Tag: politics

The Mexico I Know (Part 2)

~ Gordon Mott ~ Leave a comment

Feb. 26, 2025

Let’s return the focus on Mexico (Part 1 was posted yesterday here)

When I was a correspondent here 40 years ago, immigration was already a hot button. Yet it was a time when guest worker programs allowed people to travel legally for seasonal work and then return home. Many came to the same employer year after year to help pick crops in the agricultural fields of California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. Ask middle-age Mexican men in a rural area today if they know the United States, and invariably the answer is yes, with a quick description in usually broken English, of the cities and states where they worked. But they came and went every year. When the Reagan Administration began to clamp down on this kind of immigration and people had to run the risk of getting caught and deported and their names put on a watch list, they simply stayed and built parallel lives in the United States. I know that’s an oversimplification. But the evidence of a yearning for their homeland still exists in small towns all across Mexico. People will point to a well-built, sometimes new home, and they will say, “Oh yeah, that’s the Perez family’s—Miguel lives in California and sends money home.” In fact, if you study Mexico’s balance of payments, the flow of U.S. dollars from hard-working Mexicans sending money back to their families is one of the major sources of U.S. dollar currency reserves for the Mexican government (Unfortunately, another big chunk of those remittances is drug money being laundered). But the evidence shows an ongoing connection to their homeland, even if they have lived in America for decades.

Why not create a policy that allows Mexican citizens to move more freely back and forth? Mexicans love their country and will find ways to enjoy both their homeland and submit to the back-breaking jobs in the United States that help them build wealth back home. Before you dismiss this idea, there are restaurants in every major city in America that will have to shut down or curtail their offerings, if Mexicans are deported. Agricultural operations from California through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Florida that rely on immigrant labor to pick their crops will be harmed. (Recent news reports say that many crops are already not being picked because immigrants are afraid to show up for work out of fear ICE agents may be waiting to arrest them.) Or ask any industrial meat producer how they will cut your steaks if their workers don’t show. The solution is pretty simple, and with Mexico’s economic prowess increasing every day more feasible; give people the mechanism to travel back and forth. Simple.

The cross-border connection also highlights a cultural bond between the two nations. Some of these observations are obviously facile. But sometimes the obvious is the most revealing. I see more baseball-style hats of NFL and MLB teams here than I did in Westchester County, New York. Drive a car past any commercial strip here and you’ll see Walmart, Costco. McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme, Home Depot, HEB…the list goes on and on. Amazon Mexico, just in the last five years, has gone from being a bit of a curiosity to my being able to order almost any item for delivery within a day or two, down to things like Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. Sky TV Mexico includes at least 8 NFL games every weekend day, plus Thursday, Friday and Monday night games. During the season, there are at least two MLB games broadcast daily and the same for NBA and NHL seasons. Or look at the other side of the border; Cinco de Mayo, guacamole, Corona beer, a boom in Tequila sales and Mexican restaurants on every fast food strip in America. My point? The two nations are intertwined culturally in more ways than Americans grasp. There’s also the obvious links in the western third of the United States where Spanish place names are commonplace. Why? They were part of Mexico until 1848.

There are also commercial links. Ford, which has assembly plants here, imports up to 40 percent of the parts used in final assembly of the cars from the United States, as does every other auto manufacturer.(https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11387.) The U.S. farm belt supplies Mexico with up to 40 percent of its domestic corn (https://www.ncga.com/stay-informed/media/the-corn-economy/article/2023/07/mexico-an-important-trade-destination-for-u-s-corn). The U.S. imports 637 million barrels of Mexican heavy crude oil and exports to Mexico 1.8 billion barrels of refined petroleum products, representing over 70 percent of Mexico’s consumption of gasoline, diesel, natural gas and jet fuel. In 2023 Mexico became the largest trading partner of the United States, nearly approaching $800 billion annually. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenroberts/2024/02/07/2023-results-are-in-us-has-new-top-port-trade-partner-export-import/) The United States is the leading importer of Mexican goods, by a factor of 40x compared to #2 Canada. Get the picture? There are companies on both sides of the border that rely on each other to produce their goods.

There’s a more interesting point that is hard to explain, but my perception is based on 40 years of observation. Mexico’s one percent is rich, by standards that compare to America’s new billionaire class. They have properties around the world. Many own private jets. They drive luxury imported automobiles that have triple digit duties added to their price, pushing many luxury cars into six-figure plus territory. They send their children to be educated abroad, not only in America but in Europe, too. They employ dozens of people in just their personal life at home. But they also invest in their own country. They build manufacturing plants. They start new businesses. They construct real estate with an eye toward economic expansion. Of course, they have stern competition from the government, but the new Sheinbaum administration has been reaching out for joint ventures in things like green energy and transportation. All with an eye on economic growth. Mexicans still believe in Mexico.

