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Momentum slowly gathering in Mexico for `US boycott' day

"The Great American Boycott" is spreading south of the border, as activists call for Mexicans to boycott US businesses on May 1.

The protest is timed to coincide with a May 1 boycott of work and shopping in the US that also has been dubbed "A Day Without Immigrants." The boycott, which grew out of pro-migrant marches across the US, is designed to pressure Congress to legalize millions of undocumented people.

Mexican unions, political and community groups, newspaper columnists and even some Mexican government offices have joined the call in recent days.

"Remember, nothing gringo on May 1," advises one of the many e-mails being circulated among Internet users in Mexico.

"On May 1, people shouldn't buy anything from the interminable list of US businesses in Mexico," reads another. "That means no Dunkin' Donuts, no McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, Sears, Krispy Kreme or Wal-Mart."

For some it's a way to express anti-US sentiment, while others see it as part of a cross-border, Mexican-power lobby.

In some cases, advocates incorrectly identified firms as US -- Sears stores in Mexico, for example, have been owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim since 1997.

And ironically, the protest targets the US business community, which is one of the strongest supporters of legalization of guest-worker programs.

"At the end of the day, boycotting would only hurt corporations that are backing what people want done in the immigration bill," said Larry Rubin, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico. Rubin is encouraging people to write to their legislators instead of boycotting.

Roberto Vigil of the California-based immigrants rights group Hermandad Mexicana said his group has asked some of Mexico's largest labor unions to back the protest. Elias Bermudez, president of the Phoenix-based Immigrants Without Borders, is actively promoting the boycott in interviews with Mexican radio and television stations.

Mexican groups are responding. Pablo Gonzalez, spokesman for one of Mexico's largest unions, the Federation of Revolutionary Workers and Farmers, said his organization will support a boycott against "at least four important US firms, among them Wal-Mart," Mexico's largest retailer.

Two other major labor groups -- the telephone workers' and auto workers' unions -- also are expected to join, Vigil said.

Even parts of the Mexican government have signed on.

"We are not going to be buying any products from the US on May 1," said Lolita Parkinson, national coordinator for the National Board of State Offices on Attention for Migrants, which represents state government-run migrant aid offices.

For some, the boycott is fueled not just by the debate on immigration, but by long-standing resentment over the perceived mistreatment of Mexicans in the US.
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