The borders of the pandemic: Lessons on governance and cooperation in United States-Mexico border cities

Abstract

This article documents and analyzes the response of cities in the u.s.-Mexico border region to the health emergency and the rebordering process triggered by COVID-19. Like many other countries, the United States and Mexico’s primary strategy to contain the spread of Coronavirus has been the adoption of social distancing measures and restrictions on mobility, including the closure of the common border. An immediate implication of this process is the strengthening of national governments’ presence in border health management and, potentially, the contraction of governance spaces in which subnational actors traditionally participate. By analyzing secondary data for eight pairs of co-adjacent border cities, local actors’ responses to the pandemic are examined in the context of a rapid rebordering process and post-pandemic cross-border governance, and cooperation scenarios are explored.