2006-06-14

US Invasion of Mexico

If Mexico is improving, why are so many still coming to the US? I don't understand yet...
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4 comments:

Nadir said...

"The next president will inherit a nation so inextricably tied to the United States as to be a de facto economic colony."

Of course, Paul doesn't believe there is such a thing as "neo-colonialism".

"If Mexico is improving, why are so many still coming to the US? I don't understand yet..."

Who said Mexico is improving? According to the article, it's just becoming more like the US. Getting more Wal-Marts doesn't mean life is getting better. If anything, it means Wal-Mart believes you have a strong enough flow of both cheap labor and low-income workers to make them viable.

10:14 PM
Paul Hue said...

Getting walmarts certainly does improve life for people, as they obtain a more reliable and lower cost source of basic consumer goods. I disagree with charactorization of Mexico as a "colony" of the US; by this definition the US would be a "colony" of China.

12:17 PM
Nadir said...

"by this definition the US would be a "colony" of China."

Not at all. The US is certainly tied to China by debt and Chinese exports, but not in the same way Mexico is chained to the US.

According to the article 90% of Mexican exports come to the "father" country. US investment and money from Mexican workers in the US account for HUGE amounts of Mexican income.

If the US cut off ties with Mexico today, the southern country would face total collapse.

A similar severing of ties with China would be devastating to the US economy, as Chinese credit is helping to prop up the anemic US dollar, and cheap Chinese goods help keep US consumer costs low. However, the US economy has enough other engines to keep going without the Chinese.

9:28 AM
Nadir said...

I'm sure Wal-Mart floods Mexico with cheaply made Chinese goods. It has the same effect there as it does here. Chinese slave-wage labor replaces low wage domestic labor in Mexico as well. The Chinese have more people to add to the slave-wage labor force than Mexico, so they have the advantage there.

Additionally, Wal-Mart probably uses more of its horrible labor practices in Mexico than in the US because they would be able to get away with more.

The article also talks about US culture dominating Mexican culture. Though you believe everyone should become Americans, this is one of the worst aspects of American imperialism because we lose the rich tapestry of human culture as countries adopt plastic American values.

9:34 AM

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