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Thursday, 03/18/1999

NAFTA


Border booms as trade increases


The border area between Texas and Mexico has grown rapidly since the 1970s, with NAFTA giving a further boost. Economic development specialists in the Rio Grande Valley — the stretch between Brownville and McAllen — say the region was on a fast track before the treaty. But the free-trade agreement between Mexico and the United States gave the often-ignored region a higher profile, both within Texas and nationally. If Congress had not ratified NAFTA, said Nancy Boultinghouse of the McAllen Economic Development Corp., Mexicans "would have been highly insulted — and so would have I."

Population of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas 1970-1997

County 1970 1980 1990 Percent Growth 1997 Estimates Percent Hispanic

Cameron
140,368 209,727 260,120 24.0 319,578 81.9


Hidalgo
182,535 283,229 383,545 35.4 479,783 85.2


Starr
17,707 27,266 40,518 48.6 51,482 97.2


Willacy
15,570 17,495 17,705 1.2 19,500 84.4


Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990
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