Mexico |
Calderon's Tour Of America
Hobnobbing With The Very Rich, And Demagoguing The Illegal Alien Community
by Allan Wall 2/15/08 |
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has finally arrived for his first
visit to the U.S. as president of Mexico.
As expected, Calderon’s principal emphasis is on Mexicans in the U.S. "to
strengthen the ties and deepen the dialogues with the
Mexican communities" north of the border.
(Why don't U.S. presidents come
here to Mexico to "strengthen ties" with us gringos who live south of the border?)
Despite the fact that it's
Calderon's first presidential trip to the U.S., he is
not visiting the President of the U.S., George W. Bush,
as Vicente Fox used to. I guess he figures Bush is a
lame duck. He's right about that.
Contributor
Allan
Wall
Allan Wall recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. He currently resides in Mexico, where he has lived since 1991. He can be reached via e-mail at allan39@prodigy.net.mx [go to Wall index] |
Neither is Calderon visiting any of
the presidential primary frontrunners. I don't think
he's worried about the next president. Last week in an
interview with the LA Times, Calderon said of the
U.S. primaries that
"It
seems to me that the most radical and anti-immigrant
candidates have been left behind and have been put in
their place by their own electorate."[Mexican
president foresees friendlier U.S., By Héctor
Tobar, February 7, 2008]
In other words, whether Obama, Hillary, or McCain is elected, Calderon figures he'll have
him/her in his pocket. He's probably right about that
too.
Nevertheless, Calderon has been very busy, visiting representatives of
the "Mexican Community" and various American politicians who see
things his way as well. It's been quite a productive
visit, from his perspective.
We've become accustomed to Mexican
presidents and other officials openly meddling in U.S. immigration policy (and to the fact
that our own leaders don't seem to object). This trip
was no exception.
However, Calderon is more prudent
than Fox, who was politically tone-deaf. Calderon is
quite shrewd, and guards his words more carefully,
tailoring them to the particular venue in which he
speaks. His goals are the same as Fox, but his tactics
are more astute.
Much of Calderon's visit consisted
of cultivating relationships with allies in the United
States who can fight to keep the borders open in the
future. As Mexico-watcher George Grayson put it,
"The
reason he's in the United States is to exert influence
directly and indirectly on U.S. policymakers in hopes
that after the presidential election, there will be an
expansion of the guest-worker program, there will be
more visas issued to Mexican citizens and there will be
a path to legalization for the illegal aliens already
here."[Local
immigration activists to meet with Calderon in L.A., By Stephen Wall, San Bernardino County Sun,
February 11, 2008]
Exactly.
Calderon arrived to New York City
on February 10th, and his first activity was to meet
with the Council of the Americas, a group described by the Mexican presidential website as
"the
main organization of US businessmen, investors and US
opinion leaders devoted to promoting the development and
integration of the hemisphere."
That’s a pretty good description.
And who was in charge of the get-together?
"The
meeting was directed by David Rockefeller, honorary president of the Council of the Americas".
Bilderberger David Rockefeller is
not only the founder of the Council of the Americas, he
was also a founder of the Trilateral Commission.
Rockefeller had this to say in his Memoirs :
"For
more than a century, ideological extremists at either
end of the political spectrum have seized upon
well-publicized incidents such as my encounter with Castro to attack the Rockefeller
family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield
over American political and economic institutions. Some
even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’
and of conspiring to build a more integrated global political and economic
structure—one
world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand
guilty, and I am proud of it. "
Globalist Felipe Calderon must have
felt right at home with David Rockefeller and the others
in attendance. His U.S. visit had only just begun…
Calderon started February 11th at a
private breakfast with New York governor Eliot Spitzer, champion of driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.
Yes, Spitzer was thwarted in his attempt, but Calderon knows his
heart is in the right place:
According to the office of the Mexican presidency:
"During
the meeting, the two [Calderon and Spitzer]
agreed on the importance of promoting and guaranteeing
respect for migrants' rights and exploring areas of
opportunity that will foster economic, social and
cultural links between New York and Mexico. For his
part, President Calderon hailed the efforts by Governor
Spitzer to provide Mexican migrants with access to
public education and health services as well as to
guarantee their work rights."
Translation: New York's Governor
Spitzer is an illegal alien booster. (For photos of
Calderon and Spitzer, click here.)
