Laredo's latest economic trading target is....... Ecuador ! ( well, for now anyway)

OOPS, conference name not even original.

See if the following sounds familiar:

A conference partially organized by the Laredo Development Foundation aims to bring Mexican businesses to Laredo to boost the Gateway City’s economy.

The Business Without Borders conference is designed to allow Mexican and other international investors a chance to learn about the advantages of doing business with or locating a business in the United States, with an emphasis on Laredo.

“Our goal is to bring between 120 and 140 companies from Mexico — business owners (and) investors — to Laredo for the conference,” said LDF Director Roger Creery.

The above is an excerpt from the May 23rd, 2010 issue of the Laredo Morning Times. The issue at hand was to promote Laredo as a place that Mexico and Central America should do business with. Afterall, according to city officials, Laredo is an extremely efficient alternative to the port of Miami.

Well, this week, we're hearing the same story all over again but this time, the economic savior country is Ecuador. This is all good and well but............It would be very informative and interesting to find out just what businessess the city's previous attempts, such as the 2010 conference, have actually brought to the gateway city. Is there one, two or perhaps several businesses that have opened in Laredo directly as a result of these efforts. If yes, lets hear about them and by all mean keep promoting the city. However, if there have been no takers, why would there be any takers this time around?

The Mayor offered transparency when he was running for re-election. This is a very clear and specific example of how he can live up to that promise. What new businesses from Mexico and Costa Rica and all the other places down South have added jobs to our local economy. Inquring minds want to know.