August 26, 2005

Should Fabian Nunez stay in Mexico?

Honestly: wouldn't it be best for both countries if California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez would just stay in Mexico? He seems to be having so much fun on his vacation it's a shame it has to end. John Rice of the AP reports:

Fabian Nunez could hardly stop grinning. The speaker of the California Assembly sat shoulder to shoulder with some of Mexico's political elite on Friday before an exuberantly friendly audience of thousands...

Nunez, who spent most of the first seven years of his life in Tijuana, joined those around him in crossing his hand across his chest in salute as the Mexican flag arrived with a children's honor guard...

Nunez said migrants had helped make California one of the world's great economic powers, "yet the gap between the poor and the rich grows greater and greater, the racism against immigrant workers continues."

He also denounced civilian immigrant hunter groups such as the Minutemen, saying they "try to deny our humanity and our dignity."

Nunez avoided reference to Mexican political issues, but praised the leadership of the union's chief, Heladio Ramirez, who is a key figure in the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, that ran Mexico for 71 years before losing to opposition candidate Vicente Fox in 2000.

The farm union itself has been a key part of the PRI for decades.

Ramirez, meanwhile, decried poverty in the countryside that he said was driving Mexicans across the border.

"That, comrades, is a national disgrace," Ramirez said. "It's humiliating that we are exporting poor Mexicans in the worst conditions so that they can achieve elsewhere what we deny them here."

It sounds like they could really use someone with Nunez' energy and political skills there. And, since we don't need people here who have divided loyalties, it would be a win-win.

Previously: "Fabian Nunez, California Democrat, kisses up to Vicente Fox".

Regarding the part in red above, please send your thoughts to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com and feedback@ap.org.

UPDATE: From the mind-bendingly titled "In Mexico, Nunez is forced to explain border comments" come these mind-bending quotes:

"It seems as though there is a sense that people want to close the border," Nunez said Fox told him. "I assured him that that wasn't the case, and I think he accepted my response to that."

...[Nunez said:] "Many of these Democratic leaders traditionally are aligned with the Mexican people and have been very supportive of the contributions of undocumented immigrants in particular..."

"I always thought that the biggest criticism I would get is 'Here is this Mexican-American leader of California going to Mexico. Where's his allegiance – to Mexico or the U.S.?' " Núñez said.

"I think I have succeeded," he said. "The fact that that criticism hasn't been made shows that we have made a lot of progress."

The fact that he's "succeeded" shows that there are a lot of reality-denying cowards in the media, but we already knew that.

Posted to California at August 26, 2005 08:45 PM

Comments

What do you expect from someone whose name is Fabian.

Posted by: eh at August 27, 2005 08:39 AM