Also in New York, Felipe attended a private meeting with the Editorial Board of the open borders fanatic rag known as the Wall Street
Journal. Well, what would you expect?
The Mexican president had a meeting
with the Secretary General of the UN, a private meeting with Timothy F. Geithner, President
of the New York Federal Reserve Bank and he enjoyed a luncheon with financial leaders.
But Presidente Calderon didn’t hog
all the spotlight. The President’s wife, First Lady
Margarita, met with leaders of the "Esperanza del Barrio," a group founded to improve quality of
life for Mexicans in New York.
Speaking to that group, Margarita "expressed her
concern for the Mexican communities who reside in the
United States, and she transmitted her interest to work
from Mexico, through the DIF [Mexican
government social program run by the First Lady]
for the niñas [girls] and niños [boys ] who migrate unaccompanied."
Yes, there really are children who
enter the U.S. illegally without adult supervision, it’s
a big problem and is very dangerous for the children.
But shouldn't Mrs. Calderon be trying to stop unaccompanied children from emigrating rather than,
in effect, encouraging them?
In Boston, President Felipe
Calderon met with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, "thanked the governor for promoting public policies to expand Mexican migrants’
rights," and invited him to visit down Mexico
way.
The high point of Felipe’s day was
a speech he delivered at Harvard, at the John F. Kennedy
School of Government. This was pretty special since
Calderon himself is an alumnus of that institution,
having received his Master of Public Administration from
the JFK School in 2000.
Not that everybody welcomed
Calderon’s visit to his alma mater. There were 50
or so demonstrators, from the Boston Anti-Authoritarian
Movement, Massachusetts Global Action, Boston May Day
Coalition, and Harvard Students for a Democratic
Society—accusing Calderon of stealing the 2006 election, mistreating
Indians, and being a free trader. Some protestors
however, from the Concerned Citizens and Friends of
Immigration Law Enforcement were protesting Calderon’s
encouragement of illegal emigration from Mexico. [Calderón
Visit Sparks Protests, By Mark D. Hoadley And Josh M. Zagorsky, The Harvard
Crimson, February 12, 2008]
Calderon’s Harvard speech
(delivered in English) wasn’t that earthshaking or
controversial or radical, much of it in fact I don't
consider objectionable. He discussed his administration,
its accomplishments and the challenges it faces.
Calderon pointed out that high demand for drugs in the
U.S. is part of the drug cartel problem, and he's right
about that. Near the end of the speech he called
for the transformation of Mexico to a country with a
high growth rate in which Mexicans can prosper:
"It is possible to transform
Mexico from a nation that loses its best people to
migration into a nation capable of generating
opportunity for Mexicans on their own soil,", which
is a worthy goal indeed.[Watch video here(scroll down for options) or click here for an MP3]
During the question period,
however, the immigration question came more strongly to
the forefront. The first questioner was a student who
asked how Calderon could facilitate Mexican emigration
to the U.S. while detaining Central Americans and Cubans in Mexico. Good question.
Calderon's answer was rather wide
ranging. He said he didn't want Mexicans to emigrate but
that it was an inevitable phenomenon, that our two
economies are complementary, and that
"The
American economy is suffering in these moments, but if
they believe that the solution is to close the border,
they are making a very large mistake"
Later, another questioner asked
about the U.S. presidential primary, which led Calderon
to launch into his characterization of the primary
season as being marked by anti-Mexicanism:
"The
worst thing that happened in this country is this
anti-Mexican or anti-immigrant perception of people. We
need to contain this."
Contain this? What's he talking
about? Immigration is a public policy issue, American
citizens have every right to discuss it, and it belongs
front and center in a presidential campaign. That's
neither "anti-Mexican" nor "anti-immigrant."
In Mexico, what they mean by "anti-Mexican" or "anti-immigrant" is an
honest debate and discussion in the U.S. of immigration
policy, particularly criticism of open borders. That's a
debate they don't want us to have.[Text
of Harvard Speech in Spanish]
On the morning of February 12th,
Calderon arrived to Chicago where he met with Mayor
Richard M. Daley.
Mayor Daley is another of
Calderon’s special American amigos. For one thing, Daley
was "the first mayor of a non-border city to accept
the matricula consular as valid identification."
