A few days ago Mexican President Vicente Fox said illegal aliens were "doing jobs that not even blacks want to do" and I reported about it here. Fox has repeatedly refused to apologize for his comments. On Saturday Jesse Jackson stepped in and railed against Fox for his racist statements.

CNN

Jackson called the remark "a spurious comparison" with "ominous racial overtones."

Al Sharpton then stepped forward after Fox tried to spin it as a cultural difference.

ABC

President Vicente Fox refused to apologize Monday for saying Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks won't a comment widely viewed as acceptable in a country where blackface comedy is still considered funny and nicknames often reflect skin color.

...

"His statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive," Jackson said Monday, noting that in many U.S. cities tensions are already high between blacks and Latinos because they compete for scarce jobs and often have children crowded into underfunded schools.

Another American civil rights activist, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said the comment was especially disturbing because Fox was educated in the United States and "he is not unaware of the racial sensitivities here."

Vicente Fox today issued an apology, definitely not heartfelt though as he still claims he said nothing wrong.

Yahoo/AP

President Vicente Fox reversed course Monday and apologized for saying that Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks won't.

Despite growing criticism that included a stern U.S. response, Fox had repeatedly refused to back away from the comments he made Friday, saying his remark had been misinterpreted.

But in telephone conversations with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, the president said he "regretted" the statement.

"The president regretted any hurt feelings his statements may have caused," the Foreign Relations Department said in a press statement. "He expressed the great respect he and his administration has for the African-American community in the United States."

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