ArticlesDigital Inequality on the us-Mexico Border: A Multigenerational Case Study in Laredo, Texas Brecha digital en la frontera de ee. uu.-México: Un estudio de caso multigeneracional en Laredo, Texas AbstractThe purpose of the present study is to determine the cultural and social barriers that are preventing Laredoans from accessing the digital world. This multigenerational study examines how three generations within 16 families relate culturally and socially to technology. Three members from the same family were invited to voluntarily participate in the study, with a total of 48 in-depth, face-to-face interviews being conducted. The present study identified several barriers such as low educational level, low income, lack of English language proficiency, lack of relevant content available in other languages besides English, preference to communicate face-to-face, fear of violence, and endless working hours. Laredo is the least connected city in the nation with 40.2% non-connectivity rate. Research is needed to understand this digital inequity situation in this borderland city. The theoretical framework used is rooted on Straubhaar's concepts of techno-field, techno-disposition, and techno-capital.Keywords: digital divide, Laredo Texas, us-Mexico border, multigenerational study. ResumenEl objetivo del presente estudio es determinar las barreras culturales y sociales que están impidiendo a los habitantes de Laredo el acceso al mundo digital. Este estudio multigeneracional examina cómo tres generaciones de 16 familias se relacionan culturalmente y socialmente con la tecnología. Tres miembros de la misma familia fueron invitados a participar voluntariamente en este estudio sumando un total de 48 entrevistas en profundidad. En este estudio se identificaron varias barreras tales como la escasa educación, ingresos económicos limitados, insuficiencia en el dominio del idioma inglés, escasez de contenidos relevantes en otro idioma que no sea inglés, preferencia por la comunicación en persona (cara a cara), miedo a la violencia, y horarios de trabajo interminables. Laredo, con 40.2% de brecha digital, es la ciudad con menor conectividad digital en la nación. Es necesario desarrollar proyectos de investigación para entender la desconexión digital en esta ciudad fronteriza. La teoría utilizada en este estudio está basada en los conceptos de tecno-campo, tecno-disposición y tecno-capital desarrollados por Straubhaar y su equipo de investigación.Palabras clave: brecha digital, Laredo Texas, Frontera ee. uu.-México, estudio multigeneracional.

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On June 16, 2015, Donald J. Trump announced his candidacy for president of the United States, stating that he would build a wall on the southern border and Mexico would pay for it. From that moment on, the U.S.-Mexico border region became the news epicenter in the nation throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. This article examines Trump’s candidate-generated messages in relation to the border as part of his political communication strategy. The authors perform a content analysis of his political ads and his Twitter posts along with a textual analysis of his official website and his first 100 day contract. The Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient was then used to assess the degree of interdependence of issue positions for each issue. Outcomes showed that Trump presented 16 issues, six related to the border (the economy, foreign policy, immigration, regulations, taxes, and trade). Results found 28 issue positions relating to the border, with the highest number of solutions offered via Trump’s Twitter agenda and his 100 day agenda. The strongest degree of interdependence between agendas was observed on immigration between Trump’s TV-ad agenda and his 100 day agenda (rho = +0.545), and on the economy between Trump’s TV-ad agenda and his Twitter agenda (rho = +0.538). In both instances, the messages transmitted to voters on those political communication venues were very similar to each other.