Posted on 11/02/2006 9:45:14 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
MEXICO CITY — When President Vicente Fox said Mexicans should be glad they weren't born in the United States, it was a reminder of an ugly little truth. Aside from the U.S. economy, many Mexican citizens — especially those still living in Mexico — don't care much for the United States.
"We are already a step ahead, having been born in Mexico. Imagine being born in the United States — oof!" Fox said Tuesday with a chuckle, according to the Associated Press, after a remark that Mexicans should be thankful for their heritage.
The comment, made at a public event while Fox visited the central state of San Luis Potosí, raised some eyebrows in the United States but went all but unnoticed in Mexico.
That is because although millions of Mexicans risk their lives to sneak into the United States as undocumented immigrants each year, many see U.S. society and politics as troubled.
Mexicans often see America full of broken families, rampant drug use and unchecked materialism, run by a government that doesn't hesitate to go to war or meddle in the affairs of others — a standing underscored by current events in Iraq.
"It is an incredible schizophrenia we live with — we don't have a good perception of the United States, but we do cross the border," said Edna Jaime, a Mexico political analyst.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico declined to comment.
Mexicans still point with anger to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, under which Mexico signed away about half its territory, giving the United States most of what would become the American Southwest.
They also wonder why the United States would now want to build a wall along the border to keep out undocumented immigrants, yet the U.S economy is so reliant on their labor.
When it comes to illegal drugs, Mexicans see the United States as very willing to point the finger at Mexican drug cartels but unwilling to do more to reduce drug consumption among the American people.
"It doesn't surprise me Fox would say that at all," said Henry Dietz, a Latin American expert at the University of Texas at Austin.
"Part of it is envy, part disdain, part a need to separate themselves and maintain an identity that is not overwhelmed by the United States," Dietz said.
Among the most popular sayings regarding Mexico's perception of the United States is one credited to Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz, removed from power by the 1910 Mexican Revolution: "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States."
Despite the negative reputation of the United States, many Mexicans still see it as better than what they have at home.
"If Mexicans were so content here, why would millions of us try and go to the United States?" said Lino Chávez, a Mexico City artist. "If you ask me, what Fox said is stupid. How could he say something like that?"
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dschiller@express-news.net
Good. Then why don't you stay there.
Yeah, imagine being born in the United States. Then you wouldn't get the privilege of sneaking across the border.
Like build a wall to keep it out... no, the Mexicans don't want that answer.
Remind me again why millions of them are swarming over the border into the US, often risking their lives and paying fat fees to smugglers to do so?
It's like what the Mexican said to the Texican, "Not only did you take half our country, you took the half with the paved roads!"
Then stay home and work to make it a better place instead of coming here.
This statement and Fox's just show that they come here to take, not contribute.
"...The paved roads, good schools and hospitals," was the way I heard it.
"Mexicans still point with anger to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, under which Mexico signed away about half its territory, giving the United States most of what would become the American Southwest. "
Yeah, that's the kind of thing that happens when you attack your neighbor, who responds in force and ends up occupying your capital. Your bargaining room sort of dries up.
Bet the number of people who know what actually happened in the Mexican War is near zero.
Probably equal to the number of people taking a history class from Victor Davis Hanson.
Nationalizing their oil business like they did in the 1930s hasn't turned out the way they promised. All the PRIistas got rich, everyone else gets to go swim the Rio Grande.
Vincente Fox is loco.
Mexico has been a political basketcase for centuries.
Mexico City must rank as one of the biggest s-holes in the world.
If the US is so noxious, then why is it that 10-to-20% of Mexico's population is in our country - and wants to REMAIN here?
Senor Fox, you have rocks in your head.
I WAS born in the United States. That's why I didn't have to walk to get here.
I have to agree with him. Mexicans should not want to be in the US. Mexico is a much better place. :)
Hmmmm, try this Mr. El Presidente:
Try swimming across the Rio Grande or walking across the desert under constant machine gun fire...oof!
If our so-called leaders had any guts, this is the possibility every Mexican would have to conted with when attemtpting to break our laws and invade our country.
See how long you last as president, or how long you party survives, when that Western Union cah pipeline dries up.
If we really had leaders in this country, these would not be "What if...?" questions; they'd be realities. People would be shot for crossing a border illegally. The federal government would stop the transfer of funds obtained by illegal means (since it's illegal to hire an illegal immigrant, any money they therefore make is also illegal).
We'd throw everyone of them that wasn't shot in jail, or force them,into hard labor making small rocks out of bigger ones in the blistering southwestern deserts, just to show that we mean business. Stay the hell honme, Jose, unless you're willing to comply with the law.
Oh, and the next time you run my country down, Senor Fox, I'm gonna ram my fist through your rotten teeth. If it were up to me, I'd saw Mexico off the map and set it adrift in the Pacific.
Jackass!
You got it. American forces in Mexico under Scott and Taylor were outnumbered in nearly every battle. However, because of superior leadership and initiative, American forces won the day, so to speak.
Scott's landing at Vera Cruz and subsequent march to Mexico City, with a far smaller force than the one facing him, ranks as one of the great feat of arms in American history.
Mexican forces, by contrast, were poorly trained, and a featured a dreadful officer corps.
The more I read of this article, the angrier I got.
Mark
That's what I was thinking. If HE took care of HIS country, he wouldn't have the problems he has -- and neither would me.
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