Wood: For the first time in more than five years, I am extraordinarily optimistic.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - When renowned Mexico expert Duncan Wood last came to the Rio Grande Valley to speak about that country’s economy and its governance he was not optimistic. It was in January, 2020, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had just started his second year in office. Wood spoke at the McAllen Performing Arts Center at an event hosted by IBC Bank and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. He said he was concerned about AMLO reneging on much-heralded energy reforms that were facilitating large foreign investments into Mexico.Fast forward three and a half years and Wood, senior advisor to the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC., is now much more bullish. “If we can get the federal government in Mexico to work not just with the U.S. government, but with Mexican northern states to make sure that they have not just the energy they need, the infrastructure they need, the human capital they need, and if we can have that conversation in a cross-border way, the future is extremely bright,” Wood said. “Not just for Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, but, in fact, for Texas, for Brownsville, for McAllen. All the way along the border we will see opportunities exploding. So for the first time in, I would say, more than five years. I am extraordinarily optimistic. “I’m optimistic about Mexico. I'm optimistic about the United States. I'm optimistic about Texas. I'm actually optimistic about geopolitics, even though it is a highly complicated time. How far we've come in just a couple of years blows my mind on a daily basis.”Wood made those remarks during a speech about near-shoring and re-shoring that was hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and held at Texas Southmost College.Here are his remarks in full.For the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service website.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.