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The mayors of McAllen and Tampico sat down Monday to discuss how they can turn their cities’ friendship into opportunity.

In November 2024, McAllen and the city of Tampico in Tamaulipas officially became “Friendship Cities,” a symbolic partnership in which two cities, often separated by a border, have a strong relationship that opens the door for collaboration and investment.

Over the weekend, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos and Assistant City Manager Juan Olaguibel drove nearly seven hours to meet with Tampico Mayor Mónica Villarreal.

According to Villalobos, the Tampico mayor has visited McAllen three to four times to delegate. The last time they met was only a few months ago.

He described her as a professional woman who pushes for her community.

“I guess that’s what both of us are doing,” Villalobos said Wednesday. “Everything is about economic development and making connections.”

They were joined by several entrepreneurs in Tampico who are interested in bringing their manufacturing centers to McAllen or the surrounding cities.

“It may not be a good fit for McAllen, but it may be a good fit for Edinburg, Mission, or somewhere else,” said Villalobos.

He says to him, it doesn’t matter if they end up coming to McAllen specifically, as long as they come to the Valley, similarly to the values outlined in the proposed Rio Plex concept, which seeks to market the region here and in Mexico as a whole to investors.

They also met with the owners of Villalobos’ favorite restaurant in Tampico, who he says are interested in opening a location here.

Villalobos says the city would love to invest in Tampico when the opportunity arises, but as their relationship stands, the interest is focused on businesses in Tampico investing in the Rio Grande Valley.

Tourism, though, from Tampico to McAllen, was a big topic of discussion and interest.

“They want tourism, and so do we. We know that when somebody from Tampico and Monterey come, they spend money,” said Villalobos. “Last year, we broke the sales tax record again, which allows us to reduce our property taxes.”

This would likely be a welcomed measure as residents throughout the Valley expressed concern with rising property tax rates this year.

At this time, the mayor is unable to confirm whether any concrete agreements have been made.

One of the biggest challenges for cross-border trade between the two cities is how long it takes to cross the international bridges.

“Fortunately, within a few months, we expect to open Anzalduas bridge, which will alleviate a lot of traffic from Pharr,” said Villalobos. “If that happens, Pharr is going to benefit because they’re going to be able to cross a lot faster. We are going to benefit because now we are going to have full cargo facilities.”

Villalobos explained that even though McAllen is not as dependent on Mexico as it once was, Northern Mexico is still incredibly important to the city officials because of the role it plays in the local economy.

“Believe me, it really complements our finances, and at the very end, our quality of life,” said Villalobos.

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