Mexican officials `look silly' over fees
Flip-flop on cars is latest blemish

http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/082-8822.html
Sunday, 5 December 1999

By Tim Steller
The Arizona Daily Star

Some thought the Mexican government's image could not get much worse.
That is until Mexico City decided to make travelers leave a refundable deposit of $400 to $800 for taking a U.S. car into the country.
Flip.
But the central government later reversed itself.
Flop.
And then the deposit was reinstated - only to be suspended the day after it took effect.
Flip-flop.
The latest reversal came Thursday night. Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo indefinitely suspended the deposit requirement, the idea for which originated with Mexico's secretariat of revenue and credit.
While this end may please travelers, the waffling leaves the government tarnished.
``It makes the Mexican government look silly,'' said Ed Williams, a University of Arizona professor of political science who specializes in Mexico. ``After you commit yourself, in order to maintain your credibility you have to follow through.''
Mexican Consul Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez attributed the government's indecision to disagreements among various ministries, including commerce, treasury, interior and foreign relations. According to Williams, Mexico's automobile-industry lobby also weighed in favor of the deposits.
But as the measure's unpopularity became clear, election-year politics also entered into the decision, said Felipe Garcia, a Mexican attorney who lives in Tucson. Mexico will elect a new president next year.
``At this time, no one wants to do something that is going to damage their public image,'' said Garcia, who also is a researcher at the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade.
The damage to the government's image might already be done, especially north of the border, Williams said. While the Mexican government gets many things right, ``the public reaction will exaggerate the importance of this one issue,'' he said.
The only good to come of the policy-making fiasco, according to several Mexico observers, is that the government made the right decision in the end.
``You might say they're being wishy-washy, but at the same time they are listening to the needs of the states and the people,'' said Antonio Proto, the Arizona government's representative in Hermosillo, Sonora.
Sonora was one of several Mexican states that protested the imposition of the deposits. Mexicans who live in the United States also objected to the fee, which went into effect just as many drive home for Christmas.
``Even though I believe it did a lot of harm - because there's going to be a lot of doubt from visitors and tourists - at the same time I believe it shows that if you lobby and it's something the majority of the people want, the government will change it,'' Proto said.
On Friday, the fees charged for a permit to drive into Mexico's interior - beyond the 13-mile border zone - returned to their previous level: $10 to $15 for a six-month permit.
The Only Sonora program, which allowed people to take cars into Sonora without charge, remained suspended but under negotiation.
Garcia said the evolving policy showed the government should better evaluate such policy changes before implementing them.
The overwhelming opposition from the border states, Mexican residents in the United States and Americans seemed to surprise them, he said.
``It's sending the Mexican government a very strong message that `We don't trust you,' '' Garcia said.
That message came through loud and clear at the checkpoint south of Nogales on Wednesday and Thursday. The number of vehicle permits sold there was less than half the number sold on the same days last year.
In effect, travelers said, ``I don't trust what will happen to my money,'' Garcia said.


------------------------------------------------------------------------