-
The View From the Other Side
May 17, 2013 | 16 comments
-
Cyprus Uber Alles
May 10, 2013 | 9 comments
-
After Hugo
May 3, 2013 | 16 comments
-
Theory and Practice of Terrorism
April 26, 2013 | 24 comments
-
Border Security Games
April 19, 2013 | 26 comments
At Large
Mexico Unmasked
The lies we live in the name of good neighborliness.
Mexico is a mystery to most Americans — and not unjustifiably. Millions of Mexican citizens have fled north to the United States to escape poverty, crime, and all the akin problems associated with such deprivation. That’s about all their hosts know about the land to the south that produces such misery. The image of Mexico that both countries prefer to emphasize focuses on the luxury of its multi-billion dollar resort industry — a nation of blue tequila and bronzed beauties. Convenient but false.
Part of the reason for this pervasive ignorance is the diplomatic pretense to neighborliness. Whether Democrat or Republican, politicians have been loath to characterize North America’s third world neighbor as anything but an important developing nation and ultimately a U.S. ally. New presidents meet, pledge to commit all energies to assist whatever matter is politically appropriate at the moment, and go home announcing a new day has arrived in U.S.-Mexican relations.
This ritual having been accomplished, the Mexican leader implies in his national report of the meeting that he successfully went chest-to-chest with the American president and made clear the needs and desires of his great country of Spanish heritage. After that is completed, Mexico continues on its traditional way where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the drug-financed economy becomes even more criminalized.
President Felipe Calderon added to this usual line his view that Mexico’s problems with crime and violence were due primarily to the ready presence of the American market for illicit drugs. Interestingly, no one in the White House made any effort to object to the Mexican president’s blame-shifting.
An excellent example of the contradictory nature of the official U.S. approach to Mexico is contained in two sentences in a State Department travel warning of May 5, 2010: “…Resort areas and tourist destinations do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems … the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens…”
What exactly is the State Department trying to say? Tourist areas are sort of less dangerous, but that Americans are nonetheless at “serious risk”? Not a very good recommendation for tourist travel, one would think. Why don’t they say that?
Meanwhile the influx of Mexican refugees is characterized as “immigration” even though the entire process is a result of repeated Mexican governments’ inability and unwillingness to provide for the welfare of their own people. What originated as a migrant labor issue was converted into population relocation. To use President Calderon’s own logic, the so-called need for American immigration reform is really a demand that the United States solve the economic and social problems of Mexico by allowing millions of his countrymen to reside in and be cared for by the U.S.
The reality is that the northern provinces of Mexico are only nominally under the authority of the central government. The provincial officials and administration at best have a working relationship with the criminal cartels. At worst the provincial governments are the criminal cartels. Efforts by honest politicians to bring about change are met with intimidation and — as in the recent case of Dr. Rodolfo Torre, gubernatorial reform candidate in Tamaulipas — assassination.
The issue of cartel connections with Mexico’s two principal political parties has now become a staple of electoral rhetoric. The growing strength of the earlier dominant PRI party has brought charges from Calderon’s PAN of close relations between some PRI members and the Gulf cartel. The Sinaloa cartel supposedly influences politics of both parties in the province of that name. The current elections for governors, mayors and local officials in 12 states will further escalate drug family involvement and controls at all political levels.
Presidential statements to the contrary, the job of bringing peace and prosperity to the northern provinces is beyond the capability of the federal government. This has been the case for generations — and always those who control Mexico City have found a way of blaming the “Anglos.” Mexican history says that the politically ambitious gangster, Pancho Villa, was a “Robin Hood” figure. When he raided across the border into the United States, he was simply standing up against American “imperialism.” The fact that he robbed and killed innocent people is ignored.
As the Mexican president Porfirio Diaz famously lamented more than a century ago, “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States.” This view is as fresh in Mexican political minds today as it was back then. It explains nothing and everything at the same time.
About the Author
George H. Wittman writes a weekly column on international affairs for The American Spectator online. He was the founding chairman of the National Institute for Public Policy.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (126) | Leave a comment
More Articles by George H. Wittman
More Articles From At Large
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/09/mexico-unmasked
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
John DuBose| 7.9.10 @ 7:04AM
Mexico is in a long difficult slog toward becoming a first world country. We in the USA badly need for them to succeed. But the only way we can really help is to set a good example. At the moment we are not doing so well.
For our own protection, we must work harder to minimize their dumping their problems on us.
Marco D'Angelo| 7.9.10 @ 7:31AM
Actually, this article is extremely misinformative. For one, 3rd world is not a term used to measure economic development. It is a Cold War term used to describe a nation who was neutral in the U.S./Soviet rivalry. Secondly, Mexican violence is primarily concentrated in a group of select cities in the north, Particularly in the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa and Chihuahua, with Sonora seeing some spillover from Sinaloa. Most of the rest of the country isn't even affected. Its like saying that Miami is suffering from violence that is happening in Los Angeles. Thirdly, Mexican poverty has been reduced a lot in the past 10 years. Now, only 15.3% of the population lives in poverty. The US poverty rate is 13.6%. There s not much difference. Fourthly, how are the norther states poor? The northern states all have high Human development Indexes, superior to .870, even though the combined HDI of Mexico is .855, and the average income for the northern states is $18,012, which means that if the northern states were their own country, they would be classified as "Developed". Mexico is in the last stretch needed to become a developed country, the only reason it has not been classified as one, is because the average income of someone in Mexico is $14,500, while the bar for a developed nation is set at $18,000. In fact, Canada already classifies Mexico as developed country, and applauds them for maintaining an unemployment rate of just 6% despite the fact that American unemployment rates were sky high at 11%
The person who wrote this article, clearly needs to move past their 1980 mentality, and reintroduce themselves to the world of 2010, where Mexico is part of the G20, the world's 10th largest economy, and a country who graduates 150,000 more engineers per year than the United States.
Melvin| 7.9.10 @ 7:59AM
OK, Marco, then what you have posted is indeed the case. Then why is Mexico or at least significant parts of it still living in trying to pound out a meager existence.
What is the advantage from both sides to keep a large percentage of the populace coming across the border illegally to find work.
Another urban legend that is not being brought into the light is, many illegal entrants into this Country are not the illiterate peasants that the media so much like to protray them as.
The majority of these people are skilled, "Journeyman" in the Construction trades and demand and get top dollar for wages. Granted Mexico doesn't have Graphic Designers, or Information Technology people crossing the Rio Grande, but neither are the completely bereft of skills.
cate007| 7.9.10 @ 6:28PM
Here in Arizona, the "skilled journeymen from Mexico" have significantly dropped average wages in construction trades including cement finishing and drywalling. In fact, it is now unusual to find a non-hispanic cement finisher. They come in as laborers with no skills and work their way up. The myth of the skilled illegals is just that - a myth.
whoisthetrizzle?| 7.9.10 @ 8:25AM
My only disagreement with your post is concerning the poverty rates. I am not sure how it is measured in Mexico, but in America a person is considered in poverty if he makes less than a certain amount of money. Most Americans living in poverty would be living pretty good lives in most other countries throughout the world. I think a better assessment would be a measure of material possessions and living conditions (housing conditions, car, power, phone, etc.) instead of just saying, "Anyone making below X amount of dollars is in poverty." Using the current definition we will never defeat poverty. But then again, that would also put a great many politicians out of work.
R Martin| 7.9.10 @ 8:31AM
"The person who wrote this article, clearly needs to move past their 1980 mentality, and reintroduce themselves to the world of 2010..."
