Free Republic

Proposed Mexican Social Security Overhaul Sparks Violent Protests, Late-Night Senate Debate By Will Weissert, Abilene Reporter News August 5, 2004 MEXICO CITY- Fierce debate over a bill that would reform Mexico's Social Security Institute's pension system stretched well past midnight Thursday on the Senate floor. Hours of final discussion of the measure followed massive protests by institute union members, who blocked main avenues across Mexico's capital, surrounded the Senate building and fought with police in protest of the would-be law. One group of demonstrators tried to block a convoy of buses taking senators to the legislative chambers and a scuffle...

MEXICO CITY - Mexican Public Security Minister Alejandro Gertz resigned Friday amid growing public anger at the governments failure to rein in violent crime.President Vicente Fox, saying Gertz had stepped down to pursue academic studies, vowed to crack down on crime and named a logtime political ally to replace him."We are going to redouble our efforts," Fox said in a televised address. "Crime has to end."In the biggest demonstration in Mexico in more than 10 years, about 250,000 people dressed in white marched through the capital on June 27 to protest the failure of authorities to control soaring rates of...

Mexican President Vicente Fox swung through the American Midwest June 16 to 18, giving Spanish-language speeches, in what one U.S. House member described as a "campaign tour" on U.S. territory. The tour kicked off with what the Mexican embassy called a speech before "the Mexican community . . . living in the United States" in Chicago on June 16. Chicago has the largest Mexican population in the nation after Los Angeles. Fox, who was elected in 2000, is barred from running for reelection, But his wife, Marta Sahagún de Fox, is widely regarded as a leading PAN party candidate to...

Mexican President Vicente Fox said during his visit to the Midwest last week that the U.S. policy of apprehending and deporting illegal immigrants violates the human and economic rights of those immigrants. Americans can be forgiven for rolling their eyes. That's pushing the notion of victim-hood a bit too far. Those being apprehended and deported are, after all, illegal immigrants. They broke the law to get here, and, when caught, they should be sent back home – pronto. To argue otherwise is to deprive the United States of the right to preserve its own sovereignty. During the rest of his...

NAFTA partners Mexico, the United States and Canada should join efforts to stop what some see as the bleeding of North American jobs to Asia, Mexican President Vicente Fox said Thursday to a foreign-relations group. Disgruntled American workers long have bemoaned the migration of some high-paying U.S. manufacturing, and to a lesser degree, technology jobs, to comparatively lower-paying Mexico. But now Mexico's labor markets are viewed as higher cost compared to places like India and China. Fox said the NAFTA partners should overcome trade disputes to work toward "mutual prosperity," including reining in lost jobs. Among the latest examples, Modine...

The government of Mexico will not permit violations of the human and labor rights of Mexicans living in the United States, said Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada, stressing that, "we will stand beside every Mexican woman and man in this country, we will defend them against the raids being carried out in the state of California." He reaffirmed his commitment to continue to support the Mexicans and Mexican Americans who live and work with dignity and productivity, because they, he said, make a great contribution to the United States economy. "They are loyal, and respectful of this society and...

Laborers lower their profile          Border Patrol arrests stir workers' fears By Elena Gaona and Michael Burge UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS June 16, 2004 VISTA - It was visibly quieter yesterday, with fewer men looking for work on street corners, fewer women with strollers on the sidewalks, and business unusually slow at the grocery store and Laundromat. Recent arrests of illegal immigrants by the Border Patrol have families on edge in North County, and they are staying home more for fear of being caught, many said yesterday. Some business owners said they are feeling the pinch from fewer shoppers, and immigrant...

<p>Mexican President Vicente Fox said Wednesday that Mexicans in the United States have improved their standard of living, but must still fight for better access to education, jobs and social services.</p> <p>At a ceremony commemorating the opening of a new $8 million Mexican Consulate, Fox also called on municipalities to recognize cards handed out by Mexican consulates as legal forms of identification.</p>

Excerpts: MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox will visit Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota during an upcoming three-day U.S. visit... Fox, who is scheduled to leave [Mexico] early Wednesday, is looking to strengthen his governments ties to the region's leaders, as well as drum up support for Midwest investment in Mexico and stress the need to protect the human rights of Mexicans living and working illegally in the region.SNIP In case any Freepers wish to welcome him, this is my summary of El Jefe's visit (I'm assuming that the article is talking about this week): Wednesday 6/16 Scheduled to land in...

Mexico's President Vicente Fox Quesada is to offer Russia to join the recently formed group, which comes out for Iraq's democratic and sovereign development. The President announced this to Russian journalists before Vladimir Putin's visit to Mexico starting on Monday. The decision to form the group was taken at the recent EU-Latin American-Caribbean summit in Guadalajara (Mexico). Today this group includes France, Germany, Spain, Chile and Mexico. "Mexico and Russia have common approaches to international problems. We understand the necessity to build a multi-polar world, share similar views of further developments in Iraq and enjoy joint experience on this problem,"...

