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February 2001
February 2nd
- Foreign policy officials from Mexico and the U.S. met this week to discuss the issues that will take a front seat in the binational agenda. Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Castaņeda, stated the need to find a solution to the violence that plagues the border region. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed, but added that the way to do it was by strengthening Mexico's economy rather than opening up the border. Correspondent Patricia Guadalupe reports from Washington.
- The director of the recently created Presidential Office for Mexicans Living Abroad, Juan Hernandez, was in California, Illinois, and Texas this week to explain what his job will entail. In Los Angeles, Hernandez met with nearly fifty community, business and union leaders. At the meeting, Hernandez, who will represent President Vicente Fox in this country, spoke of his plan to establish warehouses to spur the exportation of Mexican products to the United States. Ruben Tapia has the details from Los Angeles.
- A plan to sink an old warship in the Acapulco bay ran aground in recent days. Although creating an artificial reef could increase tourism to this famous port, local residents question the use of public funds for a private venture. Critics also point out that the necessary ecological studies have not been carried out. The case of the warship Restigouche illustrates the new ecological attitude of many Mexicans, as Kent Patterson explains in this report voiced by Guadalupe Carrasco.
February 9th
- During their journey aboard a yellow school bus from California to the Mexican state of Chiapas, activists are making stops along the way in schools, churches and community centers to collect computers, school supplies, and money they will donate to a Zapatista school. The bus riders also plan to join the Zapatista caravan that will be arriving in Mexico City in March. The Peace Bus left San Francisco in early February and this week made its way to Los Angeles, where correspondent Ruben Tapia filed this report.
- Mexican President Vicente Fox has until next Thursday, February 15th, to decide whether to sign or veto a law that would legalize more than 800 thousand foreign vehicles, the so-called "chocolate cars" brought illegally into Mexico. Although it was approved by Congress last year, the debate continues over the wisdom of enacting this law, as Citlali Saenz explains in this report from Mexico City.
- As the United States navy prepares to resume its military exercises in the Puerto Rican island of Vieques on March 2nd, Puerto Rico's new governor faces increasing pressure to deliver on her campaign promise to achieve a suspension of those exercises, which include practice bombings of the island municipality. Noticiero Latino contributor Wanda Colon Cortes comments on this and other challenges facing Gov. Zila Maria Calderon.
February 16th
- President George W. Bush this week presented his proposal to cut taxes by $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. The National Council of La Raza, which represents hundreds of Latino organizations, has expressed reservations about this proposal since it would not benefit most Latino families. Sonia Perez, the Council's Deputy Director for Research, comments on President Bush's plans.
- Mexico's Congress has created a commission to investigate the missing retirement funds of the braceros, or guest workers, that worked in the U.S. under the bracero program in the 1940s. Meanwhile, lawyers representing former braceros are preparing to file lawsuits in both Mexico and the United States. Mexican Congressman Sergio Acosta spoke with Noticiero Latino about the tasks at hand for this special commission.
- Twenty-four delegates of the EZLN, the rebel Zapatista army, are preparing to embark on a caravan from Chiapas to Mexico City for an audience with Mexico's Congress. The Zapatista caravan will take them through twelve states before reaching the capital in early March. Although thousands of sympathizers from Mexico and around the world are expected to accompany the Zapatistas on their trip, others have expressed doubts and concerns about their impending departure from Chiapas. Lenica Avila has the details from Mexico City.
February 23rd
- This week, in his first trip abroad since taking office, President George W. Bush met with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico. Drug trafficking, energy policies, and immigration were key points of the summit. The meeting was described as informal. No major changes in policy were expected to follow. Noticiero Latino contributor Lenica Avila reports on the reactions in Mexico following this presidential summit.
- 1980 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel was in Los Angeles this week giving conferences and meeting with students and human rights activists. While there, Professor Esquivel spoke with correspondent Ruben Tapia about the risks posed to Latin America by "Plan Colombia", a plan under which the U.S. sent military aid to that nation to combat drug trafficking. Esquivel also commented on the recent air strike against Iraq and on the deaths of immigrants along the Mexico-U.S. border.
- Mexico's African connection goes deeper than most people might imagine. In the country's central region, the musical group Mitote has been exploring Africa's musical imprint in Mexico's music. They have found inspiration in the traditional celebration of the Chinelos, who don masks and colorful outfits as they dance to the rhythm of the town's band. Raul Silva goes along on this search for Mexico's African roots.