Why Are Americans Invading Mexico?
Because they're desperate for cheap Mexican gas — and willing to cross the border to get it.
Don’t be fooled by tequila-slamming spring break-ers and sun-baked baby boomers who retire south of the border. Truth is, Americans, especially those in the Southwest, really don’t like Mexico. They consider it dirty, corrupt, dirty, backward, dirty, inferior, and — did I mention? — dirty. In fact, aside from the occasional trip to Cancun and a chimichanga here and there, many Americans want nothing to do with their neighbor.
That is, until they want something. Then, it’s: “Hola amigo!” Sometimes, it’s teenagers who want beer and margaritas. Or maybe it’s the uninsured that want affordable eye exams, dental work, or prescription drugs. You name it, Mexico will provide. Now, with gasoline selling for around $4.50 a gallon — and probably on its way to $5.00 a gallon before the end of summer — Americans are desperate for a new commodity: Mexican gas. It’s only running about $2.66 a gallon.
And so, all along the border, from Brownsville, TX, to San Diego, CA, Americans are invading Mexico. But they’re only staying long enough to fill up their tanks with low-cost, low-grade fuel. Trying to maximize the take, some Americans are even retrofitting their vehicle’s gas tanks to increase capacity or taking along empty five-gallon cans to stockpile as much as they can.
In fact, los Americanos are consuming so much of the petroleum inventory, I found out during a recent trip to Tijuana, that Mexican gas stations are finding themselves with no mas product. That has the locals up in arms and reminding the Americans that the reason that Mexican gas is so affordable is because it’s being subsidized by the Mexican government, which controls the petroleum industry in Mexico. It’s a gesture that was intended to help Mexicans — not Americans.
Now there is talk that Mexican authorities might somehow try to cap American gas consumption, perhaps by leveling an additional tax on foreign vehicles that come into Mexico to fill up. Others are suggesting a flat-out ban on selling gas to foreigners.
Neither option would be wise. A gas tariff would be as harmful and self-destructive as any other tariff. If the Mexicans are smart, they’ll stay away from this doom-and-gloom Lou Dobbs brand of protectionism and look at the situation more positively. Let’s recap: Basically, Americans are going into Mexico to spend money. Isn’t that what the Mexicans say they want — more cross-border commerce? They constantly complain about the border wait hurting business because it discourages Americans from visiting Mexico, and they spend millions on ad campaigns trying to lure American tourists.
In this case, maybe after these American gas poachers have filled their tanks, they’ll take a look around and find a nice restaurant and have lunch. And they’ll spend more money.
Perhaps the Mexicans would prefer that they keep their gas and Americans keep their distance, in which case no one profits.
The larger issue here isn’t about gasoline or trade policy. It’s the dysfunctional relationship between Mexico and the United States, two countries whose people can’t stop criticizing one another — even though they can’t live without one another. Whether the issue is illegal immigration or drug trafficking, each country likes to blame the other for its problems, and neither is eager to accept its share of responsibility. Yet, as much as Mexicans and Americans complain about one another, they can’t get enough of each other. They devour each other’s food, culture and music. And now they’re consuming each other’s resources.
This is one strange marriage. But we might as well try to work out our differences because, given our level of co-dependence, divorce isn’t an option.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune, a nationally syndicated columnist, a frequent lecturer, and a regular contributor to CNN.com.
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38 Comments
1. David Thomson:Ruben Navarrette Jr. needs to outgrow his immature race card nonsense. I highly encourage Americans to drive to Mexico and purchase gasoline. Why in heck would I say anything different? Shucks, I would do so in a heartbeat if given half a chance! Mexico is a corrupt country that needs to get its act together. The widespread socialism and the domination of the government by a few lavishly wealthy families have sharply limited the economic growth of the nation. Mexicans should not envy their far wealthier neighbor. No, they should instead try to become more like it.
The United States should embrace the exact same immigration policies of Canada. An immigrant should be allowed into the country primarily based on their talents and willingness to assimilate. Race and ethnicity are irrelevant factors. We should be thrilled to accept the well educated people of every nation on this planet. Needless to add, this includes Mexicans. Who disagrees? I am unaware of any serious dissent.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:16 am 2. maverick muse:“Mexican gas. It’s only running about $2.66 a gallon…low-cost, low-grade fuel…the reason that Mexican gas is so affordable is because it’s being subsidized by the Mexican government, which controls the petroleum industry in Mexico. It’s a gesture that was intended to help Mexicans — not Americans.”
