The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC), is a public/private,

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that works to improve the economic prosperity and quality of life in Arizona through binational collaborations with Mexico. Chaired by the

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, the Arizona-Mexico Commission works to strengthen Arizona's ties to Mexico through strong, public/private collaborations in advocacy, trade, networking and information. Former Arizona Governor

Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey ( ; ; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 23rd List of governors of Arizona, governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 and as State Treas ...

is the current chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. Jessica Pacheco was appointed by Arizona Governor

to serve as the President of the Arizona-Mexico Commission Board of Directors in February 2017 and

Juan Ciscomani Juan Ciscomani ( ; born August 31, 1982) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2023. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was a senior adviser to former Gove ...

, Senior Advisor for Regional and International Affairs to Governor Ducey serves as the organization's Vice Chair.

History

The Arizona-Mexico Commission was founded in March 1959 as the Arizona-Mexico West Trade Commission by Governor Paul J. Fannin and his Sonoran counterpart, Alvaro Obregon Tapia, at the University of Arizona's first Arizona-Sonora International Conference on Regional Development. In 1972, Arizona Governor Jack Williams, announced the restructuring of the Arizona-Mexico West Coast Commission into the present-day AMC, establishing a formal mechanism under the Office of the Governor that promotes greater private sector involvement in the Arizona-Mexico relationship. With this transformation came the creation of six bilateral committees: Trade, Tourism, Banking and Finances, Health, Agriculture, and Livestock. Two years later, in July 1974, in Guaymas, Sonora, these committees met formally at the first Plenary Session between the AMC and its sister organization, the Comisión Sonora-Arizona. (CSA). Since then, the AMC and the CSA have held bi-annual plenary sessions, alternating in location between Sonora and Arizona, to discuss and collaborate on programs targeting the vital relationships shared between the two states.

Structure

The Arizona-Mexico Commission is governed by a gubernatorial Board of Directors and chairs by the Governor of Arizona. The organization also has a membership base of approximately 400 members from the public and private sectors. The work of the Arizona-Mexico Commission is driven by 16 binational working committees including:

Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

& Wildlife, Art and Culture, Community and Social Organizations, Economic Development; Education, Emergency Management, Energy, Environment & Water, Financial, and Legal Services, Health Services, Mining, Real Estate, Security, Tourism, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Ports, and Sports (Ad-Hoc). Each committee is led by both a private and a public co-chair.

Past accomplishments

* 2011: The AMC signs “A Shared Vision for Arizona and Sonora.”A Shared Vision. http://www.azmc.org/news-resources/a-shared-vision/ * 2007: Supported by the work of the AMC Emergency Management Committee, Arizona acquires a web-based alert and notification system now available to the State of Sonora and its communities. * 2004: AMC Transportation Committee investigates and assesses the viability of the Port of

Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the List of states of Mexico, state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the Mexico – United States border, U.S. ...

as a maritime addition to the CANAMEX Trade Corridor. * 1996: The AMC puts forth recommendation and advocates for the creation of the CANAMEX Trade Corridor. * 1994: Support by petitions from the AMC, the President of the U.S. and Department of the Interior resume and complete the

Central Arizona Project The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the southern United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River at the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge south portion of Lake Havasu n ...

. * 1993: In collaboration with the University of Arizona, the AMC creates the Arizona Economic Indicators Report.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.azmc.org Chicano Mexican-American culture in Arizona Organizations established in 1959 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations