McCain woos Catholic, Latino voters on Mexican visit
36 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, home to Mexico's most revered icon, a stop likely aimed at Roman Catholics and Mexican-Americans voters in the United States.

The basilica houses a 16th-century icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a picture depicting an apparition of a brown-skinned Virgin Mary. The icon, Mexico's most beloved religious and cultural image, and the basilica is the second most-visited Catholic shrine in the world.

McCain, who arrived here late Wednesday from Colombia, then met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon for talks Thursday on fighting the illegal drug trade.

"McCain recognized the leadership that President Calderon has maintained since the start of his administration in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking," a Calderon spokesman said after the talks.

A McCain spokesman said the trip was meant to demonstrate the high regard that the Protestant US senator feels for Catholics in both Mexico and the United States. McCain also is hoping to close the gap that his Democratic rival Barack Obama, has opened up among Latino voters.

A Time magazine poll released Thursday showed McCain with a slight, one-point lead over Catholics nationally, 45 percent to 44 percent supporting Obama.

A Gallup poll this week gave Obama a 59 percent to 29 percent lead over McCain among registered Hispanic voters across the United States.

However McCain did not forget anti-immigration hard-liners in the United States, and warned that any US immigration reform would be second to reinforcing security along the border with Mexico.

"I firmly believe that we need a comprehensive immigration reform but before American people want and need a secure border," McCain told reporters at a stop at a recently-built Mexico City police station.

McCain said that includes building some walls to help secure the border -- a move deeply unpopular in Mexico.

US builders are raising walls along some 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) of the border with Mexico in an attempt to halt the flow of tens of thousands Mexicans and Central Americans flooding north each year.

Some 12 million Mexicans live in the United States, half of them illegally.

During his meeting with Calderon, McCain reiterated his support for the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Obama took several swipes at NAFTA during his party primary campaign.

McCain also cheered the Merida Initiative, recently approved in the US Congress, which increases monetary and technical support to the Mexican government to fight drug traffickers.

Mexican authorities have demanded 'co-responsibility' in the drug war, since 80 percent of the weapons that the drug cartels use in Mexico come from the United States -- which in turn is the world's largest comsumer of illegal drugs such as cocaine.
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