Obama knows the U.S. and Mexico are mutually dependent on each other
TAGS: Swine Flu, Mexico, Immigration, Drug Cartel
By GEBE MARTINEZ | 5/5/09 4:29 AM EDT


A woman crosses the border from Mexico to the U.S. In the wake of an outbreak of swine flu, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has ordered nonessential businesses to shut down for five days. Conservative broadcasters and bloggers want President Barack Obama to close the border.
Photo: Reuters

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — As he stood by the cash register of the restaurant he runs in this city’s historic district, Mario Garcia Calleja puffed from a cigarette and demanded respect.

President Barack Obama has struck the right tone toward Mexico, Garcia Calleja said, but he wondered whether Obama could muster support for Mexico from congressional conservatives who regard the nation as a problem and not a partner.

“They should not be looking at Mexico as a garbage dump but as a real country, as an entryway to North America,â€