Mexican President Felipe Calderon won’t be fighting for migration reform when he meets with President Bush next week. Instead, he will be spelling out what he intends to do to keep Mexicans at home.
Calderon, who was inaugurated on Dec. 1, has pledged to take 100 actions in his first 100 days in office, many of which represent the first steps toward “curing” Mexico’s long tradition of illegal migration to the U.S.
If implemented, his proposals could help transform Mexico from a labor-exporting country with relatively low growth, productivity and wages into an investment-rich, job-producing economy with better living standards for its 107 million people, nearly half of whom still live in poverty.
“We are laying the foundation for a more just, healthy society with better and more equal opportunities for all,” he said in Mexico City.
“Curing” migration will take many more than his six years in office, Calderon says. With this in mind, he set the goal of boosting Mexico’s per-capita income from the equivalent of about $8,000 today to around $30,000 by 2030.
“It won’t be easy. It won’t be fast, but yes, it is possible,” Calderon said.
Calderon and Bush will meet in Merida, the capital of Yucatan state, on March 13 and 14. Officials have not disclosed in detail the talks’ agenda, but in addition to migration, the two are expected to discuss drugs and unresolved trade disputes over trucking rights and agricultural products.
U.S.-bound migrants include not only poor and poorly educated unskilled laborers, but also middle-class entrepreneurs, college graduates and professionals. Many actually have jobs in Mexico, but the salaries don’t match their talents and experience, and workplace discrimination is widespread.
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