The weekly newsletter of the México Solidarity Project

October 14, 2020/ This week's issue/ Meizhu Lui, for the editorial team

“America, America, God shed his grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”
America the Beautiful

So went the lovely song I sang, as the child of immigrants, in grade school years ago. But those lovely words conceal so much! Whose decisions expanded the US from the Atlantic to the Pacific, stealing life and property from Mexican and indigenous peoples? Did God really bless the project? Did “brotherhood” drive it?

America the Beautiful celebrates the old idea of “manifest destiny.” What remains manifest from that idea: a 2,000-mile border from Tijuana/Imperial Beach to Matamoros/Brownsville, with 40 percent of what used to be Mexico now on the border’s US side. The US has also claimed, beyond annexation, the right to control Mexico’s economy on behalf of our US corporate elite. Might makes right.

Against this generations-long backdrop of bad neighbor policy, the 2018 election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador could signal a new era that puts people first — over US corporate interests — and re-introduces hope for a socialist politic throughout the Americas.

We’ve felt such hope before, only to see that hope crushed by US interventions that brought down left governments. But we can prevent an instant replay of those bloody scenarios by building solidarity. Where do we start? We can counter the propagandistic earworms our mainstream media whisper into us. We aim to do just that with this new México Solidarity Bulletin. Please pass the word!  

How will people in Mexico be affected if Donald Trump wins in November?

Javier Bravo: His reelection would renew his license to kill. In a second term Trump would be twice as lethal for México and Mexicans than in his first term, which was deadly enough. One example: his bullying Mexican workers in US companies to continue to work without protection from COVID-10 and threatening tariffs that would cost Mexican workers jobs and income. US presidents can only serve two terms. In a second, Trump will attack without restraint, without regard for any international rules and protocols, with nothing to lose.

How would a Trump re-election affect the Mexican government?

Bravo: In México we are in a period of insurgency and rebellion against the powers that have ruled our country for 100 years. Those governments attacked our worker and peasant movements, corrupted every office of government, stole public funds that should have gone to help the people, turned a blind eye to murder and mayhem. After having two elections stolen from him, Andrés Manuel López Obrador not only won in 2018, he won by an overwhelming majority, and our party, Morena, won control of Congress.

Our new progressive regime must destroy the old and corrupt and build institutions on an ethical and moral basis, with a new way of doing politics that is progressive, humane, and inclusive. A Trump presidency threatens this project since he believes that he should dictate what México can and cannot do. His imperial attitude is captured in his promise that he would “build a wall — and make México pay for it!” Because Trump hates and fears social democracy, he will try to destroy AMLO and bring back leaders willing to sell out México’s people.  A Republican victory in the US could spell a Morena defeat in México. 

How important is the Mexican government to Mexicans living in the US?

Bravo: Our Mexican compatriots in the United States create wealth, do the hardest work for the lowest pay, and have no basic rights, even the simple right to have a family. This is no accident. It's a system designed to exploit immigrants and then dispose of them when they're no longer profitable. These workers need concrete, organized and systematic support from the Mexican government, to defend their rights. México needs the power to defend its citizens living abroad, as do other countries. Previous governments kowtowed to the US, and the current imbalance of power between the US and México makes this very difficult for the Morena government.

What is the most important thing we in the US can do to support Mexican sovereignty and Mexican workers at this time?

Bravo:  Defeat Trump! Our common purpose must be to defeat the right wing, represented in the United States by Trump and the Republican Party and in México by the PAN and PRI parties. None of those respond to the needs of the people, of the victims, of the excluded, of the exploited. Get Trump’s knee off our necks!

The US Left Needs Humility to Understand the Politics of México

The visit to the US by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for a meeting with President Trump [on the day NAFTA 2.0 went into effect] has stirred a great deal of media reaction in the US and México.

Nearly all US media articles about the visit characterized it as AMLO abandoning his progressive principles and shamefully kowtowing to Donald Trump… None of these articles considered the political and economic context in which AMLO and his Morena party are attempting to implement significant economic, social, and political reforms in México…

Here are some important factors the North American Left needs to consider.

1.   The Mexican oligarchy remains deeply entrenched and in control of the Mexican economy, most of its mass media, and major institutions (including many unions).