That rings a bell. US tax payers provide education, emergency medical attention, and welfare benefits INTENDED FOR CITIZENS, not illegal aliens.
And Mexicans are up in arms over selling their subsidized gasoline to US citizens? Americans are not stealing the gas, they are buying it. Americans are not visiting Mexico illegally in order to purchase the gasoline. That the Mexican’s feel imposed upon conducting free trade with Americans in Mexico is tacky.
I’m not so sure of the “marriage” analogy. It seems more appropriately recognized as sibling rivalry. If familial, it remains dysfunctional.
Jul 2, 2008 - 4:10 am 3. Ed Wallis:More moral relativism from another leftist hack…oh yeah, buying cheaper gas (capitalism at work) is a symptom of a “larger issue,” for which Americans are equally to blame as Mexicans…oh, did I forget to mention millions of the latter are in the USA illegally?
But hey, that doesn’t matter, as long as this writer can fog over it with elementary school analogies.
C’mon, PJM, get rid of the deadwood here and bring us some mature thinkers!
Jul 2, 2008 - 4:27 am 4. mjk:Mexican gasoline actually has a lot of additives that American Gasoline doesn’t have. I wouldn’t be surprised if some cars filled with Mexican gasoline start to break down or quit just because their owners wanted to save a couple of bucks.
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:19 am 5. Drew-ROC:Thanks for the heads up Ruben. I’ll probablly stop down for my rightful discount.
Jul 2, 2008 - 6:29 am 6. asdfs:“American gas poachers”
Jul 2, 2008 - 6:35 am 7. AJ:And mexicans poach nothing in the US. You are a jackass. Why does PJM let this tard post this drivel? The US would still survive with out the mexican interlopers but mexico would crumble with out the US. Tell you what Ruben, we will stay out of your country if you stay out of ours.
“Truth is, Americans, especially those in the Southwest, really don’t like Mexico.”
Ruben knows ALL Americans. That’s nice to know.
I cannot believe they pay you for these 350 word articles that my 5th grade students could pen in 45 minutes.
Affirmative action is nice, eh? Why not just be honest like Clarence Thomas and admit you only have your job b/c of your ethnicity.
It’d be nice to be hispanic or black. I’d have ANY job I wanted.
Jul 2, 2008 - 6:41 am 8. Alan:There should be a tax on going into Mexico for less than an hour. Long enough that you have to find something else to do on the Mexican side after you fill up.
Jul 2, 2008 - 7:23 am 9. Aureliano:… many Americans want nothing to do with their neighbor.
That’s most decidedly untrue. Verily, everybody recognizes that Mexico is a rocket engine of innovation — technologically, politically, intellectually, socially, and artistically. When people think of Mexico, they think of how Mexicans have contributed so heavily to our world by discovering and developing so much of modern society. From the Theory of Evolution and discovery of plate tectonics to the exploration of Mars and the fleshing out of this little idea called a written constitution. From MRI machines to jazz and hip-hop to advanced city planning techniques and the assembly line, from the internet, genetics, and nearly every pharmaceutical worth taking to invention of the corporation, the pin-ball machine, and GPS, Mexico has been a civilization for the ages, one that every history book in the entire world will inevitably mention for millennia because it has been central to these innovations and more –- indeed, thousands more, if not tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands (millions? billions?).
We ALL look to Mexico for leadership, respect her, and thank her for her contributions to modernity, because without her, we’d all be in a truly inferior, backwards state.
… two countries whose people can’t live without one another.
You’re absolutely right, Ruben. What would the world’s only superpower do without 100 million people living south of the border with 6th grade educations and a rapacious appetite to sponge off the efforts of others?
Yes, indeed, what would we EVER do without them …? Collapse into a quivering, gibbering mess, I’m certain ….
In fact, I feel the inklings of a gibbering quiver beginning right now …. (Help me Cesar Chavez, you’re my only hope … Ahhhhhhhh ….!!!)
