Former Mexican President Addresses Immigration, Job Relocation
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - Robert Morris University's Pittsburgh Speaker Series continues its impressive speaker list when Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, speaks on Wednesday, March 13, 2013.
KDKA-AM's Larry and John talked to Vicente Fox, and discovered an interesting tie to our region. Besides his father immigrating from Cincinnati, Ohio to Mexico in 1895, Fox worked for the Coca-Cola Company, rising from delivery truck driver to president of Coca-Cola Mexico. As president of Coca-Cola Mexico, he toured our Coca-Cola plant, and was impressed by the innovation and modernization he saw there, as well as the innovations he saw at our stadiums for distributing soda.
Fox talked about many current issues, including immigration and job relocation to Mexico.
"Mexico is striving to overcome unemployment, and fortunately we are down to 31/2% unemployment," says Fox. "I can assure you that Mexicans that go to the United States are Mexicans who have a job here, but they want to do better."
Fox believes that the future of both of our countries is an integrated immigration policy. Partly, it's because President Obama is pushing the agenda, and partly it's because Republicans are realizing that they need the Latino vote.
"They have to get closer to the Latino, Hispanic, and Mexican world in the United States. They are losing a lot of presence in this segment of this electoral base, and they are obliged to advance on this reform."
Another issue Fox spoke on is drug trafficking. He says that Mexicans do not grow or consume drugs, but because of the huge demand in the United States for illegal drugs, Mexico is the path from South America to the US for these drugs. Drug cartels have formed in Mexico to facilitate the distribution of these drugs, and then use the money to buy guns from the United States to fuel the violence seen in that county. Fox says there needs to be changes in the united States before there can be changes in Mexico.
Vicente Fox
For more information on the RMU Pittsburgh Speaker Series, visit http://www.pittsburghspeakersseries.org/.
