But the commerce this transnational flow brings into El Paso fades further each month, exacerbated by the deflating peso. In July 2015, $16.33 pesos equaled $1 U.S. but by January 2017, the exchange rate had shot up to $19.10 to $1 U.S. Today, the equivalent of $1 U.S. has hit $20 pesos. This has heavily discouraged Mexican nationals from spending in the U.S., where their purchasing power is severely diminished.<\/p>\n
Downtown El Paso, a retail business-based area highly dependent on Mexican patronage, is now facing an economic crisis. When walking through the area, a few minutes from the U.S.\/Mexico border, it\u2019s impossible to miss the seemingly countless shuttered storefronts and \u201cFor Rent\u201d signs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/lalinea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2017\/03\/32489416614_9cfcc05902_z.jpg\")
As the peso keeps deflating and Mexicans’ spending power diminishes in the U.S., downtown El Paso continues to feel the pain. The “For Lease” signs are out. Many business owners have had to call it quits. Photo by Eli Kurland<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
The District Director of El Paso\u2019s Small Business Administration, Phillip Silva, is highly concerned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019ve had more substantial peso devaluations, we\u2019ve seen total retail sales drop in the downtown area by over 50%,\u201d Silva said. \u201cSome businesses reported as much as a 90% drop in sales. As the peso continues to devalue, it\u2019s going to significantly impact what happens to El Paso\u2019s downtown. A significant amount of downtown businesses close in these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many merchants and business owners in downtown El Paso not only share the fear. They don\u2019t know how to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo businesses are shutting down right by our store,\u201d said Jose Magana, an employee at the downtown clothing store Yong, who spent years as a wholesaler of electronics and beauty supplies in El Paso. \u201cWhen the Peso deflates, it becomes absolutely dry around here. Ninety-five percent of our store\u2019s business is done in pesos. Now, wholesalers are forced to find products in Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/lalinea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2017\/03\/32949433880_04c9a280bf_z.jpg\")
Closed stores in downtown El Paso. Photo by Eli Kurland<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
As business owners feel this peso pain, they must still make fixed lease payments in U.S. dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne business owner left the merchandise inside his store and just walked away,\u201d Magana said. \u201cStanding here in a store in downtown El Paso \u2013 you\u2019re experiencing the past right now. The place we\u2019re in is in past mode.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han C. Park, a downtown El Paso business owner who runs the electronics store Boston Electronics Company, is also struggling to remain afloat after 29 years of business. He believes this current peso devaluation could hit the area\u2019s retail businesses harder than in the past because of Mexico\u2019s increased free trade and the mainstream adoption of e-commerce purchasing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wouldn\u2019t just come over the border to go to my store,\u201d Park said. \u201cThey\u2019d come to this area to buy clothes, shoes and then also electronics. Because of free trade, they can get these things in Mexico for similar prices, or young people just buy online. With the political stuff, they don\u2019t need to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said business has never been so slow.<\/p>\n
“The deflating Peso is absolutely impacting my business. Ninety percent of my customers are from Mexico so, comparing this January to last year\u2019s, my sales are down 40 percent. At my age, I don\u2019t worry too much but I expected a better life than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Around the corner from Park, Laurie Knipp runs the gift shop Angels Via Michael, and she doesn\u2019t have a more optimistic story to tell. Her store\u2019s primary product is angel figurines, popular among El Paso\u2019s Catholic community. She chuckled at the irony of being a Jew who owns the city\u2019s primary carrier of this product, but discussing her business woes instantly evaporated the humor.<\/p>\n
Foot traffic has shifted greatly over the last three months,\u201d Knipp said. \u201cI have 40 percent of the Mexican customers I had before. Our business is down probably 70 percent if not more so now I\u2019m borrowing from my life insurance to keep us afloat. I\u2019m already into my policy for $11,000. So it can\u2019t go on forever. It\u2019s devastating. I\u2019m just hanging on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knipp has lived in El Paso all her life, inheriting her store \u2013 which has been in business for 60 years \u2013 from her father.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a place to come to, to get up, dressed and put on makeup for. I\u2019ll do it as long as I can,\u201d Knipp said as she teared up. \u201cIt\u2019s scary for those of us who are still here. All of us store owners here are looking down the same tunnel and there\u2019s no light at the end. It\u2019s very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/lalinea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2017\/03\/32517783023_1eb84fd8a1_z.jpg\")
Laurie Knipp, owner of the downtown El Paso gift shop called Angels Via Michael, sits at her desk. The store has been in her family for 60 years but is now in danger of shutting down. Photo by Eli Kurland<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Much of Donald Trump\u2019s presidential campaign rhetoric focused on taking a hardline stance on undocumented immigration, rethinking trade agreements with Mexico and moving facilities of American businesses from Mexico to the U.S. This caused major economic nervousness and uncertainty throughout Mexico. The peso\u2019s value relative to the U.S. dollar significantly decreased during this time, fell further when Mr. Trump won the election, and further still now that he seems to plan on following through with his campaign promises<\/a>.<\/p>\n