Mexico Plans World’s Third Largest Seaport, Will Impact U.S. Ports on West Coast; Citigroup to Help Finance? (Updated 1X More on TARP $$ Going Overseas)

~~By InsightAnalytical–GRL

Breaking News…as I finish up this post Wednesday night (3/22) , I’ve just watched Dennis Kucinich with Greta on On the Record discussing the revelation that Citicgroup took part of its TARP bailout money and made deals with Chinese and Dubai companies, in effect, sending our money overseas.  The links are not up as of now, but I’ll post what I find tomorrow. In the meantime…read what follows and see if you don’t ask the questions we’ve been asking here at IA over the last few days…

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Yesterday I mused about what’s going on in Canada and its ties to the U.S. financial crisis and a couple of days ago, American Lassie wrote about the North American Community.  Earlier, IA took a look at a possible U.S. role Mexico and today, I’m looking at Mexico again, specifically about a certain plan that has been brewing for quite awhile and which seems about to take off.

About a week ago I opened the Albuquerque Journal’s Business Outlook section and found a full page story entitled “Planned Seaport to be the third largest in the world”.  (The link is working as I write this, but because the ABQ Journal is behind a wall and available to subscribers-only, I don’t know for how long.  http://www.abqjournal.com/biz/0294376619biz03-02-09.htm)

The seaport, called Punta Colonet, will be built here:

Punta Colonet (Photo courtesy RE/MAX)

(More information on the location, including maps, at the end of this post)

A word about the columnist.  Back in 2003, Jerry Pacheco was running Gov. Bill Richardson’s newly-formed office dealing with Mexican trade (see press release at the end of this post). And here’s a bit more detail:

Pacheco is a recognized expert in Mexican affairs and has extensive business experience throughout Mexico. He established and ran the state’s first foreign trade office in Mexico City during the early 1990s, and is a syndicated columnist with regular international columns appearing in El Paso Inc., Ser Empresario magazine and most recently in the Albuquerque Journal.

Which brings us back to the ABQ Journal article in question…written by the guy in the know…

Monday, March 02, 2009

Planned seaport to be third largest in world

Albuquerque Journal–> By Jerry Pacheco
For the Journal Punta

Colonet is a small Mexican Pacific coastal village located approximately 150 miles south of Tijuana in Baja California. Historically, this area’s economy has relied on agriculture and tourism. For the past five years, excitement and speculation has centered on Punta Colonet, as the Mexican government has announced that it will build a new Pacific seaport at this site.

The scope of the project is enormous by world standards. According to Mexican government reports, the port will be designed to handle six million containers annually at final build-out. In terms of processing volume, it will be larger than the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined. When completed, the site is projected to encompass an area of more than 27,000 acres, or slightly more than 42 square miles. It will be the third largest seaport in the world, behind only Singapore and Hong Kong. It is estimated that between 90,000 and 200,000 people, a small city, will be needed to operate the port facilities.

Punta Colonet is Mexico’s attempt to claim a larger share of the billions of dollars in merchandise shipments between North America and Asia, which are coming through ports farther north. It is estimated that this aggressive project will cost close to $2 billion in its initial phase, with a final build-out estimate of up to $6 billion. Multiple sources of public and private monies will need to be accessed. Citicorp has been meeting with high-level Mexican officials to discuss participating in the financing of this project.

SNIP

In the current world economic recession, many people question the timing for Punta Colonet. Previously, the capacity and the ability of the mature U.S. West Coast ports to handle increasing ocean cargo was a major concern, but the volume at the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports has recently decreased by up to 30 percent because of the economic crisis, and the capacity issue has become less important. Many people, particularly players in the U.S. and California, are worried that bringing such a large port on line would further depress and dilute the ocean cargo business.

SNIP

Punta Colonet has been designed to begin construction in 2012 or 2013, with completion around 2020, and had developed a strong momentum. However, in mid-January of this year, Mexico’s Secretary of Communications and Transportation Secretary, Luis Tellez, for the second time issued a postponement of the construction bidding process. At that point, it was announced that the global financial crisis had put the brakes on the project, but by the end of January the Mexican government announced it would begin administering the registration for proposals in April, with the actual process to accept these proposals scheduled for June.

