A cataclysm in Mexico 20 years ago forced citizens to rethink the status quo — and their role in it
MEXICO City residents have always had a fatalistic view of nature. Built on a zone of intense seismic activity, the city shakes with tiny movements as many as 20,000 times a year. When a gigantic earthquake shattered the city in 1985, many Mexicans’ deepest shock was their betrayal by the government.
On the morning of Sept. 19, 1985, a catastrophic tremor in the capital crushed tens of thousands of buildings and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people. In the days that followed, Mexican authorities did nothing or worse. In the flattened garment district, thousands of trapped women screamed for help and died while police blocked civilian rescuers so factory owners could unearth machinery instead.
At the same time, ordinary Mexicans mobilized by the millions. Students fled classrooms to help volunteers dig out survivors. One ad hoc search group, Topos Mexico, or Mexico Moles, still functions today. Tens of thousands of other Mexicans ferried food, water and medical help to victims. And it was ordinary Mexicans who did the mammoth task of clearing wreckage and removing bodies.
The horror transformed Mexico. More than 700,000 people moved outside the city center. Even the most apolitical Mexicans were forced to reassess their government, run by the PRI party since 1929. While many Mexicans had resisted PRI dominance, for millions the party represented stability in a country once disfigured by a civil war.
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They had right to stay but were sent to Mexico
Carlos Guerra was only 3 years old when Los Angeles County authorities came to his family's house in Azusa and ordered his mother, a legal U.S. resident, and her six American-born children to leave the country.
It was 1931. The administration of President Hoover backed a policy that would repatriate hundreds of thousands of Mexican-Americans, more than half of them U.S. citizens.
Amid the economic desperation of the Depression, Latino families were viewed as taking jobs and government benefits from "real Americans."
In Los Angeles County, a Citizens Committee for Coordination for Unemployment Relief
Mass eviction to Mexico in 1930s spurs apology
Carlos Guerra was only 3 years old when Los Angeles County authorities came to his family's house in Azusa and ordered his mother, a legal United States resident, and her six American-born children to leave the country.
It was 1931. The administration of President Herbert Hoover backed a policy that would repatriate hundreds of thousands of Mexican Americans, more than half of them United States citizens.
Amid the economic desperation of the Depression, Latino families were viewed as taking jobs and government benefits from "real Americans." In Los Angeles County, a Citizens Committee for Coordination
Mexico approved as an enhanced enterprise zone
City Manager Tanna Parish said it best. "Whoopee!" was his reaction to the good news that came in the form of a press release from the office of Gov. Matt Blunt stating the Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved Mexico's enhanced enterprise zone status.
Parish said being granted EEZ status is important for Mexico's economic standard and development.
"This gives us a really important tool needed to attract industry to the area," he said and explained while the city was an enterprise zone before and able to offer incentives to industry looking to relocate in
Immigrants unite to keep dreams alive--and in Mexico
Fernando Fernandez was 17 when he learned that, in Mexico, dreams are too often cast aside. His dream was to become a veterinarian, but reality forced him to migrate to the United States to help support his nine siblings.
Two decades later, he and other Chicago-area immigrants from the central Mexican town of Indaparapeo want to help the next generation hold on to its aspirations.
In an unusual initiative, the group has bankrolled 40 college scholarships designed to let youths stay in Mexico, get an education and avoid a lifetime in a strange land.
"We lived
Mexico should enact immigration reform
MEXI-CO President Vicente Fox has spent much of his international political capital fighting the U.S. House bill passed last December that proposes felon status for illegal immigrants in the United States.
Too bad illegal immigrants in his own land - mostly Central American migrants on their way to the United States - are already treated as criminals. Under a 32-year-old Mexican law, people who have crossed into Mexico illegally can be penalized with two to five years in prison, although the punishment is rarely imposed.
Three legislators, all members of Foxs National Action Party, are working
Celebrating Mexico’s Independence
Hundreds of people gathered along the Diez y Seis de Septiembre parade route Saturday to catch a view of the colorful floats that have become part of celebrating Mexico’s Independence from Spain.
Marcos Uranga, co-owner of Carol’s Ambulance Inc., and Ernesto Mendoza were in the Odessa College parking lot at 8:30 a.m. preparing an ambulance for a ride in the annual parade, which was organized by the Odessa Barrio Lion’s Club.
Uranga said he wanted to be involved in the event that celebrates Hispanics contributions to Odessa, as well as the United States.
“I want to pay homage to those people
MEXICO'S PLAN PUTS AMERICAN VALUES TO THE TEST
Behind the illegal immigrants waving Mexican and Salvadoran flags in Los Angeles last week; behind the Mexican girl in Arlington, Va., who was quoted as saying on radio, "Citizens -- what are they for? We do all the work"; behind the antiquated calls for taking back the Southwest in the name of a Mexican Aztlan -- there is a plan.
I am not saying that this plan, propagated by Mexico City, could challenge the lies, secrecy and Machiavellian scheming of American war plans in the Middle East. I am not saying that
Study Recommends Mexico Block Crossings
An immigration study partly funded by the Mexican government recommended Friday that Mexico bar its citizens from the most dangerous illegal border crossings.
But Assistant Foreign Relations Secretary Geronimo Gutierrez said his country was willing to consider the recommendation that restricted access zones should be established in dangerous areas.
We are not closed to any option, said Gutierrez, who called for a wider debate on Mexicos role and responsibilities in migration issues.
Mexico has long defended its citizens right to migrate, and Gutierrez said the debate is just in the beginning stage.
However, Martin said
Money transfers to Mexico targeted by scam artists
The Texas Attorney General’s office issued a warning for anyone sending money to Mexico with a wire transfer
Anyone thinking of sending money to their family in Mexico should be very careful. The Texas Attorney General’s office issued an alert to make sure people don’t become the target of scams. They say you should choose a money transfer company carefully.
These are red flags that the money transfer company may be scamming you:
The exchange rate is different from the one advertised or printed on the receipt.
The person receiving the money is forced to pay an
Mexico: Democracy Under Threat
To get a sense of the danger hovering over Mexican democracy, consider these numbers: In the 681 years between the founding of the Aztec empire in 1325 and the present day, Mexico has lived for 196 years under an indigenous theocracy, 289 years under the absolute monarchy of Spain, 106 years under personal or party dictatorships, 68 years embroiled in civil wars or revolutions, and only 22 years in democracy.
This modest democratic 3 percent of Mexicos history is divided over three periods, far separated in time: 11 years in the second half of the 19th century, 11