Jul 2, 2008 - 9:42 am 10. Smarty:Ruben forgot that with the money we save there on gas, we can rent those lovely Mexican whores for the afternoon.
Personally, I think you would have to be a complete fool to put 20 gallons of Mexican gas through your fuel system. This sounds like a plot from the auto-mechanics union.
Jul 2, 2008 - 10:55 am 11. Ron B.:Mexico should be a rich country It is beautiful and loaded with rich farmland and natural resources The people are intelligent and industrious (despite stereotypes).So what’s the problem? It’s run, despite the false appearance of democracy, by a rich oligarchy who exploit the resources and refuse social services, opportunity and education to the people. Until everyone stops pretending that democracy exists in Mexico their economic misery will continue.
Jul 2, 2008 - 1:07 pm 12. Troll Feeder:Alan 7:23
“There should be a tax on going into Mexico for less than an hour. Long enough that you have to find something else to do on the Mexican side after you fill up.”
No, there should not.
But, if there is, then there should also be a tax on everyone who can’t manage to stay the hell out of other people’s business.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:09 pm 13. ddc:Rubin you have reduced yourself to nothing more than a laughing stock on these boards. Some people simply like to wear a sign “kick me” on their back, apparently you are one of them.
None of your arguments amount to a hill of beans when those of your country continue to illegally cross the board, illegally and happily live off of, murder, rape, rob, and otherwise victimize like a swarm of locust their neighbouring country to the north.
Now you claim that Americans who drive across the border and PAY your country for gas might be compared in some alternate Universe way.
There are no words. Seriously. Please think about going back to Mexico and fixing your country. Do some good there, fix your mess first and then call us.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:15 pm 14. Kirk:“It’s a gesture that was intended to help Mexicans — not Americans.”
I would appreciate a tally of the services stolen by Mexicans illegally in the US compared to how much people within driving distance are saving buying low quality gasoline. THe US should then submit a bill every year to Mexica as credit for crude oil deliveries. Include in the bill the value of all the bankrupted emergency rooms within driving distance of Mexico please.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. needs to be moved mack to the minors. This looks like a Huff Post entry.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:35 pm 15. lee:I wonder if Mexico refine their oil to follow environmental standards.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:57 pm 16. Morton Doodslag:These insane articles by Navarrtte are nauseating. If all things were equal, Mexico should be as prosperous as California and the rest of the southwest US, with which it shares identical resources and mineral wealth. But it isn’t as prosperous — in fact, it’s near the bottom of the economic ladder, and why is that? Because all things are not equal when it comes to cultures and societies. Mexico is a corrupt society. It boasts one of the highest per capita concentrations of billionaires, right on par with America, yet its average citizen exists far below the lowest standard in the USA. You’d never know that from the vile writer Mr. Navarette. He hates Americans and loves Mexicans. He cannot face the truth about Mexico – it is inferior economicaloy because its culture of corruption is inferior.
If I were only a little closer, I’d be patronizing Pemex and exploiting that corrupt socialist boondoggle like any self respecting capitalist should. But the drive from Hollywood obviates any benefit I could derive from exploiting Mexico’s malfunctioning communism. Dang.
Jul 2, 2008 - 3:10 pm 17. Milton Poindexter:Bingo, Ron B. Most Americans respect the notion of being created equal. But if you’re created in Mexico, your opportunites are Mexican opportunities. pathetic. It’s the government that is the problema, not the people.
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:27 pm 18. Koblog:I would declare war on Mexico, expecting their government’s immediate total surrender. We have grounds insofar as the Mexican government currently directs its citzens to invade.
Impose American values, open their markets. Wouldn’t the creation of 2000 miles of southern California coastline (Baja) instantly create trillions of dollars in opportunity? There is sufficient history to hope that Mexico, having been defeated in war by the modern USA, would eventually prosper as a result.
I thought the Mideast and Pakistan were toilets until I visited Tijuana–which is actually worse.
Mexico can’t even make its water drinkable. What makes anyone think its gasoline is any good?
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:58 pm 19. Enedina:When I went to the county hospital to have my baby I was one of the 3 citizens getting medical treatment there. The roughly 75 other women were from south of the border. So Americans are ‘Poaching’ gas ? Then illegals are poaching medical services, and I think we all know what is more expensive. BTW, I now pay for all my medical care,and my childs- I bet most of those other women don’t.
