Mexico Refuses to Bend to U.S. on Iraq

By Alistair Bell, Reuters, Saturday 22 February 2003, 4:40 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - In defiance of the United States and Spain, U.N. Security Council member Mexico vowed on Saturday to maintain its opposition to an attack on Iraq.

I want to reiterate that Mexico’s position has been and will be very clear. It will exclusively serve our interests, the interests of the Mexicans and no-one else, said Interior Minister Santiago Creel.

Mexico, which has a porous 2,000-mile border with the United States, was cooperating closely in the fight against terrorism but would chart its own course in the Iraq crisis, he told reporters.

Mexico has called for U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq to be given more time to carry out their mission.

That is going to be the position we will assume. In matters of internal security: total solidarity against terrorism, total proximity with our northern neighbor, Creel said. And in international forums: our principles, our traditions and above all, Mexico’s peaceful vocation.

His comments came after a plea by the U.S. ambassador for Mexico to prove its friendship to the United States, the recipient of almost 90 percent of Mexico’s exports.

The United States and countries supporting it are to submit a proposed resolution to the Security Council early next week declaring Iraq is not complying with U.N. disarmament demands.

The resolution is expected to carry a threat of military action if Iraq does not comply quickly.

U.N. diplomats say the votes of non-permanent Security Council members like Mexico are key because Washington wants to win the minimum nine votes needed in the council for adoption of the resolution and then challenge Russia, China or France to use their powers of veto to kill it.

AZNAR FAILS

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, one of the staunchest U.S. allies in the Iraq crisis, failed to convince Mexican President Vicente Fox to back the resolution during a visit to Mexico on Thursday.

Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive who was once close to President Bush, released a short statement after that meeting which feel well short of offering support.

In a breach of diplomatic dress code, the Mexican president received Aznar for talks at his official residence wearing a black leather jacket and open-necked shirt—a signal to the Spanish leader that Fox is in dissent.

Mexico is upset at the United States’ lack of interest in talks to legalize the status of millions of undocumented Mexicans in the United States.

The immigration issue has been the cornerstone of a Mexican bid to align itself closer with the United States, but it fell of the agenda because of U.S. concerns about security after the Sept. 11 attacks on American cities.

Mexico now feels spurned and believes it has little to lose politically by turning its back on Washington, analysts say.

I think perhaps Mexico may be at the point where it says, ’We are not going to get what we want out of the United States anyway, so there will not be such a high prices to pay,’ said Delal Baer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Mexican newspapers on Saturday quoted U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza as asking for Mexican diplomatic help. The real test of (a) special relationship is helping each other in difficult times, Garza was quoted as saying.

In a veiled threat, he warned that an immigration deal with the United States could become impossible in Congress if Mexico did not back Washington over Iraq.