I think we need a system kama Mexico where the President's foreign trips have to be approved by the senate....like this story...are some of those trips really necessary? Should the people know the costs of each trip? I think it should be open to debate.
Mexican president is forbidden to travel
By E. Eduardo Castillo
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox's press secretary Wednesday urged constitutional reform to let Mexican leaders travel abroad without congressional approval, a day after lawmakers irked Fox by blocking his planned trip to Australia and Vietnam.
Fox's press secretary Rubén Aguilar harshly criticized the legislators for their decision, which came amid rumors that Fox was going to Australia to visit his daughter. Aguilar decried ``the pettiness of Mexican political life,'' marked by ``childish positions that speak of a low level of discussion.''
``This administration believes that this article of the constitution has to be reformed because it causes unwarranted tension between the executive and legislative branches,'' Aguilar said.
The lower house of Congress voted 258-187, with six abstentions, to deny Fox permission for an official visit to Australia on Nov. 12-16. From there, he was to have traveled to Vietnam for the Nov. 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
The Senate approved the trip, but either chamber can block it.
The trip would have been Fox's last international trip. He leaves office Dec. 1.
Legislators said they were upset that Fox wanted to travel abroad as a political conflict in the southern state of Oaxaca continued to smolder and small bombs presumably planted by guerrilla groups exploded Monday in Mexico City.
Fox went on national television Tuesday night to express his disappointment in the lower house's vote, saying it ``goes against Mexico's interests'' and was ``clearly partisan.''
Fox singled out Mexico's opposition parties for criticism, particularly the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI: ``I regret that lawmakers from the PRI refuse to listen to the voice of the people and aren't capable of acting responsibly to resolve local conflicts.''
That was an apparent reference to the refusal of the PRI governor of Oaxaca to heed calls to step down. Protesters have demanded the governor step down for months, sparking unrest that has left nine dead and driven tourists away from one of Mexico's top tourist destinations.
The PRI leadership called Fox's accusations ``offensive and baseless.''
Fox's statement ``constitutes an unacceptable discourtesy and an unforgivable challenge to the powers'' of the lower house of Congress, the PRI's national executive committee said.
It was the second time Congress has exercised its constitutional power to block one of Fox's trips. In April 2002, the lower house denied Fox permission to travel to the United States and Canada, saying he was focusing too much attention on international events.