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters) - The United States' occupation of Iraq will come under fire at a summit of European and Latin American leaders on Friday but they will pledge more action in the fight against terrorism. The U.S.-led war was firmly opposed across much of Europe and Latin America, and the mounting violence in Iraq has many leaders fearing the situation is spinning out of control. President Bush's attempts to rally support for his Iraq strategy have been seriously undermined by the photographs and video tapes of American soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners. There are several U.S. partners on...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox claimed victory Friday in his campaign against the U.S. death penalty after Oklahoma's governor spared a Mexican death row prisoner, and called on other U.S. states to follow suit. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry commuted the death sentence of Mexican Osvaldo Torres Thursday, saying there were violations of international law in the case. Torres, 29, whose cause was taken up around the world, was scheduled to be executed Tuesday for his role in the 1993 murder of an Oklahoma couple. "We are pleased that this occurred and now we can take care of...

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday said he was concerned about the situation in Iraq and wanted the United Nations to play a greater role. "We would like to see a strong and active presence of the United Nations and with enough capacity to solve this conflict," Fox said during a visit to the Hungarian capital. "Mexico's position at this time is one of worry about what is happening in Iraq." Though tradition and the constitution prevent Mexico from contributing troops to military operations or peacekeeping efforts, the country is "involved in the search for peaceful...

Freepers within driving distance of Santa Clarita, CA: You are invited to take part in "Dave's March for Justice", taking place Saturday morning, May 8th, at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita (L.A. County). The event will begin with a 9AM march from the south parking lot to the stadium, where a rally will be held at 10AM to noon. On April 29, 2002, just over two years ago, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy David March pulled over a Mexican national named Armando Garcia, a twice-deported illegal alien who had convictions on his record for meth dealing, and...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Vicente Fox appealed for honesty among Mexico's leaders on Thursday as federal prosecutors investigated a state governor for possible links with drug-related murders.``Democracy demands from all, and especially from leaders, strict vigilance regarding compliance with the law and transparency,'' Fox told a news conference.``It also demands honesty in any event and to behave with strict devotion to responsible ethics,'' Fox said, his anti-corruption drive in tatters following a string of political scandals this year.His comments came a day after thousands took to the streets in the city of Cuernavaca, a short drive from the capital,...

MEXICO CITY, April 4 (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox said on Sunday he would insist to U.S. President George W. Bush that the United States respect a World Court order to review the cases of 51 Mexicans on death row in U.S. prisons. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, last Wednesday ordered the United States to review the convictions and sentences of the Mexican defendants. Texas snubbed the World Court, saying the international tribunal's order to review the cases did not apply in the nation's busiest death penalty state. "We haven't spoken to him...

MEXICO CITY — Saying it is time for Mexico to be ruled by law and an open, honest government, President Vicente Fox called Monday for sweeping judicial reforms, including a constitutional guarantee that all defendants be considered innocent until proven guilty. Fox's reform package would do away with conducting trials entirely in writing and require the construction of witness stands, judges' benches and public observation areas in courtrooms. Fox said he also wants to realign federal police forces under one organization and enhance the qualifications of people who can represent criminal defendants. "We need to push forward so that Mexico...

Mexican President Vicente Fox said Tuesday that the country's state-run oil giant, Pemex, will not be privatized and will continue to be "proudly Mexican." "It is historically and rightfully ours. Only the residents of this great country can decide its use, exploitation and fate," Fox said at opening ceremonies for the natural gas processing complex in Burgos, in the northern state of Tamaulipas. "Today, 66 years after its expropriation, oil is and will continue to be one of the fundamental riches of the Mexican people," the president added. Fox was referring to the announcement of the nationalization of the oil...

<p>Most people know that Usama bin Laden's terror group, Al Qaeda (Arabic for “the base”), derives its name from the Mujahideen database that bin Laden developed through the 1980s and 1990s. Using “the base,” bin Laden could call on a corps of operatives to carry out missions.</p>

Bush Backs Off Fingerprinting Mexicans Mar 7, 2:18 AM (ET) By JENNIFER LOVEN CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush gave Mexican President Vicente Fox a gift to take home on Saturday: his pledge to exempt certain frequent Mexican visitors from onerous new security checks at the U.S. border. The visit by Fox to Bush's Central Texas ranch, held a year and a half after it was originally scheduled, was designed to lay past disputes to rest. But with Bush eager to boost his standing in the U.S. Hispanic community, the nation's fastest-growing voting bloc, American politics were never far from...