HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Texas Senator Ted Cruz was in the Rio Grande Valley on Monday visiting with farmers.
Cruz’s visit is part of a tour focusing on agriculture in south Texas with his first stop at the Port of Harlingen speaking with agriculture leaders.
“I just finished participating in a roundtable with local farmers and ranchers and with the court here in Harlingen and focusing really on the issues that farmers and ranchers face in South Texas,” said Cruz.
One major issue brought up is the RGV’s lack of water due to dry conditions. Cruz said a treaty signed between the U.S. and Mexico states an obligation for Mexico to provide water to the state of Texas.
“Mexico has a treaty with the United States, a treaty that was signed in 1944. That puts an obligation for them to provide 350,000 acre-feet of water each year to the state of Texas. They’ve been failing to meet with those treaty obligations and that is hurting the Rio Grande Valley,” he said.
He added if Mexico follows through with its obligation to the U.S., it would help the RGV economy by providing more jobs.
“I am pressing on the State Department. I’m pressing on the Biden administration to demand Mexico meet its treaty obligations. With water, with irrigation South Texas farmers can grow more sugarcane, can grow more cotton, can grow more citrus, can grow more crops which provide more jobs which generate more economic activity,” said Cruz.
Cruz says the Rio Grande Valley is growing quickly and having access to water at a time like this is important to help the area grow economically.
The next stop on his tour will be Corpus Christi with plans to visit west Texas.