Comments by "MarcosElMalo2" (@MarcosElMalo2) on "Geopolitics of Mexico" video.

@Monalex89 Imagine if California became mexicanized! They’d change all the place names, streets, towns . . . Oh, wait. 🤪 (By ethnic/nationality population, L.A. is the second biggest Mexican city!) But seriously, we should take into account the very interesting cultural blending phenomenon on both sides of the frontera. I don’t believe it will lead to any changes in political boundaries, but the cultural diffusion and economic cooperation (an important thing neglected in the video) does bind both sides of the border region together. The truth is, neither the U.S. nor Mexico has any designs on each other’s political territory. This is mostly the fever dream of racists in the U.S. that have “reconquista” sand in their cracks or those that are white supremacists/imperialists and who believe that all problems can be solved with political violence (which they call “imposing order”). Partitioning any part of Mexico would destabilize the U.S. and the partitioned parts would be ungovernable. The reverse is too absurd to contemplate. Neither Americans of Mexican ancestry nor recent immigrants have any desire to stop being Americans (or residents of America), nor could Mexico hope to govern any of the U.S. states. (Governing independent-minded states like Sonora is already a challenge, no? Imagine the politicians in CDMX trying to govern Arizona!) Mexico is a big place, a huge and varied country, so I cannot make generalizations. I can say that the Bajío region, where I live, is distinctly different from the frontera, but even here there is a good deal of cultural diffusion that seeps into our lives. American style consumerism has taken hold, and certain American holidays are growing in popularity, such as Halloween and Cinco de Mayo (Yes, I’m joking about 5deMayo, but only partially). It’s also worth pointing out the influence (in both directions) of youth culture. La cultura pandilla is most certainly an import from the U.S., specifically from Southern California. With regard to Mexican influence on the U.S. beyond the border, it might be worthwhile to consult the writings of Gustavo Arellano, the “Orange County Octavio Paz”. (lol, I think he’d get a kick out that comparison, while humbling denying it.) He wrote a book with the thesis that México’s invasion of the U.S. is fait acompli, irreversible, terminado, thanks to the soft power of the soft taco. Call the process “Taco Diplomacy”. The truth is, both countries could accommodate a more open border without either side risking loss of sovereignty. DF will continue to pursue its own agenda while continuing to cooperate with both the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. (now that adults are back in charge) will pursue both cooperation and meddling, as it always has. Mexico has a century of experience responding to “gringo imperialism”, and knows how to extract concessions.
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@aurorathekitty7854 That political realignment will never happen, unless there is a very unlikely breakdown of the U.S. political order. I will agree that the Frontera (as exemplified by your El Paso/Juárez) is not like anything in Pennsylvania, but you might be shocked at how far the Mexican diaspora has reached into the U.S.—there are major enclaves in many of the cities in the South, but also in the Midwest. Take Chicago as an example—the Mexican community has been there for decades. This shit fascinates me, btw. I think we (both Americans and Mexicans) benefit from the cultural transfusions and economic cooperation.
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I think you got more right than you got wrong, but your POV is definitely “second world”, showing a “kremlinesque” bias. The political leaders in DF have proven adept at dealing with U.S. soft power, maintaining sovereignty and extracting concessions. They’ve even gotten the U.S. to blink (see the Cienfuegos affair for a recent example). The “military threat” is non-existent, more a figment in the fevered minds of conservatives who think military force is the answer to everything. The truth is, a partition of Mexican states by the U.S. would be much more trouble than its worth. Likewise (and even more absurd) is the idea that Mexico might partition any part of the U.S. via “reconquista”. This fear is common to the same delusional minds that believe they can impose order on sovereign nations via military force. The fact is that a sovereign Mexico that is enmeshed culturally and economically with the U.S. is better for both the U.S., and for Mexico. Now that adults are back in charge of the U.S. foreign policy, I expect to see an increase in economic cooperation. Something that needs to be strongly emphasized is the nature of the Mexican diaspora into the U.S.: it quickly becomes American and woven into the fabric of American society, despite our famous racism. Even amongst economic immigrants that plan on returning to their ranchos in Mexico, there is a sense of participation in our country’s culture, even as they spread Mexican cultural influence by way of Taco Diplomacy (soft power from soft tacos). I think you made another error by mischaracterizing the plateau region, much of which is not “arid” desert, but is rich arable farmland that receives rain from late spring to late autumn. If it lacks forests and woodlands, it’s due to the mining of the colonial period. Mineral extraction in that period required a lot of wood for mine building and for fuel. With regard to water, there are water table issues, but it might interest you to know that SAPASMA takes truckloads of water from the bajío region to CDMX. Also, while the area (particularly Guanajuato) is the “cradle of independence”, it’s also quite a conservative place. Not only has it been a PAN (the conservative party) stronghold, it’s was the center of the counter-revolutionary Cristero rebellion in the 1930s. In many ways, Mexico already serves as a gateway to Latin America. (Literally, in the case of Americans who wish to travel to Cuba!) I suppose with the right moves, it could strengthen this role. It was quite ambitious and admirable to take on this complex subject in a short video. As I said, I detect a vestigial Soviet bloc bias that I think slants your understanding of Mexico and Mexico’s relations with the U.S., but it’s more like the tint of your glasses than gross distortions of the optics. Your overall point is correct: Mexico maintains its sovereignty and independence from the U.S. while maintaining strong relations as a partner and close neighbor.
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