Mexican representatives debate social issues

By Nicole LaPrade

The most important issue in this year's Mexican presidential debate is reform, representatives of the candidates from the three main Mexican political parties said in a debate Tuesday in Mayer Theatre.

The debate was the first of a five debate series to be held throughout California this week in an effort to bring the issues of the Mexican election to nationals living in the state. The elections this July will mark the first time Mexican nationals living outside the country will be able to vote in national elections. In addition to the presidential race, all 500 seats in the Congress and 128 seats in the Senate are up for election.

This election could be a key determinant as to how Mexico grows over the next six years, said Kirk Hanson of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, one of the moderators.

"There are two opposing visions. One to the future and one to the past," Senator Hector Osuna, the representative of the National Action Party (PAN) said.

Osuna, the former mayor of Tijuana said that his candidate, Felipe Calderon, has four main areas of concern--to consolidate and strengthen government, to strengthen the economy, implement fair social policy and to increase foreign policy and human rights activism. Mexico's current president, Vicente Fox is a member of the PAN.

Congressman Juan Jose Garcia Ochoa, representing the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said that deep reform is necessary, especially in regards to social programs for helping the majority of Mexican citizens who live in extreme poverty.

Garcia referred to the "very successful social programs" that his party has implemented in Mexico City that utilize monies once used for "paying the bureaucracy to pay for social programs."

He said that expanding social programs is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's main focuses. Obraor is one of the party's candidates.

Regarding energy reform, Ambassador Roberta Lajous of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) said that her candidate, Roberto Madrazo, and her party want to push for private sector competition in the production of electricity so that the country will be able to "recover losses."

Another hot topic was how the various parties propose stimulating the Mexican economy.

Osuna said that the "motor of the economy should be the people, not the government." Garcia offered a different plan, calling for more public investment in private industry, an end to government corruption and a high speed rail system to connect the center of the country with the northern areas.

Lajous, whose party's views tended to be more centrist than those of the PRD or the PAN, simply called for labor reform, energy reform and judicial reform, but did not give details.

When asked about plans to address the concentration of wealth, Osuna said that tax money should be invested in education and increasing human capital and entrepreneurial opportunities for citizens.

Lajous said that the PAN tax reform that Osuna was referring to was a flat tax, which she argued would unfairly burden the poor and benefit the rich.

Osuna defended his flat tax, saying that it eliminates bureaucracy.

Garcia's approach to addressing the concentration of wealth in the country was to increase social programs in the areas of health care and education. He also expressed an interest in increasing public investment to improve economic standards.

The entire debate is available for listening online at 1370am.com.

Contact Nicole LaPrade at (408) 554-4546 or nlaprade@scu.edu.