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ALL OVER AMERICA the poor and the working people are struggling against voracious plans to destroy their communities and their livelihoods in the name of economic development and progress. These communities, mainly composed of people of color, are transformed into exclusive zones of housing, commerce, entertainment and cultural events for middle- and upper-class individuals. The displaced residents are condemned to live outside the city in dilapidated trailer homes or in colonias without the most basic services. Meanwhile, the developed area flourishes with top quality apartments, fine theaters, fashion shops, chic restaurants, bistros, Starbuck cafes, lively pubs, expensive galleries, sports or entertainment arenas, Walmarts, drug stores, modern garages, and all kinds of places for the entertainment and pleasure of a privileged class. This type of development generates wealth, but most of this wealth doesn’t stay in the communities since the majority of the beneficiaries are corporations and real estate firms based some place else.
On the border, we are also struggling against a development plan being proposed by very powerful economic sectors. This plan, known as the “El Paso Downtown Plan” attempts to destroy community life in downtown and Southside El Paso as we know it. The plan specifically seeks the disappearance of the heart of the “Segundo Barrio” in the name of progress and prosperity.
It is a plan that once implemented will wipe out the history, our culture and the community life of the oldest neighborhood in El Paso. According to local historians and professors at UTEP, this is a plan that would cause irreparable historic and cultural damage.
But even worse, such a plan would cause the dislocation of many poor residents, largely Mexicans or of Mexican origin, many of whom have lived their entire lives in this area. This would eradicate large segments of a neighborhood and networks of Segundo Barrio residents who have through the years created communal support systems that have allowed them to survive poverty and exclusion. This is where our families live, our friends, our churches, community clinics, government offices, the post office. They are all here and within just a few blocks. The Placita de los Lagartos not only serves as the heart of El Paso but is the transportation nucleus that allows us access to the entire city. The international bridges allow us to walk to our land of origin and equip ourselves with the necessary elements to survive and resist the “American Way of Life." The displacement of the poor to the city’s outskirts would be the price paid to develop the modern downtown housing exclusively for those few able to afford living in downtown El Paso.
The El Paso Downtown Plan is a very clear expression of the economic and social racism that we experience in this border city. More than simply destroying our historical and cultural centers, what is being put forth is the sweeping away the people who share a common identity. The development is not only focused on eliminating physical structures in the Segundo Barrio, but its residents as well—human beings.
WHAT WOULD THIS AMBITIOUS plan bring in exchange? We’ve been told that it would bring a Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, a state of the art sports stadium, brand name shops and a luxurious hotel for out-of-towners and those who can afford to enjoy them.
We have a farmworker center on the corner of Ninth and Oregon between the two international bridges. This center is the result of over 20 years of struggle. Its purpose is to assist migrant farm laborers that work in Southern New Mexico and West Texas. Thousands of migrant workers, primarily from Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila use our center to rest, obtain information, resolve immediate needs and organize to defend their rights. It is the only thing that workers in the border region have to help maintain their dignity and humanity.
The plan originally envisioned the demolition of our center to build a modern multi-level garage. If this had been carried out, the farmworkers would had no choice but to return to the streets, the way they did for many years before the opening of the farmworker center.
The PDNG worked at least a couple of years to develop this plan. All this planning took place without community involvement. Only a handful of individuals knew about the real scope of the plan and the negative consequences of its implementation. This close circle of individuals is the one in control of the El Paso del Norte Group which claims a membership of 360 individuals. To be a member of the group, the prospective members have to be recommended by two active members and pay a membership fee of about $1,800. Until recently, the names of the members were kept confidential. But on April 2006, using a Freedom of Information Act request, the list of members was released to the public.
The majority of the members of the PDNG are real estate entrepreneurs, some businessmen, attorneys, officials and executives of non-profit organizations at the service of the economic power of El Paso. The directory is composed mainly of non-Hispanic surnames although there are some Hispanic names such as the Chihuahua millionaire Eloy Vallina-Garza who is also involved in the controversial San Jerónimo Development Plan in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
THE FOUNDER AND MAIN PROMOTER of the Paso del Norte Group is a millionaire named William D. Sanders who has accumulated wealth through large scale operations, namely, buying and selling land for urban, commercial and industrial development. William D. Sanders is on the list along with his wife, his daughter and, until late 2005, even his son-in-law and city representative Robert O’Rourke.* The list also includes Sander’s key associates as well as his lawyers, of course.
It is difficult to describe this man. The best description I can come up with is a modern day conquistador—a 21st century Don Juan de Oñate. Although Sanders does not receive commands from the Royal Crown, his multi-billionaire impulses push him to make the largest amount of profit possible out of real-estate no matter the disastrous consequences people will have to face. He is a true capitalist in all senses of the word and, like a true capitalist, he accumulates capital for its own sake.
Sanders owns a company called Verde Realty. His impressive portfolio not only includes development plans for downtown El Paso and the Second Ward but also development of over 20 thousand acres in Santa Teresa and (why is this no surprise?) plans to develop San Jerónimo as well. This was reported in an El Paso Times business article on May 14, 2006.
Sanders is very popular among the members of the local power structure because he “thinks big.” His plan to develop downtown El Paso and the Second Ward includes 127.5 acres. He claims that needs every last historic building and every last house to implement his multi-million dollar plan. Otherwise his plan will not function.
The authorities at all levels, but especially the local, have been charged in making sure his plan is carried out. A group of local politicians and their supporters have committed themselves to this goal with such zeal that they are willing to sacrifice the history, the livelihoods and possibly even the lives of the residents that they dislocate.
We have no other alternative but to protect our border community. At the same time we must realize that we have allowed this type of economic development that has made inequality, discrimination and economic injustice flourish. In fact, despite statements to the contrary, the real purpose of the El Paso Downtown Plan is to maintain this status quo of poverty and dislocation for the residents of El Segundo Barrio and profits for outside investors and their local allies of the Paso del Norte Group.
We cannot allow this model of economic development to continue. This is an unjust plan—for us, for our children and for our grandchildren. We must stop this plan and protect the people of El Segundo Barrio, its history of resistance and its fronterizo culture.
Carlos Marentes is the executive director of the Sin Fronteras farmworker center. A version of this article was originally published in May 2006.
*Councilman O'Rourke removed himself from the PDNG membership list last fall though he continues to promote the PDNG downtown plan from his city council position.
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