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 News from Around the Americas | February 2008 
Obama Vows to 'Repair' U.S. Relations With Mexico If Elected
 Andres R. Martinez - Bloomberg
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| | Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama addresses a primary campaign rally at the Toyota Center February 19, 2008 in Houston, Texas. Hillary Clinton licked her wounds Wednesday after her 10th successive electoral mauling by White House rival Obama, stressing experience over hype ahead of must-win battles in Texas and Ohio. (AFP/Dave Einsel) | | |
Democrat Barack Obama vowed to "repair" U.S. relations with Mexico if he is elected president, so the two nations can jointly combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Obama, in an opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News today, said he would restore the U.S. leadership in the Western Hemisphere and meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canada's prime minister annually to discuss issues affecting the three nations.
"That work must begin with a renewed strategic partnership with Mexico," the Illinois senator wrote.
President George W. Bush's approach has been "clumsy" and "disinterested" when dealing with Mexico and other Americas issues because he was distracted by the Iraq war, Obama wrote. Obama blamed Bush for not arranging a meeting with Calderon when the Mexican president visited the U.S. last week.
Obama has jumped ahead of Senator Hillary Clinton in the number of pledged delegates for the democratic nomination for president. The two will face off again on March 4 when Texas and Ohio hold primaries.
Obama said the U.S. should debate immigration reform, "but we should never demonize or scapegoat any ethic group." He said the spike in hate crime against Latinos in the U.S. is unacceptable and risks poisoning U.S. relations with Latin America.
Improving relations with Mexico would be a first step in improving ties with all Latin American nations, he wrote.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Mexico City at amartinez28(at)bloomberg.net |
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