Monday, November 10, 2003

Bush and Schwarzenegger — personae non gratae in Mexico?

By Barnard R. Thompson

In a politically motivated act that can only be described as asinine, deputies in the state legislature of Baja California Sur, Mexico, are proposing to declare California governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger a persona non grata.  Moreover, should the initiative be approved Schwarzenegger will become the second undesirable and unwelcome representative of the American people so designated in recent times.

The state’s first persona non grata was — is — President George W. Bush.

And like the action before, this initiative is being proposed by ostensibly concerned elected officials in a remote strapped for money state that is dependent on tourism from the U.S.A., largely California, for its all important visitor industry.

State deputy Elsa de la Paz Esquivel Amador, in news reports disseminated nationally on November 7, insists that “it is a reprehensible mistake for the governor (sic) to endorse and promote racist campaigns against immigrants, especially in California where 25 percent of the population is Latino and, of those, 75 percent are of Mexican origin.” 

A member of the left-of-center Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), the governing party in Baja California Sur, the congresswoman similarly authored the state legislature’s declaration against the U.S.A. president.  That still in effect pronouncement additionally calls for International Criminal Court prosecution of Bush for alleged war crimes resulting from the decision to invade Iraq.

Claims that the governor-elect is involved in racist campaigns against immigrants, as embroidered by people like Esquivel, are simply not true.  The fact is that Schwarzenegger has opposed issuance of California driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, as he calls for any and all who might apply for official state documents to pass appropriate residency and background checks — nothing more, nothing less.  In this regard, can a non-citizen visitor to whatever state in Mexico — regardless of their immigration status — receive a driver’s license without requisite documentation?  The answer is no.

The second condemnation against Schwarzenegger is that in 1994 he voted in favor of California proposition 187, the so-called “save our state” initiative.  Making things supposedly worse, opponents denounce alleged proof of bigotry through the inclusion of former governor Pete Wilson as cochairman of the Schwarzenegger campaign.  Wilson has been vilified for everything and anything that was wrong with 187, and in Mexico (as well as in the Spanish-speaking media in the U.S.A.) he has been the object of venomous scorn — whether he deserves it or not — ever since.

Proposition 187 was a flawed yet popular ballot initiative that passed by 59 percent in 1994, although it was subsequently struck down in the courts.  The proposition sought to deny unauthorized aliens most state-financed benefits, including public education and non-emergency health care.  But as much as a reaction against undocumented workers, 187 was a show of disaffection with the costs of illegal immigration.  As for Wilson (who did use 187 to help get reelected), the proposition was part of an effort to get the federal government to pay the state for illegal immigration costs that are federal in responsibility — expenses unfairly shouldered by California taxpayers.

U.S. Representative Bob Filner (Democrat, California), an often times mean-spirited politico from San Diego, has ties with the PRD that could allow him to influence anti-American politics in people like Elsa de la Paz Esquivel.  And even since the October 7 election Filner has sought to further inflame Mexican passions against Schwarzenegger.

“The win by Schwarzenegger could bring negative consequences to Mexicans living in California.  We know very little about Schwarzenegger, but one thing we do know is that his main political ally is Pete Wilson, the same governor who was clearly against the migrant community and who pushed for proposition 187.  The win by Schwarzenegger means that the entity will return to the climate of hostility that existed during the era when Pete Wilson was in power,” Filner said in the Tijuana daily Frontera on October 9.

This is the same Filner who spoke against U.S.A. private sector energy interests in Baja California before a closed-door gathering of PRD federal deputies, in Mexico City, on July 8, 2002.  But he apparently did not realize that minutes were being kept, and one quote from the seven-page transcript is especially fascinating.

“I have now been in Congress for ten years and we have a reelection in November.  As such, I need to return to my district in order to continue with my campaign.  Therefore we will try to keep this meeting secret, so that they will not find out about it in my district,” Filner said.