EDINBURG, Texas - Former state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., is recommending the revival of the Good Neighbor Commission.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, the Good Neighbor Commission was established in 1943 as a state agency "to handle social, cultural, and economic problems of Mexican Americans in Texas and to strengthen political ties of Texas with Mexico and other Latin American nations.”
TSHA said the commission's origins are traceable in part to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fears that German sentiment was sweeping Latin America. The Good Neighbor Commission was placed on the state payroll in 1945.
“In 1977 the commission was reviewed under the Texas Sunset Act by the Sunset Advisory Commission and retained as a coordinating, planning, and advisory agency responsible for overseeing migrant problems, developing national and international cooperation, and supporting educational exchange programs with Mexico. During the following ten years the duties of the Good Neighbor Commission were gradually absorbed by other agencies, however, and budget cuts in 1987 resulted in its abolition.”
Speaking at the 6th Annual International Conference on Border Studies, Lucio made known his fondness of the the Good Neighbor Commission.
“Texas had a Good Neighbor Commissioner appointed by the governor, confirmed by the Senate, back in the day. And I can’t see why we can do that. And then Mexico can do the same thing. A Good Neighbor Commissioner to Texas, or to the United States, but in Texas. So we can work together and strengthen our countries and our state,” Lucio said.
The 6th Annual Conference on Border Studies was co-hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley and the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. The theme of the conference was “Transborderism: Reimagining Social Space.”
Speakers from 15 countries and more than 30 national and international academic institutions participated.
According to the organizers, the conference sought to “facilitate discussion and research that will positively impact the Rio Grande Valley community as well as migrants, asylum seekers and border communities around the world.”
A press advisory promoting the conference said: “The proximity of UTRGV to the U.S.-Mexico border is a special opportunity for scholars and researchers from around the globe to collaborate in a unique geographic region and present multidisciplinary research on the important and timely issues related to borders.”
Another recommendation Lucio made at the conference was for a top Valley institution to establish an office in Victoria, Tamaulipas, and, maybe, also in Matamoros and Reynosa.
“I would like to remind all of us that we had wonderful pioneers. One of them was Bill Summers, who was the president of the (Rio Grande) Valley Partnership. Bill took delegations to Victoria, Tampico, all over, Reynosa, Matamoros, all over the northern part of Mexico. He really wanted to make sure that we kept that connection. So we opened up an office in Victoria, Tamaulipas,” Lucio said.
“I think we need to go back to something like that. Have a presence in Mexico. Victoria, maybe Matamoros, maybe Reynosa, maybe all three and have someone from Mexico maybe man those offices so they can articulate to the masses there what we're trying to do as we try to promote and support the arts on the border, on both sides of the border.”
Lucio said such a move would “strengthen our ties with Mexico.”
Lucio said: “I love the fact that we could be known to be the capital of the arts right here in the Rio Grande Valley. Why not? I mean, we have what it takes to do that and we have the leadership that's in this room, and many who are not here, that can certainly provide for that type of leadership to take us in that direction.”
Lucio added: “I just wanted to remind us all that there have been some incredible people in the past, Bill Summers being one of them. And he took us to a higher level.”
Here are the remarks Lucio made at the 6th Annual International Conference on Border Studies:
