In Fox, Mexican Migrants See Hope

The television screens at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles showed images of a towering, somewhat self-deprecating man who spoke of a Mexico purged of blatant inequality, injustice and criminality.

“He appears like a normal person,” said Javier Castellanos, slightly taken aback at his own observation.

“He seems very honest,” added a clearly surprised Maria Camara.

“After all this time,” concluded Cecilio Mata, “we deserve a break.”

Such was the upbeat scene early Friday at the consulate offices across from MacArthur Park, where a steady stream of customers on routine business arrived as always.

But this wasn’t just any day.

Consulate officials, using a satellite hookup, showed a live broadcast of the Mexico City inauguration of President Vicente Fox as he began his groundbreaking six-year term. Fox donned the tricolor sash of Mexican governance and addressed Congress in what is traditionally a solemn ceremony.

Many customers gazed up at the president’s image as they stood in line in the sprawling waiting room, its drab atmosphere broken only by a multihued mural of Mexico’s history.

Some applauded; a few shed tears. But there were few blatant signs of emotion in an office that is very much a place of official business. Yet the restrained reaction seemed only to mask a deep sense of relief, even jubilation.

That Fox’s arrival marks a turning point in modern Mexican history--breaking the 71-year stranglehold of the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI--was not lost on the crowd, a virtual cross-section of Mexican immigrants in Southern California.

The transition in Mexico City is being closely watched in Los Angeles, heartland of the extraordinary immigration that has helped transform the face of California and other parts of the United States in recent years. Many community activists were invited to Mexico City for various events during the inaugural weekend.

Fox has vowed to reach out as never before to the millions of Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans, many deeply skeptical about Mexican politicians.

“I hope he can do something for all the Mexicanos working here without papers, help them win their rights,” said Camara, a 39-year-old mother of four from the southern Yucatan peninsula who lives in South-Central Los Angeles.

Accompanying Camara was her daughter, Nahaivi, whose name reflects the family’s Maya heritage. Nahaivi, a 17-year-old high school student, said the new government makes her feel proud of her ancestry, although she has spent most of her life north of the border.

“They needed a change down there,” said the teenager, who switches fluidly from Spanish to English.

Many expressed the need for immediate reforms in virtually all aspects of Mexican life, from crime to corruption to the lack of economic opportunity for many ordinary Mexicans.

And most at the consulate Friday were willing to give Fox the benefit of the doubt that he will make good on his reform promises.

“We waited more than 70 years for a change, but [Fox] has a lot to do right now, and a term of six years is not a lot of time,” said Eduardo Ballesteros, a guitarist in the popular Mexican rock band El Tri, who was at the consulate to help a touring band member take care of some paperwork. “It won’t be easy.”

Listening was Ismael Leon, a 34-year-old airport worker from Inglewood whose life seems to reflect the trajectory of so many Mexican immigrants here. He arrived in the United States on April 20, 1985--he remembers the date specifically--crossing the border from Tijuana to San Diego. He has since made his life here, becoming a U.S. citizen and fathering three U.S.-born children.

“Mexico has been robbed for years, by its police and its politicians,” Leon said. “I only hope this new one doesn’t become the same as all the rest, stealing all he can.”

In the crowd, many said they think that expanded economic progress could even slow migration. With more opportunity at home, some reasoned, perhaps fewer people would be compelled to make the often-hazardous trek north.

“The economy will turn around 100%, I’m convinced,” said an ecstatic Heriberto Sanchez, 52. The owner of an embroidery factory in El Monte said he was once a guest at Fox’s ranch. “He’s a real person, not a double-speaker. He’s not like other politicos.”

Indeed, Fox appears to have quickly demystified the near-regal aura that has long enveloped the Mexican presidency and insulated its powerful leader from the people he represents.

“He inspires confidence that there will be a change, finally,” said Remedios Alvarez, a 40-year-old mother of three who paid close attention to the new president’s words. “Maybe things will be better.”