What happens if the United States disrupts that balance? The Mexican economy will suffer, at the very least for a while during a period of transition where it seeks other markets for its products. The United States will suffer labor shortages in the service and agricultural industries where food will rot on the ground for lack of people to harvest and restaurants in big cities like New York will struggle to find dishwashers and back of the house employees. Factories will suffer layoffs because they won’t be able to acquire the necessary imported parts or labor to manufacture or those parts will cost more money because of tariffs. With tariffs imposed, American consumers will pay more for their consumer products regardless of their origin but from Mexico also. And finally, if misguided U.S. policies destabilize the Mexican economy, the specter of unrest could increase exponentially. Isn’t it obvious that a healthy Mexican economy benefits the United States? Vice-versa is equally important.

There’s an additional irrationality being bandied about by MAGA conservatives: invade Mexico to crush the cartels. It requires an extraordinarily myopic view of Latin American and Mexican history to view that as anything but moronic and counterproductive. Latin Americans have lived for nearly 200 years with the looming presence north of their border that has threatened their national sovereignty. Remember the Monroe Doctrine? To actually authorize and execute any kind of “invasion” of Mexico would have exactly the opposite of any desired effect, would lead to the deaths of American military men on Mexican soil and turn the border into something like Lebanon and Israel, not two neighbors who have co-existed peacefully at least since 1848 since the last U.S. invasion of Mexico. No one should ever underestimate Mexico’s will to defend itself and resist any and all threats.

My point is pretty simple. Mexico and the United States share one of the longest borders in the world. For centuries, the comment also was that it was one of the biggest contrasts between any two borders in the world; books were written like Alan Riding’s, Distant Neighbors, highlighting those differences. And yet today, the cultures are more than ever intertwined. Our similarities have diminished those differences. We are not one nation. And we are not the same culture. But we share a common goal, and a common destiny too, and a cultural amalgam that will only be stronger if we find ways to move closer together, not farther apart. That starts with compromise and cooperation, not insults and invasions.

That’s the Mexico I know. Americans would benefit from learning that it’s not just beach resorts and pyramids. Mexico is a thriving, complex culture with a Jewish woman president searching for a pathway to modernity for all its people. We should help them get there.

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The Mexico I Know (Part 1)

~ Gordon Mott ~ 1 Comment

Feb. 25, 2025

The Mexico I Know (In two Parts)

Part 1

Mexican immigrants and Mexico have become stalking horses for Republican politicians and America First conservatives for years now. They have found a scapegoat for their version of America’s problems that are not the fault of Mexico or Mexicans or Mexican Americans. And now, President Trump has accused the Mexican government of having an alliance with the drug cartels. If you believe in those erroneous accusations about immigration, the murderers and rapists flooding the United States or Mexico stealing jobs from hard-working Americans or that all our drug problems are the result of Mexican government policies, you’ll probably stop reading right now.

But let me tell you about the Mexico I know.

I have lived in Mexico for a total of nearly 20 years of my life, in two distinct eras. The first was from 1978 to 1985; I first arrived in Mexico City as a correspondent for the Associated Press and then I opened a news bureau there for the San Jose Mercury News, part of the now defunct Knight-Ridder newspaper chain. During that stay, my wife and I, college sweethearts, married in Tepoztlan, Morelos and after eight years, we nearly opted to remain in Mexico City. For many reasons, we didn’t stay. The second sojourn began remotely in 2011 when my wife and I purchased an 18th-century colonial house in need of renovation and then transitioned to full-time residency in October 2014 after the renovation was complete. I retired from Cigar Aficionado magazine that month and embarked on a new adventure. We felt we had come home.

My wife and I had decided to leave our comfortable American life to spend more time together and for each of us to pursue dreams and life goals that had languished in that routinized suburban life tethered to demanding 9 to 5 jobs in New York City. For me, it was to write novels, a life-long goal that I was determined not to let slide until it was too late.

In both eras in Mexico, I have enjoyed a privileged vantage point. In the 80s, my role was first as a wire service reporter and then as a newspaper bureau chief charged with explaining Mexico to the world and the United States. In this second time around, which started 10 years ago, we have integrated into a deep and complex culture with mostly Mexican friends. I believe that has happened because of our previous experience here and our fluency in Spanish and the resultant deep affinity for Mexico and its culture and in part due to our socio-economic advantages. Our old perspective from 40 years ago and of the new Mexico we are living in today have melded into a deep understanding of this country.

Let’s address the elephants in the room.

