Mexico and the United States have been close together, at the same time being so far
apart. Mexico and the U.S. have maintained a healthy neighbor to neighbor relationship
over the centuries. There have been disputes of course, but for the most part we are
working together. When striving to maintain a healthy relationship between neighboring
countries, certain problems arise. When the countries don't have the same standard of
living, people might try and migrate illegally to the better country. When one country
has more illegal drugs than the other, people might try smuggling the drugs. Also, trade
between the countries is always a factor in keeping a healthy connection.
The first issue to deal with is illegal immigration. Doris Meissner, Immigration and
Naturalization Service Commissioner, announced the INS would pump 185 more agents and an
array of equipment, including two new helicopters, seven more infrared scopes, eight
miles of fencing and 172 additional sensors to detect and deter illegal immigration
traffic along a 16-mile stretch between Otay Mountain and the Tecate Port of Entry. The
area has been inundated by immigrant smugglers who have been forced east because of
increased Border Patrol activity along the 14-mile corridor from the Pacific Ocean and
Imperial Beach to Otay Mesa. The effort, known as Operation Gatekeeper, was launched in
October 1994.
Meissner said the latest effort, an extension of Operation Gatekeeper, would add five
Border Patrol agents on horseback to patrol the back country and three dog teams to be
assigned to checkpoints along rural roads. Meissner also announced that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation would join the operation to break up illegal smuggling rings at
the border. She said the Border Patrol would step up the use of checkpoints in the
Temecula area, where smugglers usually end up trying to evade the Border Patrol
checkpoint. In March, a van carrying illegal immigrants overturned near there as its
driver tried to avoid agents; eight illegal immigrants were killed and 18 others injured.
In Los Angeles, an alleged smuggler of illegal immigrants who police say was at the
wheel of a pickup truck during a chase in April which ended with the televised police
beatings of two undocumented aliens from Mexico, pleaded not guilty to federal charges of
transporting illegal immigrants.
Rigoberto Sosa-Padilla, 37, was arrested on May 3 while allegedly transporting 19 illegal
immigrants. The beating and chase occurred April 1 when a truck allegedly driven by
Sosa-Padillo and carrying more than 20 aliens led police on a 80-mile chase from Temecula
to Los Angeles. Helicopter news footage showed sheriff's deputies beating two of the
aliens, including a woman, with nightsticks. The deputies have been suspended and the two
Mexican citizens have filed multi-million dollar lawsuits against the authorities
Involved.
Next, when there is a definite powerhouse between the two, everything that happens within
the powerhouse, and to the powerhouse, the sick dog on the floor is affected. "The US
election may yet have an effect on Mexico: the better the protectionist Ross Perot does
in the campaign the greater the danger that Mexico will become an issue. The best
solution for Mexico would, clearly, be a victory for President Clinton. His policies have
become pragmatic rather than doctrinaire: this attitude was demonstrated by the
Helms-Burton Act: the President pulled back from implementing it though he keeps hinting
that he might implement the Act's strongest provisions after the elections."
The second is the expected rise in US interest rates. Most economists are factoring in a
half point rise in US interest rates either before, or more likely, immediately after the
US elections on November 5th. It is not yet clear whether the Mexican stockmarket has
discounted an increase in US rates. Higher US rates are likely to lead to diminished
flows of cash to the Mexican market.
Also, drug trafficking is a drastic problem that is battled daily. Juan Garcia Abrego,
recently added to the FBI's top 10 most wanted list, who according to FBI reports, is
charged with 131 counts of drug trafficking and related crimes, is also wanted in
connection with more than 70 murders. The drug kingpin's wealth is estimated between
200-million and 13-billion dollars in property and investments. Mr. Abrego is accused of
heading up a huge drug trafficking operation out of northeastern Mexico, and spending
millions of dollars to bribe Mexican officials under former president Carlos Salinas de
Gortari. The cartel smuggles an estimated 20 tons of Colombian cocaine into the United
States each month.
