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Mexico's president urges Kennedy School grads to act for 'common good'

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 26, 2010 04:19 PM

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- President Felipe Calderón of Mexico steered clear of controversial immigration and border issues in his commencement speech to Harvard Kennedy School graduates today, instead exhorting them to become public servants and transform their nations for the "common good."

Reuters

Calderon

Calderón, a Kennedy School graduate elected president in 2006, has been an outspoken critic of Arizona's tough new immigration law and other federal policies. Last week, he told Congress the Arizona law was "a terrible idea," and urged the United States to reinstate an assault weapons ban to stem the flow of guns into Mexico.

He spoke one day after President Obama ordered 1,200 National Guard troops to help guard the southwestern border, where drug-related violence has killed thousands in the past several years.

But at Harvard, Calderón focused on the need for public servants to tackle tough reforms, even if they cost money and are politically unpopular.

He outlined examples from his own government, including a plan to provide health care to all Mexicans by 2012 and the decision to make the swine flu threat public even though it harmed the nation's tourism sector.

"What is important is to have something to fight for and to live for, and then you must have the determination and courage to build your life and your work around those beliefs," Calderon said in a brief 15-minute speech in English to more than 500 graduates and their guests at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

"We live in times in which many people cannot see beyond their personal gain or their personal interest. This is unfortunate because they have lost in many cases the sense of giving back, the satisfaction of serving others and the fulfillment of working for the common good."

Calderón also said Mexico will reach universal health coverage by 2012, providing medical treatment for “every Mexican who needs it.”

Calderón did not take questions and declined requests for an interview with The Boston Globe, citing time constraints.

His speech comes at a tumultuous time for US-Mexican relations.

Arizona, a border state, passed the toughest immigration law in the nation in April, requiring state and local police to question people’s legal status if they have a reasonable suspicion that they are here illegally, raising concerns about racial profiling.

In an address to Congress last week, Calderón called the Arizona law “a terrible idea,” according to news reports, drawing criticism from some legislators for assailing federal and state laws.

Calderón said Mexico has also tried to create jobs and prevent emigration, and reduce drug-related violence that has left thousands dead along the border in recent years.

Drug-related violence in Mexico increased in 2006, Calderón said, after the United States allowed a ban on many assault weapons to expire during the George W. Bush administration. He urged them to reinstate the ban to reduce violence, to a standing ovation from Democrats.

Calderón, of the National Action Party, was a fellow at the Kennedy School and graduated with a master’s degree in public administration in 2000. He took office in 2006 and is serving a six-year term.

He had previously served as secretary of energy under former President Vicente Fox.

Material from The Associated Press was included in this report.