Mexico president's visit to Chicago marked by protest (free trade etc)

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=78155

by Marisol Rodriguez
Feb 13, 2008

Mexican President Felipe Calderon excited crowds both inside and outside the Little Village high school where he spoke Tuesday— but in two very different ways.

“For us, presence is not welcomed,” Eric Cruz, 29, said in Spanish at a protest held outside of Little Village Lawndale High School, 3120 S. Kostner Ave., where Calderon spoke to an invitation-only audience.

Calderon was in town as part of his first U.S. visit since assuming office. After leaving Chicago, he headed to Sacramento, Calif.

Protestors like Cruz, a tamale vendor, object to Calderon’s support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which among other things eliminates tariffs on agricultural trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“There are 3 million farmers who support themselves by cultivating corn and beans, but we don’t have the resources to compete with the government,” said Cruz.

According to Donaciano Ramirez, whose wife and child are still living in Mexico, NAFTA is hurting the economic prosperity of Mexico’s working class.

FULL story at link.