Next, from 18 to help texas book festival in austin, discussion went off there is Ricardo Ainslie and Alfredo Corchado on mexico. This is about 45 minutes. Good afternoon. Thank you for coming tonight. We are happy to be here at the texas book will. They asked me to tell everyone, please turn off cell phones to rejoin her of the conversations. With that, let me get dirty. I am shannon oneil. I work at the council on Foreign Relations very focused on next month america more broadly unedited and pleasure tonight at talking with two wonderful gentleman, who have written wonderful books are really impressive impressive books about mexico. The first one on my right is Ricardo Ainslie. His book is called the fight to save juarez. This book tells the story of the border city, which many of you know ive had the unfortunate tension in recent years of being not only the most violent place in mexico, but by some accounts the most spineless in the world. He tells the story of this descent into darkness of this border city through the eyes and through the stories of many people in morris, the mayor from 20,722,010. It is a newspaper photographer who patrols the streets and shows up at the house and the grandstands. It is the mistress of a midlevel cartel operator. And finally a human rights activist that is thrown in to those trying to make sense of it and protects the people inside for two people on the criminal side and also those who might be breaking the law from the government side. In this book, which is a highly readable book i recommend to all of you, he really brings out the complexity of the situation there. Particularly in a city that usually all you see are very broad and dimming brushstrokes. So this is ricardo spoke. The other book we are here to discuss tonight is called midnight mexico. The author is Alfredo Corchado. This is his own glory. This is more of a memoir. And it a story of a man who was born in durango, mexico, was in his childhood in the vegetable and fruit fields of california and who then as an adult and return to next a code of became a very respect even well known foreign correspondent. And in this role, he ended up at laney in his homeland, mexico, to a second homeland here in the United States is a longtime correspondent for the dallas morning news. It is 25 years, working as a reporter, he covers mexicos political opening. He covered his economic ups and downs. He covered the movement of people, the migration of people from mexico to the United States and what that meant on both sides of the order. He sells a covert increase in the mexicos drug war and a result of that final part of his portfolio, has received several Death Threats for his deep and investigative reporting for trying dedication to the story. This is such a compelling book totality of the movie rights have been bought. So i encourage you to buy it now and read it now before the movie comes out cu can compare which one you like better. So now im not, let me return to my two authors and turn aside within my purse will question before we get into the room needs in histories and stories in mexico. I will start with you, rico. Lets Start Talking about why you wrote the book, but particularly this book. Why did you write this book about juarez . Thank you, shannon. Im from mexico. Akin to the the United States when i was 17 years old. It has been just witnessing what is happening in mexico over the last decade or so has been really unsettling, deeply troubling. 10, 15 years ago, no one would have imagined that mexico would you living what its living today. And so that was really the hypnotist. It is sort of a heartfelt wish to sort of, part of these are really just on and what was going on in mexico because i think it is difficult to kind of cut through the headline to get a threedimensional picture of the reality of what taking place in communities, cities like juarez and cities on the border. I wanted to a nurse and what was taking place. I wanted to kind of make sense of it. In some way false notion some light on the aspects of this dory that include not only very dark aspects of human nature, but also include people who are really trying to do the right thing. I think it is easy, especially from the side of the border to sort of put a cost on everybody in mexico and be somehow either corrupted or colluding or not really involved in their communities in a constructive manner. Really thats not accurate. So partly my interest was to ask for a portrait of a city, where yes theres plenty plenty of evil taking place, but there are also good people trying to do good and for their community and for the nation. Said i was really the essence of it. Alfredo, why did you decide to write yours very . First of all, thank you for being here. I was at the texas book festival walking around. If ever write this book. I did get the time i would ever write this book. I had no idea how to write a book. I thought wouldnt it be great to be back someday. The thank you for being here. Its great to be at the texas book festival. I wrote this book because ive had a privileged progress he and the dallas news as a correspondent for them and watching some of the most Turbulent Times in mexicos 1910 revolution. I wasnt around for the revolution, but its in contemporary mexico very defining times. Last week we released a book in next code and someone jokingly said, you are probably the forrest gump of mexico. Its been the most important times, whether my father was a guest worker of the federal era where we left with the United States. Grew up in california. I shannon mentioned, my parents worked for the cesar chavez union. They have a choice when i worked for the wall street journal, either straight to find the vacation around a big event next to her was able to recover, and then the fox in 2000. Seven penguin contacted me, and they said wed like for you to write a book about mexico in the last 50 years. I thought of it as