In our present financial woes, should we be strutting across the Rio Grand? Mexico is a wealthy country with its miles of pristine beaches, untapped oil reserves and an abundance of untouched land. But Mexico refuses to share the bounty of wealth even among its own countrymen. Forty percent of Mexicans live in dire poverty, but choose to remain fiercely loyal to Mexico, but not enough to fight for their Democracy. Only the drug cartels have finally awakened Mexico’s sleeping government and the country has taken a turn for the worst, with horrendous acts of crime.

The 10 percent of Mexicans who reside in the U.S. have bankrupted: Schools, hospitals and human resource programs, yet the U.S. has promised $350 million to fight drug cartels and as usual any aid will end up in the pockets of the politicians.

There are only 40 million people who live in Mexico, and if they had a Democratic government, most could live better than they could live in the U.S. as undocumented without fear of deportation. As long as the Mexican government continues its reign of corruption, the drug cartel will continue to flourish and Mexico will remain the kidnapping capital of the world. The chickens have come home to roost, and Mexico may never be the peaceful haven it was once, but a hundred years of poverty changes people, and not even their religion could save them. Their only salvation was the U.S., but with our present economic woes many are returning to Mexico, even more dangerous than it was when they first left. Will the children of the undocumented be a product of the drug cartels if they choose to return to Mexico?

Lydia Kurtz

Port Arthur