BY CARLOS BORTONI

“I have long believed, as have many before me, that peaceful relations between nations require mutual respect between individuals,” declared President Dwight D. Eisenhower roughly 50 years ago. Initially expressed through his People-to-People program, Eisenhower’s vision of citizen diplomacy has evolved and transformed into an international system that brings together governments at the local level. Sister Cities International, the official organization in charge of linking municipal authorities from the United States with partner governments in other countries, currently represents over 2,500 communities in 126 nations around the globe. Through the use of “sister cities partnerships,” mayors in the United States and foreign nations are conducting international relations on a local level, strengthening mutual ties and enabling deeper bilateral interactions. Citizen involvement remains the critical element to ensure the ongoing success of these local partnerships.

Mayors Without Borders
As the issues of urban development, education, and economic growth take over municipal agendas, mayors are looking to their peers, at home and abroad, for new ideas and new supporters. Under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles secured $300 million in foreign investment from South Korea in 2006. That same year, Mayor Phil Hardberger of San Antonio, Tex., was able to open a new, $1.2 billion Toyota Assembly Plant, creating over 5,600 jobs in the process. Through its 2005 “Strategies for Public Art” summit, New York City shared successful practices relating to public art with its sister cities, including Beijing, Cairo, London, and Rome. And in 2007, Denver hosted a 22-high school student delegation from Iraq, enabling them to learn first-hand about American culture and institutions.

All in the Family
The emerging partnership between Chicago and Monterrey, Mexico is a good example of the benefits and challenges of forging a sister-city relationship. Earlier this year, representatives from Chicago attended Monterrey’s First International Sister Cities Encounter. At the conference, the attendees expressed their cities’ ideas and suggestions on economic and urban development, tourism, security, and international cooperation. In 2008, Mayor Richard M. Daley is set to sign Chicago’s twenty-eighth Sister City agreement, with Monterrey.

Bolstered by shared cultural and economic interests, cities have much to gain through closer ties. Monterrey Mayor Adalberto Madero told the HPR: “We want to strengthen the cultural and commercial ties we have with these cities. Monterrey is willing to receive their people, to share our experiences, and to make significant steps in improving our communities.” Indeed, Monterrey’s business-friendly environment makes it a particularly attractive partner for American municipalities. Monterrey was named by Fortune and America Economia magazines “the best city to conduct business in Latin America” in 1999, and “the city with greatest ease to conduct business” in 2003. Chicago, a city of well over 700,000 Mexicans, as measured by the American Community Survey, has been strongly in favor of sisterhood with Monterrey.

However, signing the partnership agreement is only half the process; close contact and open channels of communication are essential elements of a meaningful collaboration. As mayors leave office, it can be difficult to maintain continuity. In this field, U.S. cities have a distinct advantage over their counterparts in other parts of the world. With the possibility of being re-elected, municipal leaders are better suited to meet medium- and long-term goals.

To insulate the relationship from political change, citizens often take the lead in maintaining and strengthening future interactions. “In a bilateral relationship, both cities play an important role in making sure that results are attained,” said Alejandra Sada, Secretary of Economic Development for Monterrey, in an interview with the HPR. “In this case, Chicago and Monterrey are interested in ensuring that our cities are under the tutelage of citizen associations, independently of authorities, so that this relationship continues, not just through the local governments.”

Catalysts for Change
Mayors can thus be most useful in this process by promoting citizen action. During an interview with the HPR, Mayor Fernando Margain of San Pedro Garza Garcia, the city with the highest per capita income Mexico, discussed his efforts in city government. “It all begins with citizen participation,” he said. “One [as mayor] becomes the center for coordinating civic efforts, a mechanism, a tool that helps citizens solve their problems.” In an age of increasing globalization, mayors will play a pivotal role in opening new frontiers for cooperation between local governments. Responsibility for what happens once these frontiers are opened, however, lies with individual citizens. ]]>