Uncovering Mexico
Jeremy Schwartz is the Mexico correspondent for Cox Newspapers. He is based in Mexico City.What's on this page?
All the entries posted on September 17, 2007.
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Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2007 > September > 17
Monday, September 17, 2007
Best buddies? Not so much.
Back when they were first elected president of their respective countries in 2000, George W. Bush and Vicente Fox of Mexico looked to be the best of friends, holding talks on their ranches like a couple of good ol’ boys.
The truth, it seems, was a little different.
In his autobiography out next month, Fox reportedly talks some smack about his fellow head of state, calling Bush “the cockiest guy I ever met in my life” and writing that his Spanish skills (which he used to great effect during his campaign) were “grade-school level.”
He also slams Bush’s Iraq policies and says he doubted W had what it took to become president. “I can’t honestly say that I had ever seen George W. Bush getting to the White House,” Fox writes, according to the Washington Whispers blog by U.S. News and World Report.
But perhaps it’s not so strange for Fox to take some shots at Bush. He was bitterly disappointed that Bush all but ignored Mexico and immigration reform after 9/11 and he opposed the war in Iraq. By the time Fox left office last year, relations between the two had gotten a little chilly.
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Mexicans pay price at the pump
Ordinary Mexicans must wonder sometimes where the benefit is in having one of the world’s major supplies of oil. They certainly don’t see it in the gas prices. Unlike other oil-producing countries, Mexico doesn’t give its citizens cheap gasoline. Whereas Venezuelans pay about 20 cents per gallon (and that pre-dates the socialistic policies of Hugo Chavez), Mexicans pay about $3 a gallon for gasoline from PEMEX, the nationalized gasoline company. And natural gas is equally pricey. My wife and I spend nearly $100 a month on gas for our water heaters and oven.
It’s about to get worse for Mexican drivers. The Mexican Senate last week approved a 5.5 percent increase in gasoline prices as part of a wide-ranging fiscal reform meant to significantly increase the amount of tax revenue Mexico collects. Losing leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has seized on the issue to once again attack President Felipe Calderon, who he accuses of using gasoline to tax those who can least afford it. Calderon is pushing for an overhaul of PEMEX that will allow the struggling entity to spend more money on deep water exploration, considered vital in the face of dwindling reserves.
Calderon would also like to wean the Mexican economy from PEMEX. While ordinary Mexicans may not see the benefits of having all that oil when they fill their tanks, PEMEX accounts for about 40 percent of Mexico’s budget and subsidizes public spending.
The new fiscal reform will usher in a host of new taxes aimed at making Mexico less PEMEX-dependant. Most are aimed at businesses and include stiffer penalties for evasion. Mexico has what is likely the lowest tax collection rate in the hemisphere (comparable to Haiti), a situation that the nation ignored for years because of cushion provided by PEMEX.
But many Mexicans are wondering why the fiscal reform will make driving more expensive than it already is.
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Who knew? Guatemala City holds the secret to traffic jams.
As we sped through the pre-dawn streets of Guatemala City on our way to the airport, my wife and I couldn’t help noticing the squadron of 18-wheelers crowding the darkened roads.
Our taxi driver explained that a few weeks ago, the Guatemala City mayor, desperate to ease the city’s traffic, had taken the drastic step of banning tractor trailers and other large trucks from the city’s streets during morning and afternoon rush hours. The drivers had understandably rebelled at the idea of having to work mostly at night and staged a three-day strike that nearly paralyzed the city. In the end though, the city won out and the 18-wheelers have been consigned to night duty ever since.
As we flew home to Mexico City, I couldn’t help wonder how such an idea would work in this megalopolis with its horrendous traffic jams. Mexico City residents spend a good part of their day stuck in traffic and it’s not noteworthy for it to take three hours to get from one side of the city to the other during rush hour. And mingled in with Mexico City’s six million personal vehicles are a legion of tractor trailers.
I’m not sure if banning them from the city streets during the day would be feasible - a city of this size certainly depends on reliable deliveries to keep things running smoothly. But the city’s new administration is looking for new and creative ways to ease congestion and the pollution that comes with it.
They’ve already tried forcing city government employees to bike to work one day a month. Maybe officials will look south for more inspiration.