Mexico's shame | The San Diego Union-Tribune

By Aussiegirl

There wouldn't even be an immigrant problem if Mexico were not so hopelessly corrupt.

Mexico's shame | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Only one minor problem marred the May 1 rallies by immigrant-rights demonstrators: they were directed at the wrong country. If activists really want to highlight the impediments to opportunities of Mexican-Americans, they should concentrate their ire on the government south of the border and the self-serving elite with which it works hand-in-glove.

They should recognize that Mexico, the world's 14th-largest economy, boasts wealth that would have made 19th century maharajahs green with envy. Abounding in that cornucopia-shaped nation is oil, natural gas, gold, silver, copper, beaches, mountains, ports, fishing resources, ancient treasures, incomparable art, world-class museums, and a large population of the world's most hard-working people. If Taiwan or Singapore could lease Mexico for 20 years, gringos would be whining about the “colossus of the South” and hustling to take advantage of the ancient Aztec nation's surging growth.

But, instead, millions of Mexicans yearn to migrate to the United States for the better lives their own government isn't providing. Meanwhile, the political elite that runs Mexico so poorly enriches itself at the public trough even as they cheer on their expatriate citizens demanding amnesty, an expanded guest-worker program, and more visas from the United States.