Mexico's President Says US Must Do More

In a meeting with President Bush, Mexico's President Calderon told Bush that the US needs to help Mexico economically to help stem the tide of immigrants, who he said were the best of Mexico's workforce. He also said the US needs to do more about the drug trafficing problem.

Calderon Tells Bush Mexico Needs More

Relations between the two border countries have only grown worse since Bush signed a law calling for construction of more than 700 miles of new fencing along the long border the two countries share.

Calderon has lambasted the fence — a mix of physical and high-tech barriers. He likens it to the Berlin Wall, and argues that both countries need to improve Mexico's economy to lessen the desire to seek work in the United States.

Before their talks, Calderon had a tough message for Bush: The United States must do more to solve thorny issues of drug-trafficking and immigration.

He was gentler at Bush's side, but with the same message.

I thought that's what we were doing when we erected the border fence?

How can the US help the drug trafficing problem (besides erecting a fence) when all you hear about is how corrupt the Mexican government and law enforcement is? It's their lack of enforcing their own drug laws that are fueling the drug trafficing problem.

They need to help rid themselves of the corruption in their government first!


[edit on 13/3/07 by Keyhole]

So rather than having them run over the border and pick fruit for $2 an hour we're supposed to turn Mexico into a dead beat dependant?

Mexico should just relax. Once the NAU is formed we'll all be running to China for work anyway.

Anyway, they want money for help but according to the angry letter we got this morning about putting out a brush fire 10 feet over their border they dont want any practical help. Mexico sounds like a beggar more and more.

Give me money. For what? Food. How about I buy you some food?....beggar gets angry and walks away.

Mexico is just another beggar who'd rather get drunk for free than work for food.

Well, it's funny to me that the United States is expected to incur another problem that really shouldn't be our problem to begin with. Mexico is a sovereign nation is it not? Yet, it seems to want to tug on the coattails of America.

As far as "outrage" about the U.S wanting to put up a fence on the border...Heh... How dare they be outraged that we do something to curb the tide of their illegal trespassers!! If anyone should be "outraged" or pissed off it should be the American citizen because nothing has been done previously to stem the tide.

I am sorry, but this is a very sore subject to me. Very sore.

Another question, what more does the U.S need to do? Hell, our damn jobs are already being off-shored to places like India and Mexico. It's sickening. The people of the U.S were warned by Ross Perot back in the late 80s what NAFTA and all of this free-trade stuff really meant for America. Guess what. He was correct!! Guess what else. Americans didn't listen.. Now we are paying the price and it's a steep price indeed.

For those who think NAFTA was such a great idea, check it out.

* Changes in trade between the United States and Mexico since NAFTA went into effect have been determined primarily by factors other than the agreement.

* Without NAFTA, both U.S. exports to and imports from Mexico would have grown almost as much as they did with NAFTA, and they would have fluctuated almost identically to the manner in which they did with NAFTA.

* NAFTA has had a comparatively small, but growing, positive effect on U.S. exports to Mexico (ranging from 2.2 percent in 1994 to 11.3 percent in 2001) and a similar effect on U.S. imports from Mexico (ranging from 1.9 percent in 1994 to 7.7 percent in 2001).

* The effects of NAFTA on the U.S. balance of trade in goods with Mexico have been positive in most years, and very small in all years, since the agreement began. The decline in the balance since 1993 is completely attributable to the peso crash in late 1994, the associated Mexican recession, the prolonged U.S. economic boom from the early 1990s through 2000, and the Mexican recession in late 2000 and 2001 (with the effect of the peso crash itself--exclusive of the associated recession--being relatively minor).

NAFTA, not so good



[edit on 13-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 13-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

I myself still haven't seen how NAFTA has benefited the US (or how CAFTA will).

But I can hardly believe how Calderon said the US has to help stop the tide of drug trafficking from Mexico! Mexico is a sovereign country.

Heck, just the other day some US citizens went over the boarder to help put out a brush fire and all "heck" (for want of a better word) was raised because of it!

I can imagine what would happen if Calderon let US law enforcement have free reign to try to stop the drug trafficking from Mexico. Besides, if he isn't one of the corrupt government officials in his country, the government officials that are corrupt will be sure to whip the Mexican citizens up into a frenzy about it.

Originally posted by Keyhole

Heck, just the other day some US citizens went over the boarder to help put out a brush fire and all "heck" (for want of a better word) was raised because of it!

The funny part about that is if the fire would have spread to the U.S and burnt acreage here, we would have been expected not to say anything. Good ol' America, we are just supposed to take a licking and keep right on ticking.

[edit on 14-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

98% of Mexicos wealth is held by 3% of the population. That sounds like the issue from which all our border problems stem.

If Calderon thinks the US should "fix" the problem then lets start with that.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
So rather than having them run over the border and pick fruit for $2 an hour ...

They actually make a heck of a lot more than $2.00 an hour, at least here in Florida, when they are picking fruit.

It's all piece work, and some of them make $700 - $800 a week, sometimes more. It is hard work and they deserve what they get for it. I used to work in the groves, and just fooling around tried to keep up with one of the Mexican pickers, there was no contest.

I might make $2.00 an hour picking fruit, but they make a heck of a lot more than that.

They just need to have taxes taken out of there paychecks, that's the only problem I have with the illegal Mexican immigrants. Most all the Mexicans I've ever met, in the groves and working elsewhere, are hard workers and work hard at any job they have.

I don't really have a problem with the US giving the illegal immigrants that are living in the US right now a chance to become citizens (without any penalties for entering the country illegally) due to my experiences working around them.

But, the US - Mexican border needs to be secure if this happens so there isn't a stampede of Mexicans illegally crossing the border to take advantage of it.

No country just has open borders so that people can enter there country and leave without having to check in with the border patrol or immigration.

[edit on 16/3/07 by Keyhole]

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Another question, what more does the U.S need to do? Hell, our damn jobs are already being off-shored to places like India and Mexico. It's sickening. The people of the U.S were warned by Ross Perot back in the late 80s what NAFTA and all of this free-trade stuff really meant for America. Guess what. He was correct!! Guess what else. Americans didn't listen.. Now we are paying the price and it's a steep price indeed.

I remember the famous quote about NAFTA by Ross Perot... "That swooshing sound you'll hear is the sound of jobs being sucked out of the US".

It turns out he was right.