San Diego Metropolitan - The Connection

In September, Ernesto Ruffo Appel tendered his resignation as commissioner of Northern Border Affairs to President Vicente Fox, effective the end of the month. The post was dubbed border czar, working and reporting directly to the president. Ruffo, although highly successful in the political arena, is not a politician in the classic sense. He is too straightforward, saying what he thinks is right, not what is politically correct. His résumé is filled with doing things that needed to be done, not things that would necessarily gain more voter approval.

For us amateur “inside Mexico observers” his resignation did not come as a complete surprise. Ruffo was not expected to long put up with the high stakes power grabs so ingrained in those seeking power, and whose priorities are not the border region. Ruffo refused to involve himself, nor allow others to involve him, in politics as usual when he served as mayor of Ensenada, governor of Baja California and during his tenure as border czar.

Ruffo’s language of choice is not politics, but one of “opportunity” and “economics.” His words speak about investment, employment and border environment, all of which are the major needs throughout Mexico, but particularly acute along the fast-growing Mexico-U.S. border.

To address these issues, Ruffo invited members of the various Mexican political parties governing Mexico’s five border states to set aside party loyalties and speak as one voice about the common language of needs as border citizens. He enjoyed a great deal of success with the leaders of those states, but try as he did, getting Mexico City to listen was about as effective as getting Washington, D.C., to listen to U.S. border states.

So Ruffo closed the book on his public sector career on Oct. 1 and is returning to private practice, consulting to foreign companies seeking investment and development opportunities in Baja California.

I first met Ruffo in 1987, while serving on the board of a group called Friends of Mexico/Amigos de Mexico, that had established operations in the small port city of Francisco Sarco. At that time he was mayor of Ensenada. Ruffo was surprisingly informal and at ease. No pomp, grandiose flowery talk or political jibber-jabber. He cleared the path for helping his people without the usual long bureaucratic process or the “what’s in it for me” expectations from typical Mexican elected or appointed officials of those days.

Ruffo was the first PAN party candidate elected mayor. The victory had to be lopsided in his favor for the autocratic PRI party in control of the country to recognize his poll victory. But once in office, it was the PRI from the state capital and from Mexico City that controlled the purse strings, and it would not make life easier on the new opposition party mayor.

Instead of confrontation, Ruffo chose to ask Ensenada citizens to pitch in and help. If you want potholes in your street fixed, he told them, adopt them and fix them. It worked. His attitude eventually won him the respect and cooperation of his political rivals in the PRI.

His fame grew beyond Ensenada, and in 1988 he became the PAN candidate for governor. The state PRI party tried to “recount” the votes in an effort to deny Ruffo victory, but in vain. He was declared the winner — the first opposition party member to take a governorship away from the PRI and expose the crack in the dam that eventually toppled the PRI, first from its absolute congressional majority, and later from the presidency.

Ernesto Ruffo is a historical figure in Mexico. But he also belongs to San Diego, where he was born in 1952. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in favor of Mexican citizenship. Ruffo is truly the one person in our binational region who exemplifies the best of two countries.

In recent history, only one other person comes to mind with such credentials — the late Dr. Charles Nathanson, the force and inspiration of San Diego Dialogue.

Last month, Ruffo spoke at the 13th annual Economic Summit organized by the South San Diego Economic Development Council. After the event, he talked about major projects he favors.

The Port of Ensenada concession he says is now in the hands of an English company that wants to greatly expand container cargo by constructing a larger port south of the present location. Also in Ensenada, discussions have begun to build a cargo airfield to serve the Southern California and Baja California region. The combination of these two projects would provide the impetus for the building of a railroad from the “new” port across Baja to Mexicali where it would hook to the Union Pacific rail system serving both the U.S. and interior of Mexico. He calls the Marathon Oil Liquid Natural Gas energy producing, desalination and wastewater treatment facility proposed for Tijuana a very good project, but one that may need to locate somewhere other than the site presently identified in order to get the political support it needs to go forward.

Clearly Ruffo, a mere 51, will be intimately involved in our binational region for a long time to come and will continue to make history. He already has an office in Downtown San Diego, 701 B St., Ste. 800. Perhaps San Diego Dialogue, which needs a leader of the same prestige and caliber as Nathanson, will consider talking with Ernesto Ruffo Appel about the position.

Patrick Osio Jr. can be reached through San Diego Metropolitan or by e-mail at posiojr@aol.com.