It is not just the author of the article but the U.S. State Department who warns of Mexico's culture of crime and violence. Those of us who strongly oppose illegal immigration would like to prevent that culture from being carried into our country in the hearts and minds of those who trespass. That view is clearly in evidence by actions of the Arizona government to protect its citizens. Whatever policy evolves to address this problem from the U.S. side should center on "No Amnesty".
saynotoracism| 7.9.10 @ 12:00PM
Sr. Martín, your comment about preventing a culture from being carried into our country is a racist one and tells of your ignorance to the Hispanic presence and settlement. I suggest you study your history before carrying/posting your xenophobic view and tainting this nice forum.
saynotoassclowns| 7.9.10 @ 12:46PM
Where is he wrong? Mexico is a third (fourth?) world nation with nice beaches. The culture is one of corruption and false Christianity (if they were Christians, they wouldn't live like this). So go pound sand, sayno! Putz.
saynotoassclowns| 7.9.10 @ 2:34PM
I'm sorry, I, say not to ass clowns, have failed as a human and will no longer post here under this pathetic moniker unless I want to be ridiculed.
saynotoassclows II| 7.9.10 @ 2:59PM
I'm sorry, I, say not speak or rite gud english to ridicu dee oder posters here. Me mucho sorry
saynotoassclowns| 7.9.10 @ 3:15PM
And I suppose you support this clown?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/a.....lown1.html
Nelson | 7.10.10 @ 10:14PM
Since independence, the Mexican government has been more anti-clerical and secular than the American one. I'm sure those who attend mass in Mexico are far better than those who don't.
It's sort of like saying that San Francisco is immoral because Americans have a fake Christianity. It doesn't compute.
Catholicism has been around since the year 33, by the way. When did your denomination start?
Eric Cartman| 7.11.10 @ 2:00PM
I'm Catholic ( lapse, that is), so it was probably around the same time. And the Mexican government - if you can call it that - has always partnered with the Catholic church to give itself cover with the masses. The Catholic church is ingrained into the society - much like my wife's country, the Philippines. And no, Frisco is immoral because it's run by Liberal hamster abusers. Mexico is immoral because they keep their people poor, hungry and illiterate. Then they push the lowest class over our rickety fence for the Gringos to take care of. Nice try, though, Nelson.
Will Powers| 7.9.10 @ 2:40PM
I think MR. Martin is not ojbecting to "a culture" but to "the culture" of crime and violence as identified by the U.S. State Department. That is not racist. Is this: perhaps there are enough illegal Mexicans in the United States already?
Aindyin| 7.10.10 @ 10:25AM
Ah how typical you must always resort to the racism charge. How is it racist if we just ask that those who move here at least try to fit in and not expect us to conform to them. Im not asking them to give up all traces of their heritage however, if they move here then they must conform to our ways not us to theirs.
Tom| 7.9.10 @ 8:42AM
Mexico's poverty rate is very much determined by how poverty is measured. If we look at food based poverty it is 18.2% but if we look at asset based poverty it is 47%, both statistics supplied by the CIA Factbook. Comparing poverty rates between nations is a difficult task because the very definition of poverty is malleable.
The gross number of engineering students graduated per year is a poor measure of development. What is more important is the quality of those graduates.
While Mexico does rank high in national GDP its per capita GDP is 83rd in the world, hardly anything to brag about.
One area where the author is possibly mistaken is his belief that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Income distribution has become more equal in the last 10 years in mexico, its Gini index has dropped 5 points in that time while the US has become more unequal with its Gini index raising 7 points.
A good gross indicator on whether Mexico is a truly developed country is how many people risk their health by crossing inhospitable terrain just to find work. If Mexico was as developed as say Canada would we see millions of illegal aliens crossing over to America?
Antonio | 9.4.10 @ 12:50PM
That's not true, Mexico's per capita GDP is USD14,495 and ranks 45th in the world. Mexico is not the poorest nation in the world; mexicans illegals are in the USA because they have the richest country of the world as a neighbor.
Eric Cartman| 7.9.10 @ 8:49AM
And yet millions of Mexicans choose to come here and do jobs like hang off the backs of garbage trucks in 100 degree heat and 98% humidity! And when the blowflys suck up the garbage water and land on their faces to lay eggs and defecate, they look upward to the sky and pray "Thank God I'm not in Mexico!" Do you mean THAT Mexico?
I mean, I know the Gringo stole Mexico's recipe titled "The Super Secret How-to Book on Clean Water Technology.", but c'mon! Do you think some of those "engineers" could try - just try - to figure out how to make a clean glass of water? Oh, and can ya put together some kind of fence to KEEP MEXICANS IN MEXICO while you have so many engineers hanging around! Thanks, that would be great!
Sam| 7.9.10 @ 2:23PM
Eric,
Here you go again, citing the Mexicans you saw hanging off the back of garbage trucks and assuming it applies to just about every Mexican. You're credibility is already in the toilet. But I'm glad you're back and that the liberal who used your name to launch an expletive-laced tirade is gone.
Eric Cartman| 7.9.10 @ 2:47PM
Well, I'm pretty sure they aren't German. And they speak the official language of the third world - Spanish. And every garbage truck I see in Houston have the same non-German people hanging off the back of the truck. And it was 100+ degrees with 95% humidity because Houston is always 100+ degrees with 95% humidity. And I don't know about you, but if I had a choice between staying in my far-away home country or risking a dangerous journey to hang off a steaming, fly infested garbage truck in the heat and mugginess, I would choose the best one. So what does that mean? Hmmmmm?
And, um, what expletive-laced tirade? And thanks, nice to have time to be here :-)
AMENBRO| 7.9.10 @ 9:10AM
G20 nation for 3% of the population.
The other 97% labor in an informal economy. Don't forget Marcos that nobody ever really mapped the land ownership in Mexico. POWER, GREED & BRIBERY still remains the only true claim to damn near all of Mey-he-Co's soveriegn lands. Illegal immigration from the south is more than often punishable by death unless those caught can bribe their way out of the deep sheet they are in once the FEDERALIES get their mits on Central Americans on there way to the USA.
Your culture has been racked by one corrupt despotic revolution after another. Seemingly more greedy & blood thirsty than the last. BOLIVAR is allot more than a fine cigar AMIGO.The Mexican Catholic church preys on the poor as well. To get anything done in Mexico you gotta bribe somebody. You should be ashamed to call your self LATINO if you defend the SOCIO-ECONOMIc travesty your pithy piece pasted. FANTASY & SOPHISTRY EXTRAORDINAIRE
Let me guess you are connected or a member of one of the ruling families that have persecuted the Meskitoes for Centuries.
And now we are supposed to absorb the abject poverty your ELITES have created? Deliver education & social infrastructure IPS like you turn your back ON your OWN KIN. SHAMELESS PROPAGANDIST YOU ARE?
These very atrocities I outlined, which are only a few of the humanitarian crimes MEXICANS PERPETRATE AGAINST MEXICANS is the very reason your people if you claim them, got kicked out of what is now American Sovereign Territory.
La RAZZA is nothing but a continuance of the exploitation of average MEXICANS akin to since the Catholic Church replaced the Aztec/Mayan tyranny over the peoples of Mexico. Now we're supposed to pay for your flagrant disregards for anything but your pampered corrupt elite that have bought your dishonest personage off..
Shoot Fire; your EL MONTE SLIM financier that remortgaged the NY Times alone is reason enough for the USA to purposely conclude your intentions are less than sincere. GIVE ME A BREAK. You are probable a UNION HACK. You sure as hail could care less about tackling the EGREGIOUS SOCIAL problems your successive Revolutions & Governments have not. We got a saying around here.
Don't micturate down my back & tell me its raining JUNIOR!
Govchance| 7.9.10 @ 10:25AM
Twist your rheortic any which way you will, Mexico is a third world country and anyone whom has spent time there , outside the resort areas readily knows this. The original article is dead on. If it is as you describe, why the flood? Enough said!
loulou| 7.9.10 @ 11:27AM
Mexico is a third world country, AT BEST. It's closer to a fourth world basket case country.