a journalistic narratives. But they really wanted much more of a personal narrative. It took a while for me to get comfortable with that area. I guess the last real big event was the return of the once powerful revolution that came back last year. So it all kind of came together watching mexico defendant mr. S. Because of the drug war and trying to figure out what happened to the hope that mexico, what happened we were supposed to go onto the first world. So in many ways, writing the book was therapy. Tried to explain to myself why my mothers adamantly opposed to me going back to mexico, returning to mexico. So is trying to understand both sides of the border and understand more than anything my home lan, what happened to mexico. If you read rico spoke on me will see that while it looks proudly at the hip. , and really focus is on 2007 to 2010. These are the years when the city is really unraveling with the violin. He talks about the event and the people trying to stop it at all different levels. But it ends in july 10. In fact, the last chapter of it in the epilogue of night is really the mayor has struggled with it and tried his top the violent. Him him literally getting in his car after stepping down and having across the border to el paso to the presumably the rest of his life. And unsettling now, question about whether the next mayor who has a much murkier history and somewhat say this aloud if not actively enable some of the bad thing. Him coming back as the mayor. So rico, i would be interested in finding out what happened in those three years. So do that. But in the time since the book left over the last three years, what has or hasnt happened . Very sick today the disgraced dr. Meredith . Well, first of all we need to think about the dimensions of the violent than juarez. You have over 11,000 People Killed in a city about the size of 1. 3 Million People or so. Thats a tremendous number of deaths. Say you have that as the epicenter of the drug were mexico. Youve got about 20 of the National Fatalities related to the drug war taking place in this one city. The Mexican Government has deployed about 20 of its forces to the city. So it was a testing ground for the Mexican Government strategy. The mayor of juarez really thought this and 2010 really leaves in the context in which they are still a tremendous amount of violence. Hes replaced by marquis, who had to the predecessor and mayor also. He just came in and then he won reelection and became mayor again. During the first 10 year, the man he had appointed number two for the Police Department, for the juarez is full Police Department was all accounts and close ties to the juarez cartel. In fact, with six months of leaving office, this number two man in the Police Department as the rest and not half so having attempted to bring the time of the erewhon across the river. So this gives you a sense for and he was appointed, so thats one of the telling point about mejia and his admin is to shoot perhaps. So we have another crisis taking place at the same time that this terrible eruption of violence. That is an economic crisis of enormous magnitude because 50 of the economy is disassembly plants produce for the u. S. Auto industry. So in 2008, 2009, 2010, we have an Auto Industry that these companies were on the verge of bankruptcy. In mexico this leads to catastrophic economic crises. You have 80,000 people lose their jobs in one year in 2010. So you have the violence and you have economic race is. In 2012, almost 800 people are killed in juarez and thats a huge drop. 800 people think its such a relief. At the same time, the question is would have been. What accounts for that . If you ask people in the juarez, actors et cetera seven years of this kind of unrelenting violence, or theres a tremendous amount of sin is some about authority, some people tell you is thats why we have a drop in the violence in this community. Other people will say look, 11,000 People Killed . The profile of the average big to miss 15 to 25yearold man. So if you fly spent many a night in their community, that they affect the care air. People say its a change in the economic. The uptake with the u. S. Economy picking up and so on. The one thing that is the top about, which is an important point is in 2010 the Mexican Government, with some foreign aid what about almost a quarter of a billion dollars in social infrastructure in a city that had been sony click did for so long. You know, many communities had no schools, no paved roads, no electricity. So i think thats another variable in the drop in the violence. Its probably some combination of all those elements. But the fact is juarez has seen the worst. Most people most places would be san antonio had 100 People Killed in 112. Thats a city with a lot of policy is rekeying and so on. That comes as a relief almost in tax revenues are a. Real estate markets area. Theres every indication the community is on a rebound. Saw those variables probably had a role in that. Alfredo, let me turn to you. If severus a microcosm microcosm, mexico at the has had big changes in the year since you finished your book. One of the biggest is that it has a new government. As you mention in your remarks, this is a party that ruled mexico for seven years, was finally kicked out in the late name eason 2000, but was elected in what everyone pretty much Everyone Needs for and Fair Elections but elected back into mexicos white house. So could you give us a sense of how u. S. And not fair, as someone who follows mexico, as the mexican and american reporter in your role, how do you see this first year . What has or hasnt happened . More than anything as a foreign correspondent, it has meant a real effort on the part of the new government to change the narrative, to change the storyline from just violence to other aspects of mexico, which is very fair. Mexico also has some very precise. Theres some regions like the central mexico, where