President Calderón's Rose Garden Speech

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: (As translated.) Thank you, President.


Ladies and gentlemen, members of the media, good afternoon. First of all, I would like to thank the kind invitation of the people and the government of the United States to carry out this visit. And I am the bearer of a respectful and affectionate greeting of the Mexican people to this nation, which is our neighbor and friend. I would like to thank the words and the hospitality of President Barack Obama.

Friend.  Hmm, let's see.  Low skilled workers are given maps to penetrate our borders in order to send money back to your country.  If that is an act of a friend how would you treat us if we were your enemy? 



The United States and Mexico are nations that trade, dialogue, and complement each other economically and mutually. We are nations that have a political understanding of the highest level. And we are also countries with a fruitful, dynamic, and ties between people, communities, public and private institutions throughout 3,000 kilometers of border. Our relationship is characterized by an honest and open dialogue based on trust, respect, and co-responsibility.

Trust, respect and co-responsibility?  Really?  The Mexican government is so corrupt that the drug war lords have been allowed to grow more powerful and flourish so that your officials can benefit financially, and to heck with what happens to the citizens of the U.S. 


As it has been stated by President Obama, this morning we held a broad and fruitful dialogue. We’ve reviewed our bilateral relationships -- the problems, the challenges and also the many opportunities that we face. We analyzed different proposals and visions on the side of Mexico and the United States to strengthen North America as a region.



We talked about the relevance of solving our differences and trade problems in the fastest possible way. We covered the border topics such as security, migration, and we also examined initiatives to consolidate our cooperation in global scenarios and global interests.

Is migration a nicer word for illegal immigrant? 



I can highlight here that the areas where we agree are broader than our differences. There’s a broad convergence of interest. And this is not only given to the fact that we share common goals, but there is a will in both of us to turn the fact of being neighbors into a partnership that will act as a leveler for shared development.



Fortunately, the serious economic global crisis is giving up. This opens up a window of opportunity for Canada, the United States and Mexico to re-position Mexico and North America as a vigorous region -- competitive and prosperous, capable of generating more and better jobs; a region that will be attractive for investments, trade exchange and tourism, with great perspectives facing the future.



Together, we should increase our exporting capacity in a contest of growing competitiveness among different regions of the world. We talked about the different obstacles that are there for complying with transportation obligations that have been established at NAFTA, a situation that impacts jobs, companies and consumers in Mexico and in the United States. And we shall work in order to achieve a quick solution with a constructive, creative solution in the long term in this and many other areas.

Are you going to start actually inspecting trucks and cars before they are allowed to enter the U.S. for safety?  That is currently not happening.

As the President has stated, we gave special attention to the border matters. The border is not only a place of encounter for both our nations, but it’s also an area of opportunity for our aspirations that we share regarding development. For this we will allocate more resources for the border infrastructure in order that it will be at the height of the needs of our economies and communities, and that it will benefit both sides of the border. We will strengthen the coordination among the government officials on both sides of the border to reinforce security.

An encounter for both our nations?  How many American citizens are risking their lives to cross into Mexico to work illegally and use your tax payer funded services? 



We want to make this quite clear: We, both countries, want to have a safe border, a safe border for our people. We agreed upon the urgency to reinforce the actions to stop the flow of drugs, weapons, and cash. And for this we will work with full abidance to the legislations and jurisdictions of each country in a co-responsible way.

The Mexican government helps illegals enter into this country.  People are warned where enforcement officials are stationed. 



In reference to the migratory issue, I acknowledge the sensitivity and the commitment of President Obama to look for a comprehensive solution that will be respectful of the rights of the individual and will be adjusting itself in a realistic way to the needs of both our economies. We talked openly about this and other issues.

Maybe you can try putting the resources that you put into helping your low skilled workers cross into the US illegally into getting them skills and better paying jobs, we wouldn't be having these problems. 



We identified that the economies of our countries are clearly complementing each other, and when we -- integrating them, they are a powerful tool to bring productivity and competitiveness up within the whole region. Greater competitiveness in North America means more jobs and better living conditions for the people of the United States and for the people of Mexico.

Mexico is basically a third world country and your government does nothing to change that. 


In Mexico, we are and will continue being respectful of the internal policies of the United States and its legitimate right to establish in accordance to its Constitution whatever laws it approves. But we will retain our firm rejection to criminalize migration so that people that work and provide things to this nation will be treated as criminals. And we oppose firmly the S.B. 1070 Arizona law given in fair principles that are partial and discriminatory.

If they entered the country without the proper documents they are criminals.   Maybe we should start enforcing your immigration laws.  We don't anyone in prison, we just deport them. 


This and other issues were covered during this meeting, which I will dare to say that it’s historic given the level of understanding and trust that we have reached.



For the meantime, I would just like to highlight this open and honest and constructive dialogue that we keep and hold with the government of President Obama and these two countries that allows me to see the strength and leadership of the President of the United States.



Thank you, President Obama, for your hospitality. I want to thank all of you for your kind attention.