BajaNomad

Calderon wants to change country's name

durrelllrobert - 11-22-2012 at 07:33 PM

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon has one non-urgent item pending on his agenda in the dying days of his presidency - he wants to change his country's name.

Calderon sent a bill to Congress on Thursday to change the constitution to tweak his nation's official name from Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or United States of Mexico, to plain old Mexico - as the country is already known the world over.

Mexico was given its name of Estados Unidos Mexicanos in the 19th century, when the country's post-revolutionary founders harked to the United States of America as an example of democracy and freedom to follow.

"The name of our country no longer needs to emulate that of other nations," Calderon said. "Forgive me for the expression, but Mexico's name is Mexico."

The country's name is derived from the nomadic Mexica tribe that in 1325 settled present-day Mexico City, which later grew into the imperial Aztec capital before succumbing to Spanish conquerors two centuries later.

Calderon staked his presidency on the much larger issue of fighting the country's drug cartels, and about 60,000 people have died in drug violence during his term. The bloodshed hurt his National Action Party's candidate in a presidential election in July.

He hands Mexico's reins to president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party on December 1

[Edited on 11-23-2012 by durrelllrobert]

Bruce R Leech - 11-22-2012 at 07:50 PM

gitterdone Felipe Calderon:lol:

gnukid - 11-22-2012 at 08:05 PM

Passed years ago, this is a reminder of a previous attempted law passing, one can only imagine the impications of passng a law changing the name of a corporation with outstanding debt or credit and therefore implying that said contracts were no longer valid-not. One should simply be aware of the legal concerns of the corporation-united states of Mexico-who are the shareholders, who are the legal pdebtors, who are the parties to this name change? Everyone?


[Edited on 11-23-2012 by gnukid]

Bajatripper - 11-23-2012 at 01:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by gnukid
Passed years ago, this is a reminder of a previous attempted law passing, one can only imagine the impications of passng a law changing the name of a corporation with outstanding debt or credit and therefore implying that said contracts were no longer valid-not. One should simply be aware of the legal concerns of the corporation-united states of Mexico-who are the shareholders, who are the legal pdebtors, who are the parties to this name change? Everyone?


[Edited on 11-23-2012 by gnukid]


Gnu, I don't think this proposal would have any economic effect. From reading an article in a Mexican newspaper, and knowing somewhat how Mexicans think, I interpret this a little more than a political ploy that will go nowhere.

President Calderon says the issue is of "utmost importance," and yet, he waited until his last two weeks of his presidency to bring it up. Some "importance." This is little more than an attempt, in my opinion, than to provide a distraction from more important issues the nation faces.

As for the Mexican mindset, they tend to be a proud people (as most folks are) and I'm sure many wouldn't mind dropping the "Estados Unidos" part of the name if for no other reason than to put that distance between the US and them. Many Mexicans are quick to point out when an American identifies himself or herself as such that everyone who lives in the Western Hemisphere are "Americans." What you are, they will say, is an Estadounidense. If some say he's/she's a North American, they will say, so are the Canadians and the folks who live in the north of Mexico.

Or, at least, that's my take.

DENNIS - 11-23-2012 at 01:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
President Calderon says the issue is of "utmost importance," and yet, he waited until his last two weeks of his presidency to bring it up.

Actually, it was brought up earlier in his administration. I recall reading about it a couple of years ago.

DENNIS - 11-23-2012 at 01:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
Many Mexicans are quick to point out when an American identifies himself or herself as such that everyone who lives in the Western Hemisphere are "Americans."


If you call a Mexican an "American", regardless of the accuracy of the statement, he will be insulted and will deny it out of hand.
Some Mexicans will use that lame arguement only to strip us of a name.......leaving us nameless.......Americans without a name.
Other arguements with a racist base contend that we Americans have no identifiable culture, ignoring the facts of our European basis and ignoring their own in the process. These people couldn't find Spain on a map.
You see......Mexicans allow themselves the liberty to claim any heritage that fits the discussion at hand while denying us ours. It's no more, or less, than snobby racism.

