PHARR, Texas — Emphasizing that the future of the Rio Grande Valley depends on regional strategy rather than municipal rivalry, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez called on young adults to step into regional leadership roles during an address to the Hidalgo County Future Leaders Council on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Pharr Global Business Hub.
Cortez’s address followed a recent resolution by the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court honoring the council. Speaking to the assembled youth, Cortez delivered a candid assessment of the region’s economic and logistical challenges, warning that the Valley risks losing its educated talent unless it builds a unified, forward-looking economy.
A primary focus of Cortez’s speech was the drain of local talent. Pointing to graduates from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Cortez noted that high-skilled workers—such as engineers and master's degree holders—often leave the region due to a lack of local opportunities that offer proportional rewards.
"Shame on us that we're going to create this human capital, and we're going to lose it to somebody else because we don't have the opportunities or the jobs for you," Cortez said, urging the room not to wait until they are older to take on leadership roles.
Cortez contrasted the Valley’s current posture with the "Texas Triangle"—the region bounded by Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The Triangle currently holds 67% of the state’s population, with forecasts from TxDOT and other agencies estimating that figure will rise to 80%. Cortez noted that the vast majority of relocating companies target the Triangle because of its established talent pipelines, but argued that saturation in those metro areas creates an opportunity for alternative regions—if the Valley prepares itself.
Cortez highlighted several structural hurdles that require a coordinated regional plan rather than piecemeal city initiatives:
To compete on an international scale—against global industrial hubs in Asia and Europe—Cortez urged the audience to reject internal competition between local cities like McAllen, Harlingen, Edinburg, and Brownsville.
Instead, he advocated for "RioPlex," a regional branding initiative that encompasses the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico as a single binational hub of 3.5 million people featuring deepwater ports, international airports, a medical school, and commercial spaceports.
"A small city in China has 5 million people," Cortez noted. "When you start talking about RioPlex, we've got about three and a half million people... and that strategy is giving us a better chance of bringing business in."
Closing his remarks, Cortez urged the council members to take ownership of the region's vision, telling them to "paint a blank chalkboard as you would like to see it" and develop strategic plans to overcome barriers to growth.
