美国国家公共电台 NPR Canceled Ford Plant Adds To Mexico's Economic Frustrations

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

And let's turn now to Mexico. Ford¹ Motor Company's decision this week to cancel construction of an auto² plant there has shocked that country. And people are especially disappointed in the place where the Ford plant was under construction. It was expected to employ nearly 3,000 local workers. Here's NPR's Carrie Kahn.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE³: Usually, the dusty construction site of the now-shuttered Mexican Ford auto plant is full of activity. Yesterday, though, only one large tractor was grading roads at the 700-acre site located outside the small town of Villa⁴ de Reyes in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi.

JUAN GONZALEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Guards at the site's entrance say the mood now is very tense. Guard Juan Gonzalez says it's so discouraging.

GONZALEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "We all thought this was a long-term project," says Gonzalez. He had hoped to stay on once the Ford plant opened in three years.

GUSTAVO PUENTE OROZCO: It was a surprise, of course.

KAHN: Gustavo Puente Orozco, San Luis Potosi's secretary of economic development says the news, while not totally unexpected, came as a shock.

PUENTE: We knew it was a possibility.

KAHN: Especially, he says, since candidate Donald Trump⁵ began putting a lot of pressure on Ford to pull out of Mexico. But Puente says Ford officials in Mexico kept assuring him the project was moving forward. And he says all that construction kept going on. Ford says it was market forces that prompted them to cancel the Mexico plant. Small cars like the Ford Focus that was to be built here just haven't been selling well, especially with low gas prices. But residents in the nearby town of Villa de Reyes aren't buying that and place blame squarely on the incoming U.S. president.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KAHN: Music from a food stall blares in the town's small outdoor market. Housewife Maria de Jesus Ramirez Martinez gets visibly angry when asked about the Ford plant closure.

MARIA DE JESUS RAMIREZ MARTINEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "Trump is blaming us Mexicans for everything, and it's not right. It's just not right," she says. Ramirez says the town was counting on those jobs. "Without them," she adds, "more Mexicans will head north to the U.S. to find work."

San Luis Potosi has been a bright spot in Mexico's otherwise sluggish⁶ economy. With so many international companies here, unemployment is officially below 3 percent, and the region has been growing at twice the pace of the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS SOUNDING)

KAHN: On the small town plaza⁷, Salvador Guerra, a retiree, says he doesn't want to see the state's gains be undermined by Trump who's not even president yet.

SALVADOR GUERRA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "Imagine what he's going to do to us once he takes power," says Guerra. And Guerra says he's just as mad at Mexico's leaders who he says haven't done enough to stand up to Trump.

Yesterday, President Enrique Pena Nieto announced a shake-up in his Cabinet. He appointed a former finance adviser⁸ as the new foreign minister who, Pena Nieto says, will push for a more constructive⁹ relationship.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT ENRIQUE PENA NIETO: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "It should be a relationship that allows us to strengthen bilateral¹⁰ ties," says Pena Nieto, and he adds, "without undermining the sovereignty or the dignity of Mexicans."

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, San Luis Potosi.

(SOUNDBITE OF CUT CHEMIST SONG, "SPOON")

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

7 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

10 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。