No problem with legalities of debt

thebajarunner - 11-23-2012 at 02:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by gnukid
Passed years ago, this is a reminder of a previous attempted law passing, one can only imagine the impications of passng a law changing the name of a corporation with outstanding debt or credit and therefore implying that said contracts were no longer valid-not. One should simply be aware of the legal concerns of the corporation-united states of Mexico-who are the shareholders, who are the legal pdebtors, who are the parties to this name change? Everyone?


[Edited on 11-23-2012 by gnukid]


Every time they get in a jam they just devalue the peso and pay back with deflated money

Wish I could do that on my rental mortgages

Brought up earlier

MrBillM - 11-23-2012 at 02:50 PM

Yeah.

I remember the same nonsense in 1995.

I wouldn't doubt there were efforts before that.

BajaRat - 11-23-2012 at 03:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
Many Mexicans are quick to point out when an American identifies himself or herself as such that everyone who lives in the Western Hemisphere are "Americans."


If you call a Mexican an "American", regardless of the accuracy of the statement, he will be insulted and will deny it out of hand.
Some Mexicans will use that lame arguement only to strip us of a name.......leaving us nameless.......Americans without a name.
Other arguements with a racist base contend that we Americans have no identifiable culture, ignoring the facts of our European basis and ignoring their own in the process. These people couldn't find Spain on a map.
You see......Mexicans allow themselves the liberty to claim any heritage that fits the discussion at hand while denying us ours. It's no more, or less, than snobby racism.


Dennis, I guess we just run with a different crowd.
P.S. Mexico has a debt that is aprox 20% of their Gross Domestic Product.
The United States of America has surpassed 100%.
Grande Problema, No ?

Yeah, but "we owe it to ourselves"

thebajarunner - 11-23-2012 at 03:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaRat
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
Many Mexicans are quick to point out when an American identifies himself or herself as such that everyone who lives in the Western Hemisphere are "Americans."


If you call a Mexican an "American", regardless of the accuracy of the statement, he will be insulted and will deny it out of hand.
Some Mexicans will use that lame arguement only to strip us of a name.......leaving us nameless.......Americans without a name.
Other arguements with a racist base contend that we Americans have no identifiable culture, ignoring the facts of our European basis and ignoring their own in the process. These people couldn't find Spain on a map.
You see......Mexicans allow themselves the liberty to claim any heritage that fits the discussion at hand while denying us ours. It's no more, or less, than snobby racism.


Dennis, I guess we just run with a different crowd.
P.S. Mexico has a debt that is aprox 20% of their Gross Domestic Product.
The United States of America has surpassed 100%.
Grande Problema, No ?


So, you see, it really does not matter.

We just borrow from the Social Security "trust fund"
$5 trillion so far,
and since SS is broke
well who cares,
they will never get it back

so print more money
and the wheel goes round and round

get your wheelbarrows ready to tote your money
this 'magic economics' only works in the New York Times editorial page

DENNIS - 11-23-2012 at 03:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaRat
Dennis, I guess we just run with a different crowd.


I'm not really talking about the crowds we run with. You'll never know how they really feel about us.
I'm refering to the crowds who wouldn't run with us if their life depended on it.



.

[Edited on 11-23-2012 by DENNIS]

Packoderm - 11-23-2012 at 07:39 PM

They have too strong of a central government to be considered a conglomeration of even semi independent states. Any organized and meaningful states rights petition would not go over very well with the federal district of Mexico.

Bajajorge - 11-24-2012 at 10:25 AM

Who cares, next week somebody else will have another brilliant idea. Just like the FM2, FM3 changes. Wait a week and the rules change again, and again, and again, and then back to whatever.:yawn::yawn::yawn:

Bajatripper - 11-24-2012 at 12:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS

Some Mexicans will use that lame arguement only to strip us of a name.......leaving us nameless.......Americans without a name.


Not without a name, Dennis, but rather, with that ugly "Estadounidense" title--which, I suppose we deserve since our founding fathers expressed such little imagination when they chose it as the name of our country. I mean, really, how imaginative is "United States of America"? I've always thought they dropped the ball on that one.

DENNIS - 11-24-2012 at 12:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
I've always thought they dropped the ball on that one.


Maybe they dropped the other ball by stopping Manifest Destiny when it got to the waters edge. :lol: