Apparent Mexican President-Elect Attacks Border Wall

[Richard Tafoya]

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...070701248.html

Less than 24 hours after being named president-elect in a disputed official count, Felipe Calderón took a firm stance against building a wall along the United States-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration.

Echoing his campaign theme, Calderón said the best solution to the immigration crisis was creating jobs in Mexico, "not walls or troops," a reference to President Bush's decision to send National Guard troops to support the U.S. Border Patrol.

Calderón's remarks, delivered during his first post-election briefing for the international news media, angered a leading Capitol Hill proponent of increased border security. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) said in a phone interview that he was "insulted" by Calderón's statement, "just as Mexico would be rightly offended if we were to not only condemn their immigration policies but actively work to aid and abet illegal immigration."

...


Mexico's special elections court has until Sept. 6 to decided whether to certify the results. But Calderón is talking and acting as if his victory is assured On Friday, he said there was no doubt about the results and predicted he would work well with opposing parties, even though his National Action Party does not have a majority in the legislature. He also said he would not privatize Mexico's Pemex oil company.


Calderón also wants measures that will protect what he called "vulnerable" crops, such as corn and beans. López Obrador had vowed to defy provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement that call for reducing tariffs on U.S. corn and beans. Many small Mexican farmers have said the reduced tariffs would put them out of business. Calderón said Friday he would not try to renegotiate the provisions. "The way the U.S. Congress is now," he said, "I don't see a large probability that the winner of the renegotiation would easily be Mexico."