U.S.-Mexico merger accelerates.

"There is no other country in the world that I go to where I take five or six cabinet officers with me," observed outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell as he opened the 21st U.S.-Mexico Binational Commission (BNC) in Mexico City on November 9.

Among those joining Secretary Powell were Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, outgoing Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, and EPA administrator Michael Leavitt. The BNC exists to coordinate and harmonize policies between the U.S. executive branch and its Mexican equivalent.

"The last decade of Mexican-U.S. relations has been momentous, marked by visionary initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement," stated Powell. "Together, we can work ... to make North America more globally competitive." From a globalist perspective, that means treating the two nations as part of the same economic unit. That perspective explains why the Bush administration has worked to subsidize the growth of Mexico's industrial base.

"Last year, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation committed more than $40 million in financing ... that would go to small U.S. businesses operating in Mexico," boasted Powell, promising that "we anticipate providing hundreds of millions more in the coming months."

At the same time, Powell promised that the Bush administration would continue working to extend "legal status" to illegal immigrants from Mexico. On the one hand, Washington is subsidizing the flight of manufacturing jobs south to Mexico, while encouraging the northward migration of low-wage workers from Mexico.

In an interview with Reforma, Powell promised that "progress on migration"--that is to say, amnesty for illegal aliens --would be a second-term priority for President Bush, albeit one pursued incrementally. "It's important for us to go after that which is doable and not go after something that we know is beyond our reach," he stated. (For additional information about these plans, see pages 25 and 27.)