| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, June 24 2002 |
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| Tijuana, México - He sat there for one hour and answered question after question. It was an uncensored, frank discussion with Mexican President Vicente Fox. A rare opportunity to sit down with a head of state and ask him whatever your heart desires. Not a press conference, just a conversation.
Would George W. Bush do it? Probably not. Actually, very few world leaders would agree to a no-holds-barred, no-questions-in-advance interview session with hundreds of journalists from television, print and radio. I moderated the question-and-answer period during the opening session of the 20th annual Hispanic Media Conference, and even though Fox did not make major headlines and - like the skillful politician that he is - he dodged a few of our questions, his candor impressed many of the seasoned journalists in attendance.
Most of the questions at the Tijuana Cultural Center had to do with border issues and U.S.-Mexico relations. Fox said that although the events of Sept. 11 had derailed immigration talks with the Bush administration, the issue was still on the table. Will there be an agreement on the possible legalization of undocumented Mexicans, more visas or work permits anytime soon? "Not this year," he said.
About the water dispute on the border, in which Mexico owes the United States millions of gallons of water as a result of a 1944 treaty, Fox said there is not enough water in his country to pay the debt. He's hoping Mother Nature will cooperate with more rain.
About the Catholic Church sex scandal, which has just slightly touched the intensely Catholic Mexican society, Fox said priests should be held up to the same standards as any other citizen who commits a crime.
The fact that hundreds of Hispanic-American journalists were willing to cross the border to hear him speak says a lot about Fox's popularity outside Mexico. But Fox does not enjoy that same acceptance in his own country. Several members of his administration have had run-ins with the media. His popularity has eroded as Mexicans feel that he has not been able to keep his campaign promises. And he has not been able to get his reforms through a Congress controlled by opposition parties.
As a matter of fact, the reason the interview session was held in Tijuana and not in San Diego, where the Hispanic Media Conference took place, is that Fox feared the Mexican Congress would not give him permission to cross the border. Incredibly, the Mexican leader is like a child who cannot leave home without permission from his parents. In Fox's case, he cannot leave the country without approval from the Mexican Congress.
The travel ban is due to an obscure constitutional provision that allows the Mexican Congress to deny the president a trip abroad. It was exercised for the first time last April, when Fox tried to travel to the United States and Canada. Some Congress members said they were sending a message to Fox that he cannot dictate foreign policy without consulting them. There are serious internal conflicts between Fox and the Chamber of Deputies, which is controlled by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) - the same party defeated by Fox after 70 years in power. The travel ban could have just been payback.
The fact that he has traveled 19 times in 18 months in office might also have something to do with it. No other Mexican president has logged as many miles as Fox. And what does he have to show for it? A Toyota plant being built in this border city, Fox told us, was a good example of the type of investment he has been able to attract during one of his many trips.
Fox left this group of journalists with a mostly favorable impression due to his openness, frankness and accessibility. It would be wise for him to spend a little more time trying to create the same feelings at home. |
