01:00 AM EDT on Monday, August 23, 2004

ON JULY 30, the Los Angeles Times announced that remittances sent by Mexicans from the United States to Mexico are at an all-time high. Last year, the remittances totaled at least $13.4 billion; this year they look set to go even higher.

Remittances from U.S. immigrants now constitute Mexico's second-highest source of income, after petroleum. If Mexico fails to open up its inefficient energy monopoly, these remittances may someday be the country's number-one source of income.

Rather than being ashamed of this, Mexican leaders revel in it. Vicente Fox and other Mexican politicians are constantly visiting the United States, demanding benefits for illegal aliens.

Emigration to the United States has become Mexico's principal economic program. All political parties in Mexico support it. As far as emigration goes, it makes no difference which political party wins the 2006 election: All the Mexican parties support the Safety Valve Doctrine.

Mexico's leaders fear that if the Safety Valve is removed, discontent will surface in unpleasant ways that might endanger their position. So it's easier to demand benefits from the Americans than to fix the problems in Mexico.

In the old days, emigration to the United States was an embarrassment -- tacitly encouraged but not publicly spoken of. But now, Mexico's elite see it as an opportunity to expand Mexican influence in the United States.

This explains the aggressive overtures to Mexican-Americans and the use of dual nationality to create a voting bloc that will vote in the interests of Mexico.

American voters should possibly have a stake in this issue. Is widespread dual citizenship really in our interests? It's another tough question being ignored.

I haven't heard Bush or Kerry talk about it.

The election of Vicente Fox as president of Mexico in 2000 was widely hailed both here and abroad as a step forward, and it certainly was. After 71 years, Mexico was no longer a one-party state. Mexico has political diversity and a free press, and no single political party controls the government.

Economics is another matter -- about half of the population lives under the poverty level. By international standards, Mexico is better off than most countries, but Mexicans almost always compare their situation with that of the United States, not poorer nations.

Mexico has enormous economic potential. What it needs is a system that will unleash that potential and spur job growth for the entire Mexican population.

But the steps needed to construct such an economy are politically unpopular. The Mexican congress is divided, and Fox has not exhibited the leadership necessary to negotiate with the congress for true reform. Instead, the Mexican president has concentrated an inordinate amount of time and political capital on the emigration issue.

It's a shame, because emigration is not the solution to Mexico's ills.

Certainly, remittances from emigrants do pump a lot of money into Mexican communities. But most of it is spent on groceries and other basics; not much goes into long-term investment to create more jobs. Also, remittances encourage the recipients to turn down jobs in Mexico, because they can get more money from relatives in the United States. And research has shown that Mexicans who receive remittances are more likely to emigrate than those who don't.

Mass emigration contributes to family disintegration, encouraging fathers to abandon families. It exacerbates the depopulation of rural areas. It casts a giant shadow over Mexico's social and economic life, encouraging Mexicans to quit their jobs and move to the United States.

The Safety Valve fosters a collective mentality of dependence -- an attitude of "Why solve the problems here? They can go to the United States." The Safety Valve is a national addiction for Mexican society, and especially for the Mexican government. And like any addiction, it requires ever larger "fixes." As long as this corrosive addiction continues, real incentive to reform Mexico's economy will be absent.

If the United States really wanted to help Mexico, it would control its borders and reduce immigration. Then you would see real progress in Mexico. It's called tough love.

Allan Wall is an American citizen living and working in Mexico.