislature, and other agencies. After a meeting in Huatulco in August of 1995, public and private sector representatives there concluded that gambling would increase tourism, create jobs, and generate foreign exchange, although it would increase the danger of money laundering. PAN federal deputy Rodolfo Elizondo Torres, who has chaired studies of gambling as part of his responsibilities on the Tourism Committee of the House of Deputies, visited Cd. Juarez in late August and explained that, according to current Mexican law which dates to 1948, the Ministry of Government (Gobernacion) is given the authority to regulate, authorize, and control gaming in Mexico. "Authorization to begin gaming may be given at any time without consulting the Legislative branch of government," he said. He added that he believed the legislature should act so as to end the total discretion of the executive branch insofar as gaming is concerned. Gambling in Mexico ceased in 1934, on the direct orders of President Lazaro Cardenas, and did not resume even after President Miguel Aleman promulgated the Federal Law of Gaming and Lotteries in 1948.
Cd. Juarez is one of seven cities the Department of Tourism is considering for inclusion
in the projected operation of casinos. The others are Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo, Acapulco,
Cancun, Puerto
Vallarta, and Los Cabos.
Diario de Juarez contacted Conrad Granito, manager of the Ysleta Gaming Palace of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who stated that most of his clients are local and there have been no problems with the casino, which employs 700 persons. Likewise, Bod Presti, manager of the Santa Ana, New Mexico casino, said he thought gaming could help the economy of Juarez.
Sources: Norte, Diario de Juarez, Albuquerque Journal