Fronteras No Más: Toward Social Justice at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Fronteras No Mas examines the range of officials, non-government organizations, networks and remaining organizational vacuums that span the U.S. - Mexico border. Since NAFTA, more binational institutions and policies have emerged around the environment, business, and the labor force. This 'institutional shroud' facilitates the growth of civil society, yet cross-border organizing remains a challenging and complex version of local politics. Residents live and work within a region of vast economic inequalities and markedly different governments. The authors offer a civic blueprint on ways to enhance cooperation, given the almost certain future of increased interdependence in this North American space. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Toward Social Justice at the U.S.-Mexico Border....Pages 1-18 Collaboration at Borders: The Two Faces of Personalism....Pages 19-38 Political Institutions, NGOs, and Accountability in the Borderlands....Pages 39-66 Institutional Shrouds: National Sovereignty and Environmental NGOs....Pages 67-105 Cross-Border Trade: An Institutional Model for Labor Unions and NGOs?....Pages 107-132 Human Rights and Human Wrongs....Pages 133-165 Conclusions: Toward Social Justice in the North American Community....Pages 167-175 Back Matter....Pages 177-204 Treats the U.S.-Mexico border as an opportune space in which residents can potentially address their common interests in a clean environment with better wages and in respect for human rights Many eyes now focus on the U.S.-Mexico Border, once a frontier conceptualized as being at the margins of national political life.