The Los Angeles mayoral runoff election will be held today. Black and Latino voters are expected to elect Antonio Villaraigosa L.A.'s first Latino mayor in more than a century. It’ll be interesting to see how long the black-brown coalition (and here) stays together in light of Mexican President Vicente Fox’s comment:
There’s no doubt that the Mexican men and women — full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work — are doing the work that not even (emphasis added) blacks want to do in the United States.
Fox’s “unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate” (and racist) words went over as well as the billboard (and here) that put L.A. in Mexico.
As WorldNetDaily reported:
Citing “community feedback,” the advertising company responsible for a Los Angeles area billboard that places L.A. in Mexico has announced it will revise the ad by Friday.
By contrast, Fox refused to apologize (here and here). The Embassy of Mexico released a statement that said in part:
President Vicente Fox conveys his utmost respect to all minorities regardless of their racial, ethnic or religious background, and thus, regrets and expresses his disagreement with the interpretations that described yesterday's statements as racist.
The purpose of his comments was solely to stress the current importance of Mexican workers in the development and progress of US society.
Rev. Al Sharpton called on Fox to apologize. Sharpton said Fox's words "confirm the stereotype that blacks are the lowest peons in the workforce of this country."
Fox has since said he "regretted any hurt feelings" and has invited Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and other black leaders to Mexico "for talks aimed at improving the sometimes tense relationship between blacks and Hispanics in the United States."
