Vicente Fox visits Monterey County
By VICTOR CALDERON
The Salinas Californian

CARMEL VALLEY - Monterey County's many riches include its residents of Mexican origin, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Thursday during a private garden party in Carmel Valley.

"This is a beautiful region," Fox said inside the home of philanthropists Jose and Bobbi Buenrostro. "I feel a compatriotship with the Mexican people here who have helped build this county and make it thrive today."

Fox, Mexico's president from 2000-06, visited the Buenrostros' home with his wife, Marta Sahagún de Fox, to speak with community leaders about building partnerships with Mexico. His last formal visit to the county came before his presidency.

More than 100 people attended the fiesta, which included mariachi music, in the hills overlooking Carmel Valley. The former president's visit is part of a three-week U.S. tour to promote stronger economic and diplomatic ties with Mexico. He's also on a book tour for his autobiography, "Revolution of Hope," and has held fundraisers for his planned presidential library in Guanajuato, Mexico, the first in the country's history.

Jose Buenrostro is a Carmel-based general building contractor who owns Sonador Construction Inc. He's also an accomplished mariachi musician who has founded a 501(c)3 nonprofit division of his corporation called Sonadores Inc.

"Sonadores" is Spanish for "dreamers."

"It's an honor to host Presidente Fox today," said Buenrostro, who invited the former president to his home after the two met in San Jose two weeks ago. "Our goal is to have a cultural exchange program through his library, to bring people from Mexico here to visit and vice versa."

Upon his election, Fox, a member of the National Action Party, became the first candidate in more than 70 years to break the Institutional Revolutionary Party's hold on the presidency, which some have called a dictatorship. He was succeeded last year by President Felipe Calderón, also of the National Action Party.

Immigration has become a hot topic since Fox's presidency, and he has said he opposes the wall under construction to separate the United States from Mexico.

"Instead of walls, we need to build bridges between the two countries," he said. "There needs to be an immigration reform that benefits both the U.S. and Mexico."

Fox criticized CNN talk-show host Lou Dobbs for his comments that the Mexican government hasn't done enough to improve the quality of life for Mexicans to keep them from emigrating to the United States for higher-paying jobs.

"The Mexican government is not encouraging the people to come here," he said. "It's that this economy offers them jobs in agriculture, construction, restaurants and hotels, and Mexicans are vital to the local economy, while sending money back home."

Fox said he sees a bright future ahead for the country where he rose to become president of Coca Cola Mexico and governor of the state of Guanajuato before assuming its highest office.

"Mexico has found its path to democracy," he said. "We ended a dictatorship, and now the future of Mexico is rooted in liberty and a more solid economy."
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