Labor, Wealth, and Democracy: Mexican Immigration Migration

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Labor, Wealth, and DemocracyMexican Immigration
/ Migration
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Caption ReadsIn the tense, hybrid world of the
US-Mexican border, Mexicos problems are becoming
Americas problems
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The Tortilla Curtain
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Lets pause for a moment to consider the
following questions

• What is the problem with our Mexican/US border
  according to those in the media who identify
  themselves as- Liberal?
• - Conservative?
• Why we need to find another interpretive path
  that eliminates this polarization.

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Media Distortions

• Frequently represent border problems through
  alarmist imagery
• Imagery constructs a narrative a story

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Media Distortions

• Delivery of this story by conservatives in the
  media frequently- demonize immigrants (both
  legal and illegal)
• - offer simplistic explanations about the need
  for immigrant/migrant labor
• - fail to address larger economic causes and
  their effects

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Media Distortions

• Delivery of this story by liberals in the media
  frequently- avoid the issue of border security
  and terrorist threats
• - are dismissive of the effects of massive
  immigration in US cities
• - privilege diversity without discussing unity

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Another Way of Thinking About This

• Seek to understand the way in which the meanings
  behind narratives are not only constructed but
  lived
• Identify economic forces that drive events
• Consider how a more meaningful public discourse
  is co-opted by left-wing vs. right-wing politics

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Lets try this by asking a simple question

• What is the history that precedes these
  conservative/liberal narratives?
• As I explain this history- avoid seeing these
  events through the left wing vs. right wing
  pundit glasses.
• Instead, try to absorb and understand the
  complexity of the narratives as lived experience.

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How Different Beginnings Lead to Different
Outcomes

• Both US and Mexico begin as European colonies
• US shaped by England- advanced industrial /
  commercial power
• Mexico shaped by Spain- in economic decline by
  18th century

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2. When the border conflict begins

• Mexico wins independence from Spaina
  half-century after United States
• - high human cost 1/10 of population
• After independence- Mexico fights off many
  military invasions- US most costly of these

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How the US/Mexico border conflict begins

• US government supports secession of Texas from
  Mexico (1836)
• President Polk - a minor border incident (with
  conflicting interpretations) leads to a decision
  to engage in full scale war (1846)
• - war ends with Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

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3. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848

• Mexican historians refer to it as the
  amputation
• Mexico loses half of national territory
  including- Arizona, California, New Mexico,
  large parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah
• Treaty guarantees protection of civil, cultural,
  language, and property rights of- Approximately
  100,000 Mexicans living in these areas
• - Protections not enforced- High levels of
  violence occur