Immigration 'Safety Valve' Does Mexico Little Good
By Allan Wall
Freelance Writer
The Los Angeles Times recently announced that remittances sent by Mexicans from the United States to Mexico are at an all-time high. Last year, remittances totaled at least $13.4 billion, this year it looks set to go even higher.
Remittances from immigrants now constitute Mexico's second-highest source of income, after petroleum. If Mexico fails to open up its inefficient energy monopoly, remittances may someday be the No. 1 source of income.
Rather than being ashamed of this, Mexican leaders positively revel in it. Vicente Fox and other Mexican politicians are constantly visiting the United States demanding benefits for illegal aliens.
Emigration to the United States has become Mexico's principal economic program. All political parties here support it. As far as emigration goes, it makes no difference whatsoever which political party wins the 2006 election. All Mexican political parties actively support The Safety Valve Doctrine.
Mexico's leaders fear that if The Safety Valve is removed, discontent will surface in unpleasant ways that might actually endanger their position. So it's easier to demand benefits from the Americans than fix the problems here in Mexico.
In the old days, emigration to the United States was an embarrassment, tacitly encouraged but not publicly spoken of. But now, Mexico's elite see it as an opportunity to expand Mexican influence in the United States
This explains the aggressive overtures to Mexican-Americans and the use of dual nationality to create a voting bloc that will vote in the interests of Mexico.
American voters should possibly have a stake in this issue. Is widespread dual citizenship really in our interests? It's another tough question being ignored.
I haven't heard Bush or Kerry talk about it.
The election of Vicente Fox as president of Mexico in 2000 was widely hailed both here and abroad as a step forward, and it certainly was. After 71 years, Mexico was no longer a one-party state. Mexico has political diversity and a free press, and no single political party controls the government.
Economics is another matter— about half of population lives under the poverty level. By international standards, Mexico is better off than most countries in the world. But Mexicans almost always compare their situation with that of the United States, not poorer nations.
Mexico has enormous economic potential. What it needs is a system that will unleash that potential, and spur job growth for the entire population, here in Mexico.
But the steps needed to construct such an economy are politically unpopular. The Mexican Congress is divided, and Fox has not exhibited the leadership skills necessary to negotiate with Congress for true reform. Instead, the Mexican president has concentrated an inordinate amount of time and political capital on the emigration issue.
It's a shame, because emigration is not the solution to Mexico's ills anyway.
Certainly, remittances from migrants do pump a lot of money into Mexican communities.
But most of this money is spent on groceries and other expenses. Not much goes into long-term investment to create more jobs. Also, remittances encourage recipients to turn down available jobs in Mexico, because they can get more money from relatives in the United States. And research has shown that Mexicans who receive remittances are more likely themselves to emigrate than those who don't.
Mass emigration contributes to family disintegration, encouraging deadbeat dads to abandon their families. It exacerbates the depopulation of rural areas. It casts a giant shadow over Mexico's social and economic life. It encourages Mexicans who already have jobs to quit their jobs here and move to the United States.
The Safety Valve fosters a collective mentality of dependence, an attitude of "Why solve the problems here? They can go to the U.S." The Safety Valve is a national addiction for Mexican society, and especially for the Mexican government. Like any addiction, it requires ever larger "fixes" to continue getting high. As long as this corrosive addiction continues, real incentive to reform Mexico's economy will be absent.
If the United States really wanted to help Mexico, it would control its borders and reduce immigration. Then you would see real progress in Mexico. It's called tough love.
Allan Wall is an American citizen living and working in Mexico; e-mail: allan39@prodigy.net.mx Copyright, Allan Wall
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