U.S.-Mexico border reopens after 20-month shutdown

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Lower-than-expected traffic was recorded at the Mexico-United States (U.S.) border on Monday (8) as the crossing reopened for non-essential travel after a 20-month closure due to the covid-19 pandemic. Many residents remained at home to avoid possible chaotic situations.

Officials in the Mexican border city of Tijuana said people avoided crossing, despite the suspension of most restrictions along the 3,200-kilometer border, to avoid being stuck in traffic.

“In the morning, there were no lines,” said Tijuana resident Claudia Hernandez, as she prepared to enter the U.S. to shop before the Thanksgiving holiday next week.

“Next week, we will see the gigantic lines that always form.”

Javier Delgado, a Tijuana transportation authority, said there is about 35 percent less traffic than expected on the city’s border with San Diego, one of the busiest on the planet.

By Sunday, hundreds of cars had formed lines stretching for miles from Tijuana, stoking fears that the reopening could be a problem. But traffic moved steadily forward.

In Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso, Texas, about 20 people were in line to cross yesterday morning to visit relatives across the border.

“We thought they were going to tell us again that they decided not to open,” said Lorena Hernandez, who met her daughter in El Paso for the first time since March 2020. “I said, if they don’t reopen, I’m going to get on a plane.”

More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

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