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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | November 2005 
Mexican Foreign Secretary To Speak With Argentina about Fox's Alleged Criticism of Kirchner
 E. Eduardo Castillo - Associated Press
| | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (R) greets Argentine President Nestor Kirchner after a press conference at the end of the Fourth Summit of the Americas in a hotel in Mar del Plata, Argentina. |
Mexico City – Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said Tuesday he would discuss with his Argentine counterpart an exchange of harsh words between the presidents of the two countries following the Americas Summit.
In an interview with Mexican news media earlier this week, Mexican President Vicente Fox said that as summit host, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner had the responsibility of seeking a consensus among attending nations in terms of restarting talks for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
"Instead, the impression that several of us got there is that the president's thinking was directed more at satisfying public opinion in Argentina and involved more with Argentines' image of the president, than achieving a successful summit, with American integration," Fox said.
Kirchner replied on Tuesday that Fox should mind his own business.
"Fox should worry about Mexico and let me take care of Argentine matters," he said.
On Tuesday, Fox refused to revisit the issue.
"For me, this issue is closed, the summit has ended, it ended as you saw, and that's that," Fox said. "The summit is over, so let's move on."
The Americas Summit, held Friday and Saturday in the Argentine resort of Mar del Plata, concluded without a consensus on free trade. Washington, Mexico and 20 other countries support restarting talks for the so-called FTAA, while Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, of the trade bloc Mersocur, as well as Venezuela, said conditions were not favorable to restart discussions.
"We want an economic integration in which the interests of our people are respected equally," Kirchner said. "We don't want integration in favor of the big players, but in favor of all. I don't go to a summit to betray the interests of the Argentine community in order to look good with those who are here, no matter how important they are."
Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa said he had tried unsuccessfully two times to communicate with Derbez over the Fox-Kirchner dispute but had not been able to reach him. Derbez said he planned to talk with Bielsa during the day Tuesday.
Bielsa said Fox seemed to be contradicting himself by criticizing Argentina and Mercosur at the same time he has expressed interest in joining the trading bloc.
"If achieving Latin American unity is to defraud a nation – in this case Argentina – President Fox has an idea of Latin American unity that we don't share," Bielsa said. |
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