After a scolding from north of the border, Mexican President Vicente Fox said he regretted any hurt feelings over a comment he made about blacks in the US. But many Mexicans insist Americans overreacted.
In a speech on Friday, Fox praised the dedication of Mexicans working in the US, saying they're willing to take jobs that "even blacks" won't do.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the remark "very insensitive and inappropriate" and said the US Embassy in Mexico City had raised the issue with the Mexican government.
African-American leaders, including the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, called on Fox to apologize.
At first the Mexican president refused, saying his remark had been misinterpreted. But on Monday, after a weekend of mounting criticism, he seemed eager to make amends.
In telephone conversations with Jackson and Sharpton, Fox said he "regretted any hurt feelings" and has great respect "for the African-American community in the United States," according to a statement from his administration.
He also invited the two leaders to Mexico for talks aimed at improving the sometimes tense relationship between blacks and Hispanics in the US.
No date was set, but the president's office said the visit would be as soon as possible.
Political correctness
Still, many of Fox's countrymen, including the leader of his own party, said the US had overreacted. They suggested the dispute was a case of overzealous political correctness.
"This is an exaggeration," said Manuel Espino, leader of the conservative National Action Party. "There have been a lot harsher comments that come from north of the border, and we don't scream and shout about it."
Mexicans are frequently themselves the victims of discrimination in the US and are still smarting over the US crackdown on illegal immigrants, including a border wall in California and limits on drivers' licenses for undocumented migrants.
The fact is many Mexicans didn't see the remark as offensive. Blackface comedy, while demeaning to many Americans, is still considered funny here and many people hand out nicknames based on skin color.
Even Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the archbishop of Mexico City, criticized US immigration policy as ridiculous and defended Fox's comments, saying: "The declaration had nothing to do with racism. It is a reality in the United States that anyone can prove."
Fence-mending
In his phone calls, "the president stressed that the African-American community had led a series of movements against discrimination and in favor of the civil and human rights of minorities," the statement said. Fox "recognized that those movements also benefited Hispanics and Mexicans in the United States."
Jackson said he was sure the president had no racist intent, according to presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar. Earlier Jackson had called Fox's comment "inciting and divisive."
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said the Mexican government was expected to send a diplomatic letter to the US on Monday protesting laws requiring driver's license applicants to prove they are in the country legally, and the construction of a border barrier wall.
Derbez also criticized US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza, who has angered the Mexican government in part by warning tourists about ongoing violence here.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of