MISSION, Texas - The Rio Grande River is the lifeblood of this region — more than 90% of our fresh water comes from it.
If there is no water in the Rio Grande River, where are we going to get it? How are our communities going to move forward?
This last year, our farmers put 30% less fruits and vegetables into the ground, not because they wanted to, but because they were forced to. For some farmers, this was the third year in a row this occurred. For some of them, it is the fourth year. That is the third season in a row they have had to tell customers, ‘I am sorry, I have nothing for you.’ It is the third year in a row they have had to go to their banks and creditors and say, ‘sorry, I am going to be short on my bills today.’ It is the third year in a row they have had to begin their season looking out on a field, deciding, ‘Do I plant and hope Mexico will deliver water, or do I stop? Do I stop this way of life? Do I stop farming? Do I stop what generations before me began? Do I stop being a Texas farmer and change?’
Not only are our farmers unable to grow a variety of crops, but they also cannot grow things like broccoli, cauliflower and celery. Not only are those water intensive, but you have to have water at very specific intervals, otherwise that crop does not make it. Instead, our farmers are not able to do the diverse mix that they normally can. That creates all kinds of problems. The biggest problem is when you have all these farmers planting the same two or three crops and that market goes down, the entire region goes down or suffers. For example, soybeans up in the Midwest and the impact that is having on that farming community. It is the same here for us. If we do not have the water, we cannot do the different crops that we want to do. And that impacts the entirety, especially the profitability of these organizations.
That is not right. That is not how it should be. We should have opportunities.
We need the citizens of the Rio Grande Valley to step up. That is why we need our citizens to go online and post these comments. It will take 5 minutes out of your day. But if all 1.5 million citizens of the Rio Grande Valley were to take those five minutes, it would send a clear message to all three countries just how important this is, just how much we depend on the Rio Grande. More importantly, it sends the message that we are done with this cycle. This cycle that for 80 years, as Congresswoman de la Cruz pointed out, has not worked. This cycle where the U.S. has given Mexico so many opportunities.
We have made amendments to the treaty to allow for lesser deliveries. We have given tens of millions of dollars to Mexico to build waterways. The U.S. even went to the NADBank to get tens of millions of dollars to help. Yet, decades later, here we are having the same conversation over and over again.
We have to tie the USMCA and the 1944 treaty together to make a difference. We have to do this moving forward or there is no forward. It is only backwards from here.
Please, hear this message. Citizens of the Rio Grande Valley and further afar, take the time, make the comments, help save our region, save our way of life, and save our path forward. Thank you so much for everything. We appreciate you guys being here. We appreciate you carrying that message.
