Thread: Latino leaders 2 discuss`Great American Boycott' in Mx City

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandfork ... 400841.htm

April 21, 2006
Latino leaders to discuss `Great American Boycott' in Mexico City
BY DIANNE SOLIS AND ALFREDO CORCHADO
The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS - Mexico's government will hold an unusual meeting Monday in Mexico City of U.S. Latino leaders, who expect officials there to urge them to reconsider the call for a May 1 boycott of U.S. businesses.

Latino leaders, including several from Dallas, said the meeting would be a "give and take" on immigrant issues and recent protests. They said the Mexican government was concerned that the proposed boycott would undermine their common efforts to win support for the immigrant cause.

"We're in favor of a more moderate tone," said one Mexican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The meeting comes as debate rises over whether the May 1 events - called the "Great American Boycott" - might damage attempts to pass legislation that would legalize great portions of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants. Protests were ignited around the country because of other proposed legislation that would have made instant felons of the nation's illegal immigrants.

An official with the Foreign Ministry said the meeting was aimed at "sharing information with them (immigrants) about the current debate about immigration in the U.S. Congress." The official said the meeting was called at the request of Latino leaders who sit on a Mexican government advisory council.

"We want America to notice us, to notice our economic and consumer power, to take us into account for that one day," said Nancy Guerrero of Dallas, who plans to attend the meeting in Mexico City. "We pay on time and we pay in cash. We're great consumers. Don't take us for granted."

But Guerrero - like many Mexican immigrants - is wary of the Mexican government and its intentions. Some immigrants believe their clout has grown in Mexico with the swelling stream of $20 billion sent annually back to the homeland. Migrant dollars, or remittances, are nearly as large a source of foreign revenue as petroleum.

"The Mexican government shouldn't be involved in any of this," Guerrero said. "They shouldn't try to tell us what to do. We have to defend our rights on our own."

In March, as student walkouts and protests spread across the United States, the Mexican government ordered its 46 consulates to stay away from the marches, fearing a backlash among anti-immigrant groups. With a tragic history of foreign interventions in Mexico, the Mexican government long ago adopted a strict policy of non-interference in policy debates of the United States, in the hopes that the United States would do the same.

There have been some historical exceptions, and this appears to be another one.

In 2002, Mexico's Foreign Relations Ministry established the Institute of Mexicans Abroad to strengthen ties with the growing Mexican migrant population in the U.S. There are now about 225 former and current members, including more than a dozen from the Dallas area, and they meet regularly to consult with the administration of President Vicente Fox.

They come from immigrant communities as diverse as Miami and Fresno, Calif., Dallas and Del Rio, Texas, Houston and Los Angeles.

Even as they press for reforms on in Washington, they are also pressing for reforms in Mexico - the chief country of origin for illegal and legal immigration to the United States.

"We don't want them (the Mexican government) to applaud us," said Mario Ramirez, a member of the institute and an owner of a chain of taquerias and bakeries in the Dallas area. "We want commitments from them."

Ramirez said he wants Mexican authorities to commit to economic development, job creation, and the expansion of credit for entrepreneurs in Mexico. "They have co-responsibility for why so many of us are here," he said.

And with so much money flowing back to Mexico in remittances, "we are basically supporting the country," said the businessman, who also sends money back to his mother.

A few members of the institute are U.S. citizens of Mexican descent with roots that go back several generations. Among that group are Hector Flores, a Dallas school administrator who is the national president of a Texas-founded advocacy group, the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Like Guerrero and Ramirez, Flores plans to accept the Mexican invitation to attend a meeting with officials from the Foreign Relations Ministry.

The spontaneity and size of the marches has surprised many, from established Latino leaders to Capitol Hill politicos and the Fox administration. The largest marches have been in Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.

And Dallas is the venue that has gotten the most attention. Unlike Los Angeles and Chicago, Dallas doesn't have a storied history of activism. Nor was it known as an immigrant gateway. Through most of the 20th century, the foreign-born represented less than 10 percent of the Dallas area's population. Now more than a quarter of Dallas residents are foreign-born.

And in a 2004 report by the Brookings Institution, the Dallas and Fort Worth areas were highlighted as two of the nation's top four emerging gateways for immigrants.

As many as 500,000 protesters, largely Latino, filled downtown Dallas on April 9 to bring attention to the immigration issue.