you have one thing interesting. You see the types between texas and mexico. The number of times i talked to mexican mainstays who are somewhat linked to the labor market and say ill ask them. They say your grand parents, like your fathers, et cetera. They say yes, but more out of curiosity than necessity. That makes you think about the longterm immigration trend. Whether americans will someday miss mexicans. So in that sense, for the government to change the narrative, we should try to report other aspects of mexico. But it shouldnt mean one or the other. I dont see how you can change the storyline that 100,000 people died or disappeared in mexico. Thats still a very, very important story we must never forget. Its been trying to balance the two. Ricos point is a great point. Its quite emblematic of the rest of the country. In some ways it is. If we look at juarez today, if we see juarez, places like laredo, if we see them as patients, is the patients in remission, her estate recovery in . I would say it is still in remission. I mean, a lot of the same factors theres no better, whether its poverty, whether its inequality. Conviction rate is is still very low. Im gratingly optimistic things will continue to get better. I do agree that community has also changed. Civil society has. We see a much more, much more engaged civil society. People much more interested in trying to change their authorities for their competence. The role of social media has been incredibly important over the last two, three years. The other thing thats changed is the mexico relationship with the United States. The u. S. Mexico, interagency relationship. I think during the 12 years of the opposition, the National Action party was a much more closer ties between agent to agent. When they came back, there is a sense that maybe the american had come into the kitchen and they were not just helping with the food coming in now, if you want to take but they have essentially become the shots. So there is a way to politely tell them, thank you verse service. Thank you for your help, but its time for us to take over. Both sides are trying to find their footing. Let me pick up on that, especially the relationship with the United States. You are part of mexico, lived in mexico. You feel a close tie with it. Here in texas theres obviously much more back and forth. But if you are going to talk to americans for bradley. I grew up in ohio. I live in new york. What would you say to someone in ohio or new york or south dakota or other places . Whitest mexico matters so much . Why should they care about this country . Well, i think theres so many reasons why we need to care or need to because you topple about whats going on. First of all, the obvious as we shared 2000mile border. Secondly, most people inc. That china is the second leading trade partner for the United States. Actually, if you look at this in terms of who buys american products, mexico is the second most important trading partner, not china. Those are two reasons. Then you have the cultural reasons. Everybody knows that theres been a tremendous migration in the United States over the last couple of decades. And so you had these cultural and familial linkages. So theres all kinds of reasons why this is an important relationship and needs to be thought about. But also picking up on the point, i think in about a comment to current mexican ambassador to the united state said, made the statement in may i think. He was at the wilson center. He said in terms of the definition of the relationship between u. S. And mexico, he said in now, it is no longer our top priority to fight the war on drugs. And he said, we do not control all of the variables that are involved in that war. And i think that was really a very clear signal, basically saying here in the United States we have to deal with the role of our consumption in the problems of mexico is having. And if we dont do with that, it doesnt matter how many people you send to mexico to the overbought for us in the military, whoever you want. At the end of the day, this is not a lawenforcement problem. I think thats another reason why we should care. He has we are part of the relationship that is created this problem in the last this problem to endure and its not going to end until we deal with that fact. So when you are pitching your editorial board, why should the mexicos tory to you so well researched beyond the front page . The same question. Its not that difficult if you live in texas. We did have a bureau at 1. 12 people in a bureau. Were down to one. Im at the texas book festival here in aust, not in mexico city. But i challenge all of you to think of what other country impacts them on a daily basis and mexico. Whether its food, culture, music, bloodlines, politics. Sometimes when u. S. Mexican when youre talking to them, and they say i dont care why we are not that important to the United States. Is that we dont have a bomb but people in the middle east. I want to go back to being a journalist for a second. We also have one of the premier experts. Why should mexico matters much to the United States . Curious. I would say in researching and writing my book and looking very close yet the United States but then also mexico that their shows no other country that affects us as much on a daytoday basis. So from the food that is on our table to the parts in our cars, to the castling in our tanks come in to the consumers for a product coming to the drug center st. , mexico is part of our daily lives. Wherever you live in the United States. That is the reality to you may recognize in texas. Im not one that i hope with more and more people would realize that. I want to ask you one last question. I would open it all to you. Ill turn to you first. The reuse you this, not about the book is much, but more about you. How has writing this book how has it changed your . Thats really an excellent question, shannon. I think f