| PRESIDENT FOX ON THE ROAD TO CANCUN |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Tuesday, March 28 2006 |
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| MEXICO CITY -- Since the beginning of his presidency, Vicente Fox made reaching an immigration agreement with the United States his main foreign-policy objective. Just a few months before the end of his term, that agreement has yet to be reached. I asked the president of Mexico what happened to the infamous immigration agreement during an interview at the Los Pinos presidential residence in the Mexican capital. "We pushed and pushed and pushed, and we are now in the final phase," he responded.
In that final phase, the ball is the United States Congress's court, said Fox. "We have done our homework, things have been documented, the information and the analyses are there." The Mexican president said the efforts of the past five years to promote change in U.S. immigration laws were not in vain, and he is optimistic that there will be closure this year. "I hope it will be one that benefits both countries, a win-win situation, because immigration can become a real opportunity for the U.S., Mexico and other countries," he said.
But what Mexico sees as a beneficial situation is not necessarily seen that way by the U.S. Hoping to have indirect influence on the vote in Congress and a more direct one on American public opinion, the Mexican government published ads in major U.S. newspapers. In the message, Mexico seeks a solution to the immigration woes of its citizens in the U.S., suggesting that they be included in a guest-worker program, should Congress approve it. At the same time, Mexico commits to doing its part to generate jobs so families don't feel compelled to leave the country.
Fox is very aware that the United States' priority in any immigration reform is security. "It's not only the U.S. who wants border security -- Mexico also wants border security," he told me. As part of his country's commitment to the border crisis, he assured me that approximately 200,000 Central Americans who use Mexican territory to reach the United States are being deported to their respective countries each year.
Even though Fox won't admit it, the security problem in Mexico goes far beyond the border. A recent study showed that more than half of the population doesn't feel safe in their own homes. Fox argued that the crime rates in Mexico are not much different from the ones registered in the U.S.
What the president of Mexico will admit is that the power struggle among criminal organizations has increased. "Where we do have heavy security problems is in hot spots like Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana, Cancun and Acapulco. The rest of the country is in peace, there is tranquility and security," said Fox.
Tourism officials in Cancun were not too happy with the president's comments. They did not like the fact that he included the popular resort in the list of hot spots with heavy security problems at a time when it is trying to attract tourists, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Wilma and a bout of local violence.
Ironically, it's Cancun where President Fox chose to hold the next trilateral summit on March 30 and 31. Fox will meet with President George W. Bush and Canada's new prime minister, Stephen Harper. According to Fox, they will discuss the new "alliance for security and prosperity," an extension of the NAFTA agreement. "We are now looking into things like financial systems, technology and education as well as small businesses, among others," he said.
But it will be his bilateral meeting with Bush that will draw attention. "We will touch upon issues of interest to both countries, particularly immigration." For now, Fox said the only thing he expects is "to get information from the U.S. president on how things are panning out." This very well could be the last meeting between these two heads of state who began their presidency together, as amigos and with common goals, and who are about to finish it as distant neighbors. |
