Gov. Pays Quick Visit to Mexico

On his first visit to this nation since taking office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received a warm reception Thursday from fellow governors at a border conference, but largely avoided a swarm of media eager to question him about his stances on illegal immigration.

The brief stop in many ways contrasted with the governor’s trips to Japan and the Middle East, where he was often greeted by adoring crowds, had high-profile meetings with heads of state and was, in general, more solicitous of the media.

In a tightly controlled visit to this sweltering desert city about 450 miles southeast of El Paso, the governor attended the formal, inaugural event and then had a dinner with governors at an undisclosed location before, according to his schedule, flying back to California in a private jet.

His presence, even for a few hours, was viewed as a positive step by some political observers and Mexican politicians. At the inaugural event, hundreds of Mexican government officials gave Schwarzenegger a loud round of applause when he was introduced.

“It’s a good sign that the governor came,” said Jose Natividad Gonzalez Paras, governor of Nuevo Leon state, after the event. “It demonstrates that he wants to construct with the governors of the border and the Mexican people a strong relationship.”

But for many, the quick visit underscored Schwarzenegger’s strained relationship with Mexico, where his Hollywood star power is often eclipsed by his political views.

Some journalists, political observers and activists said the governor kept his trip short to avoid protesters and the Mexican media.

“He’s afraid. He knows the people of Mexico don’t like him,” said Sandra Mejia Soto, a Mexican representative for the Southwest Network, a group of environmental and immigrant rights activists who planned to hold protests at the two-day conference, some of them directed at the California governor.

“We want to tell him he’s a racist and ‘hasta la vista, baby,’ ” she said.

A beaming Schwarzenegger, surrounded by several bodyguards, was mobbed on his arrival in an auditorium lobby by more than 100 television, radio and newspaper reporters from around Mexico, some of whom snapped photographs with cellphone cameras.

After the event, the governor stopped briefly to tell reporters he was glad to be “back in Mexico.” He said that he had made many films in the country and that, as California’s governor, he was now focused at the conference on protecting the border environment, improving cross-border transportation and boosting trade.

“We want to see what we can do for one another ... how we can work together and strengthen our relationship,” Schwarzenegger said. He left shortly afterward, prompting groans of frustration from reporters.

“We want him to address these very serious problems,” said Julian Trejo, a reporter for a Mexico City radio station. “Mexicans are very worried about the issue of illegal immigration, and what is going to happen to Mexicans” in California.

The annual Border Governors Conference, attended by hundreds of officials from the 10 Mexican and U.S. states along the border, is a forum for exchanging information and improving cooperation on environmental issues, border security, air and water quality, immigration and other binational issues.

Schwarzenegger’s tenure, in general, has been marked by good relations at the agency level between California and Mexico, said Paul Ganster, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at San Diego State.

California continues to provide its Mexican counterparts with training in the handling of hazardous materials and the monitoring of industrial waste and sewage that often ends up in the state’s waterways, he said.

Schwarzenegger has drawn criticism in Mexico since hitting the campaign trail, when he came out in opposition to driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. His comments supporting the Minuteman Project in Arizona and a remark that the U.S. should “close” -- later changed to secure -- the border haven’t helped. Nor has his delay in visiting Mexico, which is California’s largest trading partner.