Norman Crocker| 7.9.10 @ 11:20AM
Marco, have you been to Mexico? I have, numerous times. Poor in Mexico is poor indeed. I don't really blame poor people who cross the border to feed their families. After all, we hire them. What bothers me are the criminals. Yes, there are many and not just in the border states. The situation is so bad that we've stopped vacationing in Mexico.
richard| 7.9.10 @ 12:08PM
The Mexican poverty rate is 15.3 while the US rate is 13.6 so the countries have similar poverty rates? Are you kidding? are you telling me that a poor person in the US with all of our welfare programs is the same as a poor person in Mexico? In fact, poverty in the US is largely a transient state as the individual is on his way to a middle class life style. In Mexico poverty is a class or caste condition with most poor Mexicans doomed to eternal poverty.
Geez, you are dishonest or trying to deceive.
arlo price| 7.9.10 @ 8:10PM
The unemployment rates that you quote would be reversed if the 20 million illegals were to return to Mexico.
Sooooooo, by your logic, the U S should happily suffer the unemployment consequences for U S citizens for the benefit of illegal aliens so that Mexico can be lauded for a low unemployment rate. Get friggin real!!!
Bottom line: Illegal aliens by the very definition of the term, display a lack of respect for U S law, which begs the question: Why should any U S citizen have any respect for any illegal???
Ironcowboy| 7.10.10 @ 1:11AM
Marco,
I’ve actually been to Mexico, and not to the tourist parts. I’m a US home inspector, and I can say that the quality of the average residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure in “regular” non tourist Mexico is APPALLING! Certainly the vast majority of structures I have examined in Mexico would be deemed hazardous to occupation in the US, and would never see a Certificate of Occupancy, issued by many US municipalities. Much of Mexico’s buildings most closely resemble those of Iraq, (I’ve been there too)
On another note, it would be quite logical for Mexico’s “unemployment” rate to be lower than the US (if that were true of course). If 1/3 of your population flees for their life over a 10 year span, don’t you reason that would impact a regions employment rate? Hellooooo, clue phone ringing…
Also compare and contrast Mexico’s homicide rate with that of war ravaged Iraq. If the US had the per-capita homicide rate that Mexico had, you’d probably already be dead. It’s would be like a homicide ever quarter mile every other day from LA to Miami.
In a nut shell, Mexico is barely a 3rd world county… Remember ½ of the populace, by your own admission makes somewhere between $0 per year to $14,500, in the US we would call that ULTRA-poverty.
Did you know that Haiti employs more Mexican Engineers than any other country? Look how those well engineered buildings stood up in the recent earth quake. How many Mexican engineers are working in the drug cartels, developing deep running submarines, speed boats and better technologies to run drugs without detection? Also I happen to personally know a Mexican engineer, working here in the United States, as an airline check in agent, because, well many Mexican engineers really just have a piece of paper that says engineering on it, when it comes time to actually designing something safe, we run into problems.
Mexico is a state rife with corruption at all levels on the verge of total collapse. Remember Saddam Hussein’s PR spokesman back in spring of 1991, he was on TV saying that Baghdad is safe and the Republican Guard is slaughtering the Americans in southern Iraq where they are bogged down? As the explosions were going off behind him… that is like Mexico today, you have people saying everything is OK, but it’s hard to hear them over the Chinese supplied machine guns firing in the background. Oh twenty more severed human heads found on sticks today, but it’s a safe G20 nation folks, come on in…
JMWinPR| 7.10.10 @ 2:54AM
Sir:
If any part of your story had any basis in reality Gringos would be going south for employment.
To compare US poverty to Mexican poverty is ludicrous. More than half of US "poverty" people have a car, color TV, cellphone and AC. While I have only been to Cozumel, move out of the tourist areas and the people are living in shacks.
mmille96| 7.10.10 @ 11:40AM
You have deluged us readers with semantics, yet left no clear refutation to the author's maine thesis. Mexico may be developed economically, why do its citizens continue to flock to America?
Patrick Carroll| 7.10.10 @ 10:19PM
Yet still they come, apparently fleeing a heaven on earth.
Odd, that.
WAKE UP| 7.11.10 @ 1:33AM
Marco, the bottom line is this: when people flee somewhere in large numbers, it's because it's BETTER where they are going.
mike licavoli| 7.11.10 @ 9:02AM
Mexico sounds so good, I'm might just retire down there.
ChupraCabre| 7.11.10 @ 3:12PM
Mexico has 6% unemployment compared to our 11%. Not hard to believe when our great American Automobile manufacturers closed all of their parts plants and shipped them to Mexico. Toyota is more American than General Motors. at least when you buy a Toyota you keep Americans working.
bluecollatrbytes| 7.11.10 @ 6:42PM
Marco- "Now, only 15.3% of the population lives in poverty. The US poverty rate is 13.6%"
Is Mexico's idea of poverty the same as ours?
Many Mexicans move here to earn what we consider poverty-level wages, not to any mention govt assistance they might snag.
"Highly skilled" tradesman are unusual today no matter whether here legally or not. The issue for me is whether the employment market operates within a specific set of legal requirements or just legal requirements for legal workers, leaving the illegals to continue ruining industries for American citizen employment. Being anti-union, I also oppose the influence of the illegal work force on what should be a free jobs market operating under the same 'rules' for everyone. I can appreciate the desires of the descendants of Spanish invaders, but "we" won. Get over it.
EricGoneBlue| 7.11.10 @ 7:14PM
AYFKM! Marco attempts to equate U.S. "poverty" with Mexico's TRUE poverty and says they "aren't much differerent." What a bufoon. Have you been to Mexico and seen Mexican poverty? If your point was solely that the RATES aren't "much different," so what? You're comparing swimming pools to mud puddles. Your entire rant is full of pointless drivel. You've got a possible career with the current administration. Have you applied yet?
Flatdog | 7.12.10 @ 2:50PM
Marco D'Angelo| 7.9.10 @ 7:31AM:
"For one, 3rd world is not a term used to measure economic development. It is a Cold War term used to describe a nation who was neutral in the U.S./Soviet rivalry."
Not so. Ireland was neutral in the U.S./Soviet Cold War rivalry, but it can hardly be described as "Third World". The same for Switzerland, Finland and others.
Antonio| 9.4.10 @ 12:45PM
I totally agree with you Marco. The author of this post still lives in the 80's and has many misconceptions; also, he talks of Provinces in Mexico, while in Mexico there are states, and there is a federal government, not a central government. ¿Inequality? Let's see the gini coefficient; Mexico: .48 and USA: .45; they are so close. If no one knows, the gini coefficient is a measure of the inequality of the distribution of wealth, a value of "0" expressing total equality and a value of "1" maximal inequality.
Alan Brooks| 7.9.10 @ 9:07AM
"Now, only 15.3% of the population lives in poverty. The US poverty rate is 13.6%."
Yeah, Mexico dumped its poor into America
Alan Brooks| 7.9.10 @ 9:14AM
"Marco D'Angelo"
Hard to imagine someone named Marco D'Angelo would be objective on this subject. When you read a piece by Mohammed Barjani attacking America for its Iran policy, you kind of wonder.
And IMO the Southern border is America's Achilles heel.
Alan Brooks| 7.9.10 @ 4:05PM
PS
"Yeah, Mexico dumped its poor into America"
A conservative guesstimate would be a few million (2 - 4) NOT including anchor babies. Who could do a comprehensive census of illegals? Perhaps the figure might be eight million poor Mexicans illegals and an indeterminate number of impoverished and some destitute illegals from elsewhere? You tell us, if you might happen to know.
cavan1| 7.9.10 @ 9:10PM
Where do they get the money? It must cost thousands to make that journey.
Bob K| 7.9.10 @ 4:20PM
Mr. Wittmann and Mr. DuBose do not address the real problem, in fact, it may be impossible for Mr.Wittman and other journalists to address it at all.
