Washington neglects Mexico

www.iht.com NYT NYT Monday, January 13, 2003   Presidents Vicente Fox and George W. Bush both took office two years ago promising to forge a new partnership bridging the Rio Grande, a partnership marked by a once unimaginable level of cooperation on a number of fronts. It hasn't happened, and as a result Mexico's enlightened foreign minister, Jorge Castañeda, has resigned.

The centerpiece of the new relationship was to have been a new accord on immigration. That encountered early resistance on Capitol Hill, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, rearranged the White House's priorities. Washington has since failed to recognize that an immigration deal that serves American economic needs and diminishes the population living illegally in the United States can be compatible with heightened security.

The White House's neglect has proved to be politically damaging to Fox's administration. The Mexican government had to overcome widespread public skepticism, and concerns about surrendering national sovereignty, to sell the idea of a new understanding with the neighboring superpower. Castañeda was the most outspoken advocate of closer ties with the United States. His frustration over the stalemate in the relationship contributed to his decision to resign.

Castañeda worked tirelessly to promote an immigration deal and closer cooperation in fighting drug trafficking. He ended Mexico's tradition of warm ties with Cuba in order to back American denunciations of Fidel Castro's human rights record.

Beyond its failure to deliver on immigration, the Bush administration largely missed an opportunity to collaborate with Latin American democracies in dealing with a number of thorny Western Hemisphere matters, most notably the crisis in Venezuela. Angry calls by Mexican farmers in recent weeks for their government to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement in response to the ill-advised agricultural subsidies passed by Congress last summer serve no one's interest, as Castañeda has pointed out. But they are indicative of a broader disenchantment with the United States that cuts across Mexican society. The Bush administration should take note of Castañeda's frustration and seek to improve ties with Mexico.