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 News from Around the Americas | November 2006 
Irked Mexicans Open Alternate Consulate
 Oscar Avila - Chicago Tribune
| | Seventy-five people gathered in front of the Mexican Consulate in Chicago Monday for a solidarity protest to oppose the state repression and violence being carried out against the people of 0axaca, followed by a memorial vigil for murdered New York City IMC journalist Brad Will. (Chicago IMC) |
The fallout from Mexico's contested presidential election, in which the losing candidate has refused to accept defeat and even named his own Cabinet, has found its way to Chicago.
Chicago-area supporters of defeated leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have opened what they are calling an "alternate consulate" in the Gage Park neighborhood to cast doubt upon the legitimacy of President-elect Felipe Calderon, who is scheduled to take office Friday.
The self-appointed "alternate consul," Rene Magana, said he hopes some Mexicans will bypass the official consulate and instead seek free legal aid, labor training and other services at his sparse storefront at 2700 W. 55th St.
Even though Magana has stopped short of issuing documents or openly challenging the official consul general's authority, the ploy has caused hard feelings among some Chicago immigrant activists who typically have worked in harmony, though they support different Mexican parties.
Magana, a longtime community activist whose office already provides immigration services, describes his new title in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Nevertheless, he said the broader message is an important one.
"I am expressing my displeasure over that election. This office isn't just symbolic. It's an action taken as part of this larger controversy," he said.
Salvador Pedroza, president of the Illinois chapter of Calderon's National Action Party (PAN), said he already has heard from co-workers who had planned to visit the "alternate consulate," without realizing that they could not obtain documents there.
Pedroza said he thinks supporters of Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) are being irresponsible in creating confusion.
"If they are doing this in Mexico, it's bad that we have to see the echoes here in Chicago," Pedroza said. "This doesn't benefit our community. The elections are over. I don't think we should play any more politics."
Martin Unzueta, president of the PRD's Illinois chapter and one of the activists behind the "alternate consulate," said the frustration of local Calderon supporters shows that the unusual protest is achieving its goal of raising awareness.
"We are having a good time with them because they are putting on such a serious face over the fact that we don't recognize Calderon," he said. "You know what? We still aren't going to recognize Calderon."
Local activists said they decided to try this tactic on their own, although PRD officials in Mexico support them. PRD supporters in other U.S. cities say they hope the concept spreads.
The alternate consulate flap marks a return to the open politicking that was restricted, even in the U.S., during the Mexican election. Mexicans living here had the right to vote in their homeland's presidential election for the first time this year, though electoral rules prohibited overt campaigning. Ultimately turnout was low in Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S.
Pedroza said party officials agreed to open a PAN office in February in the Little Village neighborhood. Pedroza hopes the facility will improve coordination among party activists in both countries.
Despite the long-standing political differences that many immigrants brought with them from Mexico, those on opposite sides of the spectrum there have found common cause here.
Pedroza, for instance, is president of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and supports PAN's pro-business platform. Unzueta is a labor activist and backs the PRD's push for social justice in Mexico.
Both were key organizers of the massive immigrant marches in Chicago earlier this year. The march's executive committee included members of Mexico's three main political parties.
Pedroza said he doesn't think the latest ploy will damage that cooperative spirit.
"I hope we're smarter than that," he said. "We should put it aside and continue to work together."
The project also has captured the attention of the Mexican Consulate--the real one at 204 S. Ashland Ave.
Spokesman Cesar Romero said the "alternate consulate" is no cause for worry as long as organizers don't issue documents or claim to be Mexico's official representatives.
Romero chose his words carefully, so as not to take the stunt too seriously, but not dismiss the group, either.
"As they said, this is symbolic. This is politics," Romero said, noting that PRD supporters have worked with the official consulate on labor rights and other issues. "We don't play that card. We represent the Mexican government, not one party or another party."
oavila@@tribune.com |
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