IMAGE: CNS photo/Edgard Garrido, Reuters
By David Agren
CUERNAVACA, Mexico (CNS) — An editorial in a publication of the Archdiocese of Mexico City condemned Mexican companies wishing to work on the proposed wall being built on the U.S.-Mexico border as “traitors” and called on authorities to castigate any company that provides services for fencing off the frontier.
“What’s regrettable is that on this side of the
border, there are Mexicans ready to collaborate with a fanatical project that annihilates
the good relationship between two nations that share a common border,” said the March 26 editorial in the archdiocesan publication Desde la Fe.
“Any company that plans to invest in the
fanatic Trump’s wall would be
immoral, but above all, their shareholders and owner will be considered
traitors to the homeland,” the editorial continued. “Joining
a project that is a grave affront to dignity is like shooting yourself in the
foot.”
President Donald Trump ran on a promise of
constructing a wall between the United States and Mexico and has signed an
executive order to begin building the barrier on the nearly 2,000-mile
U.S.-Mexico border.
The Mexican government has repeatedly said it will not
pay for any border wall. Security analysts say illegal merchandise mostly
crosses through legal ports of entry and express doubts a wall would keep out
drugs, as Trump insists. Catholics who work with migrants transiting the
country en route to the United States express doubts, too, saying those
crossing the frontier illegally mostly do so with the help of human smugglers,
who presumably pay bribes on both sides of the border.
Some Mexican companies have mused about working on the
wall, though others such as Cemex — whose share prices surged on speculation
it would provide cement for the wall — told the Los Angeles Times that it would not
participate in the building of a border barrier.
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso has urged
company officials to use their conscience when considering work on the wall, though
the archdiocesan editorial said, “What is most surprising is the timidity of the Mexican government’s economic
authorities, who have not moved firmly against these companies.”
Desde la Fe has previously blasted Trump’s proposed policies. In September
2015, it called Trump “ignorant” and a “clown” and blasted
Mexican government passivity in defending its migrants as “unpardonable.”
Father Hugo Valdemar, Archdiocese of Mexico City spokesman, told
Catholic News Service some conservative Catholics in Mexico viewed Trump’s
positions on pro-life issues favorably and were still angry the U.S. ambassador
to Mexico marched in the annual pride parade. But he said he knew of no one in
Mexico that openly supported the U.S. president.
“What we see from him is an authentic threat and an unstable
person,” Father Valdemar said.
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