"Poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United States” by Jamil Shawwa

In late 19^th century, The US president Monroe, decided to side with the Mexican leader Benito Juárez against the French intervention and against the Mexican royalists forces led by Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg- the royal Austrian family. 

Before that and since then, America’s strategic interest in a stable Mexico was engraved in stone.  Another Mexican president, General Diaz once said “ poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United State”  He was not referring to a state of war or any animosity against America, but a reality of being a neighbor of the mighty power and at the same time being a leader of a corrupt society, the Mexican society. 

In a related statement, President Salinas in 1993 said that an Israeli friend of his once told him” Poor Israel, so close to God and so far from the United Sates.” In the early 1990s, America poured an immediate Fifty Billion Dollars to save Mexico from Bankruptcy. In 1847, The United States invaded Mexico and entered Mexico City. Actually many Americans at that time wanted to annex the whole country and make it part of the United States. 

Conservative Americans at the time feared the Spanish population would affect the demographic balance in America.  America "just" wanted the territories by the border, which included California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. America paid $15 million dollars, much more than we paid the Russians to buy Alaska in the same era. Both purchases of course showed the genius visions of American politics.

The strategic and financial importance of Alaska and the Mexican territories are beyond words and imagination to describe. 

Mexico right now is in turmoil, gangs in the streets, people are unsafe, the economy is crumbling and the Mexican Harvard graduate presidents cannot save the country. America will not allow Mexico to fail, but America is watching right now, helping with billions of dollars each year to fight drug trafficking and to secure the borders. 

The issues are much deeper than just sending troops to the border, Mexico is in revolt right now and it is revolting against the elite party rulers, and revolting against the government corruption and revolting against the fraudulent elections. 

Mexico wants to drop the Harvard graduates for more indigenous type of leaders in the material of Diaz and Juarez. The current president, elected in 2006 for a one term in office of six years and came from an elite political family, Calderon, really did not win that election fair and square but his opponent the most popular now in Mexico, Señor Obrador. 

The information I got from Mexico though not confirmed by open sources, media, etc., is telling an untold story, to me at least, that the daily murders in the Mexican cities and towns are not related to gangs or drugs but related to under cover resistance to the manipulation of the political party elite that Calderon and the PAN party represents.  

Since 1920s, another historic party *PRI manipulated the political life and most presidents came from it. There has been an unholy alliance between the political politburo and the military to help each other, let the politicians play the game of politics and let the military run the corruption. 

The Mexicans are fed up, they at the same time will not allow the likes of Chavez in Venezuela or Morales in Bolivia, the famous populists demagogues to rule; Mexico is much more civilized to allow such a grand deterioration to it’s class. 

America is thinking of building a fence along it’s borders with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants and drug trafficking but the idea probably will not fly, America does not like concrete fences, although I personally believe that good fences make good neighbors. 

The solutions to Mexico are tough, the society is corrupt, and I am not saying the Mexicans, just the culture in general, the style. The president is elected once for six years, so no motivation for him or her to build a legacy. Mexico in my opinion needs to do the following, it is already a federal system, it needs to copy -it will work- the United States form of government that is the only solution. 

The two societies are so interacted, so intermingled. The Hispanic population in America is growing and languages mainly will be English and Spanish.   It all starts by cleaning up the political system, and only popular leaders can do that, and I say popular and not populists. 

Mexico right now is behind Brazil and Argentina in the importance on the Latin hierarchy, but Mexico in my opinion, has the ingredients to be in the same class as Asian countries, to be like America or Canada might not be easy, their culture is more tuned to that in the Middle East, Spain, and Asian style, that does not mean that it cannot be successful. 

It is very strange, the Mexicans love their country, very proud of it, but at the same time they know how corrupt it has been. It is also a very superstitious society, a society that believes in the conspiracy theory as a way to interpret politics and world affairs. In the center of the capital, Mexico Federal, there a huge tall monument called, Angel de la Independencia, that they believe will help them to prevent another invasion from the United States. It is so ironic, that Angel is surrounded by American hotels and American companies. The Mexicans sleep and wake up dreaming or fearing an American invasion. They will never admit though, they more dream of it than fear it.

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* Google historic information