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 March 04, 2008.
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Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Mexico keeps eyes on Texas
As Texas goes to the polls today, the election is getting almost as much attention south of the border, where most newspapers are marveling over the power of Texas Latinos to potentially decide the Democratic nominee.
The election was one of the topics getting the most attention this week in Mexico City at a University of Texas-sponsored conference titled “North America and the Dilemma of Integration.”
Lorenzo Meyer, an international relations professor at the College of Mexico and a well known Mexican pundit, said John McCain’s emergence as the likely Republican candidate was being viewed as good news in Mexico, especially given the tough anti-immigration stance of his rivals. “This was the best that could have happened from the Mexican point of view,” Meyer said, adding that McCain was the likely favorite of conservative President Felipe Calderon’s administration.
On the Democratic side, Meyer said Barack Obama scored points in Austin this week. “He said the U.S. should help strengthen the economy in Mexico so we don’t go there,” Meyer told an overflow crowd at the College of Mexico. “It’s not because of any great friendship (with Mexicans), but because they don’t want us there.”
He said the remaining three major candidates generally have similar views on immigration. “It’s almost the same regardless of who wins,” he said. “All three seem willing to embrace immigration reform. The question, as always, will be the U.S. Congress.”