A man without an abundant experience in politics, a man very different from his predecessors and one of whose parents had been born abroad, runs for the presidency of his country through a grassroots movement, great oratory and the promise of change in big, bold letters. His campaign imposed his candidacy on his party and eventually clinched the presidency with enormous expectations. The handover between administrations was smooth and the incoming government met with support from the international community.
I'm not talking about Barack Obama in '09, but Vicente Fox in 00'. I hope against hope that the sky-high expectations don't crash this time, as the challenges are many.
There's been a lot of discussion in the traditional media and the blogosphere about Mexico becoming a failed state after a report by the US military on such eventuality. Frankly, as gross as the news on the Mexican drug cartels are, I think it is an exaggeration for two simple reasons:
The growth in the number of violent episodes is mostly due to the fact that the government, instead of ignoring the situation as before, is actually doing something about it and meeting the cartels head on.
I'm not innocent enough to say that everything is going beautifully, but I have a thermometer that most people in the international media don't: family and friends living in the country. I'm sure many of them would among be the first to start leaving if the situation becomes as untenable as these reports claim. Otherwise I'll keep on hoping for the best and agreeing with opinions like this.
In the meantime, tourism seems to be more affected by the international credit crunch than by that kind of news items. Fair, since most tourism attractions are very far away from where these sad events are taking place. As a tourist, I'd be more afraid in Los Angeles or Chicago than Cancún or San Miguel de Allende.
Those who follow news about Mexico might know that on the same night Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, there was a very dramatic tragedy in Mexico City, as a small airplane carrying the secretary of the interior of the country crashed in the middle of the business district. The news was quite tragic, but that was it.
Then, I started hearing some more personal accounts. My brother-in-law works in the area, and the plane crashed 12 metres away from his office. He saw everything, and was quite shocked by the time he got home. Understandably, I was quite upset when I heard about it. Then I found out that a friend of mine was injured and is in hospital, and am frankly still in shock.
This is an extremely important point to explain to the American public given the nearing elections and the vastly diverging approaches to this matter of both candidates. As reads in the article linked above, how can you take a unilateral course very major problem you face as a nation, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to gas prices, requires joint action with others?
Mexican immigration in the US is not limited anymore to the border states. More and more often, Mexicans are to be found in areas of the country they weren’t before. NY, which has had for long a Puerto Rican and Dominican Hispanic community, has received for the past 10 years or so an influx of people specifically from the state of Puebla in central Mexico. They are as inconspicuous in the city as any other immigrant community.
Some joke about Puebla York (instead of Nueva York, as it is called in Spanish). I was glad to have found a decent taquería in a recent business trip (as long as you’re willing to go for some pastor or lengua).
Yes, of course it did. The structure of the city is typically American, built around the car, and of course the American and Texan flags fly everywhere you look. Furthermore, you will find that Texans are very, very proud of their heritage and to be respected, of course.
However, in a recent visit to San Antonio I was surprised by the huge Mexican influence in the place, as can be seen in the photo to the right and in these othertwo. I was also rather impressed by the Spanish-language proficency of people not of Hispanic descent, and the amount of Hispanics in the city was quite large. I was wondering if it was always like this given its geographic location or if this is a recent change.
I was leaving Seattle when I found this gentleman. He had recently come back from a tour of duty in Baghdad and I was so curious I just had to talk with him and get his impressions.
He said that war is hell, but he had to fulfill his duty which doesn’t surprise me. As much as I disagree with the reasons why they are there, I hope that both the soldiers and the people of Iraq can weather the current situation.
I was quite touched since he’s the first person I’ve ever met that is involved in a war, and talking to him he seemed pretty normal guy. I couldn’t help but wonder what would I do if I ever were in a similar situation.
