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 Editorials | At Issue | July 2006 
Fox Demands Respect for Mexican Citizens in US
 Presidency of the Republic
| | Mexican President Vicente Fox (L) speaks to Spain's king Juan Carlos before their private lunch at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid last week. (Reuters/Sergio Perez) |
Los Pinos – Mexico demands full respect for the rights of Mexicans in the United States, declared President Vicente Fox, stating that migrants have rights that everyone is obliged to respect.
As a country of origin, transit and destination of migrants, our nation defends these people’s right both inside and outside our territory.
“We are a responsible nation that is promoting a new global perspective, and works for peace, legality and institutions anywhere in the world, and in particular for the human and labor rights of migrants,” he explained.
“Over the years,” he declared, “migrants have constituted nations which, like Mexico, are multiethnic and multicultural; diverse, rich nations, which, on the basis of respect and tolerance, experience and enjoy the plurality that characterizes them.”
During his inauguration of the 50th anniversary of the Mexico-Japanese Association, the president pointed out that respect for institutions and laws is one of the most valuable things Mexico possesses, since it constitutes its main heritage and the basis for creating a better future for all Mexicans.
He pointed out that this is the best way of creating a true feeling of brotherhood between human beings. And in this respect, he pointed out that like Mexicans, the members of this association and other migrants living in the country value and respect the institutions, laws and democracy they have built together.
The president said that those who see migration as a danger are mistaken, since on the contrary, Mexico and many other nations have been enhanced by the many contributions of migrants.
Hence, he said, the need to understand the cultural, economic and social value of migration. “No nations should consider migration merely as a matter of security: no one should regard it as something that can only be controlled with weapons or walls, which stifles migrants’ desire for progress.”
The free flow of ideas and people, he said, is the best hope for this globalized world to become better each day, which is why migration is and must be recognized as an element associated with development and as one of the oldest, most effective ways for people to meet and cooperate.
During his inauguration of the 8th National Nikkei Convention, President Fox highlighted Mexico and Japan’s achievements in cultural, educational and economic issues, among others.
A reflection of these achievements, he said, is that as a result of the recent strategic Economic Partnership Agreement between Mexico and Japan, bilateral trade has risen by just over US$16 billion, a 20 percent increase in just over a year since the passage of this agreement.
Likewise, the over 400 Japanese firms existing in Mexico, which operate both in and from Mexico, strengthen investments in both directions by creating wealth, economic growth, jobs and well-being for a larger number of people. They also, he said, contribute to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product, which rose by 6.2 percent in May.
Accompanied by Héctor Kawakami, president of the Mexico-Japanese Association, the president said that through actions such as these both countries strengthen the friendship that links them in work, discipline, punctuality and the love of Mexico.
“Thus, ever since Mexico and Japan acknowledged each other as sovereign, legally equal states, over a century ago, they have not wasted a single opportunity. We have worked together to construct these opportunities and to do so out of a sense of friendship and work.”
(Press Release: Presidency of the Republic, July 28, 2006, Mexico City)
Presidencia de la República translation |
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