Crispy Tacos

News flash! Crunchy taco shells do not exist in Mexico. I´ve searched high and low. Has anyone one out there ever come across one? Who invented these things anyway?

Border Issues

Fox News: Boy Killed by Border Patrol

The recent killing of a Mexican boy at the border by US authorities is a tragedy indeed. But, it disturbs me and saddens me that all the Mexican people are unaware, or are conveniently forgetting in this moment all the harsh treatment that Mexican autorities have inflicted upon immigrants at their border with Guatemala. It is the same, if not worse.
Here in Mexico this murder is being splashed all over the news with gory photos making the front pages. It embarasses me to see it, as I´m an American living here in Mexico City. It shames me, but at the same time it angers me that people here could even begin to adopt a self-righteous attitude. And to top it all off, this particular group of Mexicans who were at the border at the time of the incident were throwing rocks at the authorites. Were these people trying to help their fellow citizens who were engaging in an illegal activity (crossing the border), by throwing rocks at the heads of the very people who can arrest them for doing so. Why? And how can they complain about what happened while I´m very sure that if a Guatemalan were throwing rocks at the Mexican officials at the Guatemalan border, he or she would suffer a similar fate.
Central Americans crossing the southern Mexican border have faced various abuses at the hands of Mexican autorities including robbery of their legal documents and their only money, violent rapes to the point of hemmoraging, beatings, being detained without reason in prisons with very poor conditions, some are sold into slavery and thousands of them have just disappeared. The majority of them (of the disappeared) are surely dead. This data comes from CODEHUTAB-Comité de Derechos Humanos de Tabasco (Human Rights Committee of Tabasco).
http://www.codehutab.org.mx/violacionalosdh.html
Central Americans also face the same xenophobia upon entering Mexico that some Mexicans face in the US. The immigrants are suspected of being criminals, and some even think that they are diseased. They are also regulary taken advantage of as workers. They can be hired to work on a plantation for around 40 pesos per day and never receive their money. They also have to deal with being confronted by the horrible gangs in the area. I think the Mexican government has paid some attention to this and has worked on the situation since 2000 because they realized their blatant hypocrisy, but today there are still many deaths and many disappearances as a result of this border crossing. Actually it is said that it is more difficult to cross into Mexico than into the US. The difference is that in the US we have more control over the data. We know how many people die and who dies and how. At the southern border that Mexico shares with Central America, there is not near as much recorded data, especially by the central american countries.
The truth is that througout history many countries have faced this same problem. Whenever a situation in one country is clearly better than another, people come pouring out of the poorer country trying to gain entry into the next country where the grass in greener. It´s happened between Eastern and Western Europe, Venezuela and Colombia, South Africa and other African countries, PuertoRico and the Dominican Republic and pretty much anywhere the grass is greener on the other side. How do we solve these issues? Unfortunately no one has yet come up with a functional, humane solution. Is it possible? It´s not exactly humane to stop someone from trying to have a better life. The incidents that occur at borders around the world are awful. Just keep your eyes open and realize that the US government is not the only one that has this problem. This problem has occured throughout history around the world, and the problem persists around the world today. Maybe the US government just has more eyes on it than most...

Ex-pat Blues

It´s interesting to debate staying in Mexico or going back to the US. There are other expats who still feel the way I did when I got here. It seems to me that the romantic spell hasn´t worn off yet for them, or they are in denial.

It is interesting that some think people are more open-minded about gays here. I happen to think that it´s only the cultural perception of masculinity, not open-mindedness. For Americans, caring about fashion and beauty is generally considered a feminine or gay characteristic. Here in Mexico fashion is important for everyone, too important if you ask me. It´s not that they´re accepting homosexuality. They just have a different idea of what´s masculine and what´s feminine, as all cultures do. We went to a soccer game a few weeks ago and at one point the entire cheer section of the stadium was yelling, ¨So and so is a maricon!¨ repeatedly, and the rest of the spectators joined in as well. I couldn´t believe my ears. This is the most liberal city in Mexico. It´s considered one of the most liberal cities in Latin America, and yet it´s appropriate to yell faggot repeatedly at a public event. I can´t see this happening in the US. Sure maybe now and then one idiot will shout something of the sort, but not without receiving a few disapproving glances, and the rest of the stadium would certainly not join in. Also, if you ask most straight Mexican guys if they think Mexicans are more open-minded towards gays than Americans they will say no. I´ve been around various groups of Mexican straight guys, and I always hear what seems to be the requisite exchange of gay banter.

I also still hear things like, ¨I just don´t like the mentality they have in the US,¨ or,¨ watching CNN makes me sick....¨

I moved here for these very reasons. I didn´t like the US mentality either, but the general mentality here is terrible! People are so corrupt, or they live in fear. Many are two-faced. Most people are horribly ignorant because they have no education. They don´t have the option of education. I heard that about 10,000 students are accepted to public universities per year, while a hundred thousand are denied. One hundred thousand!! So only ten percent of the population who want an education can get one. And my God, read a Mexican newspaper! That´s enough to make you sick. Everyday there are gruesome murders of innocent minors by narcos or cartels. Of course there are murders everywhere, but not like here. Many people who have there own businesses in Michoacan are threatened by cartels. They have to pay them or be killed or watch one of their family members be killed. It´s absolutely horrid. This place will be a war zone if they really do decide to fight the narcos. The cartels control most of this country. The president himself supports the cartels. It is a country run by mafias.

So, in conclusion, as fed up as we might be with the US mentality, we must admit that it is a great country in comparison to most. Unfortunately, we have The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side Syndrome. It seems to me that staying in Mexico and turning a blind eye (or a deaf ear) would be like living in the matrix. Great tasting food, perfect weather, and if you don´t speak fluent Spanish you can tune out anyone you want. All governments have corruption, all countries have a ton of ignorant citizens with disagreeable mentalities. One thing I can agree with is that the US has way too much initiative when it comes to war and ¨self-defense,¨ and some sort of innate fear of anything resembling socialism, but hopefully we´ll change that one day.

And, I might add that Mexico is a beautiful, exciting country with much potential. I don´t mean to offend anyone. Mexicans are aware of the corruption and hardship that they face. It´s just baffling to me at the moment how expats can bash the US and the problems with our mentality while failing to mention the daily decapitations, kidnapping and stealing from innocent people in Mexico. I´m starting to agree with the whole ignorance is bliss mentality....