Jul 2, 2008 - 9:56 pm 20. Michael Canzano:Ruben ,continues to show his allegience is south of the border. My question is when he made his last vist to TJ why did he return ?
Jul 3, 2008 - 7:32 am 21. J.E.Rendini:American Christian Infidel
Michael Canzano
I have disagreed with much Reuben Navarette, Jr. has written in the past. I have generally agreed with the likes of Ron B., Morton Doodslag and Milton Poindexter to the extent that they point out that Mexico’s dalliances with statist and socialist economics are responsible for its poverty, which it seek to remedy by illegally exporting its poor to the U.S. There is no excuse for Mexico’s not being a wealthy country with a burgeoning middle class. The Mexican government and the Mexican political class must be part of any “comprehensive” solution to the problem of illegal immigration. Mexico must stop being a one-party state, like Louisiana or Massachusetts, and embrace free-market economic reforms, including an American-type low-tax/low-unemployment strategy.
Nevertheless, I find myself agreeing with Navarette when he says:
“The larger issue here isn’t about gasoline or trade policy. It’s the dysfunctional relationship between Mexico and the United States, two countries whose people can’t stop criticizing one another — even though they can’t live without one another. Whether the issue is illegal immigration or drug trafficking, each country likes to blame the other for its problems, and neither is eager to accept its share of responsibility. Yet, as much as Mexicans and Americans complain about one another, they can’t get enough of each other.”
Navarette is basically right, although he seems to assume a parity which does not exist, an assumption which does not sit well with most Americans. (Although, let’s face it, if we elect Obama this fall our politics and economics will look more like Mexico’s than we’d like to admit.) Mexico and the U.S. are two culturally and socially distinct societies which are becoming more and more economically integrated. Mexicans need the economic opportunities the U.S. offers; Americans need the natural resources and investment opportunities Mexico offers. There is the basis for an understanding here, but each society’s cultural imperatives must be recognized. I do not presume to say what the Mexicans’ cultural imperatives might be, but the Americans at a minimum require government transparency, equality before the law and respect for private property.
Jul 3, 2008 - 7:45 am 22. AJ:It never ceases to amaze how Ruben refuses to join in the comments. He is SO wrong, yet refuses to discuss. It is a classic trait of a race-baiting left wing journalist. How sad but telling.
Jul 3, 2008 - 9:56 am 23. deguello:Considering the billions spent by the USA feeding, clothing, educating, and providing medical care to Mexican invaders, the leaast Mexico could do is to issue every American a free gas card usable in Mexico, as a way of paying Americans back.As for Ruben He is a shill for the mexican and US plutocracies, in the guise of a handwringing rabblerouser.
Jul 3, 2008 - 12:00 pm 24. deguello:Considering the billions spent by the us providing welfare for mexican invaders, the least the mexican govt. should do is issue discount cards to Americans driving through mexico,as a way to compensate Americans.
Jul 3, 2008 - 12:04 pm 25. Rubicon:OK, I read through this article & once again I find drivel spewed out at those mean & nasty Americans, as though all are to readily accept whatever these leftist socialists say is truth!
Jul 6, 2008 - 9:35 am 26. Grace Farmer:There are too many Americans who are racists, but comments like, “these American gas poachers” is as pure as fresh snow. That comment reflects the racism of the left who throw that nasty name out at Americans, while they practice exactly the same racism, but call their brand of racism diversity.
Again we hear the typical empty accusation that ‘Americans are mean & nasty to Mexicans & will not share our bounty, meanwhile we hear that “Mexican authorities might somehow try to cap American gas consumption by leveling an additional tax on foreign vehicles, or a flat-out ban on selling gas to foreigners,” in what Navarrette describes as a “Lou Dobbs brand of protectionism.” Dobbs voice is surely one of the few nationally recognized voices who express their positions w/o anger, w/o spite, & w/o the mean spiritedness some anti-immigrationists spew. The issue for many remains, keep the illegals out, NOT just the
“Mexicans.”
