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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2005 
Fox Says Walls Along Border Must Be Razed
 Kevin Sullivan - Washington Post
| US/Mexico Boarders - A History of Hostilities
In 1844, President James K. Polk ran on a Democratic platform that supported manifest destiny, the idea that Americans were predestined to occupy the entire North American continent. The last act of Polk's predecessor, John Tyler, had been to annex the Republic of Texas in 1845. Polk wanted to lay claim to California, New Mexico, and land near the disputed southern border of Texas. Mexico, however, was not so eager to let go of these territories.
Polk started out by trying to buy the land. He sent an American diplomat, John Slidell, to Mexico City to offer $30 million for it. But the Mexican government refused to even meet with Slidell. Polk grew frustrated. Determined to acquire the land, he sent American troops to Texas in January of 1846 to provoke the Mexicans into war.
When the Mexicans fired on American troops in April 25, 1846, Polk had the excuse he needed. He declared, "[Mexico] has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil," and sent the order for war to Congress on May 11.
The act was a questionable one. Many Northerners believed that Polk, a Southerner, was trying to gain land for the slaveholding South. Other Americans simply thought it was wrong to use war to take land from Mexico. Among those was Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant. Although during the war he expressed no reservations about it, he would later call the war "one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation. It was an instance of a republic following the bad example of European monarchies, in not considering justice in their desire to acquire additional territory."
Despite arguments over whether the war was right, Americans had tremendous success on the battlefield. Young officers like Grant and Robert E. Lee, who would later lead armies against one another in the Civil War, had their first combat experiences in Mexico. Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott won a series of remarkable victories against the Mexican armies. This success was in spite of the fact that Mexican troops outnumbered the Americans in most cases. In September of 1847, after a masterful overland campaign, American troops under Scott captured Mexico's capital, Mexico City, and the fighting ended.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sealed the American victory in 1848. In return for $15 million and the assumption of Mexican debts to Americans, Mexico gave up its hold over New Mexico and California. The enormous territory included present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Wyoming. Mexico also agreed to finally relinquish all of Texas, including the disputed area along the border. The U.S. Congress approved the treaty on March 10.
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Mexico City - President Vicente Fox said Wednesday that walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, such as one approved last month by the U.S. House of Representatives, "must be demolished" because they are "discriminatory" and "against freedom."
"No country that is proud of itself should build walls . . . it doesn't make any sense," Fox said at a news conference ahead of next week's meeting in Crawford, Tex., with President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Border security and immigration will be main topics of the leaders' discussion, along with trade and commerce.
Fox did not specifically mention last month's House vote to waive environmental regulations and allow completion of a fence, known in Mexico as the "Tortilla Wall," along the border south of San Diego. But asked about the fence, Fox said, "We are convinced that walls don't work."
Fox said he was encouraged by Bush's proposal to create a significant guest worker program, which would allow Mexicans to work legally in the United States for several years before returning home. That proposal is expected to be debated soon in Congress, where it faces opposition from legislators who favor greater emphasis on border security in the age of terrorism.
In a recent interview, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on immigration and border security, said he believed Mexican officials were "if not encouraging, certainly acquiescing" to the massive flow of illegal immigrants. He noted that Mexicans in the United States sent home nearly $17 billion last year.
"It is unacceptable for them to turn a blind eye, or in some cases even encourage, their people to leave their country and immigrate illegally to the United States," Cornyn said. "They view immigration as an economic issue, and we view it as a security issue, and we've got to find a way to reconcile those two views."
Fox, in an interview, said security along the border was "as high a priority for us as it is for the United States." He said Mexico had been "very cooperative" with U.S. officials on security measures to create an "orderly flow" of legal immigrants and commerce across the border.
"Mexico has been very responsible in security matters," he said, noting that his government had invested heavily in poor areas, hoping that more job opportunities at home would reduce the number of Mexicans going illegally to the United States to find work.
Still, Fox said, it was impossible for Mexico to post military or police patrols all along the border to prevent crossings.
"We can't keep them against their will by force," he said.
Despite concerns expressed by U.S. officials that al Qaeda or other terrorist groups might be planning to infiltrate the United State via the Mexican border, Fox said he had "absolutely no evidence" of the presence of terrorists in Mexico.
Fox said he, Bush and Martin would discuss ways to expand the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 1994. Some critics argue that the pact has done little to alleviate poverty in Mexico. But Fox said Mexico's per capita income has doubled since 1995, from $3,100 to $6,505. |
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