Mexico MPs block Fox foreign trip (BBC)

Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 November 2006, 04:25 GMT
Mexico's lower house of parliament has voted to block President Vicente Fox's visit to Australia and Vietnam.

Opposition politicians, who voted overwhelmingly against authorising the tour, said President Fox should remain in Mexico until his term ends.

He needed to deal with what they called the serious social problems the country faces, such as ongoing unrest in the southern state of Oaxaca, they said.

Mr Fox's ruling National Action Party does not have a majority in the house.

The move came as thousands took to the streets of Oaxaca to express support for embattled Governor Ulises Ruiz.

Calls for Mr Ruiz' resignation have been at the heart of a five-month protest in Oaxaca by left-wing activists and striking teachers, who accuse him of abuse of power and electoral fraud.

Meanwhile several bombs exploded in the capital Mexico City on Monday. Leftist guerrillas said they carried out the attacks.

'Bordering on frivolous'

Mr Fox had been planning to make an official visit to Australia on 12 November, before attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi.

The trip had already been approved by the Senate.

"It borders on frivolous to take a trip only a few days before leaving office, in a country that is convulsed by violence," leftist Congressman Rodolfo Solis told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Fox's foreign trips are often criticised but this is only the second time that one has been voted down.

In 2002, the house blocked a visit to the US and Canada, claiming Mr Fox was focusing too much on international events.
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Comment by Wet_Ahuizote
Mr. Fox attitude towards social problems in Mexico is at least irresponsible. How can he go when there are people being killed and illegally arrested by police forces? Unrest in Oaxaca is not his only problem. Recently in a TV interview, just before it started, Mr. Fox said ‘Ya ando libre ya digo cualquier tontería ya no importa ya total yo ya me voy,..’ ‘I’m free,… I can say anything it really doesn’t matter I’m almost gone,…’. As expected it started a new wave of criticisms.

In addition, bombing in recent days has put Mr. Calderon (elected president) into the position of aligning his discourse with that of Mr. Bush, on the war on terror. Most Mexicans believe that bombings were a rude attempt to ground the basis for fear and ultimately legitimating himself by either offering APPO leaders (terrorists according to conservatives in Mexico) or still governor Ulises Ruiz heads (the corrupt and widely identified as assassin).

Funnily, some people argue that Mr. Fox real motivation for visiting Australia was personal rather than official as his daughter Paulina lives there and is pregnant. Maybe Mr. Fox only wanted to make it to the baby shower. It would sound rude to argue that, however past experiences with Mr. Fox behaviour support such hypothesis. For example in his very first day as president, he started his speech greeting his sons and daughters rather than honouring Mexican congress as protocol indicates.






And here is Mr. Fox temperamental response to the deputies,... basically he is blaming on opposition parties 'PRI for being irresponsible and opportunistic, and PRD for utilisating as arguments conflicts that they themselves,... promote'