2.   AMLO and Morena face the most powerful superpower in the world on its border... with massive levels of economic penetration in México, myriad ties to the PRI and PAN, links to the Mexican military through the bogus war on drugs, and shared neoliberal goals with the Mexican capitalist class.

3.   AMLO and Morena have an incredibly democratic/social democratic reform program… Their two most important issues [as identified by the Mexican people] are ending corruption and the massive wealth and income inequality in México. They have… increased funding for health, social, and educational programs, supported the development of independent unions, increased the minimum wage, and more [largely funded by getting back money from corrupt politicians].

4.   Given these conditions, it should be no surprise that AMLO and Morena have chosen to avoid a sharp and prolonged conflict with the Trump Administration.  

5.    Like any government, especially one in its infancy, AMLO and Morena have surely made mistakes and political errors, including possibly serious ones in their response to COVID, domestic violence and femicide… While the Left need not turn a blind eye to these matters, we should continue to keep our eyes on the prize — which is a consolidated Morena party that can learn how to effectively govern and which can become a beacon of hope for the Mexican people, for Latinoamérica, for Chican@-Mexicans@, and other oppressed and working class peoples in the US, and for everyone working for the destruction of US imperialism.

You can find details and five more points in Bill's complete analysis online.  

Recent news reports and commentaries, from progressive and mainstream media,
on life and struggles on both sides of the US-México border

Natalie Kitroeff, Between the Pandemic and the President: Mexico City Mayor’s Balancing Act, New York Times. A profile of Claudia Sheinbaum, a potential successor to Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Joe Mejia, “It’s Basically a Death Sentence”: Hunger Strikers Demand Release as Virus Surges in ICE Jails, Democracy Now. People being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails are holding work and hunger strikes to protest the lack of adequate medical care and demand their release.

Alfredo Serrano Mancilla, América Latina: El neoliberalismo en default, sinpermiso. In Mexico and across Latin America, the neoliberal project now stands exposed and rejected.

David Raby, Right-wing provocations in México fail, Morning Star. Progressive social and economic policies remain the best riposte to increasingly strident right-wing opposition.

Raul Diego, Mexico to Renationalize Oil Next Year If Current Laws Fail to Save Reeling PEMEX, MintPress News. AMLO first hinted at the prospect of re-nationalizing Mexico’s oil industry in August and recently doubled down on the idea.

Ian Bremmer, Calling AMLO authoritarian is a gross exaggeration, GZero. A media watchdog skewers a recent Financial Times commentary that labeled AMLO Latin America’s latest “strongman.”

Patrick McDonnell and Kate Linthicum, Champion of poor or demagogue? México’s president remains popular despite stalled economy, pandemic and crime, Los Angeles Times. Why AMLO has become “one of the most popular leaders in the world.”

Lisa Reinsberg and Sarah Paoletti, The US Bears International Responsibility for Forced Sterilization of Women in ICE Detention, Just Security. US officials have failed to adequately regulate and supervise the provision of health care at ICE facilities, despite numerous human rights complaints.

Karen Meza, Mayor shutters Audi plant in Puebla for not paying tax, water bill, México News Daily. The plant’s Independent Union of Volkswagen Workers is also threatening job action if Volkswagen doesn’t give employees their fair share of profits generated from the company’s Audi operations.

Associated Press,  Climate change researcher Mario Molina was only Mexican scientist to win Nobel, Mexico News Daily. The environmentalist who exposed the dangers to the ozone layer and promoted sustainable development has passed at age 77.

The Mexico Solidarity Project brings together activists from various socialist and left organizations and individuals committed to worker and global justice who see the 2018 election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of México as a watershed moment. AMLO and his progressive Morena party aim to end generations of corruption, impoverishment, and subservience to US interests. Our Project supports not just Morena, but all Mexicans struggling for basic rights, and opposes US efforts to undermine organizing and México’s national sovereignty. 

Editorial committee: Meizhu Lui, Bruce Hobson, Bill Gallegos, Sam Pizzigati. We welcome your suggestions and feedback. Interested in getting involved? Drop us an email!

Web page and application support for the México Solidarity Project from NOVA Web Development, a democratically run, worker-owned and operated cooperative focused on developing free software tools for progressive organizations.