Bill Faces Opposition In Upper House

It's the fulfillment of a dream... that, alas, may not see the light of day. Nevertheless, on Wednesday lawmakers in Mexico City approved a bill that, if passed by the Senate, would create a new Mexican Space Agency that supporters hope will help bring Mexico into the international space community.

With an initial budget proposal of less than $2 million, it's unlikely such a program would challenge the likes of NASA, the ESA, or China's CNSA anytime in the foreseeable future -- but supporters say they are looking at the long, long term potential of the measure.

"We'd love it to become the Mexican NASA, but obviously the levels of investment are incomparable. It's very distant, perhaps not in the vision but in resources," a spokesman for the Mexican Congress's Science and Technology Commission acknowledged to Reuters. The agency drew up the proposed law.

Mexico's lower house passed the law on Wednesday. It now goes to the upper chamber, where senators will debate the bill.

If they approve the bill, the agency could be up and running by next year, which supporters say would help Mexico advance in areas of science and technology.

Even they admit, however, that the bill faces an uphill battle. Members of the National Action Party -- a minority in the lower house, but rulers of the upper house -- voted against the proposal, saying the money would be better spent on eradicating Mexico's rampant poverty.

FMI: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mx.html