July 2, 2005

THE WORLD

Mexico's Leader Defends Divisive Postage StampFrom Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox rejected calls to withdraw a new lineof postage stamps, saying Friday that they are not racist and critics don't understand the beloved comic book character on which they are based.He spoke as hundreds of people lined up at Mexico City's main post office, snapping upthe stamps so eagerly that all 750,000 sold out Friday, two days after they hit the market.The series of five stamps released Wednesday depicts the Memin Pinguin character, ahapless black child drawn with exaggerated features. His appearance, speech andmannerisms are the butt of jokes by white characters in the comic book, which started inthe 1940s and is still in print.In an interview with Associated Press, Fox said critics should read the comic book beforethey make judgments.The stamp "is an image in a comic that I have known since infancy," Fox said. "It ischerished here in Mexico."The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and leaders of black and Latino organizationsurged Thursday that the series of stamps be withdrawn.White House spokesman Scott McClellan called it an example of racial stereotyping. ButFox refused to back down."The other minorities or the Afro-Americans or Latins, I would suggest to them that first,read the magazine, get the information and then express publicly their opinion," Fox said."On our side, we know that all Mexicans love the character."Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez called the criticism "a total lack of respect for our culture."Memin and the artist who draws him, Sixto Valencia Burgos, were lionized on Mexicantelevision news.At the post office, some people waited hours to buy the stamps. Americans are "theracists," said Cesar Alonso Alvarado, 53. "They're worse than we are, but they just wantto belittle us, like always."People were also drawn to the post office by reports that full sheets of the 60-cent stampswere being offered on the Internet auction site EBay for as much as $200 each.