Engaging the Questions
I have a friend who has performed an invaluable service for me over the decades, namely being my questioner. No doubt as much for his own benefit trying to understand better but has also allowed me to work to make my own understandings clearer. The other day, once again, he sent me an email with these excellent questions leading me to think through some of these issues I deal with on a daily basis. So, here in brief form is a kind of primer on US/Mexico relations and what a Trump presidency might mean...
What threat does a Trump presidency pose that a Clinton one did not? After all, Bill Clinton signed NAFTA and as I recall, didn't you say that has been a disaster for Mexico as a whole?
This has been one of the ironies in the past election campaign because both Bernie and Donald agree that NAFTA has been a disaster. While both say it has taken away jobs from the U.S., at least Bernie offered some understanding about how it has also undercut small farmers in Mexico. So, if it has not been good for the majority of workers/farmers on both sides of the border then for whom has it been a success? Aahh, that leads to the crux of the issue—it's that blasted neo-liberal economics that touts a trickle down theory to the masses while allowing for a rushing torrent upward toward the 1%. NAFTA has been neoliberalism's primary activator between U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Trump lambasted NAFTA's role in job loss, but not its role in redistribution upwards. Is it any wonder then that one of the top three priorities coming out of the first meeting between Trump and the Republican leadership in the Congress is to cut taxes for rich people and large corporations? While they may say that tax cuts will help jobs return to the U.S. we’ll have to wait to see what the corporate managers decide to do. Also, will the U.S. buy Mexican exports even with high tariffs (a result if U.S. withdraws from NAFTA)? That, also, is an open question. (Past experiences prophesy that the answer to both questions is "No.")
Related to that, has the outsourcing of work from American companies benefited Mexico in any way? If not, then how will Trump's promise to regain those capital investments and relocate those jobs back in the US be a negative thing?
The boom of “maquiladoras” (U.S. corporately owned factories in less developed countries) in Mexico has subsided as most of the U.S. corporations have found even lower labor costs in Asian countries. If those that are left, however, also leave (a dubious assumption given the high investment made in infrastructure) then once again we will wait to see if the US will import Mexican-made goods at competitive prices allowing Mexican business and workers to prosper. Most economists I read believe that globalization of economic markets has already gone too far down the road to go back now, and this type of isolationism will only bring about trade wars, increased poverty for the “losers” of those wars, and increased security concerns for the “winners.”
What is your perspective on borders in general and the US-Mexico border in particular?
In his 60 minutes interview, Trump seemed to allow that “fencing” may be sufficient for parts of the border and the immediate concern is to deport the 2-3 million undocumented "criminals" in the U.S. To state the immigration priorities as first, “border security, second, deport the “deplorables,” and then analyze the rest, seems to me to be backwards. A correct analysis of the immigration problem would yield important answers on the causes of immigration which would then allow us to work to improve conditions in their home countries thus rendering the wall totally unnecessary. But granted, that is thinking more long term and doesn’t feed the base what they want today.
Somewhat related, how is immigration seen on your side of the border?
Mexicans are frustrated that the long history of U.S. intervention (and others) has not been recognized, and are increasingly angry with the disrespect from Trump and others towards their people on both sides of the border. If the U.S. wants to go isolationist then that will cause Mexicans to begin hunkering down, preparing themselves to live self-sufficiently with what they produce. In the short-term, this would mean difficult days, but we pray that in the long term could yield more benefits.
Finally, Pastor Lee makes reference to what I am calling a “prophetic itineration” visiting churches on both sides of the border in order to listen, learn and link. This would be a project of our newly formed bi-national organization, Jubilee Economics Ministries/Casa Jubileo.
The first itineration is planned for Nov. 21-30 visiting cities and towns of Puebla, Veracruz and Tamaulipas and then continuing on the U.S. side in San Antonio, El Paso, Santa Fe, Tucson, Phoenix and San Diego.
The trip will culminate with JEM’s 2nd “Inter-cultural Conversation” from Dec. 1-10 in San Diego, Puebla and Chiapas.
Tentative plans for 2017 will be for an itineration through the “flyover” part of the U.S. from Laredo,TX to Grand Rapids, MI from January 14-28.
We anticipate two “Inter-Cultural Conversations” in 2017, scheduled at times similar to the two in 2016—around Cinco de Mayo from May 4-7 and again from Dec. 1-10. Please follow details on our website.
