Tucson, Arizona  Wednesday, 13 December 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/001213fox2fNogales.html

Jeffry Scott / Staff
The crowd presses in on Mexican President Vicente Fox, top center, eager to get a glimpse of him on his visit to Nogales. Jeffry Scott / Staff
Fox welcomes Mexicans returning home from the United States for the holidays at Nogales' Kilometer 21 border checkpoint.

By Tim Steller
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

NOGALES, Sonora - Vicente Fox grilled federal bureaucrats and saluted Mexican migrants yesterday in his first visit to this border city as president.

The new president signaled the importance he places on Mexicans living in the United States by dedicating his first tour of the provinces to them.

"We wanted to come to salute those heroes, those who one day as youngsters left home, left their communities, left with tears in their eyes, saying goodbye to their families, to come on this difficult, sometimes painful journey to find work," Fox said.

"For them, this government wants to make a gigantic effort," he said.

More than 1 million Mexicans are expected to return from the United States to Mexico for holiday visits this year. These migrants have long complained of extortion and strict laws limiting the goods they can take into Mexico.

Fox's visit also signaled a shift in presidential priorities and tactics. Rather than bearing promises of public works - the time-honored tradition of presidential tours - he brought only questions.

He made friendly inquiries of the migrants he encountered heading south for the Christmas holidays, and he made tough challenges of the federal officials who stand in the migrants' way. At the Kilometer 21 checkpoint south of Nogales, Fox delayed his own speech to call local customs inspectors and other officials to the podium - and call them to task.

Six officials were asked to explain their work to a crowd of about 300 that sometimes groaned in disbelief and other times cheered an apparent change in attitude.

As customs inspector Francisco Monroy explained the inspectors' duties, Fox interjected: "With no corruption and nothing crooked, right?"

"You can believe it," Monroy said, to the cheers of the crowd.

And as Fox listened to Arturo Rodriguez, the head of the office that issues vehicle permits, the president appeared to doubt Rodriguez's promise to process each request within 30 minutes.

"You're promising that, all right? I want that today," Fox said.

In contrast to his questioning treatment of the officials, Fox, who tours cities on the Texas border today, showered Mexican migrants with praise.

"Welcome home, 'paisanos,' brothers and sisters who are coming home after working for a year, who are coming to visit your families. We want to give you the welcome you deserve," he said.

As he spoke, truckers honked their salutes to the president, who responded with a wave.

Then Fox toured the facilities, ducking into a new bathroom to check its suitability, and stopping to talk with three groups of migrants returning home. One of them was Mariano Chavez, a 30-year-old from Nayarit state who said he first came to the United States illegally 10 years ago but has since become an American citizen.

Chavez was requesting a permit for his Washington-registered vehicle when Fox - surrounded by a pressing pack of security officers, reporters and fans - stopped to talk.

"How have they treated you getting your permit here today?" Fox asked.

"Today it was good. But two years ago it was terrible. Let's hope it keeps getting better," Chavez said.

The conversation ended with Fox asking how much Chavez is charged for sending money home to his family and telling Chavez to say hello to his parents in Nayarit.

"That was impressive," Chavez said, still in the afterglow of the conversation, and surrounded by his wife and three children. "That can help us farm workers who go to work in the United States - he recognizes the needs that we immigrants have."

* Contact Tim Steller at 434-4086 or at steller@azstarnet.com.

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