San Antonio Express-News (Texas)
July 10, 2004, Saturday , METRO
SECTION: BUSINESS EXPRESS; Pg. 10H
LENGTH: 1720 words
HEADLINE: COVER STORY ; Crime problem ; As Mexico grapples with kidnappings, many businesspeople are seeking refuge north of the border.
BYLINE: Analisa Nazareno
BODY: After hiring private investigators, paying a ransom and retrieving a loved one safely from kidnappers after a three-week ordeal, Dr. Julio de la Fuente decided to move his family from Mexico City to San Antonio four years ago.
"Essentially, the reason we have moved to San Antonio is because of the insecurity at home," the dentist and father of three said. "You can be easily kidnapped, assaulted or raped. It's not uncommon."
De la Fuente won't talk about the details of his relative's kidnapping. But he will say that the local police were no help, so he and his family had to take their safety into their own hands.
"We immediately began considering a move to San Antonio," he said. "As far as Mexico City is concerned, we just don't feel secure anymore."
Some say five, others say 10 years ago, a trickle of well-to-do Mexican nationals started arriving at the San Antonio airport not as tourists, but as refugees of sorts. Dozens - others say hundreds - have come seeking safety from what is a degenerating crime situation in some large Mexican cities, particularly the largest, Mexico City.
That concern over public safety was recently manifested in a quarter million-person march through Mexico City, in which the affluent marched alongside the poor protesting crime, suspected police corruption and the complacency of politicians.
This concern also has manifested in a sort of cultural, intellectual and a small economic boon for San Antonio, which because of its proximity to Mexico, direct flights to Mexico City, and historical and cultural ties to Mexico, has been attractive to Mexicans of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
"Someone once said San Antonio is the most Mexican of all U.S. cities, and that's a good trait and quality," said Blake Hastings, executive director of Free Trade Alliance San Antonio, which promotes international trade activity in San Antonio. "The more Mexican nationals that set up residence here, the more they add to that bilingual, bicultural atmosphere."
While Hastings said there was no way of counting how many Mexican nationals own homes, keep apartments, live, work or invest here in San Antonio, he knew of many who have done so because of their safety concerns.
"In many cases, these are couples with children and they're concerned about the welfare of their children," he said. "We've also seen some companies, some empresarios and entrepreneurs that would like to move to the San Antonio area for similar concerns.
"I wouldn't say that it's a tidal wave trend. It's not a flood of business, but there is definitely a significant number of people who are doing that."
San Antonio is attractive to Mexican nationals because of the presence of a "Mexican society," said Javier Smith, president of the Asociacion de Empresarios Mexicanos, or Mexican Businessmen's Association.
"Houston is attractive for some families, but it's not as big a draw as San Antonio," said Smith, who moved to San Antonio in 1991 to set up JPB Intertrade, a company that specializes in selling technical and computer equipment to Mexican companies. "San Antonio is to Mexico like Miami is to the Cubans."
Smith said the families he's met who have moved to the city for safety concerns typically retain their ties to their home countries. The patriarchs keep their families safely in San Antonio while they continue to conduct business over the workweek in Mexico.
Some, like the de la Fuente family, make plans to stay. Others leave after four or five years.
"When you have the means, you go to Queretaro (a city three hours north or Mexico City), or if you have more money, you come here," Smith said. "You have to have contacts when you come because there are no jobs in San Antonio. If you are a peasant, you can't find anything. If you are an executive or a Ph.D., you won't easily find a job. You have to create a job or make your money in Mexico."
Which is why, Smith said, many return to their home countries. And when they return, they do so with safety in mind.
The San Antonio Express-News owns the copyright to this story. For a full copy of this story, e-mail Analisa and she will send you a clip via e-mail or snail mail.
July 10, 2004, Saturday , METRO
SECTION: BUSINESS EXPRESS; Pg. 10H
LENGTH: 1720 words
HEADLINE: COVER STORY ; Crime problem ; As Mexico grapples with kidnappings, many businesspeople are seeking refuge north of the border.
BYLINE: Analisa Nazareno
BODY: After hiring private investigators, paying a ransom and retrieving a loved one safely from kidnappers after a three-week ordeal, Dr. Julio de la Fuente decided to move his family from Mexico City to San Antonio four years ago.
"Essentially, the reason we have moved to San Antonio is because of the insecurity at home," the dentist and father of three said. "You can be easily kidnapped, assaulted or raped. It's not uncommon."
De la Fuente won't talk about the details of his relative's kidnapping. But he will say that the local police were no help, so he and his family had to take their safety into their own hands.
"We immediately began considering a move to San Antonio," he said. "As far as Mexico City is concerned, we just don't feel secure anymore."
Some say five, others say 10 years ago, a trickle of well-to-do Mexican nationals started arriving at the San Antonio airport not as tourists, but as refugees of sorts. Dozens - others say hundreds - have come seeking safety from what is a degenerating crime situation in some large Mexican cities, particularly the largest, Mexico City.
That concern over public safety was recently manifested in a quarter million-person march through Mexico City, in which the affluent marched alongside the poor protesting crime, suspected police corruption and the complacency of politicians.
This concern also has manifested in a sort of cultural, intellectual and a small economic boon for San Antonio, which because of its proximity to Mexico, direct flights to Mexico City, and historical and cultural ties to Mexico, has been attractive to Mexicans of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
"Someone once said San Antonio is the most Mexican of all U.S. cities, and that's a good trait and quality," said Blake Hastings, executive director of Free Trade Alliance San Antonio, which promotes international trade activity in San Antonio. "The more Mexican nationals that set up residence here, the more they add to that bilingual, bicultural atmosphere."
While Hastings said there was no way of counting how many Mexican nationals own homes, keep apartments, live, work or invest here in San Antonio, he knew of many who have done so because of their safety concerns.
"In many cases, these are couples with children and they're concerned about the welfare of their children," he said. "We've also seen some companies, some empresarios and entrepreneurs that would like to move to the San Antonio area for similar concerns.
"I wouldn't say that it's a tidal wave trend. It's not a flood of business, but there is definitely a significant number of people who are doing that."
San Antonio is attractive to Mexican nationals because of the presence of a "Mexican society," said Javier Smith, president of the Asociacion de Empresarios Mexicanos, or Mexican Businessmen's Association.
"Houston is attractive for some families, but it's not as big a draw as San Antonio," said Smith, who moved to San Antonio in 1991 to set up JPB Intertrade, a company that specializes in selling technical and computer equipment to Mexican companies. "San Antonio is to Mexico like Miami is to the Cubans."
Smith said the families he's met who have moved to the city for safety concerns typically retain their ties to their home countries. The patriarchs keep their families safely in San Antonio while they continue to conduct business over the workweek in Mexico.
Some, like the de la Fuente family, make plans to stay. Others leave after four or five years.
"When you have the means, you go to Queretaro (a city three hours north or Mexico City), or if you have more money, you come here," Smith said. "You have to have contacts when you come because there are no jobs in San Antonio. If you are a peasant, you can't find anything. If you are an executive or a Ph.D., you won't easily find a job. You have to create a job or make your money in Mexico."
Which is why, Smith said, many return to their home countries. And when they return, they do so with safety in mind.
The San Antonio Express-News owns the copyright to this story. For a full copy of this story, e-mail Analisa and she will send you a clip via e-mail or snail mail.
