Calderon Put Them In Their Place

During President Felipe Calderon’s visit to the United States last week, he addressed the United States Congress in a speech that was highly applauded by the president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Beatriz Paredes, and the Party of the Democratic Revolution’s Senator Carlos Navarrete. Of course, the unusual fact that these politicians applauded the National Action Party president was interpreted in the Mexican media as a sign that it is possible to reach agreements across parties. Left unsaid is that this support is for Calderon’s series of requests from the U.S.; neither the PRI nor the PRD would lose anything if these requests were granted.

In Mexico, who can be opposed to U.S. immigration reform? Nobody can because it doesn’t cost Mexicans anything. Opponents of this reform include several U.S. Congress members and groups of U.S. citizens. The same attitude holds towards the request to control the sale of U.S. weapons. American opponents think they would be unsafe if not allowed to arm themselves to the teeth. The same phenomenon occurs with other issues in bilateral relations: Mexican trucks crossing into the United States and the fight against drug use in the U.S. In Mexico, who could be opposed to fighting these issues?

The problem occurs when action must be taken in our country. If the action involves trying to generate jobs so that fewer Mexicans migrate to the north, then matters get complicated. This requires reforms such that the Mexican economy would return to a globally competitive level and attract investment. Here is where we reach a dead end. How can you tax the rich if they are the ones supporting the politicians? How can we start taxing the informal economy if that is where the votes and hidden support come from? How do we make the government efficient and reduce the privileges of the federal bureaucracy, the legislature, ministers of the Court, IFE officials, governors and their entourage of freeloaders? No, well, what happens? If we’re sitting by profiting calmly?

Let the United States give more jobs to the Mexicans — that’s what they’re there for. They finally have to pay the price of having taken half of the Mexican territory in the nineteenth century. Once they have given every Mexican a payment, we will accept it, yes with pride, but we will accept it. And all the Mexican politicians are going to be one with our brave president and, as Calderon [has done], put the United States in its place.

Nor do we try to make our institutions work and apply the law. That is very complicated. It’s better that the U.S. not consume drugs and not send us weapons. If the weapons are sold unchecked in Tepito without any control, it is not the corrupt inefficient Mexican police’s fault, but rather the Americans’ fault for not establishing controls in their territory. If there is drug violence in Mexico, it is because the other side of the border uses drugs, and not because of impunity, corruption, inefficient control over our security and justice system, or the fact that drugs are sold on every street corner in Mexican cities. No, sir. We are innocent victims of imperialism, and our oppressor has the obligation of fixing our flaws.

Not surprisingly, the entire political class of the country has enthusiastically supported the Mexican president’s demanding speech in Washington. It costs nothing to ask, and the United States remains the best scapegoat for everything wrong with this country. The only problem with Calderon’s speech is that it will not change reality.

Immigration reform will remain pending until the internal conditions in the United States change, and when it is finally accomplished, it will not be the whole enchilada. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans will continue to emigrate north until the Mexican economy provides enough jobs. Additionally, weapons will continue to be sold in the United States, and will cross the Mexican border until they reach Tepito, without the Mexican government doing anything about it. Drug traffic will continue dominating the country until we have institutions of justice that work. Meanwhile, yes, we will continue to blame the U.S. for what we are unable or unwilling to do in our country. What did the gringos believe? That we weren’t going to tell them the truth? Well those…!!

jorge.chabat@cide.edu

Political Analyst and Researcher of the CIDE