So Daley too got invited to Mexico.
Also in the meeting with Daley, a letter of intent was signed to set up a joint
program to certify Mexicans working in Illinois’ food
and restaurant industry.
Which probably indicates that they
aren't currently certified to work in Illinois, doesn't
it?
(For a photo of Calderon with "El Alcalde De Chicago", click here.)
Of course, a visit to Illinois just
wouldn’t have been complete without Calderon’s paying a
call on the Illinois Governor, illegal alien booster Rod
R. Blagojevich.
(Click here for VDARE.COM’s file on Blagojevich’s
encouragement of illegal immigration in Illinois.)
When Calderon met with Blagojevich,
he was accompanied by Zacatecas state governor Amalia
Garcia. Calderon gave the Illinois governor his seal of
approval:
"During
the meeting, the President congratulated Governor
Blagojevich on the close relationship he has established
with the Mexican community resident in Illinois, and
particularly on the All Kids health program, medical
coverage offered to all children in the state regardless
of their migratory status. The Mexican President hailed
the increase in efforts to ensure children's health,
particularly those living in less favorable conditions,
as in the case of Medical Insurance for a New Generation."
And, a recent educational accord
between Mexico and Illinois was discussed:
"Zacatecas governor Amalia García Medina also thanked
Governor Blagojevich for his government's support of the
Mexican community and acknowledged the importance of the
agreement signed by Federal Government through the
Public Education Secretariat and the Illinois state
education authorities. This agreement will permit the
temporary hiring of Mexican teachers in this US state.
It will also promote the growing exchange of information
and educational and cultural experiences that will
enrich the education systems of both countries and
foster greater understanding. This mechanism will enable
children and youth currently enrolled in bilingual
programs to be taught by highly qualified Mexican
teachers who speak both languages and are more familiar
with their educational and cultural characteristics and
will therefore be able to contribute to the success of
their teaching-learning process. This institutional
effort will also reinforce Mexico’s cultural and
educational presence and further strengthen links with
Mexican communities in the state of Illinois."
So you see, you import so many
Mexicans into Chicago that it's hard to assimilate them.
Then obviously, the next step is you have to import Mexican teachers to teach the kids! And this in turn
will "reinforce Mexico's cultural and educational
presence". It all fits!
Despite the fact that Chicago is
closer to the Canadian border than the Mexican border,
it is the country's second biggest Mexican colony:
"The
Chicago area is home to the second largest Mexican
community in the United States. It is estimated that the
student population of Mexican origin at Illinois schools
exceeds 340,000." [President
Calderón Meets with Governor of Illinois, Rod R.
Blagojevich]
Calderon had to meet with members
of the Mexican Diaspora in Chicago. And so he did, in a
meeting with community leaders in which the Mexican
president was begged by Chicago Mexicans not to forget
them and to help them—in Chicago, of course, not Mexico!
In Chicago, Calderon announced, just as he had back
east, that "consulates on wheels" would be used
to serve the various Mexican communities in the area.
(He's talking about the matricula consular "Illegal Alien Get Out Of Jail Free" cards,
among other things!). Calderon asked the Mexicans in
Chicago for help:
"I need for you to help me
define the tone that we should have, the argumentation
and the government." By tone he refers to the tone
of the lobbying in favor of illegals.
"If it [the tone] should be
raised, we will do it, if the tension should be lowered,
also, if it is necessary to take the matter to public
opinion, we want to support you in establishing a new
relationship with whoever governs this country [the
U.S.]."[Pide
Calderón ayuda a migrantes para enfocar posición,
By Sergio Javier Jiménez, El Universal,February
12, 2008]
Also, Calderon met with Jesse Jackson, and with business leaders of the Midwestern region.
When Calderon spoke to a reception
of the Chicago Mexican community, he really let loose:
"It is
a great honor for me to be with you here today, it is a
great honor because you have had to suffer much, because
it has been your lot to face great adversity.
It is a
story of heroism, because it is not easy to leave behind
one day your land, home, and your Fatherland and to
cross the border risking all. It is a story of heroism
because each year more than 400 Mexicans die crossing
the border, perhaps more than anywhere else in the
world….
