Garza cites ties to Bush, predicts migration talks will resume soon

By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News

A day after being confirmed as the next ambassador to Mexico, former Texas Railroad Commisioner Tony Garza said his long friendship with President Bush and
his childhood along the Texas border will help to again raise Mexico's profile with the Bush administration.

Mr. Bush emphasized U.S.-Mexico ties early in his administration, but those early signals were eclipsed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the looming war with
Iraq.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Garza insisted that the United States and Mexico, sharing a 2,000-mile border, were anything but "distant
neighbors" – the title of a book that outlined chilly relations between the two countries in the last century.

"When people tell me Mexico has fallen off the map, I pull out a map," said Mr. Garza, whose nomination was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday night. "I tell them
Mexico cannot fall off the map. Our economies are intertwined, the reality of geography is that we will be partners, and our leaders appreciate that and recognize
that. There are long historic ties between our two countries. We have every interest in moving forward together. I don't know how else to counter criticism except
than with reality."

Mr. Garza said that while it's too early to talk about specific priorities, he expects both countries to soon return to the negotiating table on migration, and added that
he'd like to play a role in such talks.

Moreover, Mr. Garza said he hopes to get Mr. Bush to visit Mexico next year.

The new ambassador stressed that even though some critics questioned Mexico's loyalty as a friend to the United States by not immediately supporting a United
Nations resolution on Iraq, "there was never any absence of resolve or absence of shared objective, which was to go after a common enemy that is terrorism."

Mr. Garza said he plans to attend an upcoming meeting of high-level officials from both countries, scheduled for Nov. 26 in Mexico City, and he said immigration
would be a likely topic.

On a possible migration accord with Mexico, Mr. Garza acknowledged Mexico's high interest in a pact but said it was equally important for the United States to
better understand the role of recent immigrants.

"I would like to see a migration dialogue move to fruition so that we start to acknowledge the role of undocumented workers in our country," he said. "I think we
need to move as quickly as we're comfortable as a country to move toward an immigration accord."

He wasn't clear on what type of migration pact he would like to see with Mexico but suggested it could be an "earned legalization accord, or a guest worker
program, or any other number of different mechanisms by which you address people's status in this country."

Positive response

Reaction from the Fox administration to Mr. Garza's confirmation was swift and positive.

Said Juan José Bremer, the Mexican ambassador to the United States: "I see with optimism the arrival of Tony Garza to Mexico. He has all the necessary elements
to accomplish a constructive job. He knows Mexico. ... Besides his knowledge and good will, it's also to be noted his close relationship to President Bush, whom he
will represent in Mexico."

In Mexico City, others were more skeptical. Some political analysts doubted that one man could put Mexico back on the U.S. political map.

"As long as Bush is president, the bilateral relationship is going to be frozen," said José Antonio Crespo, a respected political columnist and TV commentator. "The
Republicans in Congress are going to support President Bush, and that means fighting terrorism. That does not mean an immigration deal is counterproductive to that
effort. It's simply irrelevant to the United States."

Mr. Crespo also referred to Mr. Garza's Hispanic background as "purely symbolic."

"Presidents Bush and Fox will say that it's a show of good faith, but Mexicans aren't going to buy it, not even Vicente Fox," Mr. Crespo said.

Overlapping cultures

Born and raised in the Texas border town of Brownsville, Mr. Garza, 43, said he was shaped by overlapping forces of American and Mexican cultures, and by four
Mexican grandparents. He becomes only the second U.S. ambassador of Mexican descent.

And while some Latino politicians are seen as making too much of their ethnic background, few insiders in Washington doubt that Mr. Garza will have influence with
the White House.

"Garza is not your typical ambassador," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, director of the Mexico Project for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"What Mexico is getting is more of a special White House envoy to Mexico because of his close ties to the president. It couldn't have come at a better time, given
the multiple priorities that President Bush is having to juggle at this important point in time. Mexicans cannot underestimate Garza's political clout."

Staff writer Laurence Iliff in Mexico City contributed to this report.