Nuevo Laredo
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| Nuevo Laredo | |||
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| Motto: Siempre Con La Patria | |||
| Settled | 1847 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Government | |||
| - Presidente Municipal | Daniel Peña | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 1,334.02 (municipality) km² (515.07 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2005 census) | |||
| - City | 355,827 municipality | ||
| - Metro | 802,467 | ||
| metro area includes Laredo, Texas, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Rio Bravo, Texas, El Cenizo, Texas, Laredo Ranchettes, Texas. Larga Vista, Texas, Ranchos Penitas West, Texas, & La Presa, Texas | |||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CST (UTC-5) | ||
| Codigo Postal | 88000 | ||
| Area code(s) | 876 | ||
| Airport: Quetzalcoatl International Airport MMNL | |||
| Website: Municipio de Nuevo Laredo | |||
Nuevo Laredo is a city and its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. Nuevo Laredo municipality is the northernmost in Tamaulipas, lying at the extreme northwestern tip of its narrow strip of land along the Río Grande. The 2005 census population of the city was 348,387, and that of the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat was 355,827. The municipality has an area of 1,334.02 km² (515.07 sq mi). Both the city and the municipality rank as the third largest in the state, after Reynosa and Matamoros.
The city is connected to Laredo, Texas, across the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) river by three international bridges and a rail bridge. The city is larger than its U.S. counterpart, but is younger, having been established after the state of Texas broke away from Mexico. It is the largest inland port in Mexico, just as its counterpart across the border is the busiest inland port in the United States.
Crossing the border from north to south costs USD $3.00 and, from south to north, USD$2.15, or 23 Mexican Pesos. El Mercado is a large open air market a few blocks away from the Juarez / Lincoln International Bridge that sells traditional Mexican handcrafts.
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[edit] History
Laredo, Texas was founded in 1755 by the Spaniard Tomás Sánchez in the northern part of the Rio Grande. According to the agreements between Mr. José de Escandón and the King of Spain, this population remained unified for 100 years, until the war of 1847, when the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty divided it into two cities. Only 17 families, who identified themselves with Mexico, its history and cultural customs decided to keep their Mexican citizenship, so they moved to the southern part of the Rio Grande, founding Nuevo Laredo.
Nuevo Laredo is now the most important border of latinamerica, its geographical position has enabled this city to grow and specialize in the international trade bussiness. Nuevo Laredo has a very developed logistics and transportation industry, complemented with a variety of hotel chains, restaurants and a marvelous Cultural Center where important cultural events take place; e.g. the Tamaulipas International Festival.
[edit] Urban growth
Nuevo Laredo is expanding rapidly since the late 1980s. Urban growth tends to go the the west side of the city, a large heavily populated area with poverty conditions locally called el Poniente (the West). Districts that stand out as trying to improve their living conditions are Nueva Era, 20 de Noviembre, La Fe, El Carrizo, and Union del Recuerdo. Districts with extreme poverty, no streets, no lighting and scarce water supplies are Blanca Navidad and Bruno Alvarez.
Central districts enjoy far better living conditions. Commercial areas and restaurants are usually located around or within these districts. Up-scale districts are Madero, Jardin, Alamos, Campestre. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that these districts have typically been regarded as drug-lord havens and experienced the first and worst violence wave in Nuevo Laredo. As of today, it is estimated that 35% of Colonia Madero is now vacant.
[edit] Trade
Nuevo Laredo is located on the primary trade route connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico. Both Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, TX are now the gateway to Mexico’s burgeoning industrial complex, offering diverse markets, business opportunities and profit potential, which both business and industry cannot not find anywhere else. Nuevo Laredo is the only Mexico / U.S. border city strategically positioned at the convergence of all land transportation systems. The main highway and railroad leading from Central America through Mexico City, San Luis Potosí, Saltillo and Monterrey, the industrial heart of Mexico, meet at Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, TX, joining two major U.S. rail lines, main highways like Inter-state 35 and other roads which extend to the most important metropolitan areas and seaports of Texas, as well as other northern states and some Canadian Provinces. For more than a decade, Mexico’s economic policies increased Mexico / U.S. trade and cross border production combined to launch Laredo’s growth as never before.
