Policy. We need to encourage more u. S. Cities and mexican city partnerships to allow us to facilitate that trade discussed earlier. Earlier in 2011, 2013, las cruces named the champion of change because we were able to show why in the southwest weve been able to increase profit and personnel in a tough and challenging time. During that time, we listened to many officials to me upon the best ration and the president said he wanted to increase trade with mexico. But that type of mandate and this type of forum, youll see more and more trade with mexico. I appreciate you all coming out today. We eagerly listen i want to hear questions you want to ask. But im going to end and turn it to my friend and colleague from mexico. [applause] our final guest speaker comes from the other side of the border with mexico in his name is eduardo olmos. He represents the city on the other side of texas, sort of the southwestern part of texas i guess, just the americans trying to visualize where it is. He beats an Industrial City in the border state a corrective and it did appear. Threatened by organized crime and continues to be attractive to business. It is also a federal congressman deeply invested immigration Security Issues. He spent time in the United States for school and were lucky he will it trespass in english today. Please welcome, mr. Mayor. Thank you for coming up. [applause] thank you very much. I hope my english is not to be understood. I want to thank for the end education and acknowledge alan bersin and all of their mayors that is spoken. The reason why was that eager to participate in this event of the 21st Century Initiative and i agree on a very delicate subject the subject of security for Regional Security because they think there is a wealth of intelligence and information coming from the city governments for two years against drugs and drug cartels. Knowing that there is another stage in the initiative, which is going to do the State Government and not the government in this new phase of the initiative they think is necessary that the American People, the federal government in mexico and the United States in which we have a lot of hope in the government of mr. Pena nieto and the government of mr. Obama, that they can listen other voices on a very delicate subject to security. What are we doing, local governments facing challenges that sometimes go out of our hands and anyway we have to deal with them. There is no doubt that the main concern, for instance, in my city in northeast mexico is a border state with taxes. Too often, cities have borders with the rio, texas that we also have my city on the southeast part of the state and its a strategic location. My city the city of 670,000 people. Its a big city. The metropolitan area sharing the space which has two cities, our neighbors in another city, which is my city. There is no doubt that the main concern of the people in the border areas on the mexican side is the demand for safety and the demand for security. This demand is being heard louder and louder than the demands for employment and secret services, which is what we mayors do. When i was listening of course for job creation, economic development. But i mexico, its becoming also one of the major necessities, which was than in the past, but is now. The fact that a Strategic Security knowledge and something, which in the past, we never had to do it, which we Security Issues, which would strategy, which was this alliance that needs to be built at the federal government, Drug Enforcement agencies, now becomes a necessity. I think that there are models that can work and can contribute from the municipal perspective, local government perspective against local crime. Of course weve had majors would like to be focusing the majority of our time in the strategy of job creation and interaction in the creation of infrastructure. But in some cases can the Security Issues are taking about 80 of the time and the with a necessity to strategies to deal with Security Issues and at the same time, also to joes job investment, education and the creation of infrastructure is. I was talking to you about local models that can work and given the opportunity, local Police Forces can be a powerful ally of federal forces of the army and Drug Enforcement agencies in these efforts. In my experience, and conflicted area, one person agencies, local one person agencies should not be left alone. They become the most Strategic Asset because of the knowledge and the composition courses have. Local Police Forces are not partners with the federal police, with the state police, with the state forces, inside the conflicted areas pretend to be forced to be an ally of the organized crime given the lack of equipment and the lack of training of the local actors. It is important to create and to implement a policy, which deals with local Police Forces and this is why i agree to the metropolitan area that they say and that is around 1. 2 million. My city about 670,000. For cities, two seats divided by a dry riverbed, which my mom, for instance its just 10 or 15 minutes from where i live. We have firmed 2000 to 2006, we had around 30 pilot does per year. This is from 2000 to 2006. The security issue with the fight between the cartels have started and during the strategic position of my city, my city is in the middle if you are coming from the Pacific Ocean with a new highway being built, it would have to pass in either you can go up to the north or go to monterey and the radio, which is also a very strategic area. In 2000 2006, 30 are that desperate year. In 2012, we have 761 violent deaths per year. In january, at the 16th of january, we have 28 finally deaths. When i became mayor, when i first put my election, and mexico the term is usually three years. My state is the only state that lasts for years. We decided we needed