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 Editorials | Opinions | June 2006 
Mexico Must Face Its Failings
 Froma Harrop - Providence Journal
The border debate has spawned feverish mumbling about the "reconquista" the idea that Mexico plans to take back territory lost to the United States by first filling it with Mexican immigrants and their children. One can't see them going along. If any country needs reconquering, it is Mexico. Now there's a movement these immigrants might want to join.
You have to wonder about a government that measures its economic success by how many of its citizens find jobs in another country. That seems to be Mexican President Vicente Fox's economic program. The logic is twisted, but it has reigned for so long that few North Americans even question its assumptions: Mexicans wanting work will obtain it in the United States. The people left behind will live on money the emigrants send them.
If proposals in Congress to stem illegal immigration do end easy access to American jobs, there will be a day of reckoning. The Mexican government will no longer be able to export its most unhappy citizens. It will have to face them at home.
That prospect is not entirely unwelcome to Mexican activists who yearn for a radical change in their country's management. Imagine having leaders who maintain that the people's misery has nothing to do with widespread corruption. It is a function of how open the United States keeps its borders.
Ordinary Mexicans aren't the problem. Once in the United States, they work hard and thrive. Why can't they do the same in their own country?
The traditional view that Mexico is a natural dependent of the United States was heard in a recent remark by Rafael Fernandez de Castro, editor of the magazine Foreign Affairs en Espaρol. Referring to American proposals to build a fence on the southern border, he complained, "We are getting the stick, but not the carrot."
It's unclear what sort of "carrot" the United States owes the dysfunctional Mexican government. As for the "stick," the cane that whips the poor migrants swings more from the south than from the north.
Destitution is the biggest stick of all. Only desperation would spur parents to drag their children across the Sonora Desert and seek menial work in a foreign country.
You've read the countless interviews that ask illegal migrants why they are coming here. Note that the usual answer is that "there's no future for my children in Mexico." Do you know how damning that remark is to the Mexican elite?
The illegals aren't saying, "I want a vast house in the Pacific Palisades," or, "I love winter in Chicago." The vast majority would just as soon live out their days at home, speaking Spanish and enjoying their rich culture.
There's no room here for a full discussion of why there's so little economic opportunity in Mexico. But obviously, when the people who most want it can leave the country, there's not going to be much pressure for fundamental reform.
If a tightened border keeps masses of frustrated people at home, things will have to change. Mexican activist Primitivo Rodriguez made that point when asked for his thoughts on the proposed fence. "It's fantastic," he told The New York Times. "It's the best thing that could happen for migrants, and for Mexico."
Others in Mexico like the wall idea for a different reason. They think it will show the United States how desperately it depends on illegal labor. They will be disappointed. The United States may need immigrants, but it doesn't need illegal ones. The presence of cheap illegal labor creates the dependency, not the other way around. If a serious shortage of workers should occur, then the United States can admit more legal immigrants.
Political analysts regard immigration as the safety valve that keeps Mexico stable. No doubt that has been true. But a wretched status quo is not worth maintaining. If political upheaval is needed to create a Mexico that Mexicans want to stay in, then let it happen.
The emigrants who return to Mexican villages with pockets full of cash understand what's going wrong in their native country. They could lead a "reconquista" of Mexico, which tighter borders would hasten. The sooner Mexico is forced to confront its failings, the sooner life there will improve.
Providence Journal columnist Froma Harrop's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her email address is fharrop@projo.com. |
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