Obit: Carlos Fuentes and Mexican Immigration

Carlos Fuentes died Tuesday at 83. The author of books such as The Death Of Artemio Cruz, also served as Mexico's ambassador to England and France.

KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas reviews Fuentes' views on immigration and Mexican policy in her blog Multi-American.

Click through here to read Rojas's full post.

Dissecting a conversation he did with the Academy of Achievement in 2006, Rojas reports that Fuentes seemed to feel that Mexican workers were filling a needed gap in the American workforce.

He speculates in the interview:

Let us imagine that Mexico had full employment one day. The workers would still be needed. Who would pick the fruit? Who would cook? Who would serve at tables? Who would take care of the children? Who would drive the buses? Who would do the catering and work in the hotels? You have to get them from somewhere. Or generate those jobs for Americans who don’t want to take them, obviously.

In the same interview, Fuentes goes on to say that he wishes the Mexico could offer its migrating workers--up to 50 million of them--jobs:

If we had a Franklin Roosevelt, he would find a way to give jobs to the 50 million, who would not migrate. But then that would be your problem: Where are your workers coming from?

In 2012, that's an interesting question as pundits continue to assess the impact of reduced illegal immigration from Mexico on the American economy and culture.

It may be an unfortunate time to have lost a voice like Fuentes' in the debate.