Garza's confirmation well received in Mexico

11/16/02

By Angeles Negrete Lares
The Brownsville Herald

Tamaulipas lawmakers reacted positively to the confirmation of Brownsville native Tony Garza Jr. as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, but they also had plenty of advice on how Garza might improve the relationship between Mexico and the United States.

"Tony Garza's confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Mexico is very positive since he is well identified with the Rio Grande Valley and the state of Tamaulipas. It is the perfect connection for both governments," said Mexican Sen. Oscar Luebbert, a member of the Senate Commission on Border Affairs.

"I have known him in connection with a lot of issues here on the border and we believe that he will be a very excellent ally for the Mexico and U.S. relationship," Luebbert said.

"Garza understands the problems on both sides of the border and for that reason we believe he will help us reinforce efforts to watch for the respect of human rights of the thousands of Mexican nationals who already live in United States."

According to the CONAPO, or Mexican National Population Council, in the past five years nearly 900,000 Mexicans established residency in the United States, increasing the number of Mexicans in the country to 8 million - about 8 percent of Mexico's total population.

"Garza will be a powerful ambassador and he will be more attentive to immigration issues, because he already knows what kind of problems we have on the border and he can immediately identify the best means to handle and help to resolve them," Luebbert said.

"He is a good ally for Mexico and it was a good selection, given his Mexican roots, and as a Hispanic, he surely will be an important ally on immigration issues."

Sen. Lydia Madero, who represents the state of Tamaulipas, said, "the confirmation of Garza will help us a lot with the problems on both sides of the border, such as the pending immigration deal and the water problems we have right now."

On Sept. 5, 2001, Mexican President Vicente Fox and President Bush met in Washington, D.C., to discuss immigration. The talks included the possibility of legalizing more than 3 million undocumented Mexican citizens living in the United States, including thousands in the Rio Grande Valley. There was even talk of opening the U.S.-Mexico borders to free-flowing traffic and trade.

However, immigration reform soon took a back seat to national-security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in this country.

"Garza knows the border better than anybody and maybe that will help to take a step forward in the immigration deal," Madero said.

She belongs to the National Action Party (PAN), as does President Fox. Luebbert is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Madero said Garza's confirmation comes at a good time to revive talks regarding water, immigration, national security and other issues that she feels need to be brought back to the table between the two countries. Those issues, she said, should be part of the discussions between Bush and Fox when the two presidents meet Nov. 26 in Mexico City.

"It's a good opportunity for Garza to grab the bull by the horns and address the issues that will be discussed," Madero said.

The Mexican president's opinion of Garza's appointment was not immediately known.

"We're waiting for some reaction from President Fox about it, because he is in Europe right now," Fox spokeswoman Dulce María Vazquez said Wednesday.