Thread: Our Mexico ambassador comes home, Navarrette

Our Mexico ambassador comes home

By Ruben Navarrette
2:00 a.m. April 12, 2009

It's not unusual for a U.S. ambassador to be a witness to history. But, as U.S. ambassador to Mexico the last six years, Tony Garza was able to witness – and, some say, help bring about – nothing less than a historic shift in U.S.-Mexico relations.

And that helps pave the way for President Obama's visit to Mexico this week to meet with President Felipe Calderón.

It wasn't long ago that the Mexican government was quick to protest whenever the United States fortified its southern border. Whether it was building a fence or talking about deploying the National Guard, the memory of U.S. troops marching into Mexico City during the Mexican War more than 150 years ago would rush back and the Mexicans would say: “No mas.â€

But now, more than any other time, we truly need each other.

Can anyone explain to me what we need from Mexico? This isn't just sarcasm or a rhetorical question. I seriously don't know what we NEED or GET from Mexico. I'm only aware of what we GIVE to them - we employ, educate, and support half of their citizens. Is it just that we want a market for our goods in Mexico? And if so, I certainly don't think that comes close to equal in what we GIVE them, or how they USE us and our tax dollars and our country.

Originally Posted by builditnow

But now, more than any other time, we truly need each other.

Can anyone explain to me what we need from Mexico? This isn't just sarcasm or a rhetorical question. I seriously don't know what we NEED or GET from Mexico. I'm only aware of what we GIVE to them - we employ, educate, and support half of their citizens. Is it just that we want a market for our goods in Mexico? And if so, I certainly don't think that comes close to equal in what we GIVE them, or how they USE us and our tax dollars and our country.

For one thing our farmers sell them $11.5 BILLION worth of crops per year.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) —Trade with Mexico: It estimated that U.S. farm and food exports to Mexico exceeded $11.5 billion in 2007 -- the highest level ever under NAFTA. ...
www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/NAFTA.asp - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

They also sell us oil and natural gas, which they have a lot of.

They sell us illegal drugs.

We sell them guns and ammo.

US Weapons, Guns Fuel Drug Trade, Mexico's Ambassador Says -
3 hours ago
By DEBORAH SOLOMON As President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Mexico this week, the Mexican ambassador to the US said weapons and money flowing from ...Wall Street Journal - 270 related articles »
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123956205887011615.html

North American Free Trade Agreement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia4; ^ U.S.-Mexico Corn Trade During the NAFTA Era: New Twists to an Old Story USDA Economic Research Service; ^ Newswise: Free Trade Agreement Helped U.S. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement - 127k - Cached - Similar pages

U.S.–Mexico Trade: Are We Still Connected? - Business Frontier ...Business Frontier, Issue 3, 2004. Published by the El Paso Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
www.dallasfed.org/research/busfront/bus0403a.html - 90k - Cached - Similar pages

Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade 2006 -- MexicoThe U.S. trade deficit with Mexico continued to increase in 2006, rising by $14.9 billion (22 percent) to $82.5 billion as imports outpaced exports. ...
www.usitc.gov/tradeshifts/2007/tradeshifts_mexico.htm - 38k - Cached - Similar pages

Mexico moves to protect consumer in U.S. trade spat - Boston.comMexico pledged on Tuesday that tariffs slapped on US goods would exclude staple foods and would not hurt consumers, but the first major trade flap of the ...
www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/ ... _us_goods/ - Similar pages

Mexico moves to protect consumer in US trade spatMar 17, 2009 ... Recasts, adds comments from US groups and lawmakers; adds second byline, dateline, previously MEXICO CITY)
www.blnz.com/news/2009/03/17/Mexico_mov ... _1632.html - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

Clinton Says U.S. Feeds Mexico Drug Trade - NYTimes.comMar 26, 2009 ... Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made blunt remarks on the American role in Mexico’s drug trade.
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/world/americas/26mexico.html - Similar pages

[PDF] U.S. Rail-Carried Trade with Canada and MexicoFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
U.S. trade with Mexico via rail more than doubled from $18.2 billion in 1998 ... Trade With Canada & Mexico by Rail 1998-2007. Value in Billions US Dollars ...
www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/policy/can_me ... dec08%20(2).pdf - Similar pages

Thanks for all the info and sources, JohnDoe2. That kind of info helps me understand better why some of our leaders are willing to sell out this country.

So a lot of it is oil and gas, (as is often the case). It just seems they should be a rich country themselves if they have all that oil and gas. I suppose most of the wealth is concentrated in only a few hands...? And those few hands also want the poor Mexican people to come here, as do the politically powerful in Mexico, and have U.S. tax-payers educate their children, provide health-care, etc.

So they don't believe in spreading the wealth around down there, instead we should spread it around here...?There is the Mexican billionaire who loaned millions to NY Slimes newspaper, I just read about another Mexican millionaire today in a post here, she is the wife of a Mexican ambassador, I think.

Edit: Guess I'm losing it. I got off on a tangent here, and forgot the Mexican millionaire I read about today was in this article. Whe I re-read, I realized it said she is one of the world's wealthiest women.