Many thanks for a comments section like this one, because at least I can address it!
The fact is that Mexico and indeed, all of Central America and much of South America, is engaged in Class Warfare that has heavily racial undertones. Culturally, their underclasses have nothing in common with Spain and the Ruling Class which runs these countries except for a common language which was established there by Northern Europeans from the Iberian Peninsula. These largely pure white Northern Europeans still control the cultural and economic institutions in these countries. There have never been any "Affirmative Action" programs to lift the native americans, mestizos, blacks and mulattos out of their underclass roots and there probably never will be. Chavez in Venezuela, a member of one of these groups, has recognized this and, like it or not, that is where he is coming from in his effort to gain control of the country. It has always been thus in that area but, like Bolivar, he may be plowing the sea.
Here, north of these troubled areas is a country with a government that has a mysterious policy of favoring people with hispanic surnames; (Look at Rick Sanchez on TV, or Geraldo Rivera, formerly Gerald Rivers, or even American Spectator's own Kathryn Lopez; no mestizos they! In fact, I think this is where their leaders will come from, just like in Central and South America!) giving their children preference in education, placement in government jobs and a legal establishment ready, willing and able to sue for these preferential rights. And, in addition, the country also has 2 political parties who, as Professor Angelo M. Codevilla says in his essay about "America's Ruling Class And the Perils of Revolution" in the current issue of "The American Spectator" that the "Differences between Bushes, Clintons and Obamas are of degree, not kind."
Now, I ask you, why would they not want to come here and work for low wages, knowing that they and their children would step to the front of the line as soon as they became citizens based on the simple fact of the linguistic origination of their last name? Not to mention keeping the leadership 0f the American Ruling Class of both political parties happy and wealthy! And helping to set diverse ethnic and racial groups at each others throats in the search for a balanced, equal and perfect society while the ruling class which devised this scheme continues to acquire wealth and power!
As the (in) famous 19th century Robber Baron, Jay Gould said: "I can hire 1/2 the working class to kill the other 1/2 of the working class!"
Did you ever wonder why only the Spanish speaking peoples from the Iberian Peninsula get preference and the Portuguese do not?
Calderon luvs migrants norte| 7.10.10 @ 12:50AM
Bingo! this writer gets the prize. In fact Felipe Calderon is a posturing racist who is happy to have the indigenous descendants flood into the U.S. so as to relieve Mexico of their presence. Only our clown president Obamao would entertain such BS. AZ is on to something, and I expect we'll see more of it.
RWinks| 7.10.10 @ 3:36PM
Marco, I agree Mexico shouldn't be considered 3rd World, but my Mexican friends (from Zacatecas) would laugh at the claim of 6% unemployment. They also tell me $150.00 a week is a good wage for most laborers. Granted the Maquiladoras pay much better along the border but $18,000 per capita? Almost half the population is under 21. Where did you get these numbers? The UN? None of their numbers for ANY country can be believed.
Cris Worth| 7.9.10 @ 7:16AM
Dad told me in 1969 Mexico was an enemy. They will tweak the Gringo at every turn. Yet American politicians/greedy business people have either ignored or have been complicit with the spread of Mexican miasma. Kudos to Jan Brewer and the people of Arizona for having guts to drive illegal immigrants back where they came from. Now the rest of the states and the American people need to do the same.
cujo47| 7.27.10 @ 1:09PM
You are right on. Mexico is our enemy and has been for years. The country is getting rich on drug money and they are sharing it with Congress. It should be pretty obvious to anybody with half a brain by now. The American people are just plain dumb to have not figured this out by now.
OG | 7.9.10 @ 8:04AM
Blame-shifting? Have we forgotten how market capitalism works when it goes underground?
Where exactly did all those narco-dollars come from then, if not from the U.S. market for cocaine? The U.S. and European market for coke is financing narco-terrorism all over the globe, not just in our immediate neighbor to the south.
Colombia's FARC is now in control of Colombia's drug trade, and as a result FARC is now in Africa, the Middle East, and yes, Mexico.
And the US and European market for illegal drugs has nothing to do with that, right? Our craving for coke nearly destroyed Colombia, and now it's got Mexico in flames.
We all want a stable, prosperous, business-friendly Mexico on our southern border. Yes, there are plenty of things that need improvement in their institutional, corporate, and political culture, but dollar and euro-fueled drug violence is not something we can pin solely on them.
Echohawk| 7.9.10 @ 8:41AM
OG--You can't have it both ways. If Mexican drug mules and drug dealers want to cross our border because of our unquenchable desire for coke and pot, then we have the right to seal our southern border to keep them out.
Think of it as detox writ large.
George True| 7.9.10 @ 10:30AM
That would be a completely logical, sensible solution that would actually work. Which is exactly why our government will not do it.
Toodles| 7.11.10 @ 7:18PM
Nice sum, GT! Down with the incumbents.
John Navratil| 7.9.10 @ 9:05AM
And why are so many narco-dollars needed to keep the druggies satisfied? Prohibition!
I am not a supporter of drug use, but if keeping the price high was intended to dissuade use, it most certainly did not. Instead, it gave us the Mexican equivalent of Al Capone.
We could put these guys out of business is a minute.
Ray| 7.9.10 @ 2:37PM
Why must WE change our drug laws? Why doesn;t Mexico change their own drug laws? You do realize that it is illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell illicit drugs in Mexico, right? Well, by your own argument, it's the Mexican drug laws that are to blame for the increasing violence. So, they are the ones that are causing the violence because of their own laws, correct?
Ray| 7.9.10 @ 2:34PM
"but dollar and euro-fueled drug violence is not something we can pin solely on them."
Yes, it is, for the gangs don't care where the money comes from, or why the money is there, they only want to have all that money, and the power that money gives them, for themselves, just like the gangsters of the 30's here in America (and even today!). This isn't about who supplies the illegal drug trade, or who ultimately finances that trade, it's about the Mexican criminals who are killing their own people for greed and lust for power. How is that America's fault? Or Europe's?
rick shuey| 7.9.10 @ 8:10AM
Much of what you say is true, but the piece as a whole is of small value. Insofar as illegal drugs and immigration are problems in the US, it would be more helpful to discuss what we can do rather than what Mexico should do.
As a nation we should accept responsibility for our own problems, our decisions, and actions.
Indeed, if we *individually* accept these responsibilities then the drug and immigration problems would be much reduced.
If individuals who chose to fry their brain on drugs were left to suffer the consequences, drug use would decrease. If the illegality of the drugs were removed, the profit potential and consequent turf war violence would drop.
If we did not pay ourselves not to work, there would be fewer workers coming in from Mexico to take the available jobs.
Frankly, I don't find our own government to be notably less corrupt than Mexico's. Power attracts corruption. If more of us reserved power to ourselves rather than outsourcing it to 'government', there would be less government corruption.
Many folks who live along the border make their living by working the differences between the countries - mostly legitimate activities like the import-export trade, etc.
Mexico is a socialist country. The trend in our country is to become more like Mexico - an elite, rich, powerful political class; an over-regulated and controlled citizenry; some pockets of gaudy consumerism and other pockets of rampant crime and poverty. That will be sad to see, because the border will disappear and folks like myself will have to find a new way to make a living.
megapotamus| 7.9.10 @ 9:53AM
Not much needs saying after that. Why is Mexico such a hellhole? Socialism plays her role. And this rise in "average" income may be true but it falls to the oligarchy thoroughly entrenched in government that obtains whatever party is in office at the moment. Actual hunger and deprivation is what drives crowds of day laborers to the Home Depot in your town, which is not to be ignored, but the reason for it is not any sort of imperialism unless you count the corrupt empire building within Mexican gub and society. If the most vital and ambitious of Mexicans had not been framing houses in Michigan for decades Mexico might have had her modern revolution; that which would throw down the vast institutions of socialism that stand, as ever, on the windpipe of the common man.
oilydoilyobama| 7.9.10 @ 8:28AM
Hey wait a minute. Stop right there:
In your 7th paragraph you say: "...the entire process is a result of repeated Mexican governments' inability and unwillingness to provide for the welfare of their own people."
