January 03, 2003

Fox Appoints Another Mexican Meddler

By Joe Guzzardi

The incredibly irritating Vicente Fox has unlimited energy when it comes to meddling in U.S. politics. Fox’s sole mission in his otherwise ineffective presidency seems to be to push his agenda for “Mexican migrants” in the U.S.

Accordingly, Fox recently appointed Candido Morales as Director of the newly created Institute for Mexicans Living Abroad (Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior-I.M.E.)

Get used to hearing his name.

Morales and the I.M.E. replace Juan Hernandez and the Office for Mexicans Abroad. What became of them and why they were torpedoed remains unclear.

And also unclear is why Mexico feels compelled to open an “official” Institute for Mexicans Living Abroad. The Mexican government’s 63 consulate offices already do an outstanding job of keeping the pot exceptionally well stirred.

According to the press release announcing his appointment, Morales’ mandate is to

“strengthen contacts and activities with Mexicans living beyond our borders.”

That is to say, Morales is never to let Mexicans forget that they are Mexicans first, last and always. And he is to agitate, wherever and whenever possible, on behalf of Mexicans living illegally in the U.S. for amnesty, driver’s licenses, social security benefits, in-state college tuition and whatever else he can dream up.

Although I don’t know if it is actually written in his job description, I’m sure Fox would be pleased as punch if Morales could get himself an invitation to dinner at George and Laura Bush’s place.

Cozying up to the First Family might put him in line for a Presidential Medal of Freedom like the one Bill Clinton bestowed on LULAC’s infamous Mario Obledo.

A brief look at Morales’s biography shows that he will be a good soldier for Fox. Morales was chosen from among 320 Mexican men and women candidates living abroad, most of whom - probably all of whom - reside in the U.S.

The 58-year-old Morales, now a dual citizen, came to California at age 8 with his mother to join their father, the dayworker. Morales, a Mixtec Indian from Oaxaca, eventually earned a degree in Chicano Studies from Sonoma State University. (What a great human-interest story for some enterprising reporter!)

After graduating, Morales began his career as a social worker with the California Human Development Corporation. The organization offers assistance in “the field of immigration training.” (Uh, oh!)

Morales, who eventually became the Vice President and Director of Communications at C.H.D.C., also “shared his experience of community service as the manager of social development programs with other states in the U.S.A., such as Washington and Oregon.”

I’ll let you define “shared his experience” as you see fit. My interpretation: Morales’s job was to make sure illegal aliens received every federal and state handout available. 

Let Morales tell you in his own words what his new job is all about. In a speech [full text here] given to Latino politicians in Washington, D.C. on September 22^nd, Morales said

“We know that you are among the first to pledge and to promote a humane treatment of all immigrants, regardless of their nationality or migratory status.”

Geez, the “humane” plea again. Can’t these guys come up with anything new? How much more humane can we be? Already, the U.S. doesn’t enforce the laws that require illegal aliens to be removed. Instead we welcome them with free education, free medical care, offer them jobs Americans once held and American citizenship for children born here. What more do they want?

Morales also announced that he has big plans. As part of the I.M.E.,

 “…there will be an Advisory Council consisting of 120 members, most of them Mexican and Mexican- Americans who reside in the U.S….The responsibilities of the founding members of the Advisory Council will be to provide advice to the Mexican government in its effort to strengthen the ties which bind Mexico to its diaspora. Their input will contribute to consolidate a series of policies which, in order to be successful, require consistency and long-term vision.”

The Advisory Council will hold its first meeting in January 2003. In the interval, Morales says that competition for seats on the Council is keen:

“….thousands of people, representing hundreds of organizations and communities, have responded to the call….”

I can see the list: the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Ford Foundation, Catholic Charities, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, to name just a few.

In his closing remarks, Morales said that the Advisory Council will serve as a forum to exchange ideas and will “benefit not only Mexico but also the U.S.”

Oh s-u-r-e it will!

This pro forma statement about all the benefits that will accrue to the U.S. is, needless to say, never followed up by any tangible examples.

On and on goes the Mexican propaganda machine. Whether the names are Salinas de Gortari, Zedillo, Fox, Hernandez or Morales, their mission is monotonously the same: gimme, gimme, gimme.

Joe Guzzardi [email him], an instructor in English at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.