Whatever the time frame, it appears that the Mexican government has decided to proceed with the Punta Colonet port. If the Santa Teresa region remains the preferred crossing point into the U.S. for this project, it could bring a slew of new economic development activities to the southern New Mexico-west Texas region (Paso del Norte region).

MORE

Now what is the first question that pops into your mind??  Citigroup gets bailout money, it’s share price drops to about $1, now they proclaim that they are profitable and the market soars on Tuesday, 3/10. I don’t know if all that is related to this port project, but you have to wonder at the very least: If the U.S. government is “funding” Citicorp, then does that mean the U.S. taxpayer will be building this port if the deal goes through??

Remember this story from just a couple of weeks ago?

Citigroup gets new rescue, U.S. may own 36 percent

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government will boost its equity stake in Citigroup Inc to as much as 36 percent, bolstering the bank’s capital base in the latest emergency effort to save the banking giant.

SNIP

While the latest rescue does not inject more money into Citigroup, it gives the government more of a voting stake and far greater influence over the bank’s operations, short of outright nationalization. The White House said a higher U.S. stake will help achieve a “better outcome” for the bank.

“The government is the new boss,” said Mike Holland, the founder of money manager Holland & Co in New York. “Every major decision is something that is not going to come out of Park Avenue, but is going to come from Washington, D.C.”

New York-based Citigroup in October and November received $45 billion of taxpayer money, as well as a government backstop to cap losses on $300.8 billion of toxic assets. More than two-thirds of these assets related to mortgages and commercial real estate.

SNIP

Pandit has split Citigroup into two: Citicorp, which has retail banking and other businesses that Citigroup wants to keep, and Citi Holdings, which includes troubled or underperforming assets it wants to sell or wind down.

A higher government stake could complicate Citigroup’s ability to operate in some of the more than 100 countries where it has businesses. Bank executives downplayed speculation that Citigroup might shed all or part of its ownership of Grupo Financiero Banamex, Mexico’s second-largest bank.

“We’re not open to the idea of offloading assets that we really want to keep,” Edward “Ned” Kelly, head of global banking and Citi Alternative Investments, said in an interview. “Banamex is a very important property to us, and we are intent on retaining it and maximizing its value.”

MORE

(Here’s more analysis of the situation at Citigroup from John Batchelor at The Real Barack Obama blog.)

And here’s more background on Asian investors who are also wanting in.  There has been a lot of behind-the scene negotiations and “intrigue” in lining up financial partners with political connections in Mexico, according to Pacheco.  Here’s some background you might find interesting from The Free Trade Alliance based in San Antonio, Texas. From April, 6,2006:

A Deck of Chinese Cards

Mexican and US officials and businessmen are stepping up contacts with China and other Asian nations in high-stakes bids to expand economic relations. Trade missions from Baja California, Chihuahua, Michoacan and Texas all have recently flown to meetings and tours in the emerging global economic powerhouses of the Far East.

SNIP

Their eyes fixated on the expanding Chinese star, Mexican officials are now considering opening an eastern-oriented Pacific port in Baja California to help handle the burgeoning trade volume. Located about 150 miles south of the US-Mexico border, Punta Colonet is emerging as a possible super port. Carlos Jauregui, the executive director of the port of Ensenada said construction of the port could begin in 2008 and be completed by 2012. Jauregui estimated the facility could cost about $5 billion dollars to build, including a rail link to the United States.

And what about the implications for U.S. ports?

The Cunningham Report, which describes itself as “an information source for the trade and transportation industry” commented on 89/31/08:

Although folks at both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach have downplayed the impact of the Punta Colonet project and noted that completion of the port would be years away, if it is developed, the Mexican port could at some point pose significant competition.

Also, from The Puget Sound Business Journal, August 29, 2008:

While Mexican planners hope the Mexican port will attract cargo from congested Southern California ports, that could have a domino effect in the Pacific Northwest.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma are launching a joint marketing agreement to convince cargo owners to shift cargo from Southern California to Puget Sound, but that effort might have less success if Southern California congestion eases because of the Mexican port.

