August 26, 2003
Memo From Mexico, By
Allan Wall
Derbez Tells The Truth—For Mexicans Only
“Mexico will give
nothing in exchange for a ““migratory accord”” with the
United States”
That’s what Mexican
Foreign Minister
Luis Ernesto Derbez said in no uncertain terms in an
interview last week, in the city of San Luis Potosi,
Mexico. [“Nada
a cambio de acuerdo migratorio con EU: Derbez,”
El Universal, August 18th,
2003)
Derbez’ comment was
meant for domestic, not American, consumption. But
thanks to VDARE.com, American readers too have access to
it!
You have to give
Derbez credit for speaking honestly about what we've
figured out anyway. As Mexican pundit Luis Rubio, a
thoughtful critic of the Mexican government, has
written:
“Migration was never
formulated as a subject of negotiation...we weren’t
negotiating anything, but demanding concessions from the
Americans.”
(“Petroleo y migración”, Luis Rubio,
Reforma, May 18th, 2003)
Several months ago,
an American congressman unleashed
an onslaught of invective here by proposing that
Mexico open its energy sector in exchange for a
““migratory accord”.” But now Foreign Minister Derbez
makes it clear that NOTHING will be given in exchange
for our surrending our immigration to Mexican control.
Derbez, by the way,
is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. in
September.
Wouldn’t it be
something if some intrepid reporter would ask him about
this quite undiplomatic statement?
But, given the
superficial coverage of Mexican politics provided by the
mainstream American media, that’s too much to ask.
Not that a
““migratory accord”” with Mexico is a good idea—under
even the best of circumstances.
The right to
control immigration is an essential attribute of a
sovereign state. When it
loses that right, it’s no longer sovereign.
Constitutionally, immigration and naturalization are the
responsibility of Congress (the U.S. Congress, that is,
though the Mexican Congress deals with U.S. immigration
also).
A “migratory
accord” with Mexico would give a foreign government
legal control over U.S. immigration policy. The Mexican
government is doing a pretty effective job of gaining
such
control already. But a “migratory accord”,” being a
treaty, would become the law of the land.
Not only did Derbez
say Mexico wouldn’t give us anything for an accord, but
the foreign minister actually had the gall to say that
Mexico was doing the U.S. a favor:
“We will never give anything in exchange [for
a ““migratory accord””]. In exchange, we are
[only] giving the talent of our people, of our
workers, of our Mexicans, the education that they bring
and above all a very positive contribution, as much to
the economy as to the society.” [“Nunca
daremos nada a cambio (de un acuerdo migratorio). A
cambio (sólo) estamos dando la capacidad de nuestras
personas, de nuestros trabajadores, de nuestros
mexicanos, la educación que llevan y sobre todo una
contribución muy positiva tanto a la economía como a la
sociedad.” – My translation]
Mexican apologists
for mass emigration are fond of saying things like
this—even attributing U.S. economic success to Mexican
immigrants.
But Mexicans of
Derbez’ social class, though quick to defend Mexican
emigrants from
gringo persecution, aren’t at all likely to
associate with them here in Mexico!
In the U.S., mass
Mexican emigration
drives down wages for lower-income workers, drives
up public expenditure in areas such as medicine and
education,
increases crime, exacerbates various social problems,
and, in conjunction with the
misguided politics of multiculturalism, may just
break up the country.
On the Mexican
side, remittances from Mexicans working in the U.S. pump
about 10 billion dollars or so into Mexico.
But, as a
friend of Mexico, I must point out that remittances,
and the way they are distributed, damage the Mexican
work ethic and
discourage economic development here. The siren call
of northward emigration
depopulates rural areas, and separates families.
It even encourages
Mexicans who already have a job here to emigrate. I know
of a case where a business owner left his business here
to move illegally to the U.S.—he's now receiving
government benefits at a prominent American city
you've probably heard of.
And not much of
that 10 billion dollars gets invested in long-term job
creation either. It does, however, encourage the Mexican
government, of whatever political persuasion, to forgo
serious economic reform. Why fix things here when they
can continue to
send the poor northward?
The legacy of
Derbez’ boss, Vicente Fox, is in serious trouble anyway.
The election of Fox in 2000
seemed like a breath of fresh air, and he was hailed
both here and abroad as a great reformer. Now, three
years later, “the
thrill is gone” and there’s little to show for it.
In Mexico’s recent congressional campaign, Fox’s PAN
party was so bereft of new ideas it resorted to
re-broadcasting, as a campaign advertisement, film
footage of Fox in the election of 3 years ago!
National
Question-wise, it’s irrelevant which party controls
Mexico, as long as the United States provides
Mexico’s white elite with a
safety valve.
Several months
back, the Fox administration triumphantly announced that
there are now 3 million fewer poor Mexicans than when
Fox took office. Even accepting such a figure at face
value (which many don’t),and defining what you mean by
poverty—how many Mexicans have emigrated to the U.S.
since Fox took office? According to Derbez himself, each
and every year, 400,000 Mexicans take off for the U.S.A!
That’s pretty much the extent of the Mexican
government’s poverty reduction program!
In San Luis Potosí, Derbez also spoke positively of the
cooperation of the
Catholic Church in immigration policy . He meant
Catholic leaders who promote open borders.. “They
have a clear idea of what the Mexicans suffer in the
United States”, said Derbez. [“Nunca
daremos nada a cambio del acuerdo migratorio: Derbez,”
El Siglo de Torrean,
August 19th,
2003].
Here's a question the
Washington press corps can ask Foreign Minister Derbez:
If Mexicans are
suffering so badly in the U.S.A.—why encourage them
to go there?
American citizen Allan Wall lives and works legally in
Mexico, where he holds an FM-2 residency and work
permit, but serves six weeks a year with the Texas Army
National Guard, in a unit composed almost entirely of
Americans of Mexican ancestry. His VDARE.COM articles
are archived
here; his
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM articles are archived
here; his
website is
here. Readers
can contact Allan Wall at
allan39@prodigy.net.mx.
