| | |  Editorials | Issues | October 2009 
National Issues, Role Models and Mexican Foreign Policy
 Barnard R. Thompson - MexiData.info
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October 08, 2009
| | Former U.S. congressman James Traficant | |
Following his release from prison in early September, after serving seven years on convictions for taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, etc., former U.S. congressman James Traficant (Dem., Ohio) quickly made headlines anew. Of particular interest was his first post-confinement interview, with Greta Van Susteren* ("On the Record," Fox News on September 11), when among other things he claimed that "Israel has a powerful stranglehold on the American government..."
With reference to Israeli sway in the United States, Traficant (who in the past has bashed Israel) also said: "They're controlling much of our foreign policy. They're influencing much of our domestic policy."
Without getting into the argument of whether or not Israel has a stranglehold on the American government, it is interesting to assess other countries that might like to emulate Israeli achievements with the U.S., or gain influence and benefits through friends, supporters and expatriates similar to the advantages that Israel enjoys thanks to Jewish citizens and residents of the USA.
Mexico is an analogous case in point—yet this should not suggest guilt by association or insinuation.
During a September 29 appearance before members of Mexico's newly inducted Chamber of Deputies, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Patricia Espinosa Cantellano addressed and responded to deputies of that 500-strong lower house of Congress on a variety of subjects, including immigration.
"Migration reform will continue to be a priority matter in relations between Mexico and the United States, and it cannot be forgotten until it is resolved in a satisfactory manner," Espinosa said. She went on to say, Mexico "has insisted that migratory reform is a priority matter, because 98 percent of Mexicans living outside the country live in the United States, and of those there are nearly 7 million without documents."
With respect to the protection of human rights and individual guarantees, the foreign minister added that "Mexico has been very active in the international area, and it has demanded that the guarantees of Mexicans be respected throughout the world, including [in] the United States."
During the more than five hour session, and speaking about the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary Espinosa assured the members of Congress that migration reform is a subject the Obama administration is promoting. However, she added, at this time the Obama government does not have the needed congressional votes to move the matter forward.
Reiterating the favorable inclination of the Obama administration towards immigration reform in the U.S., Espinosa stated: "We must wait for the political climate in the United States to improve in order to achieve a reform that benefits all Mexicans in that country."
Opposition party deputies accused the foreign ministry, under President Felipe Calderón and Patricia Espinosa, of having lost not only Mexico's traditional diplomatic leadership position at the world level, but too its past activist role. They also said that Mexico is not taking advantage of situations such as Barack Obama being President of the United States.
Members from all six of the opposition parties represented in the Chamber criticized the fact that Espinosa, during her initial presentation, had not mentioned the importance of reaching a migratory agreement with the United States. Prior to the question and answer period, they decried, all that was said about migration was "we will continue to look [for ways] to contribute to the debate on reform."
As well, opposition party members criticized the fact that Mexico used to be the "interlocutor" in Latin America, where the role of protagonist has since been left to Brazil.
Espinosa countered that Mexico has a leadership role in the Rio Group, that includes 23 Latin American and Caribbean states, and it has led the diplomatic strategy in order to attack the crisis due to the coup d'état in Honduras. She stated that, globally, the position of Mexico is respected.
She also said that relations between Presidents Calderón and Obama are good.
Members of the government's party, the National Action Party or PAN, spoke out in defense of Espinosa and the administration. They praised the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs for its work in favor of Mexican diplomacy, plus they expressed pride in the international leadership of President Calderón.
To this Espinosa added that the foreign policy of Calderón is "active, responsible and effective."
Contrariwise, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, this time around representing the Labor Party (PT) in Congress and only just named to chair the Chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee, was highly critical of the foreign ministry.
At one point he claimed this Secretariat, that must serve the state, is instead being used by the government in ways that are contrary to the Mexican Constitution. Muñoz Ledo also said Mexico's foreign policy, that during the Calderón administration has served to influence underdevelopment, aims only towards the north.
* Greta Van Susteren ("On the Record," Fox News) on September 11
Barnard Thompson, editor of MexiData.info, has spent 50 years in Mexico and Latin America, providing multinational clients with actionable intelligence; country and political risk reporting and analysis; and business, lobbying, and problem resolution services. |
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