Trumps wall has revived old fears and hatreds in Mexico
It took a few days to ruin economic and cultural ties that took 20 years to forge
Duncan Wood
Saturday 28 January 2017 19.05 EST
When I first landed in Mexico City in January 1996 as a newly minted PhD, the country was still reeling from the effects of the 1994-95 peso crisis and public safety was still a major problem in the capital. The ink on the Nafta treaty was still fresh and trade between Mexico and its northern neighbour was about to expand exponentially after the economic recession. Mexicans still had deeply held suspicions about the United States, often manifested through a fear that it wanted to steal their oil wealth. Mexicans felt the US could not be trusted and “anti-yanquismo” was still prevalent.
Over the next 21 years, Mexicans came to redefine their feelings towards the US and the two economies and societies have become deeply entwined. A growing assumption emerged that they were on a path of ever-deeper integration, not just in their economic relationship, which statistics show is marked by profound (albeit asymmetrical) interdependence, but through their societies.
The US has become more Mexican, with nearly 36 million people of Mexican origin living there, and more than a million US citizens living in Mexico. The two cultures have come to understand each other at a level of intimacy that would have been considered fantastical two decades ago, as TV events, music and festivals have become commonly shared icons. Cinco de Mayo and El Grito are celebrated across the US and many Americans even understand the difference between them.
Mexico and the US became friends and partners and were moving enticingly towards becoming allies. Mexicans felt favourably towards the US, particularly during the Obama years, and a sense of being part of North America emerged. Anti-yanquismo, it seemed, had been vanquished.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/29/mexico-donald-trump-wall
Editorials:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016175771
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