Provide for the welfare? That's dead wrong. You will probably say I'm nit-pickin' but there is is big, big, big difference between government "providing" and government "promoting." People who live in Liberty are supposed to provide for themselves and by individual acts of charity and kindness give help to fellow-citizens in need. Government, according to gringo-law, is supposed to make sure everyone has a fair shot at just that. The more government can "provide" the more it can take away. Godspeed U.S.A.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Tom| 7.9.10 @ 8:45AM
BRAVO!
Metalman| 7.9.10 @ 8:39AM
I must agree with Marco. I spend a lot of time in Northern Mexico and have for several years. The development has been astounding to see. The people I work with are educated and living nicely on their middle class wages. And that's the purpose of NAFTA and maquiladores; to develop a middle class in Mexico and it's working well.
Melvin| 7.9.10 @ 11:08AM
So why isn't Mexico touting this?
Tom| 7.9.10 @ 12:03PM
Why do they keep coming to America then?
oilydoilyobama| 7.9.10 @ 8:52AM
It's working well? Close to 30,000 murders in the past 5 years? You call that "working well"? In his book "Murder City" Charles Bowden pulls back the curtain on the maquiladores and Mexico's shrinking oil revenue and the burgeoning drug revenue much of which is finding its way into more than a few "official" Mexican pockets. Mexico is a deadly-corrupt war-zone. Lies and death are a way of life. Don't go to Mexico unless you are ready to play for keeps. http://www.amazon.com/Murder-C.....1568584490
Metalman| 7.9.10 @ 9:06AM
Oily,
Are you describing Northern Mexico or Chicago? The political machines run very similarly and a large part of the economies are drug money fueled. Or, maybe you speak of East St. Louis, or Detroit, Or Phili?
Richard| 7.9.10 @ 12:11PM
Hmm, all run by Lefties, aren't they?
Armstrong| 7.9.10 @ 12:43PM
Hmm. more posts by people like Richard who thought that Blacks were inferior and women should not have a chance to vote, aren't there? He probably has a superiority complex, ie, Hitler.
GW| 7.9.10 @ 3:48PM
Well do you think Blacks are superior then?
Name one majority black city not riddled by poverty and crime. So, yeah, stats don't lie.
Ken (Old Texican)| 7.9.10 @ 9:13AM
Hmmm, let's see. 6 million illegal Mexicans here sending money home at western Union etc.
How much might that be pumped into Mexico's economy?
How about the 15 BILLION dollars pumped in there each year from drugs.
Build the danged fence! Then set up a guest worker program that can be monitored...and taxed just like you and I.
We can't send the poor honest working saps home.
They are systematically ripped off by their own corrupt "officials".
loulou| 7.9.10 @ 11:31AM
Why can't we place an onerous tax on the remittances sent through Western Union? So much could be accomplished with that simple act.
jonaz| 7.13.10 @ 1:03PM
Giving another revenue stream to the federal government would ensure it continues and grows.
oilydoilyobama| 7.9.10 @ 9:23AM
Metalman, you can make the attempt to conflate the wholesale slaughter going on south of the border with the little gringo/afro shoot 'em up's happening on this side of the line but there is no comparison. The Mexican drug-monsters are doing biz with Taliban, Al-Queda, FARC, etc. It's a multi-billion dollar international market down there: the world's warehouse for recreational drugs. The U.S. cities you name and the violence occurring therein is small-time compared to what's happening down south. I get the feeling Mr. Obama would like to import Mexican Murder, Inc. to help him in his drive toward a more enlightened socialist state...like Mexico. hahaha!
Metalman| 7.9.10 @ 9:38AM
You make good points Oily especially the terrorist link-ups, that's a big deal, but otherwise it is just a matter of degrees. See U.S. stats below:
Homicide with a firearm: 12,129
Suicide with a firearm: 17,348
Death by accidental discharge of firearm: 721
And roughly 5,000 deaths from legal interventions(I.E. police shooting criminals)
loulou| 7.9.10 @ 11:34AM
We're talking about Mexico, not Chicago. I don't see Chicagoans illegally invading Mexico.
Mexico is a dump populated mainly by the lumpenproletariat. A dump that posseses vast wealth in natural resources, but a dump nonetheless.
Ray| 7.9.10 @ 2:45PM
That's an invalid comparison as America has three times as large a population than Mexico. You would need to compare the percentages of violence per capita between the two countries to draw any reasonable conclusions.
oilydoilyobama| 7.9.10 @ 9:45AM
Metalman, you know what I say when I say, "You play, you pay." Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes. Ezeeduzzit.
Citizen Jerry| 7.9.10 @ 10:11AM
The drug market, like any market, is driven by supply and demand. Without a demand, the market would dry up.
So I can understand President Calderon's gripe about the American market for illicit drugs. Too many of our fellow citizens would rather float through life in a drug-induced haze rather than actually make something of themselves through work and achievement. Just sayin'.
james voles| 7.11.10 @ 11:03AM
Please don't forget this about drugs. Drugs create the addiction. Nobody is born hooked on cocaine (aside from crack babies and junkie births, a tiny number of the market) . If a growing market demands a growing number of users, the best way to kill a market is to cut supply. The already hooked will go to any length to get the goods, but the newcomer, driven only by curiosity, will not be purchasing the product. Rising prices and choked availability will drive the addict to another alternative, and possibly treatment, if the culture would embrace the responsibility of providing treatment, in exchange for the security of a reduced drug trade and a reduction in new addicts. Everything comes at a cost.
send jobs back| 7.9.10 @ 10:14AM
I want the jobs sent back that the giverment sent to Mexico to employ mexicans so they wouldn't come here for jobs. It didn't work! Hello.... Begin a round up of illegals, put a bounty on each one turned in. Begin with ohhh say 500. dollars, then every 3 months double that. End the so called anchor baby thing that doesn't really exist any way. What should I expect, with a illegal in the white house?
Eric| 7.9.10 @ 10:22AM
have any of the critics of this article ever been to Mexico? And not one of the tourist resorts? Just plain ole Mexico? It's horrible. And let's not forget the Mexican gov't actually encouraing their citizens to leave. issuing safe travel pamphlets,setting up little rest stops etc. The Mexican gov't does little to next to nothing to provide for their citizens who risk their lives to come to this country to cut grass,paint houses, etc. That totally sounds like a country on the rise.
Also,don't a lot of the racial biases in Mexico from the Spanish heritage Mexicans against the Northern Mexicans of "Mestizo" heritage. Just another little known talking point when trying to understand why the Mexican gov't does nothing for their Northern Mexican residents. And then conveniantly blame the US for their problems.
davelnaf| 7.9.10 @ 10:31AM
We have been extremely deferential to Mexico for over a half century. But, back in the fifties, the Eisenhower administration rounded up millions of Mexico nationals and sent them back to Mexico. By the early to mid-seventies, Mexicans resumed sneaking back into the country in large numbers, with most of them seeking jobs in the construction industry. They got those jobs and they are still in construction. And they are everywhere else as well.
I have been working in the construction industry for most of my life and have seen radical changes occur in this industry since the influx resumed. Illegals have taken over nearly all of the work once done by Americans on every residential home built in Texas, where I live, and I would not be surprised to find that they have done the same in nearly every other state. This has been a good deal for the builders and contractors here, but it has been a very poor deal for construction workers and to the American home buyer. The simple reason for this is that the quality of illegal workmanship is not good and in many instances is sub-standard.
