Mexico and South Texas Build a Shared Industrial Future

Acting Consul Jesús Cano emphasizes trade promotion and stronger relationships across the border. 

PHARR, Texas — Stronger manufacturing ties between South Texas and Mexico require businesses and institutions to understand the opportunities available on both sides of the border. For Jesús Alejandro Cano Sánchez, acting consul at the Consulate of Mexico in McAllen, helping build those connections is an important part of the consulate’s work.

In an interview with Pro Texas Industry at the Pharr EDC Roundtable Live on October 22, Cano described his participation as an opportunity to explain the consulate’s role and connect with organizations supporting regional manufacturing.

He said the goal includes understanding “how we can promote and coordinate efforts so Mexican companies can export to the United States, and vice versa.”

Cano’s comments placed economic promotion alongside the consulate’s responsibilities to assist Mexican nationals and provide documentation. Connecting businesses and sharing opportunities, he explained, are also part of representing Mexico in the United States.

“A very important part is the economic and cultural promotion of Mexico in the United States,” he said.

For South Texas industry, that role offers a connection to the businesses and opportunities across the border. Cano emphasized the importance of making Mexico’s capabilities better known across manufacturing, commerce and other productive sectors, while promoting Mexican products and greater certainty for companies doing business in the United States.

He also acknowledged that changes in tariffs require businesses and institutions to refine how they approach trade. His emphasis was on stronger coordination and a better understanding of the conditions companies face.

The roundtable offered a chance to develop those relationships directly. Cano said he wanted to learn about other participants’ ideas and advice, and identify ways their organizations and the consulate could support one another.

Beyond commercial interests, he pointed to the close social connections that already link communities throughout the Valley.

“We share many values, many principles,” Cano said, describing the cultural ties and common experiences that connect residents on both sides of the border.

His perspective reinforces the value of treating South Texas and northern Mexico as partners in industrial development. Better communication, stronger business connections and a clearer understanding of each side’s opportunities can help manufacturers expand their reach—and allow communities in both countries to benefit from the region’s growth.