[Willie Green]

Brazilian communist President Lula da Silva gains more incremental influence over America's infrastructure industries.

But, in general, the protective system of our day is conservative, while the free trade system is destructive. It breaks up old nationalities and pushes the antagonism of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie to the extreme point. In a word, the free trade system hastens the social revolution. It is in this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, that I vote in favor of free trade.

~Karl Marx, "On the Question of Free Trade" - January 9, 1848

[Willie Green]

ping

[TFine80]

I think this is a good sign. We need better trade relations with Brazil.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Is this another evil plot to reduce production?

[newgeezer]

I wonder if any cement plant in the US is US-owned anymore. Seems like they're all owned by German, Dutch, or Mexican companies.

[the invisib1e hand]

I cement really an American infrastructure industry?

[the invisib1e hand]

another point, if i may be a bit philosophical. the very people who despise marxism tend quote him as if he were THE authority on things social and economic, instead of the tormented theorizer that he was.

just because he was "for the worker" doesn't mean that being "for the worker" is a bad thing. ditto, free trade.

his conclusions are not Writ, are very apt to be fanciful, and we all know that his key premises were incorrect.

[The Great RJ]

Same company owns a cement plant in South Dakota. The plant was long owned by the state, but was sold in a very hasty manner by a former Governor and railroaded through a special session of the legislature with only 4 legislators hand picked by the governor being allowed to see the contract.

[1rudeboy]

Hey Willie, are we running out of cement? Think of the national security implications! [hoot]

[1rudeboy]

Compare this with Willie's quote at #1:

Do not imagine, gentlemen, that in criticizing freedom of trade we have the least intention of defending the system of protection.

~Karl Marx, "On the Question of Free Trade" - January 9, 1848

[hedgetrimmer]

There is probably a much more interesting story if you look into the relationship of CEMEX and the BLM.

*****

Alternative sites to a gigantic sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon are being explored in the San Bernardino area as Santa Clarita city officials Thursday reported some progress in their talks with the firm that owns the rights to mine the canyon.

The mine proposed for Soledad Canyon would be the largest aggregate mine in the history of the world, said Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, during a Thursday community meeting held at the Sports Complex.

“This is a gold mine,” he said. “It just happens it’s in a bad area for us.”
McKeon said a consultant has been retained to help the two sides reach an agreement. A city official said the city was not paying for the consultant.

“They will try to come up with an amicable solution for the community that (Perez) can take to his stockholders,” McKeon said. “If they do (bring a solution to me), my job is to get it passed in the House and the Senate and signed by the president. We can’t start working on the bill until they get an agreement. It would be too easy to kill. Other interests don’t want it passed.”

Those “other interests” represent fellow congressmen who don’t want to see the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s authority eroded.

The BLM issued leases to Cemex’s predecessor. Los Angeles County challenged permits to mine there but later backed off.

The city joined the fray a bit late but with vehemence, saying the mine would result in gross air pollution in Canyon Country, jam state Route 14 with truck traffic and pose traffic hazards on local streets.


Santa Clarita city officials are holding out the hope that a land swap would result in minimal mining in Soledad Canyon in exchange for unchallenged mining rights somewhere less populated.

Bedrosian said Thursday that the BLM has been asked about its holdings in California and elsewhere in the country, as far away as Florida.

Among the areas that were subject to inquiry was Rep. Jerry Lewis’ Inland Empire district, a desert area of Southern California where much aggregate has already been mined.

Lewis, R-San Bernardino, was alerted by McKeon that a potential Cemex site might find its way into his district, said Jim Specht, Lewis’ spokesman.

In McKeon’s vast district, the largest potential aggregate mining site would yield only a small fraction of the aggregate that could be taken from the Soledad Canyon site.

McKeon denounced the BLM for foisting the open-pit mining operation on Santa Clarita. The agency’s contract with the former owner of the property — Transit Mixed Concrete — was “not on our radar scope” in 1990, he said.

The government has a right to do what it wants to do on its property — a practice called federal pre-emption. The BLM cannot administratively change the leases. The only way the status of the leases can be changed is if Cemex gives them back to the BLM or if a law is passed by Congress that modifies the term, or terminates the leases, said Michael Murphy, Santa Clarita’s intergovernmental relations officer.

http://www.the-signal.com/News/ViewStory.asp?storyID=5577

[hedgetrimmer]

Inocencio Cruz used to imagine building a home in Mexico would be a family affair -- send money to his parents and rely on them to buy the supplies and oversee the work.

But with the help of Construmex, a cross-border contractor, immigrants such as 22-year-old Cruz are able to buy the construction materials they need to build homes in Mexico. "I do everything from here," he said in Chicago recently, still a little amazed. "All my parents have to do is talk on the phone and all the materials arrive."

Although the Mexican economy long has benefited from remittances sent from north of the border, that wealth often vanishes to meet daily expenses such as food, medicine and school tuition.

But lately the Mexican government has tried to channel more of that infusion from the United States -- $13.3 billion in 2003 -- toward the new home market in an effort to avert a looming housing crisis.

Immigrant wealth could help start the needed building binge, Mexican officials say.

Construmex runs a simple cash-for-concrete business model. "When our clients make a payment, we guarantee delivery of their materials," Solorio said. "They organize the actual building."

