|
Bush in-law hopes to reconcile with daughter
15/02/2001 09:52 - (SA)
Silao, Mexico - Jose Maria Garnica has newspaper photos of his daughter Columba and her husband, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, along with articles on his grandson, who lobbied for the Latino vote during his uncle's presidential campaign.
But that's about the only information he has on his daughter's
family. Garnica says he hopes President George W. Bush's visit to
Mexico on Friday may help him make peace with his 47-year-old
daughter.
Garnica said he hopes to catch a glimpse of Bush. He has gained the support of several local leaders and has a framed poster of Jesus he wants to give the president.
Local broadcasters and newspapers have portrayed Garnica as the
victim of an ungrateful daughter. Reforma, one of Mexico's leading newspapers, accused Columba of "forgetting her roots". She hasn't responded, and declined to speak with The Associated Press.
Families divided by a border are common in Mexico. Garnica said he travelled to California in 1960 - when Columba was about 7 years old - got construction work and brought his family north four years later. By then, he and his wife had grown apart and they soon separated, the father said, adding that Columba continued to visit him in California.
Columba Bush has said her father left the family when she was 3.
Garnica said their three children - Columba, Francisco and Lucila - spent time with both parents in Mexico and California.
He said he last saw Columba in 1973, when she told him she was
going to the post office in La Puente, California. They haven't talked since.
"That was so many years ago," the 77-year-old Garnica said.
"Twenty-seven years isn't just a little bit. It's almost a
lifetime."
Garnica said his daughter Lucila called him this week and told him to stop talking to the media, saying he was "hurting Columba".
"I don't want to hurt her, but everything I say is true," he said.
A spokeswoman for Jeb Bush, Katie Baur, said it was a "personal,
family issue" and Columba Bush wouldn't comment.
Columba Bush has kept a relatively low profile. The only time she
made national headlines was when she failed to declare $19 000
worth of clothing at customs after a Paris shopping spree. She paid a $4 100 fine.
Garnica receives pension and social security checks from the United States - money that lets him live comfortably in Silao, a town 320km northwest of Mexico City and a short distance from the ranch where President Vicente Fox and Bush will meet on
Friday.
Garnica said he met Jeb Bush only once, in California, when Bush
and Columba were dating. The couple met when she was 17 and Bush
was on an exchange programme in Mexico.
When the couple was living in Houston, Garnica said he got their
telephone number and called.
Jeb Bush answered and told him Columba wasn't available, Garnica
said. He thanked Jeb for taking care of his daughter. Bush
responded, "It's because I love her," Garnica said.
"It made me feel good to hear that," Garnica said.
- AP
|
