Schlanger: Lyn, we have a question from someone who was just recently with you in Saltillo [Mexico].

LaRouche: Oh yes, yes, yes!

Question: Hi, Lyn.

LaRouche: Hi, what'd you do? What've you done recently?

Question: Well, I've tried to communicate the idea, that Americans really don't understand the painful poverty ...

LaRouche: I know.

Question: ... that exists around the world. And I just first want to say, this historic return that you had to Mexico, was incredible: To actually have the privilege to witness the respect that you have, Lyn. There are a lot of good Senators, some good professors, a lot of good students, who know your ideas, and thanked us for  our presence in Mexico. And actually, the persistence and the dedication that you have had throughout the years, you were not  absent from Mexico for 20 years.

LaRouche: [laughing] I know! They just tried to keep me out of there physically, then.

Question: Only physically.

The one thing I wanted to talk about, was, after you left, I actually went into an economics class, there at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, and the whole class had been at your presentation. This was a postgraduate class, and two of the girls there were writing dissertations on the maquiladoras. And they were defending the debt, the idea of the maquiladora, because this area is very poverty-stricken. What I want you to talk about is, the idea that the war, the battle--that this fight needs to be won from within the United States.

At one point, one of the students brought in a 20 kilo sack of rice, and a 10 kilo sack of beans, and threw it on the floor, and said, “This is what maquiladoras get for us, in a week. You take the maquiladoras out of Mexico, we won't even have this.”

After this much time, of being treated like cattle, these people are responding viciously to any kind of change. And, if you could just talk about how necessary this fight, that we are leading--here, in this room--is, to these people; and how this is going to be the only way to outflank this, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks, Lyn.

LaRouche: Okay. This is a fun thing, to conclude my part in this, today. I think it's fun: You know, when I was there, and actually I discussed with various people, in Mexico, this question of what's happening on both sides of the border. And, my conception, of course, on the two sides of the border, is a little  bit unique; because, most people would agree--intelligent people,  who know things--would agree that, what we need in Mexico right now, in northern Mexico, particularly, is: From the [Rio] Bravo, south to [Turquoia?], to Mexico City, we need a high-speed, efficient trunk line, for freight and passenger rail. This would be a revolution, in terms of the actual efficiency of the economy of Mexico, down to Mexico City. Because our objective is to begin  to move some of the population out of Mexico City, into development areas in other parts of Mexico; because Mexico City is overcrowded, and there are no facilities there to make it habitable to the people, at present.

So, what we also need, from the Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, at  least to the Bay of Southern California--as to Sonora; we need  another cross-Mexico, efficient, passenger/freight line.

We need a similar thing on the northern side of the Rio Bravo, in California, for example. The states of the Great American Desert, because you have this thing about the two Sierra Madre, which fork out at that point, and north is the Great American Desert, which begins, actually, where we were in Mexico.

So, then we have a big water problem. In the whole area, we also have a big energy problem: Integrated energy production and distribution, to deliver electric power, at the price needed, to every part of the population, in different tensions needed.

So, you have water management, which goes from the Arctic all the way down; you have water that comes up, along the coastal lines, on the Pacific Coast; freshwater coming from the water-rich area of the Southern Mexico, into water-poor areas in the North, like Sonora; and along the Gulf Coast, the same thing, into places like Monterrey, and then across. So, if you get water going in there, it's so precious, that a little bit of pumping, if you have the power, it's not going to be a great impediment to development.

Congruent Policies for U.S., Mexico

So there, you could take the whole area of Mexico, which is neglected, undeveloped, and you can actually begin to increase the productivity of the country, very quickly, once you get these things in motion.

On the northern side of the border, we have the same thing: We have a crisis, an energy crisis, in California and elsewhere. Which means you need very rapid installation of a powerful, integrated, and strictly regulated, generation and distribution systems. You have a water crisis, which is hitting California and elsewhere. This has to be addressed. Again: infrastructure. Transportation: We have to save the transportation system of the United States, which is falling apart. Again. We also have needs, like health care and educational needs--both sides.

So therefore, we have complementary needs, on both sides of the border. We have 5 million, approximately, Mexicans, inside the United States, many of whom are losing their jobs. We have a savage cut in the export capabilities, export markets, for the maquiladoras, in high-concentration areas like electronics and automobile parts.

So therefore, it's necessary to get very rapidly developed, the internal economy of Northern Mexico, as well as the United States. The needs are somewhat complementary, because it's a border area. And, at the same time, you have to preserve the integrity of Mexico, because people would like to take the northern part of Mexico, and dump it together with the United States, and throw away the southern part of Mexico. No good. So therefore, the infrastructure system must go to Mexico City, so the capital of Mexico maintains its integrity, in respect to all the regions of Mexico.

So that's what needs to be done. This is our need on our side of the border, and it's complemented by what is needed on the Mexico side of the border--particularly because of the role of the Mexican labor in producing so much of what comes into the United States; and the role of Mexican labor inside the United States, who are Mexican nations. They're not U.S. citizens; they're Mexican nationals. And this is a very important part of our labor force.

So therefore, these problems are common area problems, between two different nations--respectively sovereign nation- states--with a longer route for cooperation, in which much of the primary cooperation will come from the border states, on both sides; because that's the shortest route, that's where the immediate cooperation comes.

But, this has to be backed by Federal protection, on the side of the United States, and in Mexico. So, you need Federal assistance, under which the states can do their part of the job in Mexico, and in the United States.

So, we have a complementary problem--different, but complementary: That the policies we require, in California, and the policies we require in Coahuila, are congruent. It's the same attitude, is required, to a different situation, with a different specific solution. But the form, the principle, approach to the solution, is the same. And therefore, there is the best way to develop the cross-border social relationship--is by people with different language, but with a common type of problem, and the need for common types of solutions. And, on that basis, obviously, this can be enhanced by cross-border cooperation, politically and otherwise--particularly, water management projects and things of that sort.

You have, for example, you have, now, this crazy business about the agreement on the Rio Bravo water (which is the Rio Grande, to you in the United States). Texas is claiming that it has the right to get water from the Mexico, to pay for the part of the sharing of the water, which is used by Mexican farms--so, this is obviously impossible. So, obviously, we have to deal with problems of this type, and with the right mentality, we'll come up with the right solution.

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