to change the model and made that a partnership and assign the retired general to become chief of police. A couple of months into the new administration, we had the police force, Police Officers didnt want to work with the general. And of course we were wondering if it had to do some with low wages for the betterment of the working conditions. The strike was orchestrated and they didnt want to work under a military chief. We have to take a very tough decision because there was something totally out of our hands. What we did is we decided to fire and to disappear the Police Officer department. Of course after they heard i had taken the decision to disappear, they decided to go back to work and we justify one condition. You can go back to work if you do three things. Number one. Number two coming take a polygraph and number three can be said that due to an economic investigation and see the way they live. According to what they are. Of the 800, 400 isnt going to do the protesters were left with 400. Of those 400, 200 didnt pass a polygraph and 199 didnt pass the chart test. We were left with one policewoman who is the only one that passed all the tests. So thats almost a level of what were dealing with. So all of a sudden, we were left with the police force. Crime lowers. You see the local truck cartels were using the police. They were the police. At that time, we created a partnership with the army. The only one that started taking decisions was the army. We started loading a new force. First of the Police Officer and we have to of course to raise the wages. And right now, even by u. S. Standards, then mexican standard , averagely wellpaid makes about 9000 pesos per month and we started a Housing Project does though. Who ever wanted be a policeman, we would give them a house in in 10 years he would get the title of the house. You were given a house of their family, but after 10 years of service, well give you the title so it will be yours so you dont have any complaints. Anyway, we created a new model and from being a police on from the cartels that working for the cartels start fighting back. We had very sad experience is because in one year we had around 25 policeman fallen in this war and most of them are soldiers. Most of them used to be in the army and they were using that level in order to assign them as a police source. In a year, we have 600 Police Officers tested with polygraphs was social and economic ties. During the year and a half we went to the police force we originally had and it has become an asset being used by the army by the federal police. We share intelligence to chart the words made by the local police, something that almost never happen in other local governments. Here we are doing it can be found out Strategic Value. The Strategic Value in the local police source. There is a lot of ms. Truss in the different agencies of course. But what i can tell you right now is that we have the region has for cities. Right now there is no police in three of the citys because all the police have been taken away in order to be examined. The only one that believed in this model and we believe there are people that have a lot they believe we can half a site that can be back into tranquility. This is all people ask you. So we still have to still have to move on the economic side. Of course, we need to fix our problems in order to attract investment. We need to also get the message that all these found incidents have only been 97 having to do with people emerged in the drug issue. We have a very large American Community that has not been affect the diet. We have large investments that have not been affected, but its an issue that we are dealing from the local give, we are today this issue and we are partnered with the federal government. We are partnered with the army. We are partnered with governor moraine s. , state police said making big advances. There is still an increase and i think the only way they can do with this effectively for your criminal or needed and we start sharing intelligent resources come equipped and, communications, given a standard. Measures in the past and talk about security and perhaps we were taught to say that security was a perception, not a reality. This perhaps seven years ago. Not anywhere. Right now, whoever wants to be a major has to have a very clear point of view on how to deal with the different Security Models that need to be applied on the side of the border. I impressed because they see the mayors have a background security local Police Forces. I think this is what we are trying to do in a city that is medium to big sites. I think there is a debate, im sure very intense debate in the United States commit dealing with gun control and im sure we will be watching it very, very closely from our side of the border and our perspective. It is impossible to do with organized crime. When weapons, with organized crime has rocket launchers or grenade launchers, it is impossible in which you have to do was to build on the weaponry. This is not what the local police are equipped for were prepared for. So its something that needs to be discussed on our side of the border in our country and i am sure that we will be watching it very closely. I want to thank you for letting me share this experience. I think theres a lot of hope in training, education and infrastructure, investment, business of course this is what we want. My city is the biggest producer of refined over and the world. Mexicos biggest producer also in the country. We have very strong businesses. We have very big American Business case. I think we need to protect those investments being made to protect her childhood in citizen and that strategy can only become within the coordination of the three levels of government on the mexican side and a binational effort on the american and mexican side. If we can speak the same language, if we can stop trusting each other, i think we can make the right advances that we can reflect on our people and we can get back to business as you said, as soon as possible. