U.S.-MEXICO:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Brings a Message for Bush
Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY, Nov 5 (IPS) - A torch honouring Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady
of Guadalupe, was carried across the border into the United States on
Friday, as part of a two-month relay from Mexico City to New York aimed at
demanding respect for the rights of Mexicans and other Hispanic immigrants
in the United States.
Like many other Latinos in the United States, the majority of Mexicans
living there are unhappy with the re-election of President George W. Bush.
"Bush's victory was not good news for a lot of people, but it's a fact, and
what we have to do now is work even harder to defend immigrants and stop the
trampling of their rights," said Arnulfo Chino, a spokesman for the Tepeyac
Association, a New York-based network of organisations that promotes the
social welfare and human rights of Latino immigrants.
Since 2001, the Tepeyac Association has joined with Catholic church
representatives to organise an annual torch relay that covers over 5,500
kilometres in the space of just over two months.
Some 5,000 runners take part in carrying the torch from the Basilica of Our
Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York
City.
The relay, which began Oct. 10 and will end on Dec. 12, is a way of drawing
attention to the plight of Mexican immigrants in the United States, and of
demanding their right to services like health care and education and the
opportunity to work without being subject to harassment or exploitation.
According to Chino, the torch relay that passes through dozens of cities in
Mexico and the United States has taken on new significance after the U.S.
presidential elections on Tuesday, because the re-election of Bush
"represents a challenge for immigrants," most of whom voted for rival
Democratic candidate John Kerry.
Preliminary estimates indicate that close to eight million people of Latin
American origin or descent voted in the elections on Tuesday, a significant
jump in comparison with the 5.9 million who voted in 2000 when Bush was
elected to his first term as president.
This time around, however, Bush managed to garner nine percent more votes
from the Latino community than four years ago, taking 44 percent, as
compared to 53 percent for Kerry.
Aside from the fact that Bush's proposed immigration policy is less than
satisfactory, said Chino, Mexicans are also concerned by the adoption on
Tuesday of Proposition 200 in the state of Arizona, which borders Mexico.
The proposition requires people to present proof that they are living
legally in the United States in order to have access to services like health
care and education, and is widely viewed as anti-Mexican.
The Mexican government and immigrant organisations have announced that they
will seek to prevent the enforcement of Proposition 200 by legally
challenging its constitutionality.
For Raúl Hinojosa, director of the North American Integration and
Development Centre at the University of California, Los Angeles, Bush's win
will likely lead to limited immigration reforms and could possibly create
new problems for "a community that already suffers constant violations of
its rights," meaning the Latino immigrant community.
Bush has proposed the issuing of temporary work permits for undocumented
immigrants already working illegally in the United States and others who
want to work there in the future.
Kerry, on the other hand, spoke of taking steps to legalise the status of
undocumented workers, a plan that was more closely aligned with the desires
of the Mexican government and many immigrants' rights organisations.
"Obviously, Kerry's proposal was better, but Bush won, and we will have to
work to ensure that his plan includes the legalisation of the millions of
immigrants who have been living here for many years now," said Chino.
Between 1993 and 2003, some 3,000 Mexicans died while trying to cross the
border into the United States, while 12 million were detained and deported
for being in the country without visas or residence permits.
Despite the increasingly tight control exercised by the United States over
its southern border, roughly 390,000 Mexicans manage to enter the country
every year. There are already an estimated 39.9 million immigrants of Latin
American origin in the United States, of whom the majority are Mexican, and
five million are undocumented.
U.S. immigration officials regularly carry out raids to catch and deport
undocumented migrant workers.
Moreover, for many Mexicans, the only means of entering the United States is
by depending on migrant smugglers.
Immigrants living in the United States will be facing even more difficult
times than they have up until now, according to Oswaldo Cabrera from the
Latin American Coalition, a non-governmental immigrants' rights
organisation.
But the spokesman for the Tepeyac Association stressed that people should
not lose hope in better days ahead.
The torch relay in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe "could help the Latin
Americans living in the United States to unite and to fight harder and
better for our rights," he said.
"We hope that Our Lady's message will reach President Bush, too," he added.
Along the long route already covered by the torch relay, large crowds of
Mexicans came out to cheer the runners on, while Catholic priests offered
mass to commemorate its passage in numerous cities along the way.
The torch is carried by amateur runners who switch off every two or three
kilometres. The Catholic church calls them "messengers of the dignity of a
people divided by the border."
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared in the form of Our Lady of
Guadalupe to Juan Diego, a poor Mexican indigenous peasant, and left her
image imprinted on his cloak on Dec. 12, 1531.
This "miracle" is celebrated by Catholics in Mexico every Dec.12, the date
on which the torch relay ends in New York City with a mass at Saint
Patrick's Cathedral.
(END/2004)
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