Yes, there is horrific drug cartel violence in this country. The cartels have morphed over the last 50 years into a separate power inside the country and almost certainly have corrupted government officials and law enforcement both in the past and today, not just in Mexico but in the United States too. But there is not a serious drug abuse problem here. Oh, there’s consumption but let’s be clear: the cartel’s principal drug markets are north of the border or across the oceans. Cartel violence receives headlines and causes worry but it is usually limited to areas of the country that they control and usually the violence is among rival cartels or people perceived as undermining or confronting their power. Tragic? Yes. Dangerous? Absolutely. (Is it really credible to believe that a government would support a criminal enterprise that has resulted in over 100,000 disappearances?) One other key issue; the current president of Mexico cited the fact that 70 percent of the arms carried by the cartels come from America. So, is the problem solvable? Not under any current policies on either side of the border.

Secondly, corruption is still endemic here. I live in a state where it is, relatively speaking, not as extreme as some other parts of the country, such as Mexico City. For instance, I have not been stopped once in 10 years by the local municipal or state police looking for a quick bribe to overlook some imagined infraction. Not once. My Mexican business friends speak of kickbacks and payoffs as part of the price of doing business in this country, especially when the government is involved, regardless of the party in power. (Honestly, I’ve concluded that corruption is just more above board here instead of under the table as it is in the United States where everyone turns a blind eye to corruption.) Two wrongs don’t make a right but let’s be clear, corruption is not unique to Mexico.

And thirdly, there are still large, impoverished rural areas of the country. The most indigenous populations there have benefited very little from the country’s progress since the 1970s from a third-world country into something closer to a player in the first world. But Mexico today ranks as the 11th largest economy on the planet and the largest trading partner of the United States. It’s economic and social progress, while not fast enough for all, has been steady, especially since the advent of NAFTA in 1994. But the underclass remains poor and often without opportunities to advance. It is probably safe to say that the more progressive administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the current one of President Claudia Shinbaum have been a necessary accommodation to those poverty-stricken regions. The jury is still out on whether or not their policies have substantially impacted the poverty rate inside the country and whether they will avoid future unrest. The flip side of the issue is whether or not those policies and programs antagonize the middle and upper classes to the point where they abandon their own country. The jury is still out on both sides of the debate.

The truth is Mexico today has enjoyed some of the most advanced socio-economic progress in the Western World in the last 50 years. When we lived here in the late 70s, electrification of the rural areas was a project in process…today, there is not only electricity even in the smallest villages but there is cellphone coverage nationwide, better on average than what we experienced in New York. The birthrate was nearly 5 children per child-bearing age woman; today it is 1.98 per woman. (Source: U.N. World Population Trends). According to the World Bank, the number of persons living below the poverty line has dropped from over 10% of the population in 2000 to 1.2% in 2024.

Mexico is a different place today than when we lived here in the 1980s. The socioeconomic transformation is visible and in some categories quantifiable. Mexico’s middle class has become a vibrant, powerful segment of the population, up from about 10 percent of the country in the early 1980s to at least 40 percent of the population today. Homeownership is up. Car ownership is booming. In big metro areas like Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, Monterrey, San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca and Queretaro, the cultural and culinary opportunities match many cities in the United States and Europe. The middle class aspires to advance and improve their lives, and the federal infrastructure — education, health care, government subsidies and even price supports for the basic commodities — is in place to help them make it happen without excessive personal burdens. That’s good for any country. However, in the real world, the kind of progress Mexico has experienced is a generational process, not an overnight phenomenon. No one would argue enough has been done. But without revolution, the economic growth and social accommodations have moved Mexico towards a more modern, equitable society. Slowly, but steadily. That augers well for the future and suggests it is in the U.S. interest to keep economic and social development moving forward. An ill-conceived, fear-mongering U.S policy could screw that up and hurt the U.S. too.

We also should understand the problem of illegal immigration. It is not just poor Mexicans trying to cross the border today. In fact, since the 2008 economic crisis in the United States, the net cross-border flow has been Mexicans repatriating to their own country. Yet people are coming from all over the world. Venezuela’s collapse from a once-wealthy country into a dysfunctional state leads the wave. Central Americans, other South Americans, Africans, Asians, especially Chinese, are all fleeing the growing oppression in their homelands; they are leaving behind dehumanizing poverty and oppression with no prospect of a humane life.

What does that suggest?

