'Comprehensive' Mexico-U.S. Integration is the Only Answer
"The U.S. has never imposed a
law like this on any other community, including Muslims after the September 11
attacks. As has been said, in that state [Arizona], it will be illegal to
detain someone for looking like Osama Bin Laden, but anyone can be detained for
looking Mexican."
The Arizona anti-immigrant
law is a dangerous precedent for Mexico-United States relations. Like any nation,
the American Union and all of its individual states have the full right to safeguard
their borders and provide a legal channel for migration. There is no debate about
that, although the phenomenon of migration between our countries should be addressed
with legislation that goes well beyond the simple regulation of entries and departures.
The real danger is that the Arizona law is racist and specifically applies to
Mexicans or other Latinos, and establishes rules that clearly violate the
U.S. Constitution.
The new law allows local
authorities to arrest persons of Latino origin under suspicion of being undocumented:
ultimately, any Mexican living, working or traveling in Arizona, must prove his
or her legal status in Arizona if any authority (or even a neighbor) approaches
them to ask - or if they are stopped. The U.S. has never imposed a law like this on
any other community - including Muslims after the September 11 attacks. As has
been said, in that state [Arizona], it will be illegal to detain someone for
looking like Osama bin Laden, but anyone can be detained for looking Mexican.
This also shows how badly
many elements of our bilateral relationship and regional integration with the
U.S and Canada are going. In fact, although bilateral trade is enormous, there
is no plan for achieving real integration. During the Zedillo Administration
[1994-2000], there was no opportunity for this due to the [financial] crisis of
1995 and all of its consequences. Then, since 1997, there hasn't been a legislative
majority willing to pursue the matter. The Fox Administration seemed
enthusiastic about it, but between the victory of George W. Bush and his lack
of comprehension and interest in the region - coupled with the consequences of
the attacks on 9/11 and the war against terrorism, Afghanistan and Iraq, any possibility
of achieving a real plan for integration was lost. The Calderon government has very
good communications with Washington by means of Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan,
but has shown no interest in either achieving a deeper plan for integration - perhaps
because the federal government still doesn't have a legislative majority with
which to agree on the key points of such a plan. But I fear that this isn't the
biggest problem. Rather, there appears to be a lack of real interest in going
beyond good diplomatic relations toward a real effort at integration.
A protestor from Las Vegas demonstrates against
Arizona's new law on
illegal immigrants at the Arizona Capitol of Phoenix, April 29. As Mexico
ramped up the diplomatic pressure on Washington,
American Latinos
began their own series of protests across the
country.
For example: can anyone be
against what Bill Clinton said here last week, about the need for a
Plan Mexico (that emulates Plan Colombia, launched by Clinton at the end of
his presidency) to attack drug trafficking? Clinton was careful about speaking of
intervention - and even explained that a comprehensive plan should involve local
Mexican forces, and on this basis, involve the cooperation of the United
States. Plan Colombia cannot be repeated in our country for the simple reason
that intervention of direct military force as it exists in Colombia, even if it's limited, is inconceivable. But it is possible to do a great
many other things in the security area. It's true that the U.S. has a debt to
pay Mexico, and hasn't even fully implemented the Merida Initiative, which
has already been overtaken by events. The difference would be to increase joint
security efforts: first, as a bilateral challenge; and second, as part
of a plan for integration.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
One may say that it cannot happen
- but it's possible. In the same way that Europe was unified by steel and
coal, North America could be integrated based on very concrete projects, the
clearest of which would be a regional energy policy - although even our own legislation
is quite an impediment to allowing this to happen. But there would be no legal
impediments, for example, to deepening the existing integration of the automotive
industry and a number of other areas of manufacturing.
What's happening is that
since 1994, it's been very difficult to speak, either here or in Washington, of
regional integration, an integrated market and a security scheme for North
America. Without that, there will be no solution to the challenge of migration.
