Posted by KRICO on November 21, 2000 at 09:03:04:
In Reply to: Re: Mexico vs Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. posted by bullitt on November 21, 2000 at 01:48:29:
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I found this blurb on the great satirical website "pocho.com"...worth checking out just for the sociological perspective of "the other" brother... ________________________________________________ by Victor Payan, Tireless Pocho Reporter Large quantities of the defective Firestone tires recalled in connection with numerous automobile accidents involving Ford vehicles have created a crisis south of the border as the tires are finding their way into huarache factories across Mexico. "This is a problem of epic proportions," said Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox, "All over Mexico we are starting to hear reports of people falling over like Charlie Chaplin as the soles of their huaraches shear off. This is no laughing matter." The defective huaraches started turning up in border towns like Tijuana, Juarez and Montebello this past weekend. Officials from the National Huarache Regulatory Commission are already investigating how the tires ended up in the country. Many suspect unscrupulous US suppliers of illegally dumping the Juan Hernandez, owner of Juan's House of Huaraches in Juarez, agrees. "They came in with the regular shipment," says Hernandez. "We pride ourselves in manufacturing high quality footwear with a long tread-life. Our whitewall line is in constant demand. But this is ridiculous. It is causing us to rethink our 15,000 mile warranty." Hernandez says if the problem is not resolved by Labor Day weekend, it could cause the bottom to fall out of the huarache market. "Next time," says Hernandez, "I'm sticking with Toyo." It is unknown how many defective huaraches are already on the road, and huarache-watchers fear the problem could affect millions. "You have to look at the big picture," says Shawn Clota, a Mexican shoe industry spokesperson. "From migrants crossing through the desert to the average tourist, we have to think of product safety. Otherwise, consumers will vote with their feet and buy their huaraches from other major producers like Korea and Guatemala." Advisors to out-going Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo are warning the President to take the problem seriously, especially in light of the fact that a similar crisis in the American shoe industry in the mid-Seventies caused then-President Gerald Ford to fall from the steps of Air Force One. It was a fall from which Ford never recovered. President-elect Fox says the North American Free Trade Agreement is to blame for allowing such inferior products to flow into the country almost unchecked. "This is another example of how free trade has failed," said Fox. "NAFTA has left us soleless and easy prey to well-heeled corporations like Firestone. The time has come time to put our foot down." Some feel that President-elect Fox has taken a personal interest in this crisis, because he was the former governor of Guanajuato, the huarache capital of Mexico. In that state, huaraches play a major role in the state's economy. "In Guanajuato, huaraches are second only to guacamole," says Fox. _________________________________________ |
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