Now, many are trying to funnel the chaotic energy of Dallas and other cities into lobbying the U.S. Congress for legalization of a portion, or all, of the nation's illegal immigrants. Congress is expected to take up the issue again as early as next week.

Already in Dallas, at least, there are efforts to counter the proposed boycott by immigrants and their supporters.

"We're telling our members if you have a big-ticket item that you want to purchase, wait till May 1 to shop," said Jean Towell, the Dallas-based president of Citizens for Immigration Reform, a group that supports tougher enforcement of immigration laws. "We're saying to our group, go out and shop and show that we can carry the economy without illegal immigrants."

Hey they are home. Are we going to let them back in?

This give you the connection of Protests and boycotts. everytime before this protest. A group meets with the Mexican Government. This is Vicente Fox's press release earlier, right before the protest started taking shape.

Friday, February 3, 2006

Press Release | Los Pinos

During his meeting with the Board of Directors of the League of United Latin American citizens (LULAC), President Vicente Fox said that despite the fact that certain people seemed to have an interest in creating conflict in the relationship with the US, Mexico will continue working with a country of which it is a partner.

There are certain signs of tension in the Mexico-United States relationship; there are people that appear to have an interest in causing problems, people that seem to have an interest in our moving apart, but that will not happen, said the president.

President Fox told representatives of Hispanic communities in various parts of the United States that You can rest assured that on the Mexican side, we will not permit any distancing. We are going to continue working very closely with a country that is one of Mexicos partners, with which we get on very well and for which we feel a great deal of affection.

He urged them to pay attention to the migratory issue in the United States, specifically to the possibility of a migratory agreement that will protect the rights of those that work there and permit an orderly, legal and safe flow for the benefit of both countries.

And we will all have to work for this and not allow anyone to divide us, we must keep together to ensure that in the end, we have that migratory agreement, he added.

At the same time, representatives of this group told President Fox that LULAC will continue working with his administration to implement this issue.

The president went on to say that the country is gradually consolidating its economy and that in the social sphere, the situation in Mexico is changing as a result of programs such as the Popular Insurance Scheme, Enciclomedia and Oportunidades, which constitute innovative public policy instruments that have proved their effectiveness.

He added that for the first time ever, English is being taught to students in the fifth and sixth grade of elementary school in every school in the country, through the electronic blackboard.

Likewise, we look after our childrens and families health through the Popular Insurance Scheme, which has been another major public policy instrument; once families of limited means have that policy, they no longer have to worry about their health, hospitalization or surgery, since they no longer have to pay a cent for medicine, he explained.

President Fox stated that a total of 25 million Mexicans are now covered by this Popular Insurance Scheme, and that the remainder of the countrys inhabitants are covered by IMSS or ISSSTE:

During the meeting held at the official Los Pinos residence, President Fox praised the Hispanic community and all Mexicans living in the United States for the work they have done, their participation in that society and the positions of leadership they have attained.

President Fox was accompanied by Under-Secretary for North America from the Foreign Secretariat, Gernimo Gutirrez Fernndez and executive director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, Carlos Gonzlez Gutirrez.

Representing LULAC, among others, was Hctor Flores, National Chairman of that association.

http://presidencia.gob.mx/en/activities ... 9&pagina=1

Below is one of the original statements made by the Latino USA movement. The other name they have for this "May Day" boycott is "a day without and immigrant", but I think that means (illegal) immigrant. So, my idea is why stop at a day? Why not say a year without an illegal immigrant...that should make them 365 times more happy!

President of Movimiento Latino USA. Juan José Gutiérrez is proposing that the coalition that organized "La Gran Marcha" meet in Arizona or Texas on April 8 to "organize a mass boycott (huelga) against the economy of the USA" to take place on May 1.

and permit an orderly, legal and safe flow for the benefit of both countries.

Also, I love to hear Fox uses words like legal, orderly, safe..etc. I have worked in Mexico. Paid Mexico & USA taxes and Mexico visa. The whole country is corrupt & dangerous. Even the Mexican people do not trust their own police.

It's really silly when you have 3rd world banditos dictating to us what we can or cannot do. Inmates are running the asylum.

Originally Posted by Federali

It's really silly when you have 3rd world banditos dictating to us what we can or cannot do. Inmates are running the asylum.

It sure appears so. Tantrum-throwing toddlers having nearly their every whim pandered to!

Put some diapers on those thumb-suckers and see how rowdy they are then. :P