70% of what Mexico exports to the United States is exported through Nuevo Laredo. Nuevo Laredo is considered to be the largest inland port in Latin America. The World Trade Bridge (inaugurated in 1999) with Laredo, Texas helped increase the import/export business of the city.
[edit] Higher Education
There are 6 universities in Nuevo Laredo.
The Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas in Nuevo Laredo offers International Trade, Computer Systems, Business Administration, Law, and Accounting programs it currently has 3,500 students enrolled. The Instituto Tecnologico de Nuevo Laredo offers Architecture Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Systems, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Business Administration, and Accounting programs. It Currently has 2,418 students enrolled. The Universidad Valle del Bravo in Nuevo Laredo offers Law, Psychology, Graphic Design, International Trade, International Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Industrial Administration, Computer Systems, and Dentist. It currently has 800 students enrolled. The Universidad Tecnologica de Nuevo Laredo offers Harmonized Tariff Specialist / Customs Clearance Specialist, Transportation Logistics Administration, Electronics & Automated, Industrial Maintenance, and Distribution programs. It currently has 498 students enrolled.
Nuevo Laredo counts with 2 teachers' schools like The Normal Basica Cuauhtemoc, which is formig Elementary and Kindergarten teachers.
And The Normal Superior De Tamaulipas, which opened its doors on August 2005, and its forming Physical Education and Middle School teachers, this school offers specialities like Spanish Language, Mathematics, and English Specialized Teachers.
[edit] Gang wars
As a border town, Nuevo Laredo is known for its turf war in which two drug cartels, the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartel, compete for control of the "I-35 route," a roadway running north through Texas thought to be the main entry point for drugs into the United States. It is also the main entry point for guns and weapons into Mexico.
The violence escalated in August 2003, when rival drug cartels battled at the important intersection of Paseo Colon and Reforma. Police officers who aided one of the cartels were also attacked simultaneously at different districts. A deployment of the Mexican army from the 1er Batallon Motorizado intervened at the battle. Grenades and bazookas were used during those attacks.
Cartels began using former members of Mexico's special forces, known as Zetas, to carry out their operations. The homicide rate in the city has jumped from 80 in 2004 to over 200 for 2006. Nuevo Laredo now has the highest per capita murder rate in North America. Among those killed were twenty-one former or current police officers. On the 16th of June 2005 the city's police chief, Alejandro Domínguez, was gunned down just six hours after his inauguration. The police corporation was restored by a new one, and an army general grasped full command of police and security in Nuevo Laredo.
The police have noted that the gangs are often better equipped than they are. While police are armed with AR-15 rifles, the cartels have used rocket propelled grenades, bazookas, and AK-47s.
On 20 February 2007, Horacio Garza, a federal congressman for the PRI, was seriously wounded by gunmen, and his driver was killed.[1]
[edit] Night Life
There used to be a fairly large array of night-time entertainment venues, some of which closed due to drug violence).[citation needed] Famous franchises like Señor Frogs had to shut down due to the persistent violence downtown. In addition to a large array of standard night-time entertainment venues, Nuevo Laredo has a relatively large zona de tolerancia or red-light district, where legalized prostitution persists. Indeed, while many of the nightclubs traditionally patronized by tourists have closed due to the recent down-swing in tourism, the zona remains the primary focus of nightlife in the city today.
[edit] Online Nuevo Laredo Newspapers & Media
[edit] Newspapers
[edit] Television
[edit] AM Radio
- XEFE La Mera Ley 790 AM
- XEK La Grande 960 AM
- XENLT Radio Formula 1000 AM
- XEGNK Radio Mexicana 1370 AM
- XEAS Ke Buena 1410 AM
[edit] FM Radio
- XHLDO Radio Tamaulipas 88.9 FM
- XHNOE Stereo 91.3 FM
- XHTNL La Caliente 94.1 FM
- XHNLO Multimedios 97.1 FM
- XHAS Ke Buena 101.5 FM
- XHNLR Radio UAT 104.9 FM
- La Tremenda 106.5 FM
See Also Online Laredo Newspapers & Media
[edit] References
- Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
- Tamaulipas Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
[edit] External links
- Ayuntamiento de Nuevo Laredo Official website
- Gang wars plague Mexican drugs hub (BBC)
