JoeJustJoe - 7-19-2011 at 11:34 AM
Malcolm Beith had this interesting piece linked on his blog about Mexico's image problem. And I agree with many parts of the article that even if
Mexico ended the drug war that's only half the battle because of the real or perceived image has to the casual tourist or casual observer of Mexico.
It also doesn't help we have alarmists, supremacist types, and haters who get all excited when there is any bad news coming out of Mexico. These types
delight when Mexico is ever shown in a bad light, and they are often the post or link the negative stories, or tell you, "I told you so, those
Mexicans are all savages, and there is no saving Mexico."
If you even have time check out SignsOnSanDiego under the local area and the border and immigration issues. I have never seen so many bigoted mean
spirited comments directed towards Mexico and Mexicans in my life! Of course many of those bigoted handles are just one ex-banned "Nomad"who wants to
make it seem that everyone is against Mexico, but that comment section has some real winners too in their own right who are into bigotry! It's
something else over there on the comment section, especially on the immigration stories.
Enjoy the article, and yes Mexico does have a image problem, and it's going to take a miracle to get rid of the image problem, and no not everybody in
Sinaloa is a narco that works for El Chapo, and Sinaloa is not a war zone. Of course I never been to Sinaloa and I have met many people from
Sinoloa, and they are tell me it's not like how the media portrays Sinoloa at all:
__________________________________
Can Mexico Fix Its Image Problem?
Ending the drug war is only half the battle for the candidates to replace Calderon in 2012; the second half will be convincing the rest of the world
that Mexico's not just a narco-state.
MEXICO CITY — About a year ago, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, I spoke to a young police official who works with juvenile delinquents. Juvenile
crime is atrociously high in his state, he admits, as are homicides and recruitment of youngsters by the Sinaloa cartel. But the most damaging part,
he says, is the tenacious perception of Sinaloa as a drug state, dominated by the larger-than-life figure of drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as
El Chapo. "Worldwide, everyone thinks we're Chapo's kids, related to him," the official said. "You can't say that everything and everyone [in Sinaloa]
is involved in drug trafficking."
With Mexico gearing up for the July 2012 presidential elections, the current president's war on organized crime, which has resulted in some 40,000
deaths since 2006‚ is dominating the political conversation. The president, Felipe Calderón, can't run because of term-limit laws. And most people
agree with the Sinaloan police officer: Mexico's reputation as a gang-ridden narco-state run by a disconnected and corrupt leadership is perhaps the
most serious issue that his successor will have to confront.
The next president faces an increasingly disillusioned and disgruntled electorate. Only 30 percent of the Mexican voting public currently believes the
country is headed down the right path, according to Consulta Mitofsky, Mexico's most trustworthy pollsters. Ordinary Mexicans' lack of confidence and
distrust in the government and its officials is astounding, even for a typically cynical Latin American populace: In polls, politicians usually rank
just below the police forces, which most Mexicans believe to be rampantly corrupt.
Calderón's successor faces a laundry list of staggering challenges, many of which, if left unresolved, could drag the country into a morass of
violence, corruption, and cynicism. The security situation -- gang-related massacres are becoming increasingly common in states like Durango and
Tamaulipas, while the blockading of roads out of Monterrey have threatened to capsize the local economy -- is reaching a level of urgency that could
affect U.S. support and funding. The political system is paralyzed, a legacy of the democratic transition in 2000: Congress remains at loggerheads
over key reforms introduced by the Calderón administration, and the three main parties continue to refuse to work together on too many fronts.
And yet, Mexico's economy is growing, tourism is rebounding, security in some parts of the country has never been better, and the middle class is
continuing to expand. So the key question going into 2012 is: Can anyone put back together Mexico's broken image, both on the world stage and at home?
Read the other eight pages here:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/07/14/can_mexico_...
Woooosh - 7-19-2011 at 11:54 AM
Fix the problems of Mexico first and the image will repair itself- with time. It's really that simple and easy. Until you fix the problem- nothing
in print will be taken seriously. But of course this is what tourist boards and governments do because it's what these people get paid to do.
Mexico has an Image Problem ?
MrBillM - 7-19-2011 at 03:59 PM
Really ?
Fancy that !
I'm sure it will all work out.
One way or another.
Bajahowodd - 7-19-2011 at 04:32 PM
I have to think, with respect to your mention of the angry, bigoted folks on SignonSanDiego, that historically, the border region has attracted the
most desparate types of folks, seeking to cross. Just don't know that in any border region, on either side, one would find an accurate representation
of either nation's populace. No intent to diss San Diego, but it is what it is. A historic flow of people North and South.
Hook - 7-19-2011 at 05:43 PM
If Germany did, why not Mexico?
??????????
MrBillM - 7-20-2011 at 06:01 PM
Because Germans ARE better at doing things ?
Woooosh - 7-20-2011 at 06:28 PM
Joe must have forgot he started this thread...