Then just to suspend actual reason & logic, Navarrette tries to tell readers how terrific Mexicans have it because, “the reason that Mexican gas is so affordable is because it’s being subsidized by the Mexican government, which controls the petroleum industry in Mexico.” Gasoline is affordable because that government uses the wealth of that national commodity to subsidize that industry, just as any socialist government does.
To make himself & his leftist socialist drivel even more inane, Navarrette slips this tidbit in as though its entirely logical, and is as successful & beneficial to the Mexican people as blood…. “It’s (the price of gasoline in Mexico) a gesture that was intended to help Mexicans — not Americans.”
The regulation of gasoline prices in Mexico was not intended to help the average Mexican citizen. It is regulated & the industry was nationalized for one purpose only, just as it is in any leftist socialist country. The elite control the commodity & regulate it in every way, so they can skim off all of the profits for themselves. In the end, Mexicans may get somewhat of a break in the price of a gallon of gas, BUT, the bulk of the profits of the nationalized oil industry in that country benefits a select elite few who are the wealthy in that country & who are the rulers of that nation.
People talk about the disparity between the rich in America & the poor in America. There is a disparity. However, average Americans make significantly more money every year in their quest to become middle class citizens as compared to the average Mexican. And with government control over industry, that disparity will always be significant & always keep average Mexicans “in their place.”
At least in America one can invent something & reap the rewards of their efforts. In Mexico the government would intervene before nightfall!
Now all we in America must do besides securing our borders, is keep a socialist out of the Oval Office or we will become another of those failed socialist states whose leaders keep telling their poor & downtrodden citizens how good they have it, while the elite live a life of luxury & privilege.
Mr. Navarrette convolute’s his messages & he acts as though we should all be good little collectivist socialists marching in lockstep consensus of the Marxist dogma they spew at their own citizens & want to impose on all others.
Let me see….if Americans buy gas in Mexico its an invasion….what does he call illegal immigration to the USA?
Jul 6, 2008 - 5:48 pm 27. deguello:Navarrette is a transparent shill for globalist capitalism, the mexican and american plutocracies,and the democratic party which seeks a new impoverished,ignorant welfare dependent constitueny.
Jul 7, 2008 - 12:57 pm 28. Boazhorribilis:Sorry, we are not married. We are neighbours. From an American point of view there is much to like and dislike about Mexico and Mexicans and the other way around. We are and will remain neighbours, I hope good ones. And what makes good neighbours?
Jul 8, 2008 - 2:15 am 29. Mexican Carlos:I find the comments on here to be hilarious! First and foremost, YES! america does need Mexico. For over a Hundered years now, Illegals have been coming undocumented into America. Has anyone tried to stop the problem? yes. President Eisenhower started Operation,”Wetback”. A plan that would expell illegals from this nation. Upon the completion of the Operation. Over 130,000 illegal and LEGAL Mexican-americans were Deported. Soon there after Americans were drawn Into WW2, and felt the void left by these immigrants. They started the “Brasero Program” to compensate for the Working Men fighting in the war. Now I want to point out how Americans deported Legal citizens as well. This was obviously due to Racial Profiling. Mexican-americans were targeted solely for their skin color. And not just Mexican-americans, but African-americans and Asian-americans. Blacks were not illegal, but suffered some of the most inhumane treatment on Earth. Asians were placed in Interment camps based on nothing but their ethnicity. So for those of you whining about a “Hyphen”, can you really blame us? Remember the days when “Blacks or mexicans need not apply”? Why weren’t we all Americans back then? Where was the Unity? Now that time Has passed, we have grown our own Identities. And yes, It’s your own fault. All of that exclusion and hostility towards Minorities has taken it’s toll. We’ve formed our own Identities and rightly so. So take it from a MEXICAN-american who will NEVER erase the “Hyphen” from his name. This problem stems back to “The Good Ole Days”. For some strange reason, you people think Illegals support the Mexican government. That’s 1 question, that has yet to be asked. If you want another response from me, please email me at flossangeles_323@yahoo.com. As I have never been to this site before. And after taking a short tour of it and it’s members. Have No interest in coming back.