It is a myth only the most ignorant and gullible are willing to believe that illegals do the work American won’t do. As I mentioned above they do everything now and this means that a lot of people that once made their living in construction (and in many other industries) no longer can due to the extreme wage differential.
The failure of the ruling class in Washington to do anything meaningful about the illegals here—measures that would almost certainly alleviate the hardships suffered by Americans that once and still do work in the construction industry—is nothing short of a disgrace and a national scandal. But such is the quality of our political class.
Ken (Old Texican)| 7.9.10 @ 2:36PM
Davelnaf,
You are precisely correct, sir. Thank you.
Pete| 7.9.10 @ 10:35AM
I think of this issue like I do the time I discovered that racoons were living in attic of an out building in my back yard. I called the county and they essentially blamed me for providing such an inviting environment (though the racoons had dug in through the roof). Since the authorities wouldn't do their job, I took care of it and sealed up the damage they did. Do I blame the racoons for seeking better shelter? Ultimately, no, but I couldn't have them around where they could bite my dog or my kids either. I tried to go through approved government channels, but when they refused (another great example of government - call us first so we can tell you it is your fault), I had to go Arizona. I suppose I could have taken Osama's approach and let the building get in such disrepair that the racoons would leave on their own because more attractive options would be available?
Louis Jenkins| 7.9.10 @ 11:00AM
"diplomatic pretense to neighborliness. Whether Democrat or Republican, politicians have been loath to characterize North America's third world neighbor as anything but an important developing nation and ultimately a U.S. ally. "
Strong fences make good neighbors. An ally? Mexico, as has been proven by Calderon's DC hype, would turn on the US at the drop of a hat and members of congress would stand and cheer. Calderon has proven that he is a problem, and it trickles down from there. "Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges." The Mexican attitude towards the US permeates the air.
Petronius| 7.9.10 @ 11:15AM
The border situation will not improve unless Mexico puts an end to the patron' system and "el mordido".
(The ruling party takes 20% off the top from legitimate businesses before taxes).
It's still a kleptocracy; not a real republic.
Blackwatch| 7.9.10 @ 12:06PM
well said. All of the Spanish colonies suffer from the patron system. And the illegals bring that mindset here.
Build the damn fence.
with American workers.
Majito Querido| 7.9.10 @ 12:13PM
Mejico is for the most part a dump. pretty much like cuba or venezuela...zero sum game...that mejicanos want the quick buck regardless of how to get it has long been their credo...just listen to their corridos or rancheras...they all talk about violence, adultery, cheating and how they're going to chop the others with machete or fill the bodies with bullets...and now we go, oh gosh look at all that...it's been there since the aztec times...cortez was horrified when moctezuma showed him his treasure room filled with human hearts and some of the them looked freshly harvested (read same day)...theirs is a culture of pillage, killings and lowest common denominator class wise...and i know...lived among them for almost 20 years...mejicanos valen madre
Gringo Expat| 7.9.10 @ 12:16PM
My family and I moved to Jalisco state outside of Guadalajara four years ago from the "peoples republic of Hawaii". The freedom here compared to the socialism and burdensome regulations of Hawaii ( corruptocrats and unions rule there) is very noticeable with entrepreneurs in business at all levels of the economy. In the last four years the economy in Mexico while it has slipped like the rest of the world, is still creating jobs and in many areas is, if not robust at least stable. If you travel to the large cities Mexico, Guadalajara, Monterrey, you see many signs of a developed country....hell in Guad you'd think you were in southern California for all of the new cars and well dressed women at the huge shopping malls. The city is building new highways and while it suffers from lots of petty crime as there is indeed poverty, one can see that there is a growing middle class that can afford new cars and homes. South of Mexico city its a different story with rural Mexicano's living in poverty because they are farmers in a desolate land scape. Jalisco on the other hand exports corn, milo, wheat, copra, meat and poultry (and Tequila to!) as well as many manufactured goods ( Intel, IBM HP, Samina are all here). Many of the Mexican's that I know have zero desire to go and work in the US and many who have, returned here because of the more family oriented lifestyle here...plus its way cheaper to live here then NOB. Despite all of the good I see here, the security situation has clearly deteriorated in the last four years with the drug violence spreading across the country. The US has to implement some rational approach to legalizing drugs, dealing with the illegals already in the country and secure the southern border. Corruption on both sides of the border is an issue that isn't easily solved when there's so much money involved with the drug trade. It's not just Mexico's problem but an issue for both countries to solve....and it isn't going to happen while Obama or Caldaron are in office because Obama wants amnesty (and new Democrat's) and Caldaron wants US foreign aid assistance and the remittances to continue.
saynotoracism| 7.9.10 @ 12:21PM
Very nicely written piece by you, compared to many here who have never even ventured out of the U.S. but think that they can comment on living conditions even though they have never visited Mexico.
saynotoassclowns| 7.9.10 @ 12:50PM
WOW! Greater than Socialist Hawaii! Well, may I suggest, ass clown, that you move yourself there ASAP and stay there! And take your Socialist president with you.
Samuelson| 7.9.10 @ 2:10PM
Well looks like you struck a nerve with the bully calling herself "saynotoassclowns" Usually when the bullies start reverting to profanity and telling you to go back to where you came from, you can tell that you have made them angry and they are afraid. Funny response from Ms. saynotoassclown though.
Majito Querido| 7.9.10 @ 1:24PM
just like the cities in colombia whose economic engine was fueled by narcoca$h...as soon as the cartels were decimated, lord and behold, all those jobs evaporated overnight, banks, restaurants, and whole retail areas closed doors, auto dealers in bankruptcy and the real estate boom went bam and all the economic activity ceased...so go on that narcodolars fuel economies...just ask colombians...they were as mejico is and a study in colombian turmoil is a prophecy over mejicos...is coming...bet you'll be dreaming of socialist hawaii in less than a decade
Antonio| 9.4.10 @ 1:03PM
I totally agree with you, there are mexican cities that are not resorts that are very developed. Also, as you say, corruption of Homeland Security officials are a fact. Many have looked the other way when the narcos pay them a whole year of salary...
ABNCP| 7.9.10 @ 12:49PM
This one is for saynotoracism. I for one am getting very bored with people like you playing the race card. My ancestery is Irish and English, or Anglo-Irish. Most of the Hispanics I see yelling race on T.V look like their ancestery is from Spain. My race is caucasain. Guess what most Hispanics are? OMG they of the caucasian race too. Grow up pal it's hard to take you seriously when you don't even know what the hell your talking about. Hispanics may be an ethnic group but so what. It's not their ethnicity that's the problem. The problem is that there are 10 to 12 million here illegaly. Our nation, in this sorry and dangerous world we live in today, cannot afford to have that number of undocumented, uncontrolled people wandering around, who's primary loyalty is not to the United States of Americn . Anyone with the brains that God gave an earthworm should be able to understand that. If you open borders people do not get it then quite obviously you have a much different agenda.
mobiius| 7.9.10 @ 2:30PM
I'm glad my post made/compelled you to reply to my earlier one. How long have you held these prejudices? I'm sure they have been fostered in you since your birth. The good news is that due to social Darwinism your genes were not be able to adapt to future changes, and thus you will not be able to pass down your racial hate down to future generations. You are unfortunately a disgrace the the United States and I hope you can deal with that and not cry. Hope to hear from you soon!
loulou| 7.9.10 @ 4:01PM
The illegals we have here are not of Spanish origin. They are Mesoamerican Indians--no European blood there. Have you been Spain? The Spaniards are beautiful and gracious. Nothing like the dregs Mexico dumps on us.