I come
here, to Chicago, Illinois, because it is my duty as
president, especially in such difficult moments that you
are passing, a time of misunderstanding, of hostile
treatment, of open discrimination in some cases. It is
my duty to echo the voice of all mexicanas (female Mexicans) and mexicanos (male and
unspecified gender Mexicans), the voice of all Mexico
saying that we are here with you."
Notice the contrast between
audiences. When he speaks to the Harvard folks, he talks
about the economy and development and that kind of
thing. When he speaks to a Mexican expatriate audience,
he does also, but he adds the emotional appeal, whipping
up feelings of victimhood, resentment and entitlement.
Is Calderon saying that his gringo hosts, whom he
so likes to schmooze on other occasions, are oppressors? [Vdare.com Note: He's also assuming that the Chicago Mexican community consists mostly of illegal border crossers. This may be true, but if an
American politician made that assumption in public, it
would racist.
Calderon talked about economic
improvement in Mexico to reduce migration, sharing what
he had said to President Bush in the latter's visit to
Mexico:
"..a
kilometer of highway in Zacatecas or in Michoacan [two high migrant
expelling states] can do more to reduce migration than 20 kilometers of fence in Texas or Arizona."
That's a great sound bite, but I
think Calderon has it backwards. As long as we don't
fence off and secure the border, why would Mexican
emigration diminish? On the other hand, securing the
border would be the best way to help Mexico, because it
would force Calderon and the Mexican political class to
take responsibility for their own country rather than
using the longstanding Northern Border Safety Valve
which is harmful to both countries.
After leaving things in good hands
in Illinois, it was off to California. There Calderon
and the missus were received at the Sacramento Airport
by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and wife California
First Lady Maria Kennedy Shriver Schwarzenegger.
On the morning of the 13th of
February, Calderon was received at the California
Capitol by the Governator and Maria again, and met with various
legislators among them Fabian Nunez. To the California legislators, the
Mexican president touted immigration reform (amnesty)
and continental integration (North
American Union or something similar). According to
Calderon, if there is not a migratory accord (i.e., a de
facto recognition of Mexican control of U.S. immigration
policy) both countries will not prosper.[Urge
Calderón a congresistas participar en reforma migratoria, By Sergio Javier Jiménez, El Universal, February
13, 2008]
In his address to a joint session of the California legislature,
Calderon delivered a message tailor-made for California,
claiming that “Mexico and California are united by
a common history and a shared destiny. We have very deep
common roots, today one of every four Californians are
of Mexican ancestry.” He even pointed out that 17
California representatives and 9 senators were of
Mexican ancestry.
Of course, he called for “legal
and organized” immigration (i.e., amnesty), but at
the same time he said that emigration from Mexico
separates families and claimed that it takes the “bravest, youngest and strongest” out of the country. If so, why
encourage it? Oh yes, in the same speech Calderon
claimed that his government doesn’t encourage it. So, once again, he's talking in
circles.
And so it goes, on and on, the same
stale rhetoric from the Mexican president, and the same
coddling by the American political class. I too hope for
Mexican economic improvements, but I just don't think
that mass emigration is the way to go about it. If
Felipe Calderon would use all the time, energy and
political capital he employs to keep the borders open to
make real reforms in Mexico, this would be a different
story indeed. But he won't stop, until we make the first
move.
Interestingly, I'm not the only one
who thinks that way. There are more than you might
imagine.
For example in all the hoopla about
the Calderon visit, a California news article quoted Luz Maria Ayala. She and her husband are
Mexican immigrant leaders in California, who were chosen
to be among those meeting Calderon in California today.
Luz Maria said she wanted to tell Calderon to put more
effort into stopping Mexican illegal immigration to the
U.S. She said:
"[Calderon] needs
to focus on helping the workers in the rural areas who
are really struggling. He needs to raise wages a lot. If
people earned more money in Mexico, they wouldn't have
to risk their lives to cross the border to come here to
work."
I don't suppose Calderon's Harvard
buddies will them him that, nor the American governors
and mayors who hobnob with him.
Somebody ought to ask Calderon what
he really wants—economic development in Mexico or the
expansion of Mexican hegemony in the United States. If
what he really wants is the former, he ought to stop
wasting his time promoting emigration. But if what he
really wants is the latter, in that case he's right on
track with the program, with plenty of help from north
of the border. CRO
copyright
2008 Allan Wall
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