Several years ago I read a piece by a famous Mexican intellectual.
I don”t remember the name of the man or the magazine, but I do remember the gist of his article: There had been a “reform” mayor elected in Mexico City. He and many other Latin American lights had been invited to help the mayor.
The intellectual began his mission by doing an inventory. He visited a motorpool and found five late model Chevrolet trucks.
He “popped” the hoods, and found that in three of the trucks, the motors were missing.
He also discovered several “sweetheart” deals to private businesses, while needy agencies went without.
All in all, he discovered that the bureaucracy, beside being corrupt, was horribly inefficient. This made it almost impossible to get things done through legal means.
And, he concluded that the bureaucracy is so unworkable precisely, because it necessitated ” la mordida” (literally, the bite).
If you wanted to get things done, you had to pay bribes.
Under this system of corruption, most Mexican people are condemned to subsistence living, so they die by the thousands trying to cross the desert to the United States, or “trade” a trunk ride across the border for a few thousand dollars to be redeemed after finding employment.
Our anger is aroused by illegal aliens getting free services, “gaming” the system and taking jobs from citizens.
It must be admitted that illegal aliens also do jobs that U.S. citizens would not do, and pay taxes and buy goods, etc.
There does not seem to be a dollar amount to weigh the total effect of illegal aliens. However, I would argue that this is a spurious issue.
The real issue is a corrupt and uncaring Mexican government.
There is plenty of wealth in Mexico.
In fact, Carlos Slim, arguably the richest man in the world, is Mexican.
So, while the government of Mexico offers few services to its people, for a price, they will do a good job for Walmart.
So, why is Walmart “the villain of the piece?”
Nelson Strasser
Lakeport