Otherwise the proposed Mexican port probably won’t take away too much cargo from Puget Sound ports, except for import cargo destined for Mid-Atlantic states, said Doug Coates, principal for TransSystems Corp. in San Francisco.

Puget Sound ports already are losing some cargo to the new Prince Rupert Port Authority in British Columbia, as well as to expanded East Coast ports including the Port of Savannah, Georgia. In July the Port of Savannah announced its volumes had increased 15 percent over the last year, while the Port of Seattle’s volume dropped 8 percent in the first half of this year.

The Portland Business Journal reports that Port of Portland officials “aren’t particularly worried about heightened competition,” but their article includes this tidbit:

Doug Coates, principal for TranSystems Corp. in San Francisco, said one attraction of the Punta Colonet port might be the promise of lower longshore labor rates, and the possibility that the Mexican port would be buffered from any labor issues with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. While that union recently signed a new contract, owners of cargo plan far ahead to avoid the effects of union disturbances.

“The shippers are still worried about longshore unrest on the U.S. West Coast and what happens with agreements,” Coates said. “The carriers like the fact that it’s lower cost and more flexible labor.”

Do you hear the sound of American jobs going down the tubes as the new “community” here in North America takes shape?

By the way, RE/MAX  Baja Realty is gearing up to sell  property with the proposed port as a selling point and their contact form is already up and working:

Welcome to Baja California’s Official website  for the largest Mexican public works project ever.

The purpose of Colonet Real Estate website is to bring information about the new project developing in Baja California, prices of all the possible property’s for sale and questions referring to Punta Colonet.

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MAPS and More Information on Punta Colonet

Maps, Major Ports – US/Mexico Border Transportation Planning – FHWA.

Wikipedia Article on the Punta Colonet Area, port, and detailed map

More Background Information on Border Ties

Frontera Norte Sur, published by New Mexico State University (2006 edition)  Section of interest:

Banks Leap Across Borders

Given the green light by the Federal Reserve Board, a Mexican bank has finalized its majority-ownership purchase of the Texas-based Inter National Bank (INB). Luis Pena Kegel, director general of the Banorte Financial Group, said the INB will use its base from the city of McAllen on the Texas-Mexico border to expand into other regions of the United States.

“With this operation, Banorte has the intention of getting closer to families and businesses on both sides of the border with innovative financial products that nobody else is offering,” Pena said in an interview with the Mexico City daily La Jornada.

MORE

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UPDATE  3/13/09

Thanks to America Lassie for this link which has the video of the hearing mentioned by Kucinich on Greta:

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2009/20090312104802.aspx

‘Nightly News’ Perplexed by TARP-Recipients Lending to Foreign Countries

NBC correspondent Lisa Myers investigates banking titans that made overseas loans in wake of congressional hearing.

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BACKGROUND on Jerry Pacheco, ABQ Journal columnist

Press Release from the State of New Mexico re: Jerry Pacheco

http://www.nmpartnership.com/press-releases/article.php?id=970&title=Pacheco+Heads+New+Mexican+Affairs+and+Trade+Division

Return to press release archive

Friday Jun 13, 2003

Pacheco Heads New Mexican Affairs and Trade Division

Contact: Cathy Ann Connelly: 505-476-3747
Santa Teresa, New Mexico – As part of Governor Bill Richardson’s efforts to improve commercial trade with Mexico, Jerry Pacheco, formerly deputy secretary for New Mexico Economic Development Department, is now director of the new Mexican Affairs and Trade Division. This office was created by the State Legislature to better oversee and coordinate the activities of the New Mexico Border Authority, New Mexico Economic Development Department, and the New Mexico-Chihuahua Commission.

Based in Santa Teresa, Pacheco believes the new office is a major, positive step toward increasing the trade and infrastructure interface with all Mexican states.

“State Senator Mary Kay Papen carried the bill that created this new entity, and it is one that will further our agenda of improving productive trade with Mexico,” said Pacheco.

