Mexican industry, maquiladora leaders ask Environmental Commission to keep commercial traffic at Bridge of the Americas

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Chihuahua / EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Mexican National Association of Importers and Exporters (ANIERM) sent a letter/complaint to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to oppose the removal of commercial cargo crossings from the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA).

The CEC is a trinational organization working in the United States, Mexico, and Canada to protect the environment across all three countries. It was created to coordinate efforts under the environmental provisions of the USMCA trade agreement.

State delegate Marcelo Vázquez argues that moving around 190,000 trucks that cross through BOTA each year could simply shift environmental hazards and pollution to other areas in the region, including communities near the Ysleta-Zaragoza bridge in El Paso's Lower Valley.

Here is the full letter sent to the CEC:

ABC-7 also spoke with Familias Unidas del Chamizal, a local nonprofit fighting for years to have the BOTA commercial crossing removed, to hear their thoughts on the claims made south of the border.

One community organizer said the letter was a moot point because the industry on the Mexican side has never followed its obligations, and bringing up the 'La Paz' agreement is a double standard.

"The Bridge of the Americas is out of compliance; it was never built for the maquiladoras industry, and it was never designed to carry such heavy commercial trucks," said Cemelli De Aztlán. "The 'Puente Libre,' the Bridge of the Americas, was granted through the Treaty of Chamizal, and it's the only free port of entry along the US-Mexico border from San Diego to Brownsville because it's for the people, not for the 'maquiladoras' or 'transportistas' to cross for free."

"We have been fighting for generations to get these commercial trucks off the bridge," De Aztlán added. "They should never have been here in the first place, and they have worn out the 'puente libre,' it needs renovation with the $700 million federal funding coming now."

ANIERM claims the U.S. violated a binational environmental agreement, the 'La Paz' Treaty, signed in 1983 by then-presidents Ronald Reagan of the U.S. and Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado of Mexico. This treaty says that any change affecting the environment within 100 kilometers of the border must be properly communicated and analyzed by both governments. In this case, ANIERM says the U.S. did not provide any analysis of how closing the commercial crossing at BOTA might impact Mexico.

"By them, co-opting the narrative to continue to use the only free port of entry on the US-Mexico border is because it's the share of transnational billionaires, Fortune 500 billionaires who still want to make a dime off of our dollar and off our backs at the expense of our health." "It’s not right, it’s not just, and it's about time that it stops. That’s why we are asking State Senator Blanco and our city reps to support this investment wholeheartedly because it’s coming from the people and it's long overdue."

Familias Unidas del Chamizal also told ABC-7 that they never wanted all commercial traffic to go through the Ysleta-Zaragoza POE. Instead, they prefer that all semi-trucks be directed to the Marcelino Serna POE in Tornillo, Texas.

"It (Tornillo POE) was built specifically to handle this heavy truck traffic; they've never used it, and they need to start using it now," De Aztlán said. "The 'Puente Libre' is a safety hazard, was never built for trucks, and it has always been free for the people."

"We want cooperation on both sides of the border to get the trucks out," said community organizer Celia Aguilar from Familias Unidas del Chamizal. "We know these trucks create problems and hearing that there is concern now on the Mexican side shows that they recognize these trucks are causing environmental and health issues."

"We’re not trying to shift the problem elsewhere; we want the trucks out of urban areas. We want them sent to Tornillo because, ultimately, this is a health crisis that must be addressed," Aguilar added.

"We are trying to prevent the closure of BOTA to cargo traffic, and at ANIERM we have not given up; we continue to seek all resources available to prevent the cargo crossing from closing at BOTA," said Marcelo Vázquez, the state delegate in Chihuahua for ANIERM.