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 Editorials | Issues | November 2007 
Why Mexicans Would Rather Live in Fear Than in Mexico
 Martín Martínez - Vida en el Valle
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 |  | I met a gardener in California who told me his one fear was to run into the U.S. Border Patrol. He said he would rather live with fear than live in Mexico because at least here if he died his body wouldn't be left to rot and be eaten by the buzzards. |  | |
Editor’s Note: Mexican journalist Elena Poniatowska reflects on the reasons Mexicans have lost faith in their government and "would rather live with fear than live in Mexico."
Elena Poniatowska, a well-known Mexican journalist and author, denounced Mexico’s reliance on remittances instead of job creation in a recent visit to the University of California, Davis.
Poniatowska, who is best known outside of Mexico for writing books critical of the Mexican government, has won numerous awards worldwide for her writings.
The author criticized her government for failing to provide jobs and opportunities for advancement for her countrymen that end up migrating, legally and illegally, to the United States.
Poniatowska, 75, said remittances from Mexicans living in the United States are holding Mexico afloat economically, which is something that no leader back home should feel proud of, especially former president Vicente Fox, who left office last year.
"It's not possible that Fox is saying he's proud of the fact remittances are the second-largest source of income (for Mexico), instead of creating jobs. If those people had jobs, they wouldn't feel the need to abandon their country and migrate to the United States," she said.
Local governments in Mexico also rely on remittances rather than internal economic growth, she said. She cited Zacatecas state as an example, where 90 percent of families receive assistance from relatives living and working in the United States.
"People come here to the United States in an act of desperation to run away from poverty. The problem back home has always been the same: corruption. If we didn't have so much corruption, our country would experience progress and there wouldn't be a need for people to leave," she told the students.
Poniatowska said she met a gardener 20 years ago in California who told her his one fear was to run into the U.S. Border Patrol.
"Every time the Border Patrol would drive by he would jump into the bushes. I asked him how he could live like that – always fearful and in danger. He said he would rather live with fear than live in Mexico because at least here if he died his body wouldn't be left to rot and be eaten by the buzzards," she explained.
The author said the gardener's view exemplifies how Mexicans view their government.
"His comments hurt me because I don't understand how my country cannot help its own people," she added.
On the other hand, the U.S. government also turns a blind eye to the plight of undocumented immigrants, she said.
The author is currently pitching her new book on immigration, “First Comes the Train,” which tells the story of a railroad worker who is determined to remain in Mexico despite adversity.
As more Mexicans migrate to the United States, there is a growing culture of Chicanos, or Mexican Americans, whom Poniatowska called "misunderstood people" both in Mexico and the United States.
"I've always been fascinated by the lives of Chicanos, such as Norma Alarcón, a writer that was able to be successful despite not fitting in either culture. That's the life that is led by millions of people here who cannot find their rightful place in either country," she said.
Although most Mexicans are indifferent to Chicanos, little by little their art and culture is gaining acceptance south of the border.
Poniatowska is better known for her book “The Massacre of '68 in Tlatelolco,” about her experiences and the mood of Mexicans in the aftermath of the student massacre of 1968 at the hands of government troops.
1968 was "a crucial year for the entire world,” she said. “It was the year of Vietnam, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the student riots in France, Tokyo and other parts of the world. Mexico, however, was the only country in which the government conducted a massive crackdown with loss of life, a massacre in which the soldiers shot at thousands of students waiting to participate in a massive (anti-government) rally," she said.
The massacre changed Mexican society, especially for young people, who fought to preserve their rights.
Poniatowska insists that democracy is still alien to Mexico, despite government claims to the contrary.
"Mexico and Latin America still don't know democracy because corrupt politicians always win and stand in the way of progress," she charged.
"It's a pity," she said, "because this makes people lose faith in their own country, so much so that they refuse to pay taxes because they think the money won't be used for what it should."
She said Mexico has long had a foundation for progress, but corruption has always stood in the way.
"Middle-class women want to come to the United States to have their children here so they can grow up as U.S. citizens. Mexican businessmen don't want to invest in their own country because they don't trust the government. If you don't believe in your country, you don't believe in yourself," she said. |
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