SAN CRISTOBAL, Mexico — It's being called the summit of the boots.
President Bush's meeting Friday with Mexican President Vicente Fox, a horse-riding rancher, will be more than just talk about immigration and the economy.
In the past week, newspapers have printed charts comparing Bush's Texas ranch to Fox's family home in central Mexico, as well as pictures of the horse Bush was expected to ride.
Fox's nephew, Cristobal Fox — who makes a new pair of cowboy boots for Fox every few months — has made a custom pair for Bush — complete with the American and Mexican flag. A local mayor has another pair of black boots ready for the U.S. president.
Most Mexicans don't know much about Bush's policies or past history, just as many Americans may be fuzzy on Fox's plans for Mexico.
Still, many are impressed by the fact Bush has a ranch, wears cowboy boots and likes to ride horses — just like the immensely popular Fox. One Mexico City newspaper coined the meeting "The Summit of the Boots."
And they're amazed he's coming to visit. Not just the mansions of Mexico City, but Fox's dusty home, surrounded by shacks and poverty.
"They said the president of the United States was coming, but I thought, 'That can't be!' The town is so poor," said Victoria Cervantes, sitting outside the ranch where her husband — like most people here — works for Fox's family.
Cervantes says she's never seen a picture of Bush. And she has no idea what he stands for.
But like nearly everyone in this small town built around the ranch, she has relatives who have worked in the United States. And she has one request for Bush: End the danger of the illegal crossings that kill hundreds every year.
Fox plans to ask Bush to do just that. He will seek his northern neighbor's approval for a temporary visa program for Mexican immigrants — an idea that several Congress members support.
It also has the backing of Juan Martinez, the owner of a small grocery store in San Cristobal. He lived briefly in Dallas about seven years ago after sneaking into the United States by swimming across the Rio Grande.
As a former governor of Texas, Bush should know the plight of Mexican immigrants, Martinez said.
"He's seen everything that happens, all the people who die," he said. "It's better if we can go to work there legally."
Some of that optimism comes from high hopes for Fox, who took office Dec. 1 promising to fight corruption and build an economy that provides wages people can live on. Fox's election in July ended 71 years of power by the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
But Bush has generated his own excitement. Cristobal Fox, whose family business has been making boots for 30 years, said he is impressed that Bush can speak some Spanish — and that he seems to share Fox's lifestyle. "He understands the problems of Mexico," he said.
In Fox's hometown of San Cristobal, Bush has scored points before even arriving; his visit has brought new roads, public parks with benches and green grass, and more public services such as electricity and septic tanks.
"It used to be really ugly here," said Maria Reina, carrying a pail of milk.