'Puppy' Fox's servility to Washington is detrimental to the Mexican people

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=47128

Published: Sunday, November 27, 2005
Bylined to: Bob Chapman

'Puppy' Fox's servility to Washington is detrimental to the Mexican people

THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes: President of Argentina Nestor Kirchner and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias have signed a document concerning the need to create a Latin American Financial Fund. This is a step for Venezuela to become a full member of Mercosur.

President Vicente Fox?s unseemly behavior at Mar del Plata, Argentina at the Summit of the Americas is still simmering within Mexico.

The national press really took him apart for his arrogance, and prejudicial actions toward anything not pro-US. We live in a very small world today due to communications and the Internet and news travels fast. He certainly made a fool out of himself, which reflects directly on the people of Mexico.

In Mexico, Congress has to approve presidential tips abroad ... it may be that over his remaining 10 months in office that he may not be allowed to travel to meetings where US interests are involved.

These events demonstrate how far Mr. Fox?s popularity has fallen, what damage he has done to PAN, the party he represents, and how he and other Latin American leaders have been damaged at home and regionally for allowing themselves to be used by George and the neocons.

Mr. Fox publicly decried, after the official meeting ended, that its failure to promote FTAA was the fault of Mercosur counterparts Brazil and Venezuela, and he specifically attacked Argentine President Nestor Kirchner. His servility to Washington is obvious and detrimental to the Mexican people.

* One might ask, whom does he really represent?

* Is this part of guaranteeing an amnesty agreement for illegal aliens?

NAFTA, free trade for Mexico, has not been what it has been cracked up to be. NAFTA was sold to both Mexicans and US Congresses by the use of deceptive figures. It should be noted that the Mexican internationalist former President Carlos Salinas, after he finished his term, not only injured his party PRI, but he spent the next many years hiding out in Cuba and Ireland. Nothing has changed for the poor in Mexico, the grinding poverty is still there, and NAFTA has if anything made it worse. Popular sentiment is strongly against NAFTA and that is why PRD candidate Mr. Lopez Obrador leads Robert Madrazo of PRI by 10 points at this stage. Mexicans are anti-free trade, NAFTA and FTAA.

This is why when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias called Mr. Fox a ?puppy of imperialism? few Latin Americans disagreed ... because it is simply true.

The feud will continue until Mr. Fox leaves, because Mr. Chavez will not back down because he is right.

The result is that Mr. Fox has become a figure of vilification and that is not good for the Mexican people.

Bob Chapman
international_forecaster@yahoo.com