Mexican-Americans unclear about Fox’s vision for immigrants

By Timothy Pratt

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

On returning from Mexico City -- and Mexico President Vicente Fox's inauguration of a new council that will represent the 20 million people of Mexican background living in the United States -- several Nevadans invited to the ceremony said they were honored, but confused.

"When you're invited to what is basically the White House for Mexico, it's a big honor," said Eddie Escobedo, founder of El Mundo, Nevada's oldest Spanish-language newspaper.

"(But) it's not clear what's next or what our role in this should be."

The council will replace a cabinet-level office for migrants that Fox opened when he was elected nearly two years ago and closed last month. Its role, Fox said in a speech Tuesday to about 500 Mexican-American community leaders, will be to "look out for the interests of Mexicans abroad."

"Beyond that, it wasn't clear what he wanted, or what the project's about," said Priscilla Rocha, the only Hispanic member of Nevada's Board of Education and one of six people who attended from Nevada.

Berenice Rendon, Mexico's consul for Nevada, said the move is important to Fox's project of strengthening his country's ties with its immigrants to the United States.

"This is the next step, after the office he created when he was elected," Rendon said.

Rendon said Fox's project has three parts: an advisory board of Mexicans living abroad, an institute in Mexico City dedicated to issues of concern to this group, and a commission involving the various government agencies that deal with immigration and related issues.

She said its tasks will include furthering immigration reform in the United States and channeling economic support from Mexicans abroad to development projects back home.

"It's still early to tell how exactly it will work, but this is a big thing for us," she said.