New Mexico’s trade with Mexico is already a mainstay of the state’s existing economy to the tune of $106 million annually — particularly important in the southern part of the state. But although New Mexico shares a border with Mexico, the state is still ranked 39th out of all the states in the U.S. when it comes to its amount of business over the border.

MORE

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RELATED POSTS:

What’s Going On North of the Border: The Canadian Economy and Stimulus Plan

THE PROPOSED NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY/NORTH AMERICAN UNION: 2010 Is Just Around the Corner

Secy. of Defense Robert Gates Downplays Possible U.S. Role as Fears of Mexico Collapse Mount; Don’t Be Fooled, There’s A Bush-Era Agenda Still Going On Here…

Anything More Nauseating that Bill Clinton Shilling For Obama on Greta Thursday Night?? (2/19/09)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Well, sure there is…listening to The One himself…

But I listened carefully to Clinton last night, making it all sound nice re: the need for the “stimulus” bill etc. etc. and the housing proposals that will reward those who never should have had a mortgage in the first place.  And, it’s a really nice touch when he repeats that he only knows from what he reads in the papers, that he doesn’t know the details….yeah, right!!

Greta talked tough, going after the “image” of Obama flying around the country in tough times. And she made noises about legislators not reading the package and the whole game of URGENCY, then sitting on signing the bill and jetting off instead of a signing in the Rose Garden. She attempted to link the places Obama visited to where the Democrats won on Election Day, where they made in roads into normally Republican strongholds.

Clinton was at his finest delivering reasonable explanations and concluding that the stimulus bill was A-OK. I give Greta some credit for trying to push, but then again, she pushed on some peripheral stuff…no really push on items in the package on things like the ramifications of the health care provisions.

Then she closed with the soft stuff…Clinton teaming up now with companies like Pepsico to fight obesity (sounds like the smoking campaigns delivered by tobacco companies) and Hillary’s trip to Asia.

Greta has a brain, she tries…but I guess she can only go so far. Which is SO frustrating…On the other hand, she may very well be 1) blocked by the bosses from doing anything more challenging or 2) just doesn’t want to go there because of her own politics (Democratic, but her husband supported McCain…so who really knows at this point?)

You take what you can from this sort of interview…so, if you forget about how Greta is framing things and just listen to Clinton, you can see how the wheels are turning in his mind and how he smooths a lot of concerns over by acknowledging them, then putting them away.

He’s the guy who is keeping the average American who sees this chat “calm.” He’s Obama’s best spokesperson…He’s the official “smooth things over” go-to guy.

Here’s the link to some of the video…(There’s a third part on the obesity chat at the On the Record site)

Opening Part with Obama Travel, etc.

What Would Clinton Do? (Economy)

The Bush I-Clinton Roadshow Takes the Low Road in New Orleans at Guess Who’s Expense? (Hint: Women, of Course)(UPDATE 1X–FULL VIDEO)

On Tuesday night (January 27)  as I passed by the TV, I saw Greta Van Susteren introducing a segment near the end of the show  called ” The Best of the Rest.”

There they were, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton laughing it up on Monday in New Orleans at the National Association of Auto Dealers conference.  Greta has spent quite a lot of time featuring this duo; you can check out several videos at the “On the Record” site. However, the video I saw has not shown up on the site…buried, I guess.

First, here’s the only report that I can find on the event:

Bush, Clinton offer morale boost for auto dealers at New Orleans conference

by Jen DeGregorio, The Times-Picayune

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 7:18 AM

Eliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneFormer Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton embrace during their address at the National Association of Auto Dealers conference in New Orleans on Monday.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, who were in New Orleans on Monday to speak to members of the National Automobile Dealers Association, tried to assure one of the nation’s most troubled industries that it would survive an economic maelstrom that has swallowed more than 2.5 million jobs in the past year.

But survival will not come without sacrifice, they said. Clinton and Bush evoked the image of Hurricane Katrina to describe the level of perseverance they said will be needed to carry the nation through a recession that has been widely compared with the Great Depression. Citizens must pitch in to help one another as they did after Katrina, when countless volunteers descended upon New Orleans to help rebuild and donated millions of dollars to a relief fund headed by Clinton and Bush, the former presidents said.

