MEXICO CITY — A delegation from the Maricopa Association of Governments will visit Mexico City this week to meet newly elected officials from Mexico. The group will include mayors and vice mayors from the Maricopa County area.
“This is the first time that MAG or Maricopa Association of Governments does a trip to Mexico City, and we are doing this by using partners at a state level,” said Susana Martinez, regional economic development specialist for the Maricopa Association of Governments and coordinator of the trip.
Martinez says MAG already has strong ties with neighboring state Sonora, but the trip to Mexico’s capital will help extend that bond to the rest of the country.
“One of the main objectives is to stimulate — or to continue to stimulate — economic development with our top trading partner,” said Martinez.
Sessions in Mexico City will include meetings and conferences on cross-border business tactics and the development of key commerce corridors connecting Arizona and Mexico — a mission that, according to Martinez, will not be affected by President Trump’s recent decision to declare an emergency to secure funds for a border wall.
Martinez says the trip will help strengthen bonds between Maricopa County and Mexico, leaving behind tensions brought in the past by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s policies and SB 1070.
“Well, I think it goes to show that times have changed, and our willingness to meet our counterparts in Mexico City, and to continue to build that relationship with Mexico as a whole,” said Martinez.
The delegation will arrive late Wednesday and return on Friday, expecting to meet with Mexican public officials from the new administration, mainly to discuss trade.
