Our Mexican correspondent Ramiro González Camarena sends these brief remarks on last week’s election from a south-of-the-border perspective, and includes some of the relevant political context in Mexico.
Ned,
I Just wanted to say hi in this calm moment after the storm. I hope you and Dymphna are doing well and have a bit of peace of mind now. At least I do.
It would be hard for me to explain why, but I’m glad about the outcome of the election. I was terrified at the mere thought of this woman in power, though none of my acquaintances or friends seemed to see this — of course we became the “silent majority of Mexicans” that do not agree with the views she had. Amalia, my wife, has also learnt to keep quiet around friends and acquaintances.
Sometimes it feels as if the middle class of educated youth all over the world had ideologically betrayed the lower classes, by trying to climb up to an elite lifestyle, and had ended up disconnected from reality — too much information and too much denial, I suppose? Too much of an alternate reality via the interwebs, perhaps? I’m afraid I’m only guessing.
I was raised to think it was going to be the other way around, that middle classes would be educated to achieve something better for all. That now sounds like the mantra a SJW repeats to himself every day. Nevertheless I still hope that hard work, ingenuity and not being plain stupid by ignoring the signs of times will give my family something better than what the world has to offer.
By the way, since the political party PRI came to power in 2012, we all knew there were rough times ahead for the Mexican economy. They’ve been causing crises every since — I heard about 1982 when inflation reached 800%, and I lived through 1994 when we lost our family owned bakery yet people in power became richer. So it was only a matter of time.
And I don’t blame the US for what’s happening today, I only think somebody had to end the vicious cycle of people having to illegally emigrate instead of holding their government accountable for the lack of work, awful rural conditions, a stale economy, ever-increasing bureaucrat salaries, taxpayers’ money funding private owned Ferraris, reductions in tech and education budgets, and so on.
It is a difficult thing to say, because everyone who tries to hold the government accountable is usually murdered. So I have to say it is going to take a catalyst to get all people moving in the same direction again, like our revolution only 100+ years ago, and if this catalyst is the impossibility of moving up North, then I just hope the political revolution to come isn’t a violent one, and cartels don’t become the replacement for jumping across the river.
Did you know that oil has been replaced by money sent from the US as the first source of income for our country? Shameful, yet no one has had the [manly equipment] to put a stop to this — until now.
A funny thing is, if only people could come and see that Mexico is all about walls. Every house has them, especially the rich people, for obvious reasons. But poor people have them too! They might not have doors, but will build walls first thing — you just have to be protected! It’s rough times, neo-liberalism at its finest (I understand neo-liberalism as government not regulating anything). Mom’s house for instance, has walls, window bars, an alarm, an old dog and a couple of inherited firearms.
Anyhow, I hope I didn’t put you to sleep. I just felt confident enough to drop you these lines since I read the tipsters were being slow these days. And sometimes, in one way or another, you need someone to listen to you — or read you — and only to share opinions and thoughts, no name-calling, no look-giving, just sharing and thinking. One tends to get intellectually lonely out here.
All the best!
Ramiro
That’s actually quite a good point. I remember seeing the walls around houses in Mexico City, and the convenience stores with the clerk behind a cage. That’s a lot more disturbing than a border wall!
I have travelled to some ‘third world’ countries and can tell you that the things that matter to people, and mostly they are just basic survival items, are always well protected from those who cannot afford to buy them.
I live in hope that Mr. Trump may get a copy of this letter as it speaks an awful truth.
Your point about keeping your mouth shut around people strikes a chord. While I was working, the Local authority that employed me was inculcated with marxism from top to bottom and anyone who expressed a dissenting view was blacklisted and hounded out if not dismissed out of hand. In today’s UK, one has to look over one’s shoulder no matter where they are just in case they are overheard and subsequently accused of hate speech – the new racism. The Thought Police are everywhere.
Yea! i used to go to northern Mexico, when I lived in California about 25 years ago; it was bad then!
There was a story in the news about 10 years ago, about a woman from Tijuana. She had been robbed and raped TWICE. But when she applied for a gun permit, even after showing proof of the crimes, it was DENIED.
She was later killed. From the article it’s believed that the perps found out about her telling the police and killed her to keep her quiet.
I always quote this to people who say “You’re not safer with a gun!” It’s not perfect, but of course you’re safER with a gun! Tell this story to people who tell you you’re “not safe with a gun”.
For clarification, was she living in the U.S. when she was killed?
If the West keeps allowing all these people to enter their countries, how do the countries they are leaving ever reform?
Yes, there are walls everywhere, except on our southern border. Folks in Brazil cannot live a safe lifestyle unless they are in a compound with high walls. Well, the favelas do not have walls but who wants to invade a favela?
That was an extremely good point Ramiro.
Mexico has been destroyed by decades if PRI rule; its ability to think critically about social ills is deficient. This is because it is a semi-totalitarian society.
Mexicans in the USA are terrified of the police. If you have a dispute with a Mexican in the USA, they typically beg you not to call the police.
Notice how the ” celebrities ” in the USA who want to defect to another country after Trump’s victory all want to go to Canada, New Zealand or Australia. None volunteer to go to Mexico, but it’s great if they come to our country. Which proves the celebrities are hypocritical about racists.
The cops in California and Los Angeles in particular are riddled with almost completely illiterate Mexican types.. Just try and get a Mexican type to follow up on another Mexican type.and you will hit a wall. It is helpful not to be a “feelthy steenkin Greengo or Greenga” if expecting service. Very frightening to experience the realisation that you have been living out of touch with a new reality. It didn’t used to be like that before the Reagan Amnesty back in the 80’s or the dopey propsition back in the early 90’s. Now add the retreating into sharia Muslims to the mess. Hijab says it all. “Sure you can trust us Mohammadans to enforce Christisn laws.” Looking more and more stupid beyond belief. God speed President Trump.
Thank you.
I have been told the proper name of the country is “United States of Mexico.” Perhaps you could enlighten at least me about this?
The Dorling Kindersley Publishing World Reference Atlas (Revised 1998) indicates this is the case, except, of course, it would be in Spanish. This was a surprise to me, too. This came to my attention when I was determined to clarify why Americans are called Americans, Mexicans are Mexicans, Canadians are Canadians, etc. I went through every nation in the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, and discerned that United States of America was the only country to employ “America” in its official name.
I call myself a YuEssian.