Jul 8, 2008 - 9:36 pm 30. deguello:We are so naughty aren’t we.You are full of contrived racial resentment(it helps you to get ahead in affirmative action america),halftruths, and lack of historical perspective. The USA is so racist, so evil, that immigration from sub saharan Africa, and Latin America has become vast. The problem does’nt go back to the past, nor is it caused by racism;it’s caused by globalist, greedy capitalists who need cheap labor to exploit,leftists, who need ignorant masses to demagogue,and the racial baiting demagogues and poverty pimps, like Mexican Carlos,who need employment and hate the US. You don’t want to return to this web site,Carlos,fair enough:After having seen Mexico,a carnival of cruelty, brutality and corruption,that you and the globalist plutocracy, would like to see established here, I have no interest in returning.However: I have every intention of resisting the Mexification of the US, by any means necessary.
Jul 9, 2008 - 9:58 am 31. Mexican Carlos:Yes, America is full of biggots and racist. It’s ridiculous to say it isn’t. But that stands true for all countries. Every Nation in the world has that small population that makes an entire nation look bad. Affrimative action america? For some strange reason, you think I’m the CEO of Microsoft or something. I’m merely a Real Estate agent still in college. I am not the CEO of a fortune 500 company because of my skin color. The fact of the matter is, people who whine about affirmative action are the same people who have accomplished NOTHING with their pitiful lives. You feel short changed because you don’t have anyones neck to stand on. Mexico is a brutal and corrupt place. I never said it wasn’t. But don’t think for 1 second that level of corrupution doesn’t exist here in america. America is well known for it’s corrupt and incompetent politicians. You made a claim that I hate America. Well, that’s just not true. You seem to think that As an “american” I must disrespect and discriminate anyone who isn’t from our nation. And if that’s what you think an american is and that’s what an american should be doing. Than I don’t want to be an american. Being an American isn’t about hating other people and countries. And if me acknowledging my mexican heritage threatens you. Well, that just displays your insecurities. I will not hate france, because you say I should. I will not call them “freedom Fries” because you think that’s what patriotism is. I have nothing to prove to you Deguello. So you can try and circumvent the issue by calling us “racebaiters” or “poverty pimps”. But the issue will always be there unless we approach it for what it is, reality.
Jul 9, 2008 - 2:10 pm 32. Mexican Carlos:P.S
I think the Majority of the readers here Completely missed Mr.Navarettes Point. He isn’t whining and complaining about Americans stealing mexican gas. He is pointing out the Co-Dependancy of the 2 nations. Americans are traveling to Mexico for medical and dental care because they can’t afford it here. American companies along the U.S/Mexican Border are sending FLEETS of their 18 wheelers to fill up on DIESEL! because their companies would go under if not for the cheap Diesel prices in Mexico. I hear some of you complaining about the quality of gas in Mexico, fair enough. It’s a legitimate concern. But If I’m not mistaken, Diesel is made using the same standards in Mexico as it is in America. I might be wrong. So to say that Mexico isn’t an important factor in these hard American times, is both inaccurate and Irresponsible.
Jul 9, 2008 - 2:25 pm 33. deguello:Why carlito,I thought you said You weren’t coming back!Maybe I can return to Mexico and experience its pervasive intitutionalized corruption, if only to feel better when I return to the US. Oops!silly me, I forgot! thanks to people like you,unlimited immigration, and unlimited greed,’We’ll soon achieve the same levels of corruption, poverty, and income inequality as Mexico’s.Nice going Carlito!No. your’e not the CEO of a fortune 500 corporation, You are only their shill;their boy, their mozo de camara, de la camarilla plutocratica. that’s why all CEOs support the criminally racist practice,of affirmative action,and socially corrosive diversity. They need to empower and coopt marginally educable ethnic activists like you, to defend the exploitation of cheap mexican labor. If you truly cared for your people, you would be active trying to change things in Mexico,but it’s easier and more convenient, to preach racism,and shift the debate from econmic exploitation and globalist greed. I don’t hate mexicans, I hate their and our government for colluding in the continued exploitation of a talented, long suffering people. Your comment aboutthose who protest affirmative action being folks who have accomplished nothing with their lives, is truly idiotic as well as mean spirited. Since affirmative action,discriminates against the more talented on the basis of race,it stands to reason, that these folks will find a way to achieve success.Unlike aff act. beneficiaries, they’ll know that they succeeded on the basis of their talents, without help from a corrupt plutocracy! Have fun making money by packing desperate illegals into crowded LA basements, to enrich the landlords who hired you.Talk about American corruption!
