Thread: Governor of Mexico meets with Jeb Bush in Florida

I still can't believe this. If anyone hasn't had a chance, please read this all the way down. I just can't believe it.

Ran across an article on this Montiel fellow who recently met with Jeb Bush. Maybe he is the guy to watch out for in the presidential election next year since he apparently is trying to build a relationship with the Bushes.

www.signonsandiego.com

Mexican presidential contender vows to be tough if elected


By E. Eduardo Castillo
ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:49 p.m. August 16, 2005

MEXICO CITY – A major contender for the presidential nomination of Mexico's largest party said Tuesday that current President Vicente Fox has failed to show leadership and political savvy.
"President Fox prepared to reach the presidency of the republic, but he did not prepare to govern the country," Mexico State Gov. Arturo Montiel told a news conference for foreign reporters.

He said Fox had lacked the aides and abilities needed to maneuver politically. Fox has had trouble winning approval of many of his major proposals in the opposition-dominated Congress.

Montiel, 61, promised "a hard hand" – firm leadership – if he wins the July 2006 election, apparently contrasting himself to Fox's attempts to self-limit the once-dictatorial powers of Mexico's presidency.

Fox became the first president in 71 not from Montiel's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. He also was the first to face an opposition majority in both houses of Congress.

Montiel first must overcome a rival for the PRI nomination: former Tabasco state Gov. Roberto Madrazo, who also has a reputation for slick but ruthless political infighting.

Madrazo has led in most polls but Montiel has been closing the gap.

Montiel's tough-sounding line is much like the one he campaigned upon to win the governorship of Mexico's most populous state in 2000, when he famously ran television commercials proclaiming that "human rights are for people, not for rats" – using a Mexican term for criminals.

Montiel, who defined himself as "center-left," said he would focus on immigration and on fighting crime and drug traffic. He said he would seek "the best technicians" to run his Cabinet.

He suggested a "drastic" change in relations with the United States, but did not spell out how. He said he favored a review of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but only within terms already called for in the document that took effect in 1994.