The illegals don't technically speak Spanish either. The speak in a harsh mixture of "Spanish" and their local dialect.
james voles| 7.11.10 @ 11:40AM
loulou, just as nearly every "african american" has european blood, so does virtually all mexican. there are only a few real natives, pure in blood, left in all of mexico. no pure mayans, but there are a very few other pure natives in the mountains of chiapas, oaxaca, and sonora/sinoloa. the light skinned chilongos of d.f. just happen to be a bit more irish, spanish and german.
Antonio| 9.4.10 @ 1:07PM
It's an ignorant comment; almost all mexicans have european and indian blood mixed...that was an inheritance of the Spanish colonony in Mexico.
Bob K.| 7.10.10 @ 9:42PM
ABNCP,
You are wrong when you state in this argument about illegal immigrants from Mexico that most Hispanics are "of the caucasian race too."
They are not. Most mexicans and indeed, most of the population of Central America and the Caribbean are of native american, black, and mixed racial heritage. The hispanics of pure caucasion extraction are the people who control the economic, cultural, educational and, to a very large extent, religious institutions of these countries. These are people who look very much like the hispanics you state you have seen on TV. They don't look like Chavez of Venezuela. And they don't look like the great bulk of the "10 to 12 million here illegaly." The racism in these countries is engineered by the hispanics of caucasian (northern european) heritage to maintain their economic control of these countries. We should recognize that fact and throw it back in their faces when they accuse Americans of racism for wanting to control our southern border from their victims who want to leave the racist cultures they are forced to live in.
But you are right when you state that we "cannot afford to have that number of undocumented, uncontrolled people wandering around,....."
Remember, these people have hispanic last names and a language which was forced on them by their northern european conquerors and we, as a nation, can't afford to be the "Affirmative Action" answer to these victims of institutional racism solely because of the linguistic origin of their surnames!
Bob K.| 7.10.10 @ 9:42PM
ABNCP,
You are wrong when you state in this argument about illegal immigrants from Mexico that most Hispanics are "of the caucasian race too."
They are not. Most mexicans and indeed, most of the population of Central America and the Caribbean are of native american, black, and mixed racial heritage. The hispanics of pure caucasion extraction are the people who control the economic, cultural, educational and, to a very large extent, religious institutions of these countries. These are people who look very much like the hispanics you state you have seen on TV. They don't look like Chavez of Venezuela. And they don't look like the great bulk of the "10 to 12 million here illegaly." The racism in these countries is engineered by the hispanics of caucasian (northern european) heritage to maintain their economic control of these countries. We should recognize that fact and throw it back in their faces when they accuse Americans of racism for wanting to control our southern border from their victims who want to leave the racist cultures they are forced to live in.
But you are right when you state that we "cannot afford to have that number of undocumented, uncontrolled people wandering around,....."
Remember, these people have hispanic last names and a language which was forced on them by their northern european conquerors and we, as a nation, can't afford to be the "Affirmative Action" answer to these victims of institutional racism solely because of the linguistic origin of their surnames!
Roughcoat| 7.9.10 @ 1:48PM
When I was a teenager in the 1960s (in Chicago) it was fairly easy to find a summer job: you went to construction sites or a lawn-care outfits and applied for a job as a common, unskilled laborer. After a few tries, you usually got hired. But not anymore. Most of those jobs have been taken by Mexicans, leaving American teenagers s**t out of luck. Don't tell me about "jobs Americans don't want to work."
ABNCP| 7.9.10 @ 3:30PM
Who or what is a mobiius?? Of course by the content of the msg. Who really gives a damm.
loulou| 7.9.10 @ 4:03PM
And what was that gibberish mobiius was spouting? Nonsensical.
ABNCP| 7.9.10 @ 5:08PM
Just in passing loulou. I was refering to the Hispanics I hear and view as talking heads on T.V. However good luck in telling any Mexican that that have no Spanish bloodlines and speak a bastardized Spanish. Unless your pretty good you probably won't last two three minute rounds.
Yes I have been to Spain. Spent 12 years in Europe with a rather large airline (USAF).
GENE HAUBER| 7.9.10 @ 5:19PM
TO EVERYBODY,
LET'S START WITH A SUPPOSITION: ALL MEXICANS WHO ILLEGALLY CROSS THE BORDER ARE BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS AND DOCTOR'S OF WORLD RENOWN AND ROCKET SCIENTISTS.
OK? NO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION; SO LET'S START FROM HERE.
THE ILLEGAL ONES ARE LINE JUMPERS OF THE WORST SORT. OTHERS HAVE AND ARE STILL WAITING IN LINE TO CROSS OVER WHILE THESE ILLEGALS ARE TAKING THEIR SPOTS BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EACH YEAR, PERHAPS MORE. THAT IS GROSSLY UNFAIR TO SAY THE LEAST. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, CHARGED WITH CONTROLLING IMMIGRATION BY THE CONSTITUTION IS "MUY" DERELICT IN IT'S DUTIES BY NOT ENFORCING IMMIGRATION LAW....THEY ARE SCOUNDRELS OF THE WORST, BOTH PARTY'S.
ANOTHER SUPPOSITION OR TWO OR THREE.......MEXICO, AND I MEAN THE CORRUPT OF THE CORRUPT OF THEIR LEADERS FROM THAT BUM CALDERON ON DOWN, DON'T GIVE A HOOT ABOUT THEIR PEOPLE SEEKING A BETTER LIFE IN THE USA.
ALONG WITH THE GOOD CITIZENS COME THEIR CRIMINAL ELEMENT, A HUGE CONTINGENT...
FOREIGN FIGHTERS FROM THE GLOBAL ENEMY POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, A CONTINGENT THAT WE SHOULD HOLD THE DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY RUN BY THAT TOTALLY INCOMPETENT JANET(RENO) NAPOLITANO PERSONNALY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VIOLENCE COMMITTED BY "FELONS FROM MEXICO".
AND LASTLY. MEXICO WONT STOP THE ILLEGALS B/C THEY SEND HOME BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT THEY SHOULD SPEND HERE TO EDUCATE THEIR KIDS AND PAY FOR MEDICAL CARE.
WHAT I WOULD DO AS PRESIDENT OF THE USA IS THIS:
CLOSE THE BORDER FOR TWENTY YEARS.
BUILD A STRING OF PRISON CELLS, LOOKING SOUTH FROM SAN DIEGO TO, WHAT IS IT?...BROWNSVILLE, TX.?
THEY WOULD BE HELD IN THESE CAGES FOR ONE WEEK, FED ONLY GRUEL AND THEN RELEASED TO GO BACK TO MEXICO VIA WALKWAYS OVER THE BORDER , POSITIONED EVERY 5 OR 10 MILES APART. THE CELL STRUCTURE WOULD FORM A FENCE. IF MEXICO HAS ANY SYMPATHY, THEY COULD COME AND BAIL THEM OUT AT ANY MOMENT AND RETURN THEM TO "SU PATRIA". THE COST OF ALL OF THIS COULD BE PASSED ON TO MEXICO IN A WAY THAT IT WOULD BE IN THEIR BEST INTEREST TO PAY AND QUICKLY.( WE COULD DO THAT NOW WITH ILLEGAL BILLS)
YOU GET CAUGHT A SECOND TIME.....TWO MONTHS IN THE CELL, HALF RATIONS AND SO FORTH
AND LEAN REAL HARD ON THE MEX GOV. IT'S NO FRIEND OF OURS.
I THINK I'M DONE......BY THE WAY ARIZONA IS THE ONLY BORDER STATE THAT GET'S IT . HOORAH!!!
BILL RICHARDSON, AHHHHNOLD, BOTH OF YOU ARE LOADS ON YOUR CITIZENS AND YOU GUYS IN TEXAS WHY DO YOU FEAR THE OBAMMY ADMIN.? THEY'RE SHIFTLESS PEOPLE. FIND YOUR BALLS.
