President Fox - The Straw Man

Mexico Politics at 5th gobernment inform - August 2005

The following was presented to us in Spanish. We at Mexicomatters felt it was important enough information to translate and send to all of you interested in Mexico and her relationship to the United States. The person who wrote this would like to be identified only as C. Gallardo.

Gallardo is offering the following historical facts for Mexicanos to consider:

Despite the PRI Party criticisms of Fox and the control of the congress by the PRI and PRD parties, Fox has accomplished a great deal more than the 5 PRI presidents who preceded him.

1. Annual inflation of 4%, the best in thirty years
2. The Mexican stock market is strong
3. The best level of investment in Mexico’s history
4. 67 million in reserve
5. Absolute liberty of the media. In the past they acted like they did not know what was happening, now they daily poke fun and criticize the president and his wife.
6. Equality among the 3 powers of the union (in the past the executive branch had all the power)
7. Mexico paid all it´s debt to the International Monetary Fund
8. Never before has the federal government provided the public with a financial statement until Fox. Mexico city has refused to follow suit. As a public we now know for the first time what the government spends and on what.
9. Mexicans in the U.S. have saved one half of what they use to spend on sending money home because of Fox’s efforts on their behalf.
10. Tax refunds are paid in 45 days
11. No more cigarette and alcohol ads on television
12. The entire nation enjoys a functioning social service system. The government pays attention to the needs of the poor without spending on increasing bureaucratic infrastructure. The service is efficient and less costly. Children with cancer are admitted into the system immediately.

There is something very important we must not forget after 73 years of PRI rule. We accept constant comments on radio and tv criticizing everything.

We Mexicanos have very poor memories – We often believe the pundits that tell us we are worse off than ever. You can think what you like but we are not worse of than when:

1. The PRI government murdered students in 1968 and again in 71.
2. Than when the PRI government killed critical journalists or shut down critical periodicals reporting government corruption and shamelessness.
3. Retiring PRI presidents took with them the economic rewards of major tourist developments – Acapulco under Miguel Aleman and Cancun under Echeverria.
4. The PRI administrations printed money with abandon, provoking inflation of 180% in the 1980´s when a liter of milk sold for 10,000 pesos and a pack of cigarettes 7,000 pesos.
5. In 1975 the peso was worth 12.50 to the dollar. In 1988 the peso was 2,483 to the dollar. That is an inflation rate of 20 thousand percent in 13 years.
6. The PRI assassinated their own candidate for president, Luis Donaldo Colosio.
7. The PRI historically assassinated candidates or their family members to insure a succession of power.
8. The killing of farm workers in Aguas Blancas resulted in judicial protection the Governor extended to insure his family against prosecution.
9. FOBAPROA, the 100 billion dollar banking bail out of the banks. The PRI government blew it and the public paid.
10. Now they waste a lot of ink criticizing the president for offending afro Americans, make mistakes on names, wearing cowboy boots and kissing his wife in front of the Vatican.

These accusatory journalists, cowardly looked the other way when the PRI ignored the constitution, the law and the institutions of governing with checks and balances. They did not remember and now they have forgotten.

We are not doing great, yes we have much more to do, Rome was not built in a day. But we are not worse off as the PRI would have us believe.

If we return to the “ball of rats” we worked so hard to remove with time and blood we Mexicans will get what we deserve. I’m not a PANista or a Fox devotee, but if Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador* is elected president I’m moving to Canada.

*The present mayor of Mexico, a populist left winger, who is a candidate for the presidency.  

C. Gallardo