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Brothers return to second home In Ashland for an awards ceremony, college grads discuss life in Mexico By JOHN DARLING ASHLAND - They're not exactly hometown boys, but they're close. And they've made the big-time. After graduating from what is now Southern Oregon University two decades ago, Jose Luis Romero Hicks went on to become finance minister of Mexico and his brother, Juan Carlos Romero Hicks, became governor of the state of Guanajuato, home of Ashland's sister city of the same name. They've come home to their college stompin' grounds so Jose Luis can be honored tonight as an SOU Distinguished Alumni, an honor his brother received 10 years ago. It's being bestowed at a banquet at SOU's Rogue River room, in connection with the official investiture of President Elizabeth Zinser on Saturday. After earning his master's degree in economics at what was then Southern Oregon State College, Jose Luis became a lawyer, a career he never practiced. He'd become such a good economist, thanks to his education here, he said, that he kept rising through important posts - economic development advisor with the Mexican embassy in India, then in Japan, followed by a stint as financial advisor for housing policy under President Vicente Fox when he was governor of Guanajuato. "I learned it all here - international economics and international law - with professors like Byron Brown and Don Rhoades. We did a lot of work together and became close friends. I was a big bookworm, never even got to see Crater Lake." Jose Luis planned to take care of that issue Saturday with a drive to Crater Lake. Now, as president of the government-run Mexican Bank for Foreign Trade, Jose Luis is a cabinet member - essentially finance minister - under Fox. Underlining the prestige of his position is the fact that Jose Luis is a member of the PRI party, while Fox is of the newer PAN party, which, two years ago ended decades of PRI rule. Jose Luis' brother Juan Carlos is also a PAN member, but it doesn't keep them apart. "We're great friends and we agree on most issues. You have to be inclusive if you want to work with all people and have access to different and better ideas," said Juan Carlos. For their success, both brothers pointed to the "unbelievable," 33-year-old exchange program between Ashland and its sister city Guanajuato, a European-flavor center of arts, history and culture. More than 1,000 students, professors, doctors, dentists, chamber of commerce officials, administrators and beauty queens have taken part in the exchange, said retired SOU Spanish teacher Chela Kocks. "It's home here," said Juan Carlos, who earned master's degrees in psychology and business. "I loved it. My first child was born here. We came here because the exchange program was the most successful of any and you get such close ties with faculty and other students." He went on to teach at the University of Guanajuato, rising to the school's presidency before becoming governor of the state. "I always told these guys that one of them would be president of Mexico someday," said Kocks. "Jose Luis is the financial genius darling of Mexico and Juan Carlos balanced Guanajuato's budget for the first time in history." In a talk Thursday, Jose Luis praised NAFTA for full access to the U.S. marketplace, increased competitiveness, more efficient production, the influx of modern technologies and "a more attractive and safe destination for foreign investment." Although NAFTA means Mexico now rides up and down in tandem with U.S. booms and recessions, the national bank was able to grant $5.5 billion last year in financing to exporters - about $1 billion more than in normal times, he said, with a resulting increase of 13 percent in exports. The bank is responsible for promoting export and foreign investment. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.