MCALLEN, Texas - The former editor and publisher of El Periódico USA has launched a new binational Spanish language media project called Debate X Media, LLC.

The plan, says Jose Luis B. Garza, is to highlight the potential and accomplishments of the Hispanic population in the Rio Grande Valley and become a binational news agency.

“We have to project the importance of this region because it's totally different to other regions in the country,” Garza said.

In an in-depth audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Garza spoke about his time at El Periódico USA, the growth of Hispanic-owned news media publications, and his plans for Debate X.

El Periódico USA is a newspaper published in McAllen that initiated in 1986, focusing on the South Texas community.

Jose Luis Garza worked at El Periódico USA, initially as an advisor and worked his way up the media company.

“They gave me a lot of satisfaction, experiences and big opportunities to understand how the Spanish media works in this country,” Garza said. “Initially around the 90s, the Hispanic population, Hispanic marketing, Hispanic publications, were not so important. But after that, soon we were growing in the country.”

Garza said the growth of Hispanic publications allowed him to participate with the National Association of Hispanic Publications, an advocacy organization for Spanish language publications. He said he was vice president of the organization and national president in 2013.

Garza was born in Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, Mexico and said many people from his birthplace are now living in the Rio Grande Valley. He was previously chairman of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s International Committee.

After leaving El Periodico USA, Garza said he founded Debate X, an agency for expanding Hispanic news coverage. He said his company strives to give advice to other newspapers and he has the support of his family and friends on the project. He said he chose the name of the news agency, Debate X, because it translates the same in both English and Spanish.

Garza will be working on the project with Luis Cantu, former vice president for international business and community development for McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

“We are reporting, we are doing work on both sides of the world,” Garza said. “This is a national project.”

Garza said he founded Debate X after leaving El Periodico USA because his company strives to give advice to other expanding news companies in the form of a news agency. He said he met with about 15 congressmen at the end of April in Washington D.C., and spoke with the communications team at the White House. Garza said Congress was receptive to Debate X’s plans to play an active role in aiding the Hispanic newspaper community.

“We need to let the rest of the country, the rest of Texas, Mexico, know who we are, what we are doing, and the potential of this area,” Garza said. “This is an extraordinary area, we have problems like any other ones, but we have extraordinary opportunities here.”

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WESLACO, TEXAS - A spokesperson for MHP Salud says no staff member has lost their job because of federal funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator Program.

Heather Morgan is vice president of communications and business development for MHP Salud. She oversees brand development and management, reputation, communications, and positioning. In an email to the Rio Grande Guardian, she did confirm that the Weslaco-based non-profit has been informed of federal funding cuts to the Navigator program.

“MHP Salud has a long-standing history in the RGV. We provide multiple services to the community to provide families and individuals with health education, child health and developmental support, health insurance education and application assistance, and much more,” said Heather Morgan, vice president of communications and business development for MHP Salud.

“Our programming array includes Parents as Teachers, Familias Saludables, Silver Connections, Connecting Kids to Coverage, and the Navigator program.”

Morgan continued: “While MHP Salud has received notice that funding for the Navigator program will be reduced, we will receive funding to continue serving the RGV through the Navigator program, as well as our other programs.”

Morgan added: “Moreover, while the funding reduction will impact staffing, final decisions have not yet been made, and no one was informed that August 31 will be their last day of employment.”

Morgan wrote to the Guardian following comments made by Moises Arjona, collective impact director for Unidos Contra la Diabetes. During a webinar hosted by Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force, and in a subsequent interview with the Guardian, Arjona spoke about the impact of federal funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act.

Morgan said Arjona does not work for MHP Salud and does not speak for the nonprofit.

Asked if he would like to respond, Arjona said: “What I shared (at the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar) was that from the community health workers who are employed at MHP Salud, those who reached out and provided me with information regarding funding and who were looking for open job positions.”

Arjona continued: “We value MHP Salud as a partner in the community and they do great work, but as they have stated in their email, funding is being reduced and that will affect the work that is being done in the community.”

Arjona added: “MHP Salud is a provider for the Affordable Care Act and many of our folks in the community depend on MHP Salud to continue to help them navigate the Market Place during open enrollment. Our population is not tech savvy and needs help, especially during open enrollment.”

Here is part of an interview Arjona gave the Guardian.

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EDINBURG, Texas - The director of Hidalgo County’s Community Service Agency (CSA) says Rotarians from across South Texas were shocked when he told them the extent of the cuts his agency is facing, should Congress adopt President Trump’s budget proposals.

Jaime R. Longoria met recently with Rotarians from across the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, and the Coastal Bend.

Specifically, Longoria spoke about cuts to the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a utility assistance program designed to assist low-income households in meeting their immediate energy needs.

