Mexico's President Nieto Talks Trade Ties, Immigration In California Tour
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico visited the Southland as his first stop in a tour of California at the invitation of Gov. Jerry Brown.
His two-day tour started in Los Angeles on Monday and comes less than a month after Brown visited Mexico.
The two, met with applause, addressed hundreds of Mexican and Mexican-American leaders at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
Mayor Eric Garcetti introduced Nieto in Spanish at the event ahead of a speech about L.A.'s ties to Mexico and our $14.9 billion in trade.
Mexico ranks first in the number of international visitors coming to L.A. with 1.6 million in 2011. It's also California's largest export market.
"I don't know anywhere else in America where the people themselves are supporting such a massive investment in people who don't even speak English," Brown said.
In March, Garcetti traveled to Mexico on his first international trade mission and met with Nieto and other officials and business leaders.
"Mexico's economy is rapidly transforming, and I want to make sure we are aggressive about creating opportunities to attract investment into Los Angeles and to develop markets for L.A. exports," Garcetti said.
On Tuesday, Brown will host a luncheon in the president's honor in Sacramento. Nieto will then address the Legislature at the state Capitol.
Among the topics discussed Monday was immigration.
"It wasn't very long ago that the governor of California was outlawing driver's licenses for people who are undocumented from Mexico," Brown said. "That's not the law any more."
During the governor's trip to Mexico last month, he signed nonbinding agreements on trade, education and environmental cooperation.
California also agreed to help Mexico find ways to build renewable energy plants in Baja California and to find ways to shorten long waits at the Tijuana-San Diego international border crossing.
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