The firm takes the uncertainty out of the equation by guaranteeing all needed construction supplies will be available. The company charges a $1 fee for each payment but turns a profit on the sale of building materials that come from parent company Cemex, Mexico's largest manufacturer of cement.

http://www.freep.com/realestate/renews/mexico22e_20041022.htm

[hedgetrimmer]

Thinking about the necessity that the Mexicans been in the United States must to construct fast and economically their houses in Mexico, we created Construmex.


The objective of this initiative is to help to canalize the originating shipments of money of that country, to ours, destined to the acquisition of materials for construction. The service works through a branch that allows to orient and to order the necessities of materials, with the guarantee of its delivery in the Mexican territory.

At the moment it is counted on nine branches in the United States, located in the cities of Ash, the Angels, Santa Ana and Lynwood, Huntington Park and San Fernando in California; an office in Chicago Illinois and two in Houston Texas. Construmex offers information of the more than 2 thousand distributors of construction equipments in Mexico, certificates and recommended by CEMEX, thus covering all the national territory.


http://tools.search.yahoo.com/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//www.construmex.com/&lp=es_en&.intl=us

[hedgetrimmer]

Remember public/private partnerships were utilized by Mussolini to prop up his fascistic government.

Please note that USAID is a form of welfare for "least developed countries" (United Nations terminology)

Also note, that American taxpayers are funding Mexico's economic expansion, making most of the major investment, until the hand-selected "private partners" can come in and take the profits off of US taxpayer investments.
***

The historic signing of an agreement which will enable the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to offer a full-range of financial and risk insurance services to U.S. firms doing business in Mexico. The agreement must be approved by the Mexican Senate.


The U.S. and Mexico agreed to explore development of a Peace Corps program in Mexico that would bring volunteers in the high-tech sector to work with Mexico's National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) on small business development, science and technology and science and development.

U.S. Bank and the Mexican savings bank BANSEFI announced a new low-cost service to transfer funds from the U.S. to the most rural communities in Mexico for as low as six dollars per transfer through a commercial banking alliance known as The People's Network (L@ Red de la Gente.)

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced plans to provide $1.38 million in assistance for feasibility studies for infrastructure projects in Mexico, including the expansion of the Ciudad Obregon airport, development of Mexico's Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture project and support for Mexico's Federal Competition Commission.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of Mexico announced the establishment of an automated clearinghouse for crossborder financial transactions. The International Electronic Funds Transfer System (TEFI) will reduce the cost of financial transactions to less than one dollar.
Mexico's National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) signed agreements with Arizona, Iowa State, and Georgetown Universities and the University of Texas at El Paso to provide scholarship opportunities for Mexican students, exchange programs for professors and researchers and collaboration for joint research and promotion programs.

The University of California announced plans to open Casa California – a branch campus in Mexico.

The U.S. and Mexico announced plans to launch the “Good Partner Award” to recognize the contribution of the private sector in advancing social and economic development in Mexico. Nominations will be accepted until September 30, 2003.

Georgetown University and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced plans to provide training in Mexico and to develop a cadre of technically trained business leaders in the agriculture and export sectors.
USAID and Aid to Artisans announced plans to promote use of lead-free glazes on Mexican ceramic handicrafts.

USAID announced plans to add partnerships between U.S. and Mexican universities under the Training, Internships, Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) initiative, a $50 million, eight-year public-private alliance for higher education.

The U.S. National Institute of Health's Fogarty International Center and CONACYT announced plans to strengthen cooperation and research in biomedical sciences, infectious diseases, AIDS/HIV and maternal/infant health.
The U.S. Small Business Administration, Mexico's Economic Secretariat and National Financing Agency signed an agreement to work together to develop stronger commercial ties to spur increased trade between small businesses.·

The U.S. Council on Competitiveness launched a partnership with their Mexican counterpart organization, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, to cooperate on competitiveness and foster regional economic development.

· CONACYT and PROVAGUA announced a project to increase rainfall in the Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the Laredo, Texas, border region.



The Partnership talks also highlighted the role of corporate citizenship and responsibility in the communities in which they operate including:
A project by AOL Time Warner and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to establish a missing and exploited children's center in Mexico.
An initiative by Merck, Inc. to train Mexican scientists and to contribute to an agenda for innovation through policy dialogues between Mexican and U.S. leaders in partnership with the National Institute of Genomic Medicine, the Foundation for the Americas, and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.
A donation of $250,000 over two years by Western Union to the Instituto para el Desarrollo de la Mixteca, a non-profit economic development program in Mexico's Mixteca region.
A GE project, with Mexico City's Museum of Technology, to develop an interactive exhibition designed to improve science education. Called Reto GE (GE Challenge), its objective is to encourage students to regard technology as an area of scholarly curiosity and long-term interest.
A program by CEMEX designed to: (1) improve health conditions among poorer families by providing an anti-bacterial product to reduce gastrointestinal and dermatological illnesses; and (2) enable low-income families the opportunity to buy higher-quality construction materials and receive professional technical assistance in homebuilding.
A fundraising effort led by COMEX for construction of housing for low-income families. The houses will have access to municipal services, including water, sewers, and electricity. Funds will be raised from private donors and all the proceeds will be invested.


The unique public-private Partnership for Prosperity initiative was launched by U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox in September 2001 to target economic development in the areas of Mexico which generate the most emigrants based on the premise that no Mexican should feel compelled to leave his home for lack of economic opportunity.

More information is available at the Office for Economic Affairs at the Mexican Embassy or in the website: www.p4pworks.org.