OPINION:
It’s one of the oldest political tricks in the book: When things aren’t going well at home, a leader attempts to divert his people’s attention to a foreign evil, thus unifying them against a common enemy and taking their minds off domestic problems. That strategy played out last week in Washington during the state visit of President Felipe Calderon of Mexico.
There Mr. Calderon used two public platforms - his remarks to the press and his speech to Congress - to criticize a democratically enacted law in a state across his border. Aside from the undiplomatic critique of a neighbor’s internal affairs, it must be said that the law he chose to criticize is consistent with both U.S. national policy and international laws of state sovereignty and is more lenient than his own country’s practice.
To say Mr. Calderon faces severe challenges at home is an understatement. To be fair, he has been effective in leading his country through numerous governmental and economic reforms. He has done that while waging war against organized crime and drug violence, which has left a staggering 23,000 dead since he took office in late 2006. All of this while actively promoting international human rights and democracy and increasing Mexico’s participation on the world stage.
Yet there is much turmoil south of the border. After years, the judicial system does not meet constitutional requirements. Local police are weak and often corrupt, which requires the military to do the heavy lifting in the war against organized crime and the drug trade. Following Mr. Calderon’s narrow (and contested) electoral victory, his ruling party has lost control of the lower legislative house and governorships in most states. The country grapples with economic issues: the contraction of its gross domestic product, an unfulfilled need to upgrade infrastructure, a downgraded debt rating from Standard & Poor’s and increasing income inequality. Little wonder millions of Mexicans look elsewhere for relief, which makes temporary jobs or permanent life north of the border appealing to many. In fact, foreign remittances into Mexico, primarily from out-of-country workers, amount to $21 billion per year - second only to oil revenues.
Little wonder that the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs recently issued a warning to U.S. citizens traveling in Mexico. But assuming one ignores the warning, be prepared for Mexican government restrictions that would make a visit to Arizona seem like … well, Mr. Calderon’s visit to the White House. In April, Amnesty International appealed to Mexican authorities to “halt the continuing abuse of migrants who are preyed on by criminal gangs while public officials turn a blind eye or even play an active part in kidnappings, rapes and murders.” Amnesty reported that kidnappings of migrants, mainly for ransom, reached new heights in 2009, citing Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission reports of nearly 10,000 abductions over six months, with almost half of interviewed victims saying public officials were involved in their kidnapping. Little wonder there is growing concern, not only in Arizona, but across the U.S., about conditions across the 2000-mile-long border to our south.
So with this backdrop, it’s not surprising for Mr. Calderon to think it’s in his best interest at home to talk tough when abroad, when the real points to be scored are with Mexicans at home - not with the U.S. public. Poor protocol? Not at all, as he calculated his host’s dislike of the law and also his host’s penchant for himself criticizing U.S. behavior while abroad. What better model could one have than a peer who criticizes one of his own states’ “desperate” actions to curb violence and regain control of its spending rather than executing existing U.S. law regarding border security and sovereignty?
It would be interesting to know what Mr. Calderon thought of the safeguards to individual liberties the Arizona bill contains. Perhaps he overlooked those protections, which neither legals nor illegals in Mexico would enjoy. Or perhaps he hasn’t read the bill. Scary to think, but it does happen that some government officials formulate opinions and even vote on legislation before verifying details. It’s a malady that knows no borders and is perhaps another of the many characteristics that the U.S. and Mexico share.
John M. Bell is an Air Force veteran and a board member of the San Antonio Tea Party.
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