During a conference in Las Vegas, Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan threw out an ambitious, but crowd-pleasing, suggestion, according to the newspaper Las Vegas Sun. “One of the things we should put on the table is that Mexico and the United States need to co-host the World Cup,” the ambassador said to loud applause. “Imagine not only the bonds that this would trigger between both our countries, but the powerful message this sends to the rest of the world about how these two countries understand their future together,” Sarukhan said during a conference organized by the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, a nonprofit group that coordinates philanthropy and collaborative efforts between the United States and Mexico.
Mexico and the United States are inextricably linked, Martha Smith, U.S.-Mexico Foundation president, said in opening the conference, and improvements in Mexico’s economy, education and quality of life will also benefit the United States.
Since NAFTA implementation in 1994, U.S. exports to Mexico have nearly tripled and Mexican exports to the United States have more than quadrupled, according to the U.S. State Department.
“Regardless of the issue of the day, whether it’s immigration, or trade, or drugs and thugs, the single most important challenge in this bilateral relationship is making sure that citizens on both sides of the border understand that they are connected in each other’s success, well-being and prosperity,” Sarukhan said. “We will fail or succeed together, and it is this connectivity between everything from Boy Scout troops to basketball teams that will change the face of this relationship.”