Longoria said that in President Trump’s budget, $8 million that comes to Hidalgo County for LIHEAP “would disappear.” He said: “That's $8 million to assist about 8,000 families across Hidalgo County afford utilities.”

Longoria continued: “Now, those 8,000 families, I know we like to villainize… I spoke at a meeting of the Rotarians across South Texas, and I mentioned, we like to villainize the vulnerables, that, well, these are people that maybe don't want to work. These are people that are of another country.

“But in reality, about 45 percent of those 8,000 are people over the age of 60. About 30 percent of those families, those individuals that come to us are children under the age of 18. So that's 75 percent of our population that is either elderly or are under the age of 18.

“So, these stereotypes that we have of who we're helping, who CSA is helping, it does not hold a lot of water. I know that the Rotarians were shocked when they heard those numbers. And these are Rotarians from Corpus Christi, Victoria, and Brownsville to Laredo, all of the Rio Grande Valley. They were shocked.

“And I said, you know, don't believe the narrative. These are actual people. I can show you the numbers. That $8 million would go away.”

Longoria made his comments in a webinar hosted by Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. The webinar comprised officials from numerous nonprofits who stand to lose funding under the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Longoria said that while this bill includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, his agency had to remain focused on President Trump’s “skinny” budget.

“What our program is really concerned about is the proposed zeroing out of the Community Services Block Grant, the zeroing out of LIHEAP, which is our utility assistance program, and the zeroing out of our AmeriCorps program.”

Longoria said the President's “skinny” budget is different from the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“All of our programs are zeroed out. So, what does that mean, financially? That's $2 million in CSBG funding. So that is the disaster funding that I talked about in Commissioners Court today, which helped us respond to the flood, which helps us respond to fires, domestic violence on a daily basis, which helped us respond during COVID so quickly, to put people in shelter and buy food for people in shelter. That $2 million would be gone.”

Longoria said the CSBG funding has been in place since 1980, and its forerunner has been in place since 1968.

“So, that money has been in place for 60 years to help address poverty the way Hidalgo County sees fit.”

He said Cameron County would lose a little over a million dollars in CSBG funding, while Starr County would lose about $700,000.

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of the remarks Longoria made during the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The director of research for the Bespoke Group says that as the world becomes less unipolar, the United States is going to have to work much more closely with Mexico.

Jacob, L. Shapiro holds a master’s degree with distinction from Oxford University and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. He was guest speaker via a video link at an international relations forum hosted by the Mexican Consulate’s Office in Brownsville.

Held at the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization, the forum was titled, “Brainstorming Dialogue: Navigating the New Era of US-Mexico Trade in the RGV Border.”

“If we think about the US-Mexico relationship from just a very apolitical, cold-hearted geopolitical perspective, this is a relationship in which both sides need each other. The United States very much needs Mexico, and Mexico needs the United States,” Shapiro said.

“And I think the thing that has changed, really, in the last five to ten years, in which will continue to change, I think, in Mexico's favor, is that… for much of the last century plus the United States has had most, if not all, of the leverage. And Mexico has not had the leverage.”

Shapiro says he always references a quote attributed to former Mexico President Porfirio Diaz: "Poor Mexico - So Far from God, So Close to the United States."

Shapiro predicts Mexico’s leverage with the United States will only increase.

“As the world becomes less unipolar, where the US is not the dominant power in the world, where the US cannot simply say what it wants to happen and have those things happen, it's going to need a greater emphasis on local and regional supply chains, on local alliances and on local trade normalization.”

Dr. Judith Arrieta Mungia Mexico’s consul in Brownsville, moderated the forum. At the conclusion of Shapiro’s remarks, Arrieta applauded enthusiastically.

Here is an audio recording of Shapiro’s remarks in full.

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WESLACO, Texas - Unidos Contra la Diabetes’ collective impact director, Moises Arjona, Jr., has discussed the Rio Grande Valley’s health clinic concerns after recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Arjona gave an update during a recent Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar on Tuesday.

Unidos Contra la Diabetes is a collective impact initiative working to prevent and reduce and type two diabetes in the Valley by 10 percent by 2030. The initiative works with clinic and nonprofit health care centers such as Family Clinic, El Milagro, Proyecto Juan Diego and other clinics in the area.

In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Arjona said he is worried about a decline in the number of patients that come to health fairs hosted by Unidos Contra la Diabetes.

The initiative’s health fairs include a series of community health clinic partners that also provide educational services. RGV Food Bank provides food and vegetables for the event. The health fairs typically receive an attendance of 300 people but according to Arjona Jr. their last health fair, March 26, “barely had 100 people.”

