Monday, January 8, 2007

 

Mexico Today, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America

 

By Barnard R. Thompson

 

The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), another issue of national concern to the United States — actually of trilateral trepidation or hope as Canada and Mexico are directly involved and effected, can be expected to make growing headlines in coming months.  This as government officials, lawmakers and private sector partners seek to craft the proposed SPP into a reality.

 

And at the same time, vocal opposition will be led by commentators (some with selfish interests), wannabe opinion leaders and ultranationalists, as both sides make charges and countercharges — some based on reality, some on specious reasoning, and others on outright falsehoods.

 

The governments of the United States, Mexico and Canada have reached an agreement to create the SPP, along with its companion organization the North American Competitiveness Council so as to incorporate the private sector into the SPP process.  However the presidents of the United States and Mexico, and the Prime Minister of Canada — nor their respective governments — have not as of yet signed a formal treaty or accord.

 

For information and comments on the SPP and the U.S. position, go to Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.  A pro-SPP paper sponsored by the Council of Foreign Relations, with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales, can be found at “Building a North American Community.”

 

Regarding Mexico, it was past President Vicente Fox who reached the SPP agreement with George W. Bush and Stephen Harper.  And while most people have expected President Felipe Calderón and his administration to go along with Fox’s support of the proposal, that fact is just now being confirmed.

 

The following translation is from the December 28, 2006 edition of the Mexico City daily El Universal, a piece titled: “Mexico and the United States betting on infrastructure development.”

 

“[Mexico’s] recently inaugurated federal government acknowledges that development of a more efficient infrastructure is the challenge in order to increase the country’s competitiveness in the North American market, a task shared by the Secretariats of Economy (SE), and Foreign Relations (SRE).

 

“The new team in the foreign ministry has in mind the need to cement actions, starting with the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP).  That accord was signed [sic] in March of last year by the [Presidents] of Mexico [and] the United States, and [the Prime Minister of] Canada, with the goal of improving trade practices between the three countries based on a model of security, and allowing the participation of the public and private sectors of the three countries.

 

“The SRE, through the North American Competitiveness Council, ‘will propose a series of measures that can be implemented by the governments of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada with the objective of increasing competitiveness in the region,’ a SRE source said.

 

“The measures include the development of customs and port infrastructures, the harmonizing of rules of origin, and regulations to reduce the cost of doing business in the region.

 

“Regarding the willingness of the U.S. government to cooperate with these projects, the source emphasized that ‘it is very favorably disposed,’ and that a relationship already exists with Carlos Gutiérrez, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in order to collaborate with the Mexican and Canadian governments.

 

“The old guard in the SE, headed by Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce Rocio Ruiz, is betting on highway, port and airport infrastructure construction in Mexico in order to export to the United States with advantages over the Asians.”

 

On the down side there are some thought-provoking questions and significant arguments against the SPP that were interestingly published, in Canada and the U.S., just days before the SRE position was passed on to the Mexican media.  Which could raise questions like was the timing of the SRE statement simply coincidental; might the opponents have known what was coming; was a response message being sent; or is this matter to be advanced sooner rather than later?

 

Whatever.

 

On December 20, the Center for Research on Globalization, an independent research and media group of writers, scholars and activists in Quebec, Canada, published a critical chronological outline, “‘Deep Integration’: Timeline of the Progress Toward a North American Union.”  The critique, of what could lead to a trilateral North American Union according to the authors (and others), merits review by all interested. 

 

Accuracy in Media, a Washington, D.C.-based citizens’ watchdog group that tracks the media for botched and biased coverage, published a disapproving SPP report on December 22 that also should be read (“U.S. Borders: Going-Going-Gone!”).

 

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Barnard Thompson, a consultant with nearly 50 years of experience in Latin America, is also editor of MexiData.info.  He can be reached via e-mail at mexidata@ix.netcom.com.