Posted on 03/30/2006 11:38:15 AM PST by Icelander
By Steve Holland and Randall Palmer
CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico, March 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox played tour guide to U.S. President George W. Bush at ancient Mayan ruins on Thursday before holding talks to urge him to push through long-sought U.S. immigration reform.
Hosting a North American summit, Fox planned to offer tighter border controls and incentives to lure some illegal immigrants home, a pledge meant to help Bush convince a skeptical Congress to let more Mexicans work legally in the United States.
Bush and Fox, joined by new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Mexico's rowdy beach resort of Cancun, kicked off with a visit to the nearby 1,500-year-old pyramid complex at Chichen Itza, where some archeologists believe human sacrifices took place.
It was a rare sightseeing detour for Bush, who usually keeps to a tight diplomatic schedule, and raised speculation he was trying to revive a back-slapping relationship with Fox that saw them dubbed "the two amigos" at the start of their administrations.
Chichen Itza, a symbol of Mexico's status as the center of ancient Indian empires before the Spanish conquest, was placed under security lockdown for the visit by the three leaders.
Rifle-toting federal police in riot gear scuffled briefly with 30 Mayan handicraft sellers bearing signs that said "Bush, go home" and complaining of being barred from the site, and a handful of anti-globalization demonstrators.
The summit marked Bush and Fox's first meeting in a year, and immigration topped the agenda.
"This is a good start to a very important series of discussions," said Bush after touring the hot, dusty ruins.
The U.S. Senate opened debate on Wednesday with Republicans split on whether to back Bush's call for sweeping reforms to create a guest worker program and put some of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship.
Conservatives in Bush's party, normally his allies, reject that as a form of amnesty and seek instead to erect a fence along a third of the U.S.-Mexico border and make illegal immigration a felony. The issue has brought out thousands of mostly Hispanic protesters in major U.S. cities.
NEW TEST FOR BUSH
With his job approval ratings at a low point, immigration is a new test of Bush's political strength at a time when his second term has been beset by woes.
Fox, who has failed for five years to convince Washington to let more Mexicans get jobs in the United States legally, is making one more push before leaving office in December.
His government worked with the Mexican Senate to produce a written document that recommends a crackdown on people smugglers as well as housing and economic incentives to attract undocumented immigrants into returning to Mexico.
That may help Bush win over some doubters in his party, but opponents of his approach will demand decisive action by Mexico, which accounts for more than half of all illegal immigrants in the United States.
Fox will tell Bush the document shows Mexico's "sense of shared responsibility", diplomat Geronimo Gutierrez said.
Mexican migrants in the United States sent about $20 billion home to their families last year, the country's second largest source of hard currency after oil revenues.
Mexicans once had high hopes for Bush, who took office promising to make America's southern neighbor a priority but pushed the region to the back burner after the Sept. 11 attacks.
In Cancun, police and sniffer dogs mingled with U.S. and European college students on spring vacations. Crowds were smaller this year with many hotels still closed after last October's Hurricane Wilma.
Harper, a conservative, said this week the Cancun summit would help build better relations with Washington after friction between Bush and former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Bush hopes to solve a dispute with Canada over softwood lumber, but Canadian officials said a deal was unlikely in Cancun. Canada ships $6 billion in softwood lumber to the United States each year.
Washington has slapped duties on the imports, saying Ottawa unfairly subsidizes logging. Canada denies the claims and accuses the United States of being protectionist.
"A friend to all is a friend to none".
sw
I would love to see those "the hot, dusty ruins." Obviously, the reporter is pissed at being away from home, and shows what a cultural illiterate he is.
Wecome to Free Republic, santorumlite
What are friends for, warchild9, if not a helping hand?
Ah, I knew there would be pictures of them holding hands. Look at Vicente's belt buckle, btw.
I don't.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2000/back1000.html
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2000/11/6/205824.shtml
A New Left Oil Bloc! If Congress ultimately approves a more punitive bill, Mexico's political climate will turn more sour toward the US and that would benefit Lopez Obrador to become the next Mexican president. A Lopez Obrador victory in the Mexican election would signal the ultimate domino falling.
Obrador, Chavez, Lula, Kirchner and Vázquez. If he wins, the administration will then be faced with four left-of-center hemispheric powerhouses: Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The nightmare scenario for the Bush team would then be Chávez inviting López Obrador and Mexico’s state owned oil company, Pemex, into a cooperative arrangement with the Venezuelan leader’s oil trading bloc, “Petrosur,” which already includes Argentina and, as of March 2, Uruguay. Given that Mexico and Venezuela are two of the U.S.’ top four sources of foreign oil imports (behind Saudi Arabia and Canada), a combined Obrador-Chávez alliance would account for upwards of a quarter of all U.S. petroleum imports. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606290/posts
Congress makes the laws not Bush?
You make the presidency out to be some monarchy?
If you want the laws changed you should be calling up memberes of the senate and the house?
The power of the presidency is so inflated compared to his true power.
Bush said he would sign sensennbrenner's bill.
Bush is not your enemy. Harry Reid will be the one filibustering a tough border bill.
The problem is not Bush it is Mexico.
Mexico needs to be able to provide better for their citizens. Their citizens need to want to stay there.
Fox's term is up. Hopefully new leadership will keep the citizens there.
Bush inherited this problem with Clinton doing nothing for 8 years.
You are incredibly harsh on Bush.
Illegals have been coming here for decades. You really are a bush hater if you are blaming him for this? You must think the president has some super power where he can reverse the whole economy of mexico where those people would want to stay.
If Tom Tancredo was president we'd still have the same problem with Mexico doing nothing and the dems filibustering any tough bills in congress.
You make the presidency out to be way more powerful than it actually is?
Bush has done as much has he legally could do.
Bush stopped the catch and release for non mexicans.
Dems voted against more detainned beds.
Bush and congress got the rest of the wall in western cal to be built.
Bush and congress has gotten predator drones up in the sky.
New technology at borders like sensors will help.
Bush and congress has gotten 3,000 more border agents down there.
Bush said he would be for the 700 miles of the walls in sensennbrenner's bill which the dems are against because they are making it a race issue and they are against it enviornmentally.
Bush said he would sign a bill from congress cracking down on employers.
What needs to happen is state troopers in states need to be allowed to catch illegals. Tennessee is working on a law like this.
Border state governors need to send their national guard to the border. Arizona dem governor won't. Federal troops are barred by posse comitatus.
Local law enforcement needs to also take a proactive role in this.
To make this Bush's fault is making a complex issue way too simple. Their a lot of players at work here that are outside of Bush's power.
Remember how Clinton used to win and then you could never find anybody that would admit to having voted for him?
Bush's critics are bashing Bush relentlessly with left wing MSM talking points.
It has gotten rediculous.
Yeah lets cheer that Bush has no support and Pelosi is coming to power. Bush haters remind me of the perot supporters.
Bush haters will do great harm to this country.
When Justice Stevens retires and is replaced by some jesse jackson clone thank the bush haters just like we got ginsberg and breyer and abortion on demand and affirmative action because of the perot bush haters.
To quote the Ol' Gunny, "You'd F me up the A without even the common courtesy of a reacharound."
You have to work with these big money people before you can see what their attitude really is. I have (at least with people whose net worth was in the 100,000,000 dollar range--can't say with those with more). You and I and the business-loving bots are cockroaches to these people. Spend time with them, and you'll want a shower.
We got affirmative action in the 1960's because of the Bush haters?
An old American proverb says "Nobody likes a sellout."
How long have you been out of high school?
And are your information sources more diverse than Faux News and Rush Limbaugh?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.