“Ever since the current administration started talking about ICE raids, our population is fearful and does not feel comfortable going out,”Arjona said. “We have to also understand that we have mixed-status families in our community, so maybe grandma, who might be undocumented, is the one that is the babysitter or drives the kids and drops them off at school.”

Arjona said the initiative has been told by partners there has been an increase of patients wanting to do doctor’s sessions over the phone. Patients are also asking for more prolonged prescriptions for their refills, and an overall absence in patients at the clinics, Arjona said.

“It is going to be an impact for emergency rooms and urgent care, which then causes them to spend more money on health care, because it could have been prevented,” Arjona said. “It is going to be a ripple effect for us, and it is kind of scary.”

Here is an audio recording of Arjona's remarks during the Prosperity Task Force's webinar.

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.

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MISSION, Texas - Mission Economic Development Corporation CEO Teclo Garcia gave the opening remarks at a Commercial & Investment Tour event before moderating a panel discussion.

The event was held at the Center for Education & Economic Development and co-hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership.

In his opening remarks, Garcia spoke about the growth of his city, both in population terms and industrial, commercial, and residential development. Here are his remarks.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Dr. Mostafa Malki is a professor at UT-Rio Grande Valley and executive director for business development at America’s Additive Foundry Center for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Cyber Systems. He is also the founder of Aaron Economic Consulting.

Malki was a panelist for a discussion titled “Additive Manufacturing and Industrial Reshoring in the RGV.” The discussion, held at the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization, part of RGV StartUp Week.

During his remarks, Malki acknowledged he might offend some people when speaking about the importance of manufacturing over retail.

“Science technology, engineering and mathematics are what create wealth. All the others industries, although important, are not self-sustaining without a very strong industrial base,” Malki said.

“So I understand, and maybe I'm going to offend some people but I'll go ahead and say it. One of the largest employers or industries in the Valley are the school districts. How we fund schools, education, is through property taxes. So somebody has to pay those taxes to be able to have quality education. That somebody has to be manufacturing.”

Malki elaborated on his thought:

“It has to be industries, because they are the one generating value. I don't want to give a lecture on economics, but I'll give you a very short explanation. When you manufacture something, most of the stuff that you manufacture is not going to be sold and consumed locally, it will be exported. So you export the value that you have produced and bring back cash that allows activity in that economy. It allows for a thriving entertainment industry, real estate, schools and so on.”

Malki then contrasted retail with manufacturing.

“I don't want to pick on retail,” he said, explaining that much of the profit created from retail activity leaves the region.

“Only manufacturing does that because it brings money in and takes products out. Other areas (such as retail), they take money out, and that's what you're trying to avoid. So you're bleeding the region in that sense.”

Malki said, economic development officials “cannot just say no, we're not going to do retail, because we still need retail.” But, he said, “we should not really focus on retail.”

Malki continued: “We need to focus on manufacturing and industry, whether it's advanced or traditional manufacturing, because that's what creates wealth in the community. You look at Chicago, you look at L.A., there are very strong manufacturing bases there and that's the reason why they are considered successful, big, thriving communities. It’s because there is wealth being generated there.”

In other parts of his remarks, Malki spoke about additive manufacturing and how the Valley could learn a lot from studying the success of Sweden.

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of everything Dr. Malki said on the Additive Manufacturing and Industrial Reshoring in the RGV panel.

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PHARR, TEXAS - Victor Perez, president of Pharr Economic Development Corporation, has welcomed COMCE to the city.

COMCE stands for Consejo Empresarial Mexicano de Comercio Exterior, Inversión y Tecnología (Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology). It is a non-profit organization representing the Mexican private sector in international affairs, particularly focusing on promoting foreign trade, investment, and technology.

COMCE Nacional has announced a new satellite office in Pharr at the Pharr Global Business Hub. Its leaders did so during a two-day tour of the Pharr area. The trip included a visit to the Pharr International Bridge and the Mexican Consulate’s Office in McAllen, along with meetings with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and UT-Rio Grande Valley.

“We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with COMCE National a couple of months back. And when we sign an MOU we want to make sure that we follow up. We want to make sure that we continue the collaboration, we continue the communications with those entities or organizations that we have signed an MOU with,” Perez told Ron Whitlock Reports.

“So, today, we're officially designating the Pharr Global Business Hub as a headquarters of COMCE National in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Asked why the MOU is important, Perez said: “Because the Pharr Global Business Park is a key component, a commercial gateway into the US market, into the Texas market.”

Perez said he expects other foreign entities to sign MOUs with Pharr EDC in order to make use of the Pharr Global Business Hub.

“The word is getting around, on both sides of the border, that Pharr is the place to be,” Perez said.

“We are moving forward rapidly. And with the new bridge coming in, we expect more business, more trade, and more investors.”

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