It is not clear what John McCain aimed to accomplish with his trip to Mexico. But if it was to somehow help with our illegal immigration problem, then I think he should have met a few more folks than he did down there. Had I been consulted, I would have suggested he also meet a few poor Mexicans, after all they are the people pouring across our borders.
Instead, McCain met President Felipe Calderon, Catholic Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce and other government ministers; important folks -- a fixture of the Mexican political landscape. I would have suggested he also meet Lopez Obrador, the former Mayor of Mexico City and a man many believe won the last Mexican elections. Many poor Mexicans still view Obrador as their president and Calderon the president of the establishment and the wealthy.
It's news to no one that the majority of our so-called "illegal" immigrants, especially those who have been streaming in over the last few years, are poor Mexicans. So far our solution to their influx has been: talk about it endlessly; erect all sorts of walls; symbolic Minutemen patrols and lots of radio talk and TV chatter - all of it full of sound and fury, but sadly signifying nothing.
You can no more wish an ocean's tides away than you can wish poverty to go away. This is what many American legislators and certain parts of our political elite have been doing. When they say you can wall the poor out, they have no understanding of the potent propulsive force of poverty. Perhaps, considering that large numbers of Africans travel across deserts, over hundreds miles of turbulent, stormy seas just to reach European shores in an attempt to escape the misery of their homes, should give all of us pause. That thousands drown each year and the tide is never stemmed shows that walls like oceans are but a temporary hurdles. The desperation of the poor in Africa, Mexico and a large swathe of the Third world needs more serious consideration; better planning.
Why isn't anyone, including McCain, talking to the Mexican people? The folks coming across our borders aren't Martians. The solution can't be Martian, nor is it purely American. It must be Mexican also. Most of us honestly think of what we'll do with the 12 million undocumented immigrants in our midst. We try to wish them away, which is politically convenient. And no one explains how we'll solve the problem of 12 million folks whose whereabouts we can't always verify.
Here's what I think we in the US have to do. Admit our "illegals" are human beings. Many would rather stay in their own country - Mexico. We need to be empathetic and refer to them as human beings. While discussing illegal immigration, we almost behave as if Mexico is a deaf mute organism. It is not.
We must stop pretending Mexico is non-existent. I suggest we seriously engage Mexico to find a solution to their immigration problem. For the longest time, Americans have imagined the immigration conundrum is America's alone; it is not. It is Mexico's also. Except, Mexico is unable to take care of its own population because it's a failed state.
According to such thinkers as Nathan Gardels, the criteria for a failed state include: legitimate authorities have lost their monopoly over violence. The state has lost its fiscal effectiveness; the capacity to compel its subjects to pay enough taxes so the state can function. Mexico, like many other Third World states is awash in violence -- the state's and from different drug cartels. The air Mexicans breathe in is suffused with violence.
Is it any wonder poor Mexicans who can't depend on the state for safety are voting with their feet - seeking some peace and prosperity in the US? Bit it won't be long before violence follows them here.
We think it's hard to press Mexico to reform; easier to shake a fist at them. Unfortunately only deep, structural reform in Mexico will work. We are spending Billions in the Middle East to "spread freedom and democracy" while our neighbor to the south is mired in mind numbing corruption, undemocratic practices, incredible violence and the largest migration of poor people in modern times.
It won't be easy. But we must encourage Mexicans to reform their education system; economics and agriculture. And soon. As a physician I have managed countless undocumented Mexicans suffering from long-standing conditions. Healthcare reform is necessary in Mexico.
Lopez Obrador may have socialistic ideas and tendencies, but they are ideas meant to bring a more just society to Mexico. He had a better plan to improve the lot of the poor than what Calderon - and Vicente Fox before him - is doing. The only way for Mexicans to stay home is if they see a better future in their country. It is our duty to help true reformers - be they centrists or socialists.
A resource America has not availed itself of is the large Mexican middle class population in our midst. These folks should be part of the discussion in how reform in the country of their origin can best be effected. I have no doubt that these people would like to see their families back in Mexico do better.
If McCain's intent was more than just great photo ops and meant to change the immigration outlook in America, then he should have talked to people who really understand the dynamics of poverty, the pain that forces folks to travel across deserts towards more security and a better life. As long as, to poor Mexicans, America is the mansion on the hill, nothing, not even walls, will stem the tide of their scuffed shoes.