Funds for Mexico are sought from Hispanics in U.S.

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001 | 9:35 a.m.

The highest-ranking Mexican official to visit Las Vegas since Vicente Fox became president last year announced two measures to link Mexicans on both sides of the border.

Juan Hernandez directs the presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad, an agency created out of Fox's policy of working closely with the 20 million people of Mexican descent living in the United States.

Hernandez said Wednesday that a nonprofit foundation has been created to collect funds from Mexicans living in the United States who want to support projects such as schools and hospitals in the poorest sectors of Mexico, which are also the places where most immigrants to the United States come from.

"The hope is that this project may help deter immigration in the future," Hernandez said.

With the support of prominent Hispanics in the United States such as actor Edward James Olmos, the foundation has raised $70,000 since it was founded last month.

Hernandez, who has been touring American cities for 10 months, also said that the Mexican government has worked with the private sector to create an association of 150 money order businesses, such as Western Union.

The association will work to standardize what are widely varying rates and services, Hernandez said. Mexicans living in the United States sent $6.7 billion to family members in Mexico in the first nine months of this year -- the third source of income for the country after oil and tourism.

The official also said that the Mexican consulate announced in August should be opened in Las Vegas by December.