Former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, said that he is in favor of a legalization of drugs to prevent more murders in Mexico.
In a lecture at the University of Houston on Tuesday, Fox said that Mexico is in the middle of the drug problem because the drugs are imported from South America to Mexico and then they are then transported to the United States, which is the number one consumer of drugs in the world.
He also disagrees with the current strategy used by President Felipe Calderón to fight drugs, which focuses on trying to cut the supply instead of the demand.
“We have to think about the possibility of legalizing it or decriminalize the consumption of drugs,” Fox said in an auditorium with more than 400 people.
Fox also commented that if the demand problem is attacked through educating the population, the results could be better. He cited Portugal and its decision to legalize drugs and said that the consumption did not increase, and the black market disappeared.
The Mexican army should not be fighting the cartels, Fox also said, because they are not prepared to do police work.
The former president also commented on immigration and the United States. He called on President Barack Obama to keep his word of passing immigration reform in the country.
“It seems to me that one thinks that building walls will solve the problems of our nation,” Fox said. “Instead of building walls, we should be building bridges—bridges of understanding, bridges of strong friendship and relationship, bridges of exchange of technology, bridges of respect of our own people.”
He added that it would be a terrible mistake if Texas passed a law similar to the SB1070 law that Arizona passed, which was stopped by a federal judge before it went into effect.
Fox also touched on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which involves Mexico, the United States and Canada, saying that it has worked for all three nations.
“It’s been very profitable. It’s been good for the three of us to work as partners,” Fox said.
He added that NAFTA has created thousands of jobs, perhaps millions in the United States, because of the agreement. However, he said that to be able to compete against Asia and build a good future, they must continue to work together.
“We all depend from each other today,” Fox said. “That’s why NAFTA has become so critical and so important for the future of North America.”
Fox called on UH students in regards to having “the privilege of being in one of the best universities in the world.”
Since only 22 percent of the Latin American youths are able to attend college, he said students should be thinking about the future to make sure that the other 78 percent of Latin Americans have better opportunities.
“It should be your purpose coming out of here to make sure that you are going to be opening up opportunities for them,” Fox said.
Marta Sahagún, the wife of the former president, was also present at the lecture.
The TEA PARTY will not serve activists in the open border organizations, the Special Interests or money lobbyists and nor are they subservient to the Republicans, Democrats or Liberal zealots. The Tea Party has its own measure of patriotic Americans, who are sick of unremitting pandering by most States, federal government that are catering to an invasion of foreign nationals. It is the TEA PARTY'S intention to bring together and focus the power of the millions of angry citizens and permanent residents, with many small groups who will no longer remain silent. America is being invaded and slowly colonized. It is our duty, just as the 1776 revolutionist did; the People will resist.
Taxpayers are paying a astronomical price in welfare and public services without severing access. The Tea Party leaders will attempt to thrash any path to citizenship, giving no tolerance to illegal aliens being accepted for any Amnesty; now or in the future. Sanctuary States should not be allowed to exist, as this like putting fuel to already raging fire..As American (TEA PARTY) patriots we must unite to take back an America, which has allowed the Rule of Law” to be lost on which it was founded. Our country that is nearly unrecognizable from only 3 decades back. We lift our voices in one common language to claim that our borders are protected, our laws be enforced, and that our US Constitution be honored.
Illegal aliens have discovered a fraudulent avenue to aid President Obama predominantly become a strong contender in the 2012 election. Using forged absentee ballots illegal aliens in four States as Colorado, Texas, New York, so far have discovered, but how deep in previous election has this deception gone? In States as California and Nevada that are soft on election oversight, was the absentee ballot forgeries go undetected in huge populace States of nationwide? It's apparent that President Obama considers Americans, who want to restrict illegal immigration laws in America, to be the enemy.
It’s utterly dubious that government would not make trespassing on our lands a felony, which goes against our fundamental rights to defend America from enemies domestic and foreign. It’s equally questioning why E-Verify, Secure Communities, is not the law of the land? To me shows further the governments disturbing inaction to control our border, no matter the consequences of criminal invasion. The TEA PARTY is resolute in upholding the 1986 Immigration Control and Reform Act, not trying to pass another law, to favor illegal aliens already here. If you are of legal standing the TEA PARTY has a place for you, to invite highly skilled technical workers, who will not take advantage of the US entitlement safety net. Businesses who hire illegal immigrants must be prosecuted to the full exemplary harshness the law will exercise. Find out more at NumbersUSA. Every prudent Taxpayer must take their Politicians to task whether federal or State, by calling their offices as soon as possible at Senate—202-224–3121/ House—202-225–3121 or locate these lawmakers in your phone directory blue pages.
