Racist comment? Read the original Spanish, decide for yourself

Did Mexican President Vicente Fox display a streak of racism Friday when he said that Mexicans in the United States are doing jobs that "that not even blacks want to do"? Or were his comments misinterpreted? The question certainly is being debated by the pundits and some civil rights leaders in the United States, who have asked for (and been refused) an apology.
 
But one thing is certain: Fox's comments aren't the subject of a political fury because they were mistranslated. By and large, his comments have been translated correctly by the American media. For the record, here's what Fox had to say at a conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last Friday:

No hay duda que los mexicanos y las mexicanas, llenos de dignidad, de voluntad y de capacidad de trabajo, están haciendo trabajos que ni siquiera los negros quieren hacer allá, en Estados Unidos.

One possible translation: "There is no doubt that Mexicans, full of dignity, determination and the ability to work, are taking jobs that not even the blacks want to do there, in the United States." It should be noted that the phrase ni siquiera, usually translated "not even," is an emphatic usage (a less emphatic ni could have been used instead), although it is impossible to determine how emphatic without hearing the words spoken.
 
In other words, whatever ambiguity and/or insensitivity there is in Fox's remarks is present in his original words no more and no less than the translations of his words that have been widely reported.