Ken (Old Texican)| 7.9.10 @ 5:54PM
Gene,
Hi! We got balls. We are in a battle royal with the feds right these days to send you fuel. They are trying to shut down our entire energy industry with carbon bullcorn.
You can drink the water in the Houston ship channel, but the feds are trying to nationalize the entire refining industry.
I don't know where in the country you are from, Gene, but get a clue. We Texans are already subsidizing you. Send us a couple of divisions of YOUR national Guard for border patrol. We will even feed them.
AMENBRO| 7.9.10 @ 6:01PM
THANK YOU KEN.
I lived in El Paso for a while in the 80's . I can only imagine what it is like now. Keep the faith brother. The poster's heart is in the right place his ire is misplaced.YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT SIR.
Dogg8it| 7.9.10 @ 7:29PM
Resume underground nuclear weapon testing along the Mexican border. I heard it is hell on tunnels.
cavan1| 7.9.10 @ 8:04PM
Almost all drug deals are done in cash.
How about the USA changing it's currency (100's and 50's) to make it less easily couterfieted.
Then ask anyone who has any 100's and 50's to exchange those bills for the new ones during a "window of opportunity".
How many drug dealers are going to exchange their old money?
GENE HAUBER| 7.9.10 @ 9:08PM
HEY KEN, I LIKE TEXANS AND TEXAS , I WAS REFERRING TO YOUR ELECTED LEADERS ONLY.
Sir Winston| 7.9.10 @ 10:47PM
Is Michelle Malkin writing this article under another name? I have not seen such a display of ignorance and hatred toward Mexico in another Spectator contributor but in the "All-American" Ms. Malkin . But stop worrying about mexican illegal inmmigrants. If Mr. Obama keeps one or both chambers of Congress this coming mid-term election and he gets reelected in 2012, soon you will find out what sacrifice implies croosing illegally the Bravo (or Grande, as you call it) to find a job to support your left-behind family.
Douglas Fletcher| 7.9.10 @ 11:23PM
Here's a toughy: maybe if there was something that would dry up profits for the drug cartels the problems in Mexico might be less extreme -- gee, maybe something like decriminalitzation of drug use?
Silly me, thinking about supply and demand at a time like this.
james voles| 7.11.10 @ 11:20AM
The use, by choice, of addictive drugs ends after repeated use, and then you have addiction. If you would prefer a nation of drug addicts, then legalize addictive drugs (and don't start with the "alcohol is an addictive drug" mantra... Alcohol doesn't make an addict of every person who uses it regularly. Heroin and cocaine do.)
Simple decriminalization would not solve the problem, it would increase drug addiction.
So, yes, you're right...you actually are silly, if you would think legalization of addictive drugs would reduce the human smuggling, or put gangsters out of business. Kidnapping and extortion are rapidly gaining popularity, and would skyrocket.
David| 7.12.10 @ 6:05PM
James,
If drugs were legalized tomorrow, would you become a drug addict? I most certainly would not, and I don't need the government to protect me from myself. Do you need the government to protect you from yourself? I don't think so, so when you say that if drugs were legalized, we would have a nation of drug addicts, I disagree. Before drugs were made illegal, were we a nation of drug addicts? We were not, so why would things be any different if drugs were legalized now?
TomSwift| 7.9.10 @ 11:34PM
Drug war reform would help but Mexico and the rest of Latin America had a problem with armed gangs long before we started buying tons of cocaine.
james voles| 7.11.10 @ 11:28AM
Affirmativo!
"Low level" extortion and casual kidnapping are rapidly rising. A good friend of mine in Juarez lost his eldest son in an "example" killing. He was confronted by a man who informed him his son would be killed, that it was a fait accompli, and the rest of his children would die if he did not pay 12k monthly. The eldest sons body was dumped in front of my friends car lot that evening, and my friend paid the ransom for 18 months, before he died of a heart attack last Feb. His family now lives with in-laws in the interior, in poverty.
Yosemeti Sam| 7.10.10 @ 1:55AM
Um - thanks Arizona senator McGoo for your vigilance during your decades stalwart senate years in protection of a most vulnerable state highway for illegals who would have otherwise used another course into America.
Dumkoph!
Tony Miello| 7.10.10 @ 11:07AM
Mexico needs one more revolution. It is time the people of Mexico take back there country from the drug lords and the corrupt polititians. If the US were to help them in this the illigal immigration problem would be closer to being solved. Yes people will die however innocent people are being killed everyday in Mexico. Freedom is not free.
WAKE UP| 7.11.10 @ 1:34AM
The bottom line is this: when people flee somewhere in large numbers, it's because it's BETTER where they are going.
Noah Webster| 7.11.10 @ 1:53AM
TO EVERYBODY,
I"D LIKE TO START WITH ANOTHER SUPPOSITION. ALL COMMENTERS WHO WRITE THEIR MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS ARE LAZY, INCONSIDERATE NINCOMPOOPS.
Defend| 7.11.10 @ 4:24PM
The plethora of comments alone - is enough to draw the conclusion that the impact of immigration affects all Americans.
Violence and drug cartels operate all along our borders...and to suggest that they don't is to expose one's stupidity.
In Texas, the border counties suffer violence and crimes just as they do in Arizona...the difference is that there are no news outlets that report on a regular basis the violence, the threats, the theft, destruction of personal property - and most of all, the theft of automobiles. Car chases have become a commonplace event along our borders...with Americans suffering the loss of personal property - and with illegals knowing that nothing will happen to them.
Our federal government ceded 35000 acres of Buenos Aires National Park in Raul Grijalva's district (D.) - who called for the boycott of the state of AZ and has backed illegals for decades. He also is a member of La Raza and the Aztlan Movement, who believe that there should be no borders between the US and MX because the land on the North American continent inherently belongs to Mexicans. See youtube's "Aztlan Rising."
Enough of this insanity. It has finally caught up with us.
Marc Jeric| 7.12.10 @ 2:53AM
I lived and worked in Mexico two years, as engineer for an American company. When Iarrived there we had 15 American engineers and 120 Mexican engineers, designers and draftsmen. After two years I sent home all but 3 Americans and promoted Mexican engineers to supervising positions. When I was leaving they gave me a "despedida" - a going away party - where the called me "a Gringo but our Gringo".
What I learned in Mexico is the following. Until 1917 all power was in the hands of the white Spanish minority - about 5% of the population. After the 1917 revolution that white minority was forced to agree with the mestizos (mixed Indian and Spanish) to share the power. The pure Indians - Toltecas, Olmecas, Aztecas, Mayas, etc. - were corralled into the so-called ejidos (common farms as in the Soviet Russia's kolkhozes) , where the land was held in common and where the Indians were forced to undergo 4 years of schooling, learning mostly pidgeon Spanish. After the 1960's these ejidos were liberated, resulting in millions of Indians moving into the cities. Enormous crime rates and poverty resulted. The corruption of miserably paid government workers and police resulted - you cannot obtain any service, and i mean any, without a "mordida". The mordida there is so unavoidable and natural that after a while it seems totally normal.
Our illegal aliens here are by large majority Mexican Indians - perhaps 80%, with 20% being mestizos. The former have been incapable of assimilation into the Spanish culture after almost 500 years - they are mostly illiterate ab=nd speak only pidgeon Spanish, i.e., unassimilable here. The latter - the mestizos - are the major part of the criminal classes; they are "coyotes" transporting illegals across the border for a payment (part before transport and part after), and they are the drug runners and enforcers, members of our criminal gangs.
Just Curious| 7.12.10 @ 3:14AM
Dear Marc Jeric,
If I understand you correctly, 80% of illegal Mexican aliens are mostly illiterate and cannot be assimilated into the US, and the other 20% are criminals.
Is it therefore your view that no one in the population of Mexican illegal aliens would be qualified for legal immigration to the US?
Mary | 12.23.10 @ 2:00PM
Interesting article, and equally interesting comments as well.