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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

In Mexico, it’s Super Martes!

By Jeremy Schwartz | Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 10:12 AM

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Super Tuesday coverage is dominating the Mexican media today, with the 24-state mega primary the top story on most newspaper websites here. Mexican sentiment is running heavily Democratic (one of the top editors at Foreign Affairs en Espanol told me the mood here is “Anyone but Bush”), although John McCain, who has earned respect here for co-sponsoring a failed immigration reform bill, is considered by many to be the most palatable Republican choice. As with most everything that has to do with the United States, the election is seen through the filter of immigration reform. Many believe Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be most sympathetic to the plight of Mexican immigrants, although critics are quick to point out that both voted for the much-reviled border wall. “In reality none of the candidates have outlined a plan to find a bilateral accord with Mexico to resolve problems associated with immigration,” wrote immigration expert Jorge Bustamante in today’s Reforma newspaper. “They insist that the problem is criminal in nature and internal or ‘domestic,’ and can only be resolved through military or police means.”
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Clinton did some Latin American outreach today, publishing an essay in Spanish that ran in the top Mexico City daily El Universal, in which she pledged greater cooperation with Mexico and the region. “Helping Latin America prosper will reduce pressure on our borders, but that alone is not enough,” she wrote to her neighbors to the south. ” Securing our border must be part of any integral reform of the immigration system.”

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Meanwhile, the government news service Notimex ran a lengthy analysis concluding that McCain, Clinton or Obama victories would be “positive for Mexico.” One specialist told the agency that McCain’s surge is a signal that the U.S. is becoming more moderate after 8 years of extremism. Another predicted quicker action on immigration reform with an Obama presidency. “With Hillary, knowing a little bit about the actions taken by her husband, the immigration issue would be open, but it would progress slowly,” said political scientist Gonzalo Abad Frías.

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