Thread: Post-Katrina, a new chance with Mexico

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/2 ... hez16.html


Friday, September 16, 2005

Post-Katrina, a new chance with Mexico

MARCELA SANCHEZ

WASHINGTON -- Nearly a quarter-century ago, soon after his election, President Reagan referred to Mexico as one of "our two neighbors" in North America. While those few words may seem as insignificant now as they seemed to many who heard them then, to Mexico they became a symbol of a dramatic change in U.S.-Mexican relations. They signified the moment that the United States recognized Mexico as more than just part of Latin America.

Twenty-five years from now Mexicans might similarly remember events that occurred this week. In Gulfport, Miss., President Bush personally thanked Mexican troops for "working together" with U.S. counterparts to help rebuild an elementary school devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In front of reporters and photographers Bush shook the hands of members of the Mexican navy, the word "MARINA" visibly emblazoned across their chests.

The meeting cum photo op capped a proud week for Mexico, which for the first time in 159 years sent troops into U.S. territory. Besides the Mexican marines in Mississippi, a military convoy with nearly 200 soldiers rode proudly passed jubilant crowds from Laredo to San Antonio, Texas, where it set up camp and began providing dental and medical assistance and, more famously, nearly 35,000 hot meals to Katrina evacuees and volunteers.

Reagan's legacy in Latin America is controversial. But back in 1981, at least for Mexico, his initial gesture helped usher in a new optimism and changed the tone of a bilateral relationship that was rife with contention. Immigration was at the heart of matters then, just as it is today. During Reagan's second term, Washington took on the issue and passed a substantial immigration reform that included amnesty for thousands here illegally.

The image of Bush with the Mexican marines could be considered a second chance at a symbolic moment for Mexico during his tenure. The first came and went early on when Mexican President Vicente Fox became the first state visitor to Bush's White House. Like Reagan before him, Bush had developed a significant personal rapport with his Mexican counterpart and appeared to be sincerely committed to changing the way the United States and Mexico interact. But the optimism and smiles engendered by the two cowboys didn't last beyond the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when Mexico was slow to show its support. The tone of the relationship has been on edge ever since, both sides exchanging barbs over issues from border security to racial insensitivity.

While everyone is weary of raising expectations prematurely in Mexico, Bush's acknowledgement of Mexican humanitarian aid and Washington's willingness to accept it are playing well in Mexican media. Like Reagan's subtle but significant choice of words, Bush's gesture reads as humility and graciousness, characteristics not normally associated with Washington and particularly not with this administration.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio O. Garza furthered this impression in an open letter to the Mexican people Tuesday, offering the "respect, gratitude and sincere recognition" of the U.S. public to Mexico's assistance. Garza insisted that his country "will never forget Mexico's generosity in our time of trouble."

Meanwhile, Ana Maria Salazar, a former Pentagon official and now a commentator in Mexican media, wrote in a column for the Mexican newspaper El Universal that she hopes the Mexican military assistance will open the way for Fox to "reinitiate discussions with Washington on issues beyond border violence."

In a different column, Jeffrey Davidow, former ambassador to Mexico, wrote that the "historic importance" of Mexican assistance to Katrina's victims should not be "underestimated on either side of the border." Drawing a contrast between Mexico's initial response in assisting Katrina's victims and its "vulgar and indifferent manifestation of lack of compassion and interest" after 9/11, Davidow said Mexico has demonstrated that even though managing relations with Washington is difficult, it is not impossible.

There were some in Mexico who were reluctant to respond with aid after Katrina, fearing that the deployment of Mexican military north of the Rio Grande would set a dangerous precedent that the United States could use to send its own troops south. These sentiments are real but fortunately this time did not get in the way of Mexican cooperation. Perhaps, as former Mexican Ambassador Andres Rozental, president of the Mexican Council on International Affairs, said, those who harbor these fears are keeping alive "historical baggage from events that happened too many years ago."

Both Mexican aid and the acknowledgement of it by Bush are welcomed developments that should serve as a reminder of how far U.S. diplomacy can go by simply giving its Southern neighbors a chance to feel more as equals.

Judging from the comments of the Mexican relief workers (in other articles), I think they were sincere in wanting to help and being here to help. But, I also think that the aid mission itself was nothing more than a big publicity stunt by Bush/Fox to manipulate public opinion into falling for their agenda of a border free North America. Considering how damn naive, gullible, and uneducated most folks are, the trick will probably work.

http://www.alipac.us/article721.html

yes

It won't work with this guy, and in fact I think most Americans are flat out disgusted with the "gesture".

Our Marines were pushed aside for theirs. Don't tell me that "all of our Marines are in Iraq". We have enough here and in close proximity to La. (Virginia, the Carolinas) to have been deployed there.

The biggest slap in the face was that "ceremony" about the fall of Chapultepec to the "brutal Gringo invasion". I'm seething with rage that it was allowed on our soil and nobody from our government said squat for fear of being called "racist".

It's time to take Mexico out to the woodshed.

They need to look to Chile to see how to act before we can formally cast our lot with them. Chile, post-Pinochet, is starting to flourish while the rest of Latin America languishes in a quasi-socialist hell. I wish that we could switch Chile's location with Mexico's.

My tagline sums it up.

It's hard to forget the "historical baggage" from the Reagan amnesty.