Election Will Change Little for Mexican Poor
Posted by StormWarning on 28 Jun 2006 at 01:40 pm | Tagged as: Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions
Its been continually stated that the reason Mexicans cross our borders illegally is to seek economic opportunities. And yet, I read that "For Mexico’s poor, election holds little promise."
… The people themselves, and others throughout the country who settle on land they don’t own, use the word "necessity" a lot when asked why they live here or do the things they do to get by…
… The president Mexico will choose this Sunday won’t change their lives either, residents here believe, regardless of how the three leading candidates present themselves as the next saving grace…
…"They promise, promise, promise — and nothing," said Sandra Ruiz Martínez, 35, who lives high on the hill, elevation 7,750 feet, in a one-room home with her mother, seven children, a sister, a nephew and a dog named "Poopies."
About a fifth of the 2.5 million people in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec, which means "windy hill" in the Indian language Náhuatl, live like the Ruiz household.
They’re also among 50 million Mexicans living in poverty…
… Coupled with better opportunities in the United States, poverty still is a major factor in the economic pushing and pulling that drives immigration…
…A few houses over is the less fortunate family of Gustavo René Paredes Jacobo, 48. A picture of the Last Supper hangs in the living room, among a collage of glossy magazine pages used as wallpaper.
Wood pallets are his outer partitions, and he looked at them when asked what he desired of whichever candidate replaces President Vicente Fox.
"More than anything, I want walls," Paredes said…
… The imbalance between the rich and the poor in Mexico, however, hasn’t budged. And the amount of money Mexicans send home while working in the U.S. has skyrocketed, from just over $2 billion in 1990 to $20 billion in 2005, according to Mexico’s central bank…
Poverty is the root issue…and its the driving factor behind illegal immigration. July 1 is election day. Frankly, I don’t expect much to change.
Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions
