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La Voz de AztlanPrior Cuacauhtzin Columns:
Los Angeles, Alta California
August 30, 2002
U.S.A Disrespects Mexico Says President Fox
by
Hector Carreon
La Voz de AztlanLos Angeles, Alta California - August 30, 2002 - (ACN) The increasing global alienation of nations against the United States has now also affected the once friendly relations between President Vicente Fox of Mexico and President George W. Bush. President Fox said Wednesday, during a press conference in Madrid, Spain, that "the United States does not respect our economic partnership as outlined in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)." The Mexican Federal Chief Executive emphasised that the lack of attention by the Bush Administration in reaching an agreement on the regularization of approximately 3.5 million Mexican immigrant workers in the U.S. threatens to derail economic trade agreements between the two countries. President Fox said that since 1994, the year that NAFTA was approved, Mexico has purchased $150 million worth of services and products from the U.S. President Fox informed the European news reporters that Mexico purchases more from the United States than Germany, France, Italy and Spain combined.
There are other non-economic issues that have strained US/Mexico relations. Another major problem has been the execution of Mexican nationals by the Texas State government after a failure to follow the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a treaty ratified by the US government on November 24, 1969. Texas has in many occasions refused to respect the treaty and has executed Mexican nationals who have had their rights denied under the Vienna Convention. The most recent incident occurred on August 14 when Javier Suarez Medina was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, and President Fox's plea to stay the execution were ignored. Because of the disrespect shown to Mexico by the governor of Texas, President Fox cancelled a scheduled meeting with Bush at his Texas ranch.
Another thorny issue is the denial by Alta California to issue "driver licenses" to Mexican immigrant workers. Presently, the Alta California economy would collapse without the labor provided by Mexicans to the state's agricultural, industrial, construction and service sectors, yet the workers are forced to walk, take the bus, or worse, drive without a license. There is presently a bill on the desk of Governor Gray Davis that would solve the problem but pressure from xenophobic groups is keeping Davis from signing it.
In the present world situation, the U.S. can not afford to alienate its neighbor further. George W. Bush and Vicente Fox commenced their administrations and their relations with great expectations. This was evidenced by the productive meeting held at Rancho San Cristobal on February 16, 2001 where both presidents declared a "New Era" in US/Mexico relations. Unfortunately, Israel and the September 11 terrorist attacks derailed the whole process 7 months later. Today, the Bush Administration is exclusively preoccupied with preparing for war against Iraq in particular and Islam in general on behalf of Israel and oil interests in the Middle East .
This exclusive focus on serving the interests of Israel, a country that is usurping billions of dollars from the pockets of the US taxpayer yearly, will eventually have devastating repercussions on the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere. We are already witnessing serious economic, political and social problems in Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico. Many American dissident voices are calling on George W. Bush to "Dump Israel", or face impeachment.
Israel is almost in the opposite side of the world but the U.S. shares 2000 miles of border with Mexico. The futures of both neighboring countries are now intricately intertwined and the economies of the southwestern states are entirely dependent on Mexican labor. For quite some time now, Mexican labor activists have been calling for a "National Huelga" or a "National Work Stoppage" designed to force needed reforms and to gain the attention of the federal and various state governments. A one week work stoppage by all Mexican immigrant workers would certainly send a powerful message to the Bush Administration. The question is , "Would President Vicente Fox undertake such a strategy?"
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Other Articles by Hector Carreon
THE CORROSIVE INFLUENCE OF THE DOLLAR: The Shameful Trade in Mexican Baby Organs
Hector Carreon is the founder and editor of La Voz de Aztlan and resides in Whittier, California. He was born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua and moved to Aztlan at the age of 5 years. Hector is a graduate in Civil Engineering from California State University at Long Beach where he was a founding member of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists (MAES). He served honorably for two year as a Vietnam-era soldier in the U.S Army's 2nd Armored Division and is a graduate of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund's Advanced Leadership Program. Hector Carreon can be contacted at La Voz de Aztlan