There is no mention of the Tea Party here and Fox said he himself although he supports an immigration reform and is against any anti-immigration laws, he is not for "open borders" your comments are not relevant to this article.
OBAMA IS OBSESSED IN PASSING A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS
Illegal Immigration will become a principle issue in the 2012 election for the potential president, because it deals with the loss of American jobs. Costs are spiraling to support the new arrivals, purposely the pregnant Mothers with "Foothold" babies. This too will become a prominent issue as for decade’s illegal aliens have been receiving preferential visas, because of automatic citizenship for their infants. The TEA PARTY Republicans are unwavering to amend this huge financial problem, to revise this misinterpreted law. President Obama is obsessed for pushing through a multibillion dollar plan, to give 20 million plus illegal aliens a path to citizenship. The mainstream of American has no notion that by federal law we must support those people once legitimized. In a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, the total net cost of the 1986 Simpson/Mazzoli amnesty (direct and indirect expenditures of services and benefits to the former illegal immigrants, less their taxable contributions) amounted to over $78 billion in the ten years following the amnesty pardon.
WE CAN WIN THIS WAR, IF WE ALL JOIN TOGETHER. WE CANNOT IMPORT POVERTY ANYMORE.
An amnesty is a reward to those breaking the law. Issuing an amnesty to illegal aliens only encourages more illegal aliens enter the United States. The amnesty of 1986 was supposed to be a "one time only" amnesty promised by deceased Democrat Ted Kennedy yet since 1986, Congress passed a total of 7 amnesties for illegal’s: Yet this type of leniency benefits neither our social order nor those being amnestied. An earlier (INS) Immigration and Naturalization Service study established that after living in the United States for 10 years, the average amnestied illegal alien had only a seventh grade education and earned less than $9,000 a year. This detrimental to all Americans, as already subsist on a lowest of incomes with illegal aliens stealing jobs from our own class of people, who have been displaced by businesses for profit. Amnestied illegal aliens have no guarantor to support them financially.
Instead, by enacting a mass amnesty, Congress places a shocking financial weight on American taxpayers to maintain those amnestied. The 1986 immigration bill has been a failure, not because it’s—BROKEN–but for the reason that the laws were never obligatory? By granting amnesties, Washington has set a dangerous precedent that threatens homeland security. Our normal immigration procedures involves screening to block potential criminals with foreign crime records, people with communicably diseases, anarchists and terrorists from entering the United States. Yet millions of illegal aliens have avoided this screening process by authorities and a volume amnesty would allow them to permanently bypass such screening, that was a serious oversight of the 1986 ICRA.
It’s like Christmas daily as I receive around 300 E-Mail responses, with the majority of the public entirely positive to my commentary and blogs. The community who write to me feel disenfranchised by both political parties, because they see pandering to illegal aliens as future votes or importing cheap labor. They comprehend Republicans, inflexible Liberals and Democrats are responsible for this immigration agenda, displaying complete indifference to the American people’s interests. My correspondents are a reaction of disillusioned people from every segment of our culture, including legal Hispanics who are furious at being allied to the illegal alien chaos. Like me, I have informed them to join the millions of people of the rising civil insurrection of the TEA PARTY. The TEA PARTY is not true Republicans, but a splinter group of Centralist Independents, which are the moderate Conservatives in our society, who believe in the "Rule of Law.
Great article I was present during his lecture, my only opinion is that Mexican Citizens that can vote, look and get more involved in their civilian and gubernamental duties.
Change comes within them and the power in their vote, this lost drug war that the Mexican Gov't is fighting, is not only affecting the people that live in Mexico but it is also destroying the second biggest economical source of income "tourism" while the United States is earning money left and right by selling the guns to those involved in the cartels and by still getting their drugs here.
If there was a legalization, I would agree that it is done so buy following Portugal's example or just by doing certain amounts.
This is the age of drug prohibition and the first step to stop these "mobs" of drug cartels and gangs is by legalizing and then educating; but not us or the gov't bvy it's self but all of us working as one.
i wish the person who stood up and interrupted Fox had asked him something substantial like why didn't he decriminalize small amounts of drugs in Mexico when he had the chance (it was on his desk in 2006 but he didn't sign).
i wish this newspaper article mentioned the hypocrisy as well.
such is UH.
and portugal hasn't 'legalized' drugs. they decriminalized – people are still brought to court if they are found with drugs, but they aren't put in jail.
also, the black market still exists in Portugal. the govt isn't allowing the sale of illegal drugs – they are just overlooking small crimes to focus on taking down big suppliers and treat addicts.