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. I was a remarkable presentation. We will move to the q a section of the program. I want the three mayors to turn on their might. You got it there . Okay. The questions from u. S. , please identify yourself and there will be a cspan might corroborate the front of your face. Please dont grab it. It will do its job. You would like to start . Here we go. Ill ask this question. Jeffrey watson from watson company. We heard earlier that summer presentation of a respectful businessman from mexico. He was pushing something i guess strongly about that is going on for as long as the last war we fought in particularly on our side. How much do you think that decriminalization of marijuana, for example what effect was happening with the negative side of the border. The question is about decriminalization if youd like to jump in. I have problems having spent 30 years in Law Enforcement. I do have a problem with that and i think i was discussed in mexico in the last session of congress and it didnt really get anywhere. I think they know what the consequences are but the drug abuse. It seemed to me, decriminalizing drugs, [inaudible] thats my personal opinion. The information ive seen, although you hear these arguments about decriminalizing, on the other hand these to more and more different drugs and i think is not the right direction we would like to take. I think mexico does not have the infrastructure to deal with the jocks. In order for that to happen, you would have medical attention and infrastructure that needs to deal with the people addicted to drugs and the effects that create. I think, from my cave, my very own dave to deal not a clear socially was such a big step. There are some who believe and it may believe that what create it would stop the violence. I dont think you will do it. Not from my death. The country has the backdrop to do with addictions. Next question. We also can take comments. Mayor curt. Mayor john cook from el paso. From the panel, how important is it to present reform in his state of the city redress . Its extremely important. As i mentioned the opening, and, it has to be opened up and placed on track to not Everybody Knows in the United States of america, everybody today named, they have to know at the time has come to address the very serious issue and also tell the real story and the positive impact we have. We know that when you talk about billions of dollars being generated, hardworking people, people willing to do any type of job to support families, people want to work hard to support their case said they become engineers, scientists, this is the time. I think it has to be perhaps carved in a positive way, saying this is the right thing. Its absolutely important for president obama. Its the right time to make those comments. Mayor, occasionally a nice, good policy and good politics come together in the right time and thats exactly whats going on with Immigration Reform. Its been a very Public Policy for a long time. Now the politics seem to be coming at the rate on that. It is imperative that the president of the United States make a clear case for a comprehensive approach them a clear case that he needs to be done now, no delays. I hope and pray in the republican response thereafter his speech, they make the case for comprehensive Immigration Reform needs to be done and done now. Most of the members know a bipartisan way that its time in the American People demand it and its time to get the job done. If i could decide something. The mandate is very clear. Latinas stateoftheart integral part in the election and people went out to though. Any other additional comments . I would agree with the comments that have been made. But i also would ask congress and the president not necessarily to take this into consideration. The people i discussed this with are not 100 looking for americans to cinch it. They just want to work in the United States. They love their country. They do not necessarily want to become u. S. Citizen, that they want to work in the United States and that needs to be on the table. Respectfully [inaudible] yes, sir. I am with dhl and we do a lot of work crossborder movements and i appreciate your movements have not a alan bersin who understands firsthand how cross the border can be a challenge. One statement in a question. Theres probably three areas of industry moving goods across the border for attention. Once infrastructure and its land border, seaports and airports. Anywhere theres an opportunity to move goods rapidly across. The secondary is for their success in circulation on either side of the border. The u. S. Has a de minimis standard of 200 for low value goods to that as quickly without all the customs and fees apply. Mexico is 50. The u. S. Is considering raising theirs to fight hunger. New mexico can raise theirs. We can take away transaction cost he was talking about for low value goods so we can move across borders easily. The third is trying to find ways in which the two sides can find harmonization and other program with the security of cargo in goods entrusted traders. The question is, a lot of that at the federal level, but the infrastructure is being driven into the ditch at the end of the day that what you see at the poorest. Youre facing tight budgets. How can you really prioritize a van border projects, bridges, roads, airports to say this is not just a priority at the local community, the growing the business that we want on both sides of the border. Haida remake transportation infrastructure will priority along the border . Thank you for your business. We want