SNIP

While Bush and Clinton focused on the economy, they also made time for some banter and shared personal anecdotes about their time in the Oval Office.

Clinton and Bush sat down for a casual chat with outgoing association Chairwoman Annette Sykora, who quizzed them about their victories and regrets in office.

SNIP

Both men sang the praises of President Barack Obama, saying his administration already has set the right tone to weather the economic crisis by encouraging an era of responsibility.

“We are bound together, and divorce is not an option, ” Clinton said.

There’s something missing in this report…the bit that Greta showed.

Greta prefaced the video with a big grin and much enjoyment over what Bush said and added that Clinton had a great quip after that.

I didn’t even hear the Clinton quip because I as so ticked off at what George H. W. Bush decided to deliver to the audience.  I was fuming from Bush’s rendition of how he was confronted by women protesters over reproductive issues.

According to Bush, he was irritated when he was in his limo and some women got right up to it waving a sign saying “Stay Out of Our Wombs.”  He mused about he couldn’t understand how they even got that close…then wisecracked (sic) “Believe me, that’s one place I wouldn’t want to go”…

Well, the audience ERUPTED in UPROARIOUS LAUGHTER from the audience!  I’m assuming the majority of  the audience was men.  Clinton was laughing, too, and delivered his line. The camera didn’t catch the reaction of Chairwoman Sykora, who was off camera in the video.

As I mentioned, I have no idea what Clinton said, but Greta thought it was very funny and, in fact, thought the whole segment was a laugh riot. Which makes me wonder about Greta.  We’ve got a former President mocking women about their intense feelings about controlling their own bodies and she thinks that’s funny?

I guess I should be grateful that she showed it since the newspaper report from The Times-Picayune chose not to report on it. WHY didn’t they?

As for Clinton…I wish I knew what he said.  Then again, maybe I don’t want to go there…

Frankly, writing this at the end of a day when I learned that Barack Obama dumped money for birth control from his bilious “stimulus package” to please Republicans, that video makes me even angrier than when I saw the clip on Tuesday night.  It seems like a gratuitous slap in the face considering that the bill was going to pass anyway.

But “3-Card Monte” Obama seems set into his groove.  One minute he gives the OK for family planning groups working overseas to talk to women about abortion, the next he’s robbing access to low-cost birth control to women in need here in the U.S.   What does he really think of his own wife and daughters?  Apparently he’s willing to sell women cheap when it comes to “bringing us together.”

This guy seems to like playing with women, keeping them on a string, giving them a little bit, then taking it away. He’s shuffling around issues as we expected because he has no consistent core values.  Keeping an eye on all his moves will be difficult.  All I’m sure of  is that women will ultimately lose the game with this guy. The misogyny exhibited in the campaign in the form of demeaning gestures, the behavior of Jon Favreau with a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton, and the apparent comfort with the likes of Ludacris’ video support is now in firmly in place at the top of our government.

What a inspirational role model for all of us…NOT!

By the way, apparently Medicare drug plans stopped covering  “sexual performance” drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra back in 2007 except for treating certain medical conditions like pulmonary hypertension (saving a CBO projected $2 billion between 2006 and 2015) . Let’s see if the Obama crowd reinstates coverage and gives women ANOTHER insulting slap. Nothing would surprise me at this point…

UPDATE 1

Many thanks to Harold who found a video of the exchange…from his comments!!  I will try to embed the video when I get back later…

Clinton laughed and said something along the lines of “I cannot afford to make a joke like that. You know what people would say if *I* made a joke like that” and he continued a while like that, then made a pretty stupid joke himself which I forgot.

Harold, on January 29th, 2009 at 9:02 AM Said: Edit Comment

I found the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXuRlcUjoAE

Here is the video from the link provided above…but it’s from CNN, not Greta’s show.

So, the woman was “the ugliest” woman Bush I had ever seen… what a PIG he is…and Clinton just goes along for the ride.