Former Mexican President fosters love, compassion, mutual respect

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Former Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada said love, compassion and mutual respect are some of the qualities today’s leaders should have when dealing with the world around them.

And without mentioning any names, he also said a single person can’t act as if he or she rules the whole Universe.

Fox was the keynote speaker during the second annual RGV Startup Week that runs through this Friday, May 2.

The 82-year-old businessman and politician who served as president from 2000 to 2006, said migrants are the driving forces of a nation like the United States – a country he described as having the greatest wealth, the greatest army, the greatest technological advances and the greatest universities and corporate partners.

Fox addressed a crowd made up largely of business and city leaders and Texas Southmost College students on Monday, April 28, at the TSC Performing Arts Center in Brownsville.

He said he was here to talk about the future of this community, of these students and these entrepreneurs.

But he also said his grandfather, Joseph Louis Fuchs, was a migrant who made the great decision to move from the north to the south in search of that dream.

Fox said he crossed rivers, mountains and deserts from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Guanajuato, Mexico.

“I don’t want to speak about politics,” he said, “but today we have a great example of what government should not do here in the United States because the economy moves by itself.”

When asked about tariffs, he said there has to be a mutual agreement.

If not, he said consumers will bear the consequences of any unilateral increases.

He said 11 Mexican states have automobile plants from a number of countries, including the United States, and that contributes to lower prices people pay for vehicles today.

But changing the rules of the game is counterproductive for everybody, he added.

Fox encouraged the future entrepreneurs to take advantage of what they have today.

He said when General Motors went into Guanajuato, hundreds of companies started setting up operations supplying the automaker with the products it needed.

Speaking of migration, Fox said there should be a solid and better solution to manage migration with success as he and George W. Bush did when they both were presidents in 2001.

On China, he said the U.S., Canada and Mexico should work together. If not, Fox added, China will take over.

“I love this nation and I have one single advice for you,” Fox said. “Keep your friendship with your neighbor, keep your partnership and association with your neighbor together, keep in love and let’s work together.”

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said Fox’ comments about working with mutual respect, love and compassion were some of the most compelling aspects of his speech.

Mario Flores, general co-manager with El Jardin Water Supply, said he was glad to hear Fox saying that water is an issue impacting both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.

“I also liked what he said about having values,” he said, “and about having compassion.”

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