VZCZCXRO2504
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHJO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHPOD
RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #1316/01 1211930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301930Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1661
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 001316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AWH, ILCSR, AND WHA/MEX, DOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON CVIS SOCI EAGR PGOV PINR MX
SUBJECT: VERACRUZ SUGAR CANE PRODUCERS AND LABOR LEADERS 
BLAME NAFTA AGRICULTURAL POLICIES AND A FAILURE TO REFORM 
US IMMIGRATION LAWS FOR MEXICO,S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: During a recent visit to the eastern costal 
state of Veracruz Mission Mexico,s Labor Counselor met with 
a variety of labor leaders, sugar cane producers as well as 
some state and local government officials.  The meetings with 
government officials were fairly routine courtesy calls with 
no significant exchange of information or views.  In sharp 
contrast, the sugar cane producers and labor leaders welcomed 
the opportunity to speak with a USG official and talked 
freely and at length about their perceptions of some of the 
economic problems affecting Mexico.  According to the cane 
producers many (but certainly not all) of the problems of 
Mexico,s sugar industry are the fault of &NAFTA related US 
agricultural policies8 and &massive8 USG subsidies.  The 
main theme in Labor Counselor,s meetings with Veracruz labor 
leaders (over 30 in one meeting), was the argument that 
Mexican labor was essential to the American economy and that 
the US should recognize that fact and quickly adopt a more 
open immigration policy.   End Summary. 
 
------------------- 
A VISIT TO VERACRUZ 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  do you want to say the date (sometimes embassies take 
months to report such visits, so they say &recently8) On 
April 21-24, Mission Mexico,s Labor Counselor recently made 
a three day visit to the eastern coastal state of Veracruz 
for meetings with labor leaders, government officials and the 
business community.  Over the course of the visit Labor 
Counselor had a very public meeting with the mayor of the 
port city of Veracruz, Veracruz, Jon Rementeria Sempe, and 
fairly private courtesy call (at his request) with the 
state,s Governor, Fidel Herrera Beltran.  Both of these 
meetings were basically courtesy calls.  However, Mayor 
Rementeria arrived with what seemed a good portion of the 
city,s press corps and used the occasion to point out the 
many steps he said his administration was taking to make 
Veracruz a welcoming place for US and other foreign 
investors. Neither the meetings with Mayor Rementeria nor 
with Governor Herrera provided an opportunity to discuss 
anything other than routine pleasantries. To the extent that 
labor issues were discussed at all, both officials expressed 
their respect for organized labor and good relations their 
respective administrations had with unions in the state. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
BITTER FEELINGS ABOUT US AGRICULTURAL POLICIES 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.   The meetings with Veracruz government official differed 
markedly from an extended discussion Labor Counselor had with 
several prominent Veracruz sugar cane producers (and 
subsequently with various labor leaders).  The producers were 
all affiliated with both the National Union of Cane Growers 
(UNC), which is more of trade association than an actual 
union, and with the Veracruz branch of the National Peasants 
Confederation (CNC).  The CNC is a national organization of 
small to medium farmers and agro-industry workers dedicated 
to promoting the interests of these segments of Mexico,s 
agricultural industry.  The CNC is formally a part of the PRI 
(Institutional Revolutionary Party), Mexico,s former ruling 
political party, and nationally its activities are often 
evenly divided between the promoting the political interests 
of the party and working to improve conditions for small 
farmers and farm workers. 
 
¶4.  The cane producers who met with Labor Counselor were 
convinced that one of the main sources of problems for the 
Mexican sugar industry was its inability to compete because 
of the &massive amounts of subsidies8 received by sugar 
producers in the United States.  The Veracruz cane producers 
laid a big part of the blame for these subsidies on USG 
NAFTA-related agricultural policies. The cane producers in 
the meeting did not/not say that USG subsidies to the 
American sugar industry were the only cause of their 
problems. However, they unequivocally stated their view that 
subsidies significantly contributed to difficulties 
preventing the Mexican sugar industry from being more 
competitive and consequently from generating more jobs. 
 
MEXICO 00001316  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5.  According to the Veracruz cane producers, US cane 
producers and the US sugar industry receive subsidies for 
water, power, fertilizer, etc. The Veracruz producers 
believed that it was unfair of the USG to provide these types 
of subsidies to the various elements of the American sugar 
industry knowing full well that the GOM could not provide 
similar support to Mexico,s sugar industry. The cane 
producers seemed genuinely unaware that while the USG does 
set control on the amount of sugar produced in the US, it 
does not provide any direct subsidies to the US sugar 
industry.  They also seemed unaware, or at least failed to 
mention at any time during the meeting, that under NAFTA 
there are no restrictions whatsoever placed on Mexican sugar 
entering the United States. 
 
