[SENATE] Aid to Mexico

[Litos]

Distinguished Reprensetatives,

I call upon this body to respect our friendship with Mexico and assist their government with three credits this turn for the improvement of their country's economy and defense. As our primary ally to the south, we need top protect Mexico as a vital strategic interest, and our of humanitarian concern for its people.

[Coin]

I applaud the initiative of Senator Scott in bringing this to the floor. I believe we must indeed respect our friendship with the Mexican people.

However on a personal level, and while still supporting the principle of increasing the amount of defence contracts US companies can get from the Mexican armed forces, perhaps a bill looking solely at relief aid for the recent disaster in Mexico would be more appropriate? I am happy to introduce such a bill if such relief would not be the immediate aim of this one. But at this stage, I believe direct aid to the people of Mexico to be more urgent than simply sending money to Mexico City's government.

[OYID]

While we also agree with the spirit of this proposal, we wish to point out three things to Senator Scott: First, that the Mexican economy is doing relatively well at this point, and so the Senator from Wyoming is right in saying the most urgent matter at this moment is sending disaster relief aid to the Mexican people, of which a sector lives, works and votes here as citizens of the Mountain States, and as such have expressed their discontent with our failure to help their brothers across the border; Second, that the President has already signed an Executive Order sending two credits of immediate relief to the devastated areas, and so three credits may be excessive considering the aid already sent, a quantity around 1 credit seems more reasonable; and Third, and more to the latter points of both previous speeches, that the Worker's Republic of Mexico has undertaken, however timidly, the path of economic and political reform, and that our national policy so far has been to plan our economic and strategic cooperation with them in accordance with the pace at which their system changes.

If either Senator would like to engage in a discussion around specific proposals regarding collaboration with our allies to the South, this would be a great moment. The Mexican government cannot back down from the path it's chosen, but we can either nudge it along in the appropriate matter or risk delaying it even more by acting carelessly.