HOUSTON (By Arturo Sarukhan, Houston Chronicle) December 22, 2008 — In today's fluid world, a nation's ability to ensure the safety and well-being of its people depends to a great extent on the degree of peace and prosperity in the neighborhood to which it belongs. The U.S., notwithstanding its economic might and military power, is no exception.

In a welcome respite from Latin America's turbulent history, the last decade in the Western Hemisphere has been marked by democracy, tolerance, respect for human rights, the search from greater accountability, transparency and social justice, and efforts to achieve sustained economic growth through more open trade policies. The U.S., like most countries in the region, has greatly benefited from this tectonic shift and must therefore seek to constructively engage with all nations in the Americas to ensure that our hemisphere remains peaceful and prosperous. In the midst of the Cold War, Henry Kissinger famously quipped that Latin America was a dagger pointed at the heart of Antarctica. The challenge that the U.S. now faces is ensuring that Latin America does not become a dagger pointed at the heart of the United States. To do this, it must bolster its diplomatic capabilities and, through greater Inter-American engagement, deliver results to and with its regional partners.

In particular, the U.S. must also take advantage of its unique geographic location as the only developed country in the world that shares a land border with a developing country, Mexico, as a springboard to deepen and widen economic growth throughout our Hemisphere.

Why is this vicinity a boon and not, as some pundits would have us believe, a burden or a threat to the security and well-being of Americans? For starters, this 2,000-mile-long border provides for one of the most dynamic and diverse bilateral relationships in the world. The U.S. may have other bilateral ties that are unique and that underpin its global strategic outlook, and there are no doubt other more pressing national security issues for the next president.

But at the end of the day, no other bilateral relationship is more important for the security and prosperity of the U.S. than its relationship with Mexico, in the same way that the well-being of the Mexican people is so inextricably tied to the fate of the United States.

Our two countries interact at every level, in all areas and in every possible dimension.

There is an intense interaction at the federal level between all three branches of government, but also a vibrant exchange between our governments at the state and local levels. It is a relationship in which non-state actors — from the business sector or civil society, both grass roots and grass tops — have emerged as key players and co-stakeholders.

There is a constant flow of societal exchanges, through culture, music or gastronomy, as well as trade in goods and services that benefits us both, regardless of whether we live in Michigan or Michoacαn, Tamaulipas or Texas.

But there is another, more strategic and, for the hemisphere, more relevant reason for why the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the U.S. is significant and full of potential, and that relates to its complexity and breadth.

If we list the pressing global issues, we get a precise list of the challenges and opportunities that Mexico and the U.S. face daily — from securing borders against terrorists; shutting down transnational organized crime; reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots; tackling environmental degradation; securing energy supplies and developing biofuels; responding to food crises; to addressing migration flows and remittances, we get a sense of the complicated topics.

Add to them, as well, border management, trade disputes, water administration, disaster relief, public health, cultural diversity and intellectual property rights, and the list becomes even more complicated.

This is certainly a daunting list of issues, which may well prompt one to ask in what way the complexity of the Mexico-U.S. agenda represents an opportunity for both our governments? Recognition of shared responsibility and an ever-growing level of trust have allowed Mexico and the U.S., a developed and a developing country, to cut through some of these Gordian knots.

And this pattern of problem-solving could provide the next U.S. administration with a new template to address other challenges both within our hemisphere and beyond.

Just look at this record so far. During the past decade, and in particular since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, Mexico and the U.S. have creatively confronted and dealt with a long list of complex issues.

NAFTA, the first trade agreement to weave in labor and the environmental standards, became the keystone of this new relationship. But beyond the tangible and undeniable benefits it has brought both our economies, the "other" success story of NAFTA is probably more relevant strategically.

This agreement has helped anchor Mexico as a player in an increasingly interdependent world and open it up to international scrutiny, made it more willing than in the past to actively participate in the construction of a rules-based international system and allowed it to punch above its weight in world affairs.

The U.S. has, as its neighbor to the south, a responsible international actor with which it shares key values and principles and that is willing to work constructively and responsibly at the hemispheric and global level. Mexico's upcoming two-year stint as a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council in January 2009 will provide a unique opportunity for the new administration to work with its Mexican partner in addressing global challenges and in establishing multilateral rapport with other Latin American democracies, especially as we gear up for the next Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April. When designing a grand strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.S. has historically articulated its vision multilaterally but then usually implemented policies bilaterally. Mexico, along with other like-minded nations in the hemisphere, can work with the U.S. to holistically solve many of the common challenges we face.

All of the above should not be taken to suggest that there are no hard questions left to answer within the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship itself. There are areas of the relationship, such as trade, where the partnership has clearly become strategic. There are also areas where we are moving in that direction, such as counter-narcotics cooperation, with the Mιrida Initiative representing a much-needed step toward our common goal of rolling back drug trafficking and organized crime on both sides of our border. But there are certainly a few issues where we still remain distant neighbors, with migration — and labor mobility in general — and anti-immigrant policies and vitriol being probably the most salient problems. Nevertheless, an open and frank dialogue now characterizes all our exchanges, and there is increased cooperation across a vast array of topics in what has become a multidimensional relationship with a long-term vision. Abba Eban said that history teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. It would seem that Mexico and the U.S. are now reaching that stage.

Designing a framework that will ensure the common prosperity and the common security of our peoples remains the central conundrum we both face in a post 9/11 world. Mexico is fully aware that a threat to the security of the U.S. will profoundly affect the bilateral relationship. We must therefore make common border security a top priority of our agenda. At the same time, our security will best be served by the U.S. fully committing to the North American region and to a prosperous and safe hemisphere.

I remain highly optimistic about the ability of Mexico and the U.S. to confront the many challenges that we face. Much of my optimism is based on a strength that the U.S. exemplifies better than any other country and that we as Mexicans and all of us in Latin America share: respect for diversity, strength in plurality. Yet important as these shared values are in guiding us, a compass is of no use if you do not know where you want to go. Mexico and the U.S. need to identify a destination and set a clear course for the future.

At the end of the day, our challenge is whether Mexico and the U.S. are willing to play chess instead of checkers and are moving toward the most fundamental paradigmatic shift of our common history: building a true strategic partnership.

Can we ensure that we continue being partners to success instead of capitulating as accomplices to failure? We need bold visions, statesmanship and hard questions tackled head-on on both sides of the border. Mexico is ready to play its part with the incoming U.S. Administration.

Sarukhan is the Mexican ambassador to the United States.