cannabisnews.com: Analysts Debate Mexico President's Open Border 





Analysts Debate Mexico President's Open Border 
Posted by FoM on August 23, 2000 at 19:08:34 PT
By George Gedda, Associated Press 
Source: Nando Times
To some, the political winds that swept underdog Vincente Fox into Mexico's presidency last month are a fresh breeze blowing across the Rio Grande, carrying promises of better days for Mexico and its relationship with the United States. But, analysts say, the good will could blow away just as suddenly if Fox, who takes office Dec. 1, insists on a freer flow of Mexican workers into the United States. Fox is expected to bring up the issue later this week in separate meetings with President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in Washington and with Gov. George W. Bush in Dallas. 
Clinton said Wednesday he wants to hear what Fox proposes on opening borders. "The devil is always in the details here, so I want to talk to him about it and see what he has in mind," Clinton said, adding, however, "I would imagine most of this work would have to be done by the next administration." Fox defeated the seemingly invincible PRI party - which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years - in elections on July 2. In his campaign he talked of Mexico and the United States becoming "partners," and he is an unabashed globalist. He vows to create conditions for a doubling of American investment in Mexico and to wage an all-out war on corruption in his country. He also pledges to allow the extradition of Mexican drug traffickers to the United States, something Mexico traditionally has been reluctant to do. All of this delights American officials, who say they expect the gains in cross-border ties of recent years to continue under Fox. But there are some U.S. reservations about Fox, especially his fierce opposition to the U.S. policy of spending billions of dollars each year to keep undocumented Mexicans off U.S. soil. Fox wants eventually to do away with border controls. He envisions the transformation of the three countries of North America into a kind of European Union, where the citizens of one can work in any other member nation. He points out that open borders among EU countries have brought Portugal and Greece much closer to economy parity with other EU members. But critics argue the two situations are not comparable, noting that Portugal and Greece have populations much smaller than Mexico and that their migrant workers were dispersed throughout EU countries. In contrast, the number of poor Mexicans is large, an estimated 40 million, and the great majority who are inclined to migrate look to the United States - and no other country - for their economic salvation. Fox is not looking to the United States to solve Mexico's population surplus. Rather, he would offer incentives for Mexicans to stay at home, including an economic program that would create jobs on a scale far greater than what is being done today. He is adamant about doing away with the status quo. "By building up walls, by putting up armies, by dedicating billions of dollars like every border state is doing to avoid migration, is not the way to go," Fox says. Many Americans obviously disagree and believe existing barriers are inadequate. Six weeks before Fox's election, the House approved a bill sponsored by Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, to allow deployment of U.S. troops along the border to protect a variety of U.S. interests, including the curbing of drug trafficking and of weapons smuggling. The vote was 243-183. The sentiment reflected in the vote was diametrically opposed to Fox's vision. A similar bill has been approved by the House on two previous occasions but died in negotiations with the Senate both times. David Smith, director of public policy for the AFL-CIO, says open borders are impractical with two countries at such different stages of development. A guest worker program favored by Fox would pit arriving Mexican workers against American workers, resulting in a "race to the bottom" between the two groups. George Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William and Mary, agrees. "The chances of an American floor sweeper in a Houston high-rise to get a raise are greatly diminished when there is a squadron of immigrant job seekers waiting outside," he says. Willard Workman, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says he believes the issue is worthy of official discussions but in the meantime, "We're going to keep the border policed. "Just as we don't want goods dumped, we don't want labor dumped," he says. EDITOR'S NOTE - George Gedda has covered foreign affairs for The Associated Press since 1968. Published: August 23, 2000Copyright © 2000 Nando MediaRelated Articles:Fox Seeks New Cooperative Era For North America http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6711.shtmlHead of U.S. Drug Policy Sees End of Certificationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6659.shtmlMcCaffrey Heads To Mexico, Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6639.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by don on March 04, 2001 at 09:56:30 PT:
Vincente fox
does senor fox have a web page in that I could write to him or his cibinet members directly? if so please let me know.Thank you,dm
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Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on August 24, 2000 at 14:56:00 PT
Well, even with the closed border
I as a carpenter been losing my work to these folks who come out here. The mexican/us border is so vast that it would take entire military system to just defend this border. I got a friend who has a very big farm/ranchland in Brownsville,TX. His backdoor is right on the border. He says he open back door of his barn and wait until folks from the other side backpacking pounds of pot/cocaine. An open border just might push legalization of drugs so we can regulate them. Just a thought?
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on August 24, 2000 at 06:15:39 PT:
NAFTA redux
During the 1992 Presidential campaign, Ross Perot warned Americans that they would hear a loud sucking sound as their jobs would be vacuumed down to Mexico. Klinton pooh-poohed such talk... as he and his banker friends hastily assembled a muffler to cover the sound. But hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs did indeed vanish - into the maquiladoras that sprang up like mushrooms along the US-Mex borders. Mexico was also supposed to be a stable, vibrant economy; many of us might remember TV commercials being shown around the time of the NAFTA vote showing flickering images of a 'Modern Mexico' replete with young Mexican women entering American style shopping malls. All to convince us that NAFTA would be good for both countries.Within a week after NAFTA passed, Mexico devalued the peso, sending their economy into yet another downward spiral, and requiring a 6 BILLION dollar loan from the US to prop up the peso. A loan the American people are still paying for... on top of loans we have already made to them, and which they are always threatening to refuse to pay on, threatening the US with a domino effect of economic catastrophe. Because if all the nations in South America renege on paying their debts, our banks will collapse. It's that simple. And Klinton's banker friends are still chortling over how they put one over on the American people...Suck-ers!So what does this have to do with illicit drugs? NAFTA opened the door to the greatest influx of heroin and cocaine in the entire Drugwar history. More addictive 'junk' came into the US during the period from 1992 to the present than ever before. This, while maintaining and building up the Border Patrol and Customs. It didn't make a single...bit...of...difference. And Senor Fox wants a completely open border? It would guarantee the antis lifetime employment, and that in an of itself is a very bad thing, indeed. 
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