As was mentioned before, trade between the two countries can become a huge link-as well
as a huge barrier. The ratification of the NAFTA produced varied responses in the
Mexican political sector. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, Secretary General of the National
Action Party (PAN), believes that the NAFTA will bring foreign investment and certainty
to the Mexican economy but was careful to mention that the benefits would be long term
(10-12 years). However, despite his optimism he questioned the manner in which the
ratification occurred and explained that it was unfortunate that the Mexican government
had turned a potentially good negotiation into a political battle that they wanted to win
at whatever cost. He also demanded that the Mexican government explain the last minute
deals that were made to obtain votes in the U.S. Senate, request that was rejected by the
PRI majority in the senate. Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, presidential candidate for the National
Democratic Alliance (ADN), said that it would be necessary to evaluate the impact of the
NAFTA during a six month period, after which point, if found problematic, Mexico will
either have to re-negotiate or withdraw from the agreement. Cardenas proposed that a
commission be formed to undertake the said investigation. He emphasized his belief that
the terms of the NAFTA are not the best possible deal for Mexico as they fail to address
key issues such as the transfer of resources, labor mobility, social impacts, and a
long-term industrial strategy.
Senate leader Emilio M. Gonzalez announced that the dictum to approve the NAFTA and its
parallel accords would be presented to the Mexican senate for ratification on Friday and
expressed both satisfaction and relief that the NAFTA will indeed take effect in January
1994. President Salinas made a declaration about an hour after learning the results of
the vote in the U.S. Congress in which he affirmed that the ratification of the NAFTA
symbolized a rejection of protectionist visions promoted by fear of competition. He said
that the ratification of the NAFTA was one more step towards the creation of the largest
free trade block among sovereign countries in the world. Trade Secretary Jaime Serra
Puche gave a televised interview after Salinas' declaration in which he assured the
Mexican public that the text of the NAFTA had not been re-opened at any point during the
debate in the U.S. Congress. He also reiterated that none of the final text will be
subject to re-negotiation now that the NAFTA has been passed. Mexican Workers
Confederation (CTM) representative Juan S. Millan said that though in the short term the
NAFTA will not create solutions for all Mexican problems, in the long term, the country
can have high expectations of the benefits that the NAFTA will bring. Roberto
Castellanos, a Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants representative, was
not quite as optimistic saying that though he believes that the NAFTA will benefit the
working class by increasing employment and salaries, the debate in the U.S. Congress
demonstrated the wide gap that still exists between the two countries.
Barely half an hour after the U.S. Congress approved the NAFTA, the principal
organizations of the Mexican private sector announced their "wholehearted approval" of
what they considered to be "one of the culminating points of Mexican history in terms of
its economic relations with the rest of the world." El Financiero interviewed several
prominent businessmen who agreed that the first impacts of the approval of the NAFTA will
be an increase in foreign investment in Mexico, the stability of monetary markets, job
creation, and the recuperation of the population's buying power. They expressed their
readiness to confront the challenge of the predicted economic opening through "clear and
permanent rules which will regulate trade in a climate of confidence, certainty and
respect between the three signatory nations." However, several of the country's business
leaders added that the challenges that the Mexican economy faces have not changed with
the passage of the NAFTA and that its effects will not be immediate.
The Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC) asked the government to open spaces for
public consultation and participation to deal with the repercussions of the NAFTA. RMALC
representatives announced that if the NAFTA is ratified by the Mexican Senate, they will
mobilize to obtain a profound re-negotiation of the NAFTA which benefits the majority of
the population. According to RMALC members, the re-negotiation should include the
recognition of asymmetries between the participating countries' economies and aspects of
the social agenda which have been left out of the agreement. Said RMALC Director Bertha
Lujan, "We still don't know the popular vote on the NAFTA."
Thus, all the factors in keeping good connections between neighboring countries have been
discussed. Some out there might argue that there is more to it. This is my argument and
I stand firm in the belief that Mexico and the U.S. have a steady connection and have
many things that interact between them. That is what makes the Mexican-U.S. connection
so beautiful.
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