It's all about the oil, isn't it?

[khaosworks]

Mexicans outraged by U.S. Congress move to link immigration with oil
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY, May 10 - A move in the U.S. Congress to link immigration with opening up Mexico's state oil company to U.S. investment has outraged Mexicans, and newspapers Saturday accused American lawmakers of arrogance and blackmail.

The House International Relations Committee narrowly approved the measure Thursday saying that any accord on immigration issues with Mexico should include an agreement to allow U.S. companies to invest in the state oil company Pemex.

The measure is a nonbinding ''sense of Congress'' amendment in a broad State Department funding bill, and must still be approved by both houses of Congress.

It went nearly unnoticed in the U.S. news media — but created a storm in Mexico.

The 1938 nationalization of Pemex is celebrated as a symbol of national pride and was written into the constitution.

"Blackmail in the US: Immigration Accord for Pemex," a leading newspaper, El Universal, said in a front-page headline Saturday.

The resolution fed into some Mexicans' suspicions about U.S. motives for invading Iraq, which was deeply unpopular here and was seen by many as an attempt to get Iraqi oil.

A rival daily, El Sol, called it "the Halliburton Amendment," referring to the U.S. energy company headed by Vice President Dick Cheney until August 2000. Halliburton has contracts to put out oil fires in Iraq and help restart its oil industry.

This nearly slipped under the radar. CNN didn't cover it, as far as I know. Even a search of the BBC didn't turn up anything. A few US papers like the Orlando Sentinel are doing follow-ups (yes, Mexico is telling the US to fuck off), but that's about it. And of all people, MSNBC puts it up for all to see, like they did with that interactive map of Israel's nuclear weapons program last month. Who'd have thunk?

Anyway, remember last year, when Bush was courting the Hispanic voting bloc and offering Mexicans that amnesty over illegal immigration? Seems like such a long time ago now, since Mexico didn't sign up to be part of the coalition of the dripping and started having diplomatic doors slammed repeatedly in its face.

Not only is this chilling of relations punishment, of course, but the linking of immigration issues with forced privatization of Mexican oil. At least previously people like Bush and Blair were more subtle. They worked through the IMF and World Bank, who did the dirty blackmailing work for them by threatening to cut off loans if said countries didn't spread their legs and say, "Come and get me, boys!"

It'd have been less offensive if it had been one of the items on the negotiating table, but to have it passed as part of a funding bill, even a non-binding part of it... come on. They might as well be organizing a bukkake¹ circle with Mexico in the middle.

They really, really don't care anymore how lousy they look, do they?

¹ Ask your mother.