Given the inhuman and degrading treatment to which they have been subjected by Washington's policies in recent years, Barack Obama's visit to Mexico scheduled for the first week in May will be an excellent opportunity for the Mexican people to demonstrate their indignation to the U.S. President. Enrique Peña Nieto and Obama will seek to use the meeting to focus the media spotlight and falsely legitimize the high-level pacts that have characterized both governments. But society has a duty to offer an alternative vision and to demand radical changes in the bilateral relationship.
On his first visit to Mexico in April 2009, Obama was greeted with open arms by a society hopeful that his rise to the presidency of the United States could help improve the situation of Mexicans on both sides of the border. Many citizens took to the streets to see and salute the famous politician who had become president of the United States under the promise of "change". Some even thronged the bridges of the Paseo de la Reforma [major Mexico City arterial] in hopes of being able to see the new president's caravan pass.
But Obama did not deign even to wave his hand from his limousine to acknowledge this traditional Mexican hospitality. He simply limited himself to being closeted with Felipe Calderón in order to give instructions to the Mexican president and his team. That attitude marked a radical departure from his first visits to Europe and Africa, which were characterized by speeches given in squares filled with a broad spectrum of political and social actors.
Again and again since then, the U.S. President has confirmed his lack of respect for Mexico and Mexicans. He has expelled from the United States hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, spent exorbitant amounts [of public funds] to "seal" the border with Mexico and intervened aggressively and intrusively in Mexico's security policy. Today Mexican security and intelligence institutions are fully infiltrated by U.S. agencies. The more than 70,000 dead, 25,000 missing and 250,000 displaced during the Calderón administration are also Washington's responsibility.
During his first four years, Obama failed to make progress in his country with respect to necessary immigration reform, gun control and legalization of drugs. The small steps that they are now beginning to take to recognize these issues are not due to his leadership, but to citizen action, to reforms at the local level in individual states, and to the renewed interest of the right-wing and openly anti-Mexican Republican Party in simulating a false support for the "Hispanic" community to avoid a complete rout by this bloc in the next elections.
As has become customary, the United States sees its relations with Mexico more as a matter of domestic politics than of foreign policy. Today more than ever, Mexico has become the "backyard" of the empire. Meanwhile, Peña Nieto gladly accepts his subordinate role and even boasts of his desire to support Washington's plan to achieve "energy independence in North America." It would not be surprising if the Mexican President might even take advantage of Obama's visit to invite him to be part of the Pact for Mexico.
Obama is coming to Mexico for two reasons. First, to bring the support by voters of Mexican descent in the United States with a show of supposed "friendship" with Mexico. Second, to urge the privatization of oil [Pemex] and to support consolidation of the neoliberal project brandished by Peña Nieto. Obama and the United States are not aware of principles or ideals in international relations; their interests are strategic only. Set in the context of political instability in both the Middle East and Asia, plunder of the Mexican oil company is particularly important today to the neighboring country. And without exception all the North American oil companies have their Pemex in their sights.
Obama has betrayed the hopes of Mexicans. Today, instead of turning the other cheek, they would have to show the American president that we do not accept that his government may continue promoting death, exploitation and the pillage of Mexico and the Mexicans. The citizens should show him their displeasure and tell him with all their arts that if the U.S. President is not willing to change his policies and respect the Mexican people, it is best that he return to the White House. We have enough dishonest politicians in Mexico without any need to import others from the north.
In parallel, it would also be worth developing a new civic agenda regarding US-Mexico relations. This agenda could include, for example, cancellation of all military and security funding to Mexico, renegotiation of NAFTA, inclusion of Mexico in OPEC, as well as a strong and resolute defense of Mexican nationals north of the border. A really honorable Mexican president would also demand that the occupant of the White House pay reparations for the enormous human and material destruction caused by the war on drugs that was designed and coordinated from Washington. Mexico will only advance in the family of nations starting from dignified and decisive actions in favor of its sovereignty and national strength. Spanish original
*John M. Ackerman, U.S. born and trained scholar (Ph.D. in political sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz), is also a Mexican citizen. He is a researcher in the Institute of Judicial Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico [UNAM] and editorial director of the Mexican Law Review. A columnist for La Jornada newspaper and Proceso magazine, Dr. Ackerman maintains a blog of his articles in Spanish, as well as some in English. Twitter: @JohnMAckerman