Holmes85
08-09-2009, 08:02 PM
This story comes from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/world/americas/10prexy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
By MARC LACEY (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/marc_lacey/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: August 9, 2009
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) — Ahead of President Obama (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per)’s arrival in Mexico on Sunday night for a summit meeting of North American leaders, immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) was prompting significant behind-the-scenes debate. But it was Mexicans entering Canada (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/canada/index.html?inline=nyt-geo), not the United States, that was the contentious issue.
Too many Mexicans, the Canadian government complained, were fraudulently claiming political asylum in Canada, overwhelming the system. So Canada announced last month that it would begin requiring Mexican nationals to secure visas before entering the country, a decision that sparked outrage in Mexico.
The Mexicans struck back with an announcement that Canadian diplomats and government officials would now require visas to enter Mexico. Although some angry Mexican lawmakers urged President Felipe Calderon to go further and require visas for all Canadian visitors, Mr. Calderon held off, not wanting to further damage Mexico’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on North American visitors.
Aides to Mr. Calderon said he planned to use his one-one-one meeting Sunday with Stephen Harper (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/stephen_harper/index.html?inline=nyt-per), Canada’s prime minister, to push Canada to reconsider its decision. No breakthrough was expected, though, with Canadian officials saying beforehand that they did not plan to immediately change the policy.
The annual summit, an outgrowth of North American Free Trade Agreement (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/north_american_free_trade_agreement/index.html?inline=nyt-org) signed in 1994, is designed to put the United States and its northern and southern neighbors on the same page when it comes to policy. In fact, officials said Mr. Obama, Mr. Calderon and Mr. Harper intended to forge common strategies for climate change (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), fighting the swine flu (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/influenza/swine_influenza/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) virus and responding to the debilitating economic crisis.
But the meeting, which rotates among the three countries, also highlights divisions among the close trading partners. Mexico said it intended to raise at the summit a trade dispute that began when the U.S. Congress canceled a program, in violation of NAFTA, that allowed Mexico trucks to operate in the United States.
Mexico responded to that decision by imposing billions of dollars in tariffs on American products. The Obama administration said it is seeking to resolve the dispute but did not have a deal ready in time for the summit. Another irritant is the “Buy American” clause in the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan, which both Canada and Mexico oppose. An aide to Mr. Harper told reporters last week that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the Canadian leader raised the issue of protectionism (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/protectionism_trade/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) with Mr. Obama.
Even on the issue of combating Mexico’s drug violence, there was some political discord. The American aid package for Mexico says that 15 percent of the funds can be dispersed only if the State Department decides that the Mexican government meets certain human rights conditions. Reports that Mexico’s army has engaged in torture and other abuses while carrying out the drug war have prompted some in Congress to oppose issuing those funds. The Obama administration has indicated it supports dispersal of the funds but Mexicans officials say they intend to press the issue at the summit nonetheless.
“The Mexican government recognizes that occasionally, in an isolated manner, there have been situations that you could qualify as abuses of authority, abuses of power, violations of human rights,” Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa told reporters last week. But she added: “The Mexican army has acted correctly in its fight against organized crime.” Another topic sure to be on the summit agenda was discussion of the political crisis in Honduras, where the provisional government and the president it sent into exile in a coup in June, Manuel Zelaya (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/z/jose_manuel_zelaya/index.html?inline=nyt-per), have been unable to come to terms. The country’s interim leader, Roberto Micheletti (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/roberto_micheletti/index.html?inline=nyt-per), said Sunday that he would not allow a delegation of the Organization of American States (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/organization_of_american_states/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and regional delegates to enter Honduras for crisis talks this week. Mr. Micheletti harshly criticized the organization’s leader, José Miguel Insulza, as lacking “impartiality and professionalism.” Mr. Micheletti held open the possibility of allowing the delegation in later as long as Mr. Insulza was not part of it.
By MARC LACEY (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/marc_lacey/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: August 9, 2009
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) — Ahead of President Obama (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per)’s arrival in Mexico on Sunday night for a summit meeting of North American leaders, immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) was prompting significant behind-the-scenes debate. But it was Mexicans entering Canada (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/canada/index.html?inline=nyt-geo), not the United States, that was the contentious issue.
Too many Mexicans, the Canadian government complained, were fraudulently claiming political asylum in Canada, overwhelming the system. So Canada announced last month that it would begin requiring Mexican nationals to secure visas before entering the country, a decision that sparked outrage in Mexico.
The Mexicans struck back with an announcement that Canadian diplomats and government officials would now require visas to enter Mexico. Although some angry Mexican lawmakers urged President Felipe Calderon to go further and require visas for all Canadian visitors, Mr. Calderon held off, not wanting to further damage Mexico’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on North American visitors.
Aides to Mr. Calderon said he planned to use his one-one-one meeting Sunday with Stephen Harper (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/stephen_harper/index.html?inline=nyt-per), Canada’s prime minister, to push Canada to reconsider its decision. No breakthrough was expected, though, with Canadian officials saying beforehand that they did not plan to immediately change the policy.
The annual summit, an outgrowth of North American Free Trade Agreement (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/north_american_free_trade_agreement/index.html?inline=nyt-org) signed in 1994, is designed to put the United States and its northern and southern neighbors on the same page when it comes to policy. In fact, officials said Mr. Obama, Mr. Calderon and Mr. Harper intended to forge common strategies for climate change (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), fighting the swine flu (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/influenza/swine_influenza/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) virus and responding to the debilitating economic crisis.
But the meeting, which rotates among the three countries, also highlights divisions among the close trading partners. Mexico said it intended to raise at the summit a trade dispute that began when the U.S. Congress canceled a program, in violation of NAFTA, that allowed Mexico trucks to operate in the United States.
Mexico responded to that decision by imposing billions of dollars in tariffs on American products. The Obama administration said it is seeking to resolve the dispute but did not have a deal ready in time for the summit. Another irritant is the “Buy American” clause in the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan, which both Canada and Mexico oppose. An aide to Mr. Harper told reporters last week that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the Canadian leader raised the issue of protectionism (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/protectionism_trade/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) with Mr. Obama.
Even on the issue of combating Mexico’s drug violence, there was some political discord. The American aid package for Mexico says that 15 percent of the funds can be dispersed only if the State Department decides that the Mexican government meets certain human rights conditions. Reports that Mexico’s army has engaged in torture and other abuses while carrying out the drug war have prompted some in Congress to oppose issuing those funds. The Obama administration has indicated it supports dispersal of the funds but Mexicans officials say they intend to press the issue at the summit nonetheless.
“The Mexican government recognizes that occasionally, in an isolated manner, there have been situations that you could qualify as abuses of authority, abuses of power, violations of human rights,” Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa told reporters last week. But she added: “The Mexican army has acted correctly in its fight against organized crime.” Another topic sure to be on the summit agenda was discussion of the political crisis in Honduras, where the provisional government and the president it sent into exile in a coup in June, Manuel Zelaya (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/z/jose_manuel_zelaya/index.html?inline=nyt-per), have been unable to come to terms. The country’s interim leader, Roberto Micheletti (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/roberto_micheletti/index.html?inline=nyt-per), said Sunday that he would not allow a delegation of the Organization of American States (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/organization_of_american_states/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and regional delegates to enter Honduras for crisis talks this week. Mr. Micheletti harshly criticized the organization’s leader, José Miguel Insulza, as lacking “impartiality and professionalism.” Mr. Micheletti held open the possibility of allowing the delegation in later as long as Mr. Insulza was not part of it.