Jul 10, 2008 - 11:37 am 34. deguello:A Modest Proposal:Offered as a public service,here is a solution to illegal mexican immigration,and the horrible socieconomic situation in Mexico.1:Establish a selective boycott of all mexican tourism and non essentials,like beer,and produce. 2 Create a fund to create training camps to recruit willing illegals for political and military training designed to overthrow the mexican government.Support the insurgency with money and materiel contributions just as we did the contras, in the 80’s.3 Create a separate fund to support the insurgency in Chiapas province.Do you think that the mexican oligarchy will continue to support the invasion of the US if it knew that a proportion of illegals were being trained in the US and sent back to wage guerrilla war against them? I doubt it. Yes, I know, there are legal issues, but then again, there are legal issues with illegal immigration, and no one seems to mind! !Vva Zapata!
Jul 10, 2008 - 11:50 am 35. Jesus Torres:We are a team of mexican attorneys dedicated to defending american students and tourists arrested in mexico for any reason.We have over 15 years experience in the mexican court systems and most of our attorneys speak english.
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Aug 27, 2008 - 3:28 pm 36. Jack Meehoffer:Jesus Torres
Wow,what a bunch of hateful and mean spirited right wing nationalists that post their arrogance and ignorance about a nation that their own country has exploited through the centuries.To all you red neck idiots,remember how you stole California,Texas,Colorado,Arizona,New Mexico and Utah from Mexico,you all are the offspring of killers and thieves.
Jan 31, 2009 - 12:20 pm 37. John Adams:Other than nationalized petroleum (Pemex) and water and electricity (CFE), Mexican business as as private as it is in the United States. Those who scream “socialist!) at Mexico are really saying “We want your oil, and we want to sell your water and electricity back to you.”
I’ve been living in Mexico for seven years, and to call Mexico socialist is absolutely ludicrous. In Mexico, if you have neither money nor medical insurance and are critically ill, you may very well die for lack of medical attention. Even the Mexican Red Cross clinics charge for services.
Mexico is a business owner’s dream, and this is why so many American small business owners leave the United States and open shop in Mexico. Why operate a restaurant franchise in Arizona when you can come to Mexico where you can hire your slaves at $3.50/day? Many restaurants have a dozen waiters even though the amountn of business scarcely justifies it. Why not> Thirty-five dollars a day for a dozen slaves? Chump change. There’s no such thing as consumer protection in Mexico. There isn’t even any such thing as consumer recalls. Lay’s potato chips is called Sabritas down here, and inside you’ll often find a quarter-sized plastic coin for little kiddies to choke on. Even adults occasionally pop the coins into their mouths while munching on the chips, almost breaking their teeth or choking to death (I’m not joking). Foreign car manufacturers are not bound to recall their lemons in Mexico, and there’s absolutely no authority that has the power to order any kind of vehicles, including trucks, off the road for mechanical reasons.
Business owners don’t have to worry about getting sued, because you can only sue for actual damages and each side has to pay for an attorney. You’ll find businesses, such as restaurants, with crater-pocked parking areas and steep-drops. No importa (not important), the owner pays the bribe (la mordida) and the problem goes away.
Mexico is a neocon’s dream. Free enterprise like you wouldn’t believe. Lazze Faire all the way. And oh yes, these days prices are about what they are in the United States – or even higher. Why open a Burger King in the United States when you can charge the same at your Burhger King in Mexico and reap higher profits with slave labor?
May 4, 2009 - 2:37 am 38. Eduardo Baz:I DO NOT AGREE, WE SHOULD GET A DIVORCE, I PERSONALLY HATE THE USA, FOR ALL ITS HIPORCRACY, MEXICO SHOULD ARM ITSELF, SO WE HAVE NUCLEAR CAPABILITY, AND WARN THE USA WE MEAN BUISNESS, SO IN MY CASE I DO BELIVE WE SHOULD GET RID OF THE USA, AND MAYBE BE LIKE NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA
Oct 21, 2009 - 10:38 am