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 Editorials | Opinions | December 2006 
Mexico Is Not Drifting Left
 Kurt Grela - Post Chronicle
Mexico is not drifting left or going with a populist government. Instead, it is going with a newly elected President. Yes, again, it is happening. For the first time in six years, there were elections in July 2006 and one leader, Felipe Calderon, barely won.
And now, over the first few months of the Calderon government, is a perfect time for the United States to consider an immigration pact with Mexico.
Why now? Mexico is currently split by rivaling political parties and divided by north and south. Yet an immigration accord would unify the country in favor of Calderon government and bold well for U.S./Mexico bilateral relations. Clearly, the United States would benefit by having a stable trading partner to the south.
In September, when the United States was enraged by Venezuelan President Chavez's calling Bush a devil in his UN speech, another Latin American stickler has been lurking and causing eruptions in Mexico City. He is the guy that didn't win the Presidential election and he's already chosen his own mock government. Unbelievably, he is one of the few Mexicans that have never been to the United States.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is Mexico City's former mayor, and after he lost the election has shut down the zocalo plaza and threatens more disruptions during Calderon's six years as President.
AMLO is capitalizing on NAFTA's success in the north and non-performance in the south. It's well known that NAFTA allowed Mexico a constructive economic pathway out of its peso crisis in Dec. 1994. The north benefited with new work opportunities while those in the south left their hometowns to search for work in the northern part of the country, and many even traveled to the United States.
In the 2006 Presidential elections, as reported by the WSJ, the south voted for AMLO while the north voted for Calderon. Mexico is now literally divided by the north and south. Northerners complain of the south's laziness and backwardness. Yet, it is these same lazy and backward people stationed on U.S. street corners at 7 a.m. in the morning looking for work.
Calderon assures Mexicans that he will include some of his opponent's social programs. He must unite the poor south and the north by supporting nationwide opportunities - and an immigration pact with the United States supports bilateral U.S./Mexico relations.
As seen, the Mexican Congress stalled most of Fox's initiatives and will make it almost impossible for Calderon to govern Mexico without Congressional support.
The United States, for one reason or another, did not actively support an immigration pact with Mexico during the Fox presidency. However, thanks to NAFTA, high oil prices, and remittances, Fox sailed through a quiet term, and the country now has plenty of international reserves and remains economically stable.
However, without an USMEX immigration pact soon, the U.S. might not be this lucky over the next six years with two contenders competing for the national spotlight in Mexico.
All in all, Fox will always be the initiator of any immigration pact between Mexico and the United States. He was such a strong believer in securing a USMEX immigration pact that he spent more than six years on this urgent matter for both countries. In 2000, Fox even traveled to the United States announcing there was an immigration problem.
Like decades before, Mexicans were leaving Mexico to work in the United States, but this time, many immigrants are staying in fear of not having the opportunity to return as more and more Border Patrol agents secure the border.
Moreover, days before Sept. 11, the entire Mexican cabinet and the entire Bush cabinet sat together in the White House, discussing border security and immigration. A USMEX immigration pact was so close - or so we thought.
Five years have past and the United States has failed to make a move on illegal immigration from Mexico, although the U.S. now acknowledges there are many immigrants who do not have papers living in the United States. The U.S. has also arrived at the conclusion that there is a chance terrorists are taking advantage of poorly monitored borders.
Despite the urgency of the matter, President Fox leaves office with no immigration pact with the United States, and President Bush and the U.S. Congress trade words amongst themselves, yet offer no workable USMEX immigration solution.
The fact is Mexico and the United States are close to an immigration pact. Over half the illegal immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico. In other words, the U.S. should be working with the Mexican government on a solution where Mexicans have the opportunity to work for a few years in the United States.
For those Mexicans already living and working illegally in the United States, they should be offered a solution by a joint U.S./Mexico immigrant proposal on residency. Those who want to stay will be encouraged to pay taxes, pay for healthcare, and learn English.
More than half of the illegal immigrants in the United States have been here longer than five years and did not illegally cross the border. The only law some immigrants broke was overstaying their visas - a penalty fine, not a crime. One would only suspect they had promising opportunities in the United States in order to overstay a visa.
Keep in mind, most of these illegal immigrants could have been sponsored by their employers, yet the employers have failed to act on their illegal workers' behalf. What other laws are these businesses bypassing? When the immigration officials catch an illegal immigrant and the business is not penalized, the business just hires another illegal worker inspired by the American dream.
Not only is an USMEX immigrant pact a possibility, but encouraging U.S. businesses to follow the law is the critical element to any immigration plan. The cosponsor of the 1986 immigration act, Senator Alan Simpson, continues to say that immigration did live up to its potential because an eleventh hour compromise was not holding U.S. businesses accountable for hiring illegal immigrants. Congressional members added the businesses that did not "knowingly" hire illegal immigrants were inheritably exempted from immigration law.
Signing a USMEX immigration pact, in the first few months of the Calderon government, allows the Mexican government to engage its population, both in the north and the south. Furthermore, fences do make great neighbors, but economic prosperity, bonded by high volume trading and business interactions, makes even better neighbors. |
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