The American Dream is alive and well outside the country. People still think we are the planet’s best hope! Imagine yourself making that choice of packing up a nap sack with the belongings you think are necessary for the trip (let’s be clear, this is not a choice between one checked bag or two…it is a living example of the idea “The Things They Carried.). Then, there is a payment to some criminal organization involved in human trafficking; I can’t tell you what the price is today from Africa but from personal experience of people we happen to know, the price can be over $3000 here in Mexico with no guarantee of safe passage. Do you know what the minimum wage is in Mexico? Currently, it’s about $14 a day…so, a ticket north can take over 200 days of work, if all you do is save your money for the journey. Then, you face a long trek over dangerous desert or jammed-packed trailer tractors in blazing heat or bone-numbing cold. Even then, the rate of deportations, or ‘interventions” as the Border Patrol describes, was higher under President Obama and President Biden than Donald Trump;— we are talking millions every year turned back to Mexico or deported to their home nations. So even after saving for years, paying a criminal organization as your guide, traipsing or riding across an unforgiving landscape, you can still get caught and expelled to start from scratch all over again. If you can’t see the desperation behind the decision to head to America, you aren’t thinking clearly.

Part 2 comes tomorrow

One response to “The Mexico I Know (Part 1)”

  1. tim0668fff15930 Avatar
    tim0668fff15930

    Well done GM! Looking forward to part two. Tim

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Project 468

~ Gordon Mott ~ Leave a comment

Jan. 20, 2025 (Reposted Jan. 22, 2025)

Today seems like good day to float some new ideas. The Democratic Party is mired in debates about what’s gone wrong in their message to the American people. Time to turn the page. New ideas. New people. No concessions to the party veterans. This is where the future begins. Everyone must start from the same place, a Ground Zero that leads to the future.

In recent election cycles, Democrats have focused resources on winnable seats in the House and Senate, and on winnable states in presidential contests. The party needs a new approach. The party must build a super PAC with enough money so it can contest every Congressional district and the 33 states where Senate seats are on the ballot in 2026, all 468 contests. Don’t focus just on winnable seats, but on EVERY seat even if there’s no prospect of winning. Find candidates who are courageous and willing to take on the impossible fights. The strategy is simple. Be sure EVERY American hears a Democratic Party message EVERY day of the campaign cycle on their home turf.

The campaign must start now. At the outset, the task is to find candidates in every House district. In some cases, the incumbents will be the easy choice. But no one should get a free pass. The primary process is about honing the message and the public presence of each candidate. In clearly red districts, the hardest work must happen. Candidates with broad appeal need to identified, trained and prepared for a bone-bruising task that often will end in defeat at the polls. But the presence of a candidate who can articulate a consistent Democratic message will go a long way to laying the foundation for 2028 and a presidential election victory.

There also is the need for a new Democratic Manifesto. Not a Project 2025 style right-wing treatise, but a clear, concise statement of what liberal democracy in America means today. Tell the American people what has been accomplished since the economic crash of 2008. There is a great story to tell. One that will stand up to the cascade of lies and disinformation about Democrats being Marxists and Communists, or that we are un-American (as Rudy Giuliani once accused me of being) because we vote Democrat. Absurdities will eventually begin to crumble under the consistent recitation of the truths and facts about the party’s successes, like the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure bill or the caps on prescription medicines or the Affordable Care Act. We know, because we welcome diverse points of view, that such an undertaking won’t be easy. But in the formative debates, consensus is possible. Agreement is not only possible but essential for the future.

No reason to be shy about the bottom line either. The plan is about money. The Republicans have had nearly 40 years to build a behind-the-scenes dark money colossus through men like Leonard Leo and more recently, Elon Musk. They have spent billions of dollars since the Reagan era creating partisan state legislatures through gerrymandering, nominating judges who adhere to an ultra-conservative doctrine and finally putting forth candidates whose primary qualification is fealty to the grand scheme of turning America into a one-party state. What was once Conservatism has morphed into a MAGA-led American First movement with designs on absolute power, free of any guardrails. That’s not hyperbole: Read Project 2025 and you see in black and white what the ultimate goal is. Building a financial war chest to counter the movement is legal; it’s the law of the land. Democrats should start using it to further their messages and their goals.

What will it take? Let’s use Elon Musk as a example. He donated at least $130 million dollars to the MAGA campaign and some estimates of his spending top $200 million. But there’s also the $44 billion dollars he paid for Twitter, which he then turned into a slanted propaganda, disinformation machine. Forget the Twitter purchase. If there are 20 super wealthy Americans, each willing to put $100 million into a super PAC set up to implement the 468 strategy, that’s all that’s needed to start. Many people are not interested in donating to previous campaigns that lost but will be on board for building a new nationwide coalition of committed democrats and patriots who want to return America to its founding ideals. We should look at the project as starting from ground zero and then support candidates who can transmit the message.

I am a single voice in the political wilderness and a political neophyte. But if you agree, spread the word. Get the idea out there. Start building the foundation to restore political balance in America. We are living the results of an ultra-conservative campaign that has worked silently for 40 years to seize the reins of power. If you don’t agree with any, or even just some of their policies, now is the time to step up and begin a people’s movement to re-establish sanity in government and restore the founding principles of the Republic and our democracy.