November 1, 2007

Legends & Leaders yields rare moment with former Mexican president Fox

In an act of spontaneity at its annual Legends & Leaders dinner on Oct. 25, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Pat Dando surprised and delighted guest speaker, former Mexican president Vicente Fox, by returning with him to the podium as members of the Fairmont Hotel wait staff filed onto the stage behind them.

It was a gesture that brought tears Fox’s eyes, brought the audience of more than 1,000 people to its feet in applause and ended the evening with the hope of the two countries working together to create an opportunity based on the foundation that built the United States.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed a moment—one that we don’t have very often in our fast busy lives,” Dando said. “We just heard about the concept of immigration and now we have an opportunity to put a face on it.”

Dando explained that during the course of his speech, Fox continued to refer to all of the immigrants who came to this country to “cook our food, serve our meals, manicure our lawns and harvest our crops.

“I realized the hotel staff had been told to clear the room and didn’t hear what he was saying,” Dando said. “I thought it would be a nice gesture for these service providers to show their appreciation to him for the message he was giving. It seemed appropriate for them to come out of the kitchen and be on stage with him.”

For Dando, the message was loud and clear. In a climate where it is easy to talk about immigration in concept, it is the policy that needs work—one that should take into consideration the fact that this country was built on the backs of immigrants who today continue provide many different services—and yet a policy that has controlled restraint expectations and accountability.

“If people come to this country to work and provide meaningful services, it's a good thing,” said Fox. “But there has to be limits if immigrants come to live off this system and are not productive members of our society. They shouldn’t be allowed to stay here.”

“Very often we think of immigration as a verb in the abstract,” added Dando. “After Vicente addressed the issues surrounding it, I saw last night as an opportunity to turn immigration into a noun, a proper noun, reflecting the people and the faces that go with it. We know that our great country was built on the backs of immigrants and it would behoove us to work with our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to develop an immigration policy that respects the economic needs, but yet has accountability and expectations of those who travel between our three countries.”

Fox ignites issues
Fox accepted the invitation to speak because, as a long-time proponent of education, he values the fact that the event raises funds for the Chamber’s Educational Endowment Foundation. As he approached the podium to a standing ovation, his first remarks were about a “great nation” built by immigrants. His German Catholic grandfather immigrated to Mexico from Cincinnati, Ohio without a penny in his pocket but still holding on to the “American dream.” Instead, he found his American dream in Mexico.

Building a wall (or fence) now between the U.S. and Mexico is inconceivable to Fox. He noted with irony that such a wall would undoubtedly be built with labor from Mexican immigrants, adding that by not attending to the issue coming out with a common-sense plan to deal with immigration, it is ignoring the important contribution of immigrant workers who proudly perform a myriad of needed services—from cooking and cleaning to serving meals and providing needed manual labor.

Fox made a strong distinction between people who come to this country to do meaningful work, versus immigrants who come to live off the system, are not productive members of society and shouldn’t be allowed to stay. But he said that building a wall would create isolation, not trade, noting that the Great Wall of China did not keep enemies out for the Chinese.

Build bridges not walls
He said it was U.S. President Ronald Reagan who delivered his famed speech to tear down the Berlin Wall. Instead of a wall, Fox stressed the need to build bridges between the United States, Mexico and Canada, noting that world leaders would do better to rely on their faith and spiritual guidance than political polls.

Providing many insights to the Mexican situation and his worldview, Fox urged the audience to go back to the basics of the American dream. In his recent book, “Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President,” Fox’s American dream is not limited to the borders of the United States but spans the entire North American continent.

He said we all want to build a better future for our families. Mexico has done well through NAFTA and has reduced its foreign debt to $40 billion from $80 billion. But, Fox’s dream is to see a North American Union evolve to compete with emerging giants, such as China—a necessary move that would produce a global, free market economy to create wealth and overcome poverty.

President Fox is sometimes portrayed as a social and political radical who openly exposes his country’s history of corruption, indifference and conformity. Although many may not agree with all of his politics, his efforts to institute a new culture of responsibility, entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and hard work can be traced to lessons he learned early in life milking 250 cows each day on his grandfather’s farm. His leadership has received mixed success, but has a changed the economic structure and social fabric of Mexico.