------------------------------------ 
MEETINGS WITH VERACRUZ LABOR LEADERS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  Over the course of the visit to Veracruz Labor Counselor 
held a series of meetings with local labors organized under 
the auspices of the state level leaders of the National Rail 
Road Workers Union and the Congress of Labor (CT).  The 
largest of these events, and the one that received the most 
public media coverage, was a breakfast attended by 
representatives of over 30 different unions.  The breakfast 
was hosted by the CT and was followed by an extensive 
question and answer period. The media was not allowed to 
attend the questions portion of the breakfast. 
 
¶7.  The CT is an umbrella organization that groups together 
Mexico,s larger and more established labor federations and 
some independent unions. Although it some independent unions 
the overwhelming majority of its members are affiliated with 
the PRI as it the CT itself.  In theory the CT is suppose to 
function as an organization where the various elements of 
Mexico,s organized labor movement can agree on an agenda and 
present a united purpose to promote that agenda to both the 
GOM and the private section.  In practice the effectiveness 
of the organization is often undercut by the differing 
priorities of its members and the personal jealousies and 
struggles for political power among national leaders of the 
CT,s constituent unions.  A history of power struggles 
notwithstanding, the unions at the CT breakfast presented a 
near unanimous front to Mission Mexico,s Labor Counselor in 
their desire to discuss a single topic: increased Mexican 
immigration to the US. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
FOR LABOR LEADERS MORE IMMIGRATION IS THE KEY 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  From the questions asked by the media in the meeting with 
Veracruz City Mayor Jon Rementeria and prior to the start of 
the CT breakfast, it was clear that the state of Veracruz has 
been significantly impacted by tightening border controls in 
the US and the stricter enforcement of US immigration laws. 
The reporters prefaced many of their questions with 
statements indicating that many citizens of Veracruz who had 
migrated to the US to escape high unemployment at home were 
now returning to Mexico.  The reporters pointed out that the 
job situation in the state had not improved from the 
conditions which had compelled these migrants to seek 
employment opportunities in the US.  Interestingly, at no 
point did any report attempt to ask the assembled labor 
leaders what they were doing to increase employment 
opportunities for Mexicans in their own country. 
 
¶9.  Once the reporters were politely excused and the 
breakfast over, the assembled Veracruz CT labor leaders 
expressed a strong desire for an informal discussion with 
Labor Counselor.  At present Mexico,s organized labor 
movement is facing a daunting number of issues such as 
pending labor law reform, a low minimum wage, outsourcing, 
the growth of the informal economy, job loss due to 
contraband, child labor, improving worker skill level, inter 
union disputes, union corruption and competitiveness. 
Remarkably, not one of these topics came up for discussion. 
Almost the only topic any of the labor leaders wanted to 
discuss was immigration reform and the possibility of 
 
MEXICO 00001316  003 OF 003 
 
 
expended immigration opportunities for Mexican workers. 
 
¶10.  There was a general agreement among the assembled 
leaders that Mexican workers were an indispensable element 
underpinning the health of the US economy.  The leaders could 
not understand why the US could not see or failed to 
understand what struck them as a simple and indisputable 
fact.  All of the assembled leaders expressed deep concern 
about the lack of employment opportunities in Mexico but none 
of them seemed to make a connection between this problem and 
a resolution of some of the issues facing organized labor. 
For them, the surest way to solve the country,s unemployment 
problems was for the US to open its borders to unrestricted 
immigration from Mexico.  The only questions raised that did 
not relate to the prospects or increased Mexican immigration 
to the US dealt with allegations were about the mistreatment 
of Mexican workers already in the US. 
 
¶11.  In responding to the Veracruz labor leaders, questions 
Labor Counselor drew heavily on standard Mission talking 
points on the subject of immigration reform.  Labor Counselor 
also devoted a fair amount of time encouraging the labor 
leaders to advise migrants already in the US who allege 
mistreat or abuse of US labor laws to contact the nearest 
Mexican consulate.  The labor leaders had clearly never 
thought to seek assistance from Mexican diplomatic or 
consular posts in the US and they were totally surprised to 
learn of the large number (40 ) of such offices operating in 
the United States.  The session ended with what appeared to 
be genuine expressions of thanks from the Veracruz labor 
leaders for the opportunity to establish contact with a 
representative of Mission Mexico. 
 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  Veracruz is one of the more developed states in Mexico, 
but this fact notwithstanding there appears to be widespread 
misunderstanding there about NAFTA, US immigration policies 
and even about what services Mexicans should expect from 
their own government.  Labor Counselor,s visit to Veracruz 
provided excellent opportunities to establish new contacts in 
another part of Embassy Mexico,s consular district few 
chances to directly discuss labor related issues.  That said, 
although the cane producers and the labor leaders with whom 
Labor Counselor met expressed the view that the US should do 
more to help address some of their problems they did any in 
way hostile toward the United States.  Overall the people and 
government official in Veracruz seem to have a positive view 
of the US and it should fairly easy to engage them on a broad 
range of labor and other topics (unrelated to immigration) 
during future visits. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
GARZA