mexico – The Hilltop Monitor

On National Hispanic Heritage Month

Agatha Echenique — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Image from Unsplash.

This year, National Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15 and ended Oct. 15. Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates Hispanic and Latin American culture and the positive impact they have had on the development of the United States.

But what is it like to be Hispanic in the United States during Heritage month?

As someone who is from Mexico, I thought I might take the liberty to make some comments concerning what it is to be Hispanic in general in the United States and how this month, in particular, affects my life here in Missouri.

I moved to the United States when I was around four years old because my father received a job offer in Florida. I’ve since lived in Florida, Texas and, now, Missouri. I would say that I am probably slightly estranged from my mother culture, but I think that I nonetheless live in a way that is different from the average person in the US.

Particularly around the months of October and November, I find myself often reminiscing about my memories of Mexico. This is because around this time is when the celebration of the Day of the Dead takes place (specifically, the Day of the Dead begins on Oct. 31-Nov. 2). Especially now that I am at William Jewell College and can see the preparations Mi Gente takes to celebrate this holiday, I find myself missing my house in San Luis Potosi and my family.

It has been about six years since I last visited! I think I am long overdue for a trip back to my home. And this yearning within me manifests itself in my drawings of altars in preparation for the Day of the Dead, in my searching for vegetarian recipes for pan de muertos, in my constant stream of WhatsApp messages with my family back home. ¡México, te extraño!

Here is an example of a sketch I was entertaining for an altar for my great-grandmother. She died a few years back, and I think about her often. She once crocheted me a cute little bear doll, which I have now sadly lost. She always had the wackiest stories to tell me about my grandfather’s childhood in Mexico.

I really like National Hispanic Heritage Month. I get extraordinarily excited to see the events Mi Gente has planned. I am looking forward to perusing the virtual Day of the Dead event that the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art has on their website. Even though I am so far away from my culture, these little events serve to bring a piece of home back to me.

I think that I especially appreciate having something like National Hispanic Heritage Month because things have been so crazy with COVID-19. The daily news about Mexico is disheartening, to say the least.

In 2020 alone, 2,240 women were killed in Mexico. The rate of femicides (that is, the murder of a woman or girl, often by a man on account of her gender) in Mexico has increased by 3.1 percent. As a result, women have taken to protesting, particularly in Mexico City.

I find myself constantly worried about my family in Mexico, particularly my grandmother, who works with the Supreme Court and deals directly with cases of femicide. I often have conversations with her concerning the difficulties surrounding her job because of COVID-19.

I was planning on visiting my family in Mexico over the summer this year, but the uncertainty surrounding last year’s spring break and the switch to online classes really threw a wrench in my plans.

Thus, I am glad that there is something like National Hispanic Heritage Month to remind me of the things I love most about my culture.

Thousands of U.S. residents flood into Mexico for healthcare services as Trump continues advocating the border wall

Sofia Arthurs-Schoppe — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 14:10:23 +0000

US Mexico Border Wall and Fence – Border Field State Park. Photo courtesy of Tony Webster.

Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has been active in stoking fears about undocumented immigrants and – what he maintains are – weak and inadequate immigration laws. Much of his rhetoric has been centered around the southern border of the U.S. and the caravans of migrants attempting to enter the country from Latin America.

Trump has gone as far as declaring, on Twitter, a “National Emergy [sic]” due to “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners” approaching the U.S. on foot from the south, a statement made nearly four months ahead of the his controversial declaration of an official national emergency at the southern border.

Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy. Must change laws!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018

And yet, the president has presented the matter in a one sided light such that many Americans are unaware of the tens-of-thousands of U.S. nationals who enter Mexico to obtain cheaper healthcare – a group of people seeking to escape the inordinate cost of medical care within the U.S.

To enter Mexico, U.S. citizens require only a passport as long as the individuals stay within the Mexican border zone – usually defined as the region within 20-30 km of the border. While those entering Latin America from the U.S. are able to do so with ease and relative comfort, the inverse situation is more difficult. In 2006 President George W. Bush signed into law the Secure Fence Act and the construction of fences along the southern border began – significantly reducing migration into the U.S. from Latin America.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, the number of refugees from Latin America crossing the border every month ranges from 20,000 to 60,000. Yet, according to Mayor Christian Camacho of Los Algodones, a town in northeastern Mexico approximately 16 km from Arizona, nearly 6,000 “dental refugees” from the U.S. enter the town every day to receive treatment at a cheaper cost.

The majority of those who travel to Los Algodones do so because they cannot afford dental care in the U.S. Many belong to middle-income families, an income demographic generally considered to be financially sound despite its struggles with stagnating incomes, dwindling job prospects and increasingly bleak opportunities for youth.

Nearly one third of U.S. residents either do not have health insurance or have insurance they consider to be inadequate. This means that around 80 million people nationwide live without security in the knowledge that, should tragedy strike, appropriate care is available for them and their families.

The cost of healthcare in the U.S. has garnered international attention in recent years and organizations like the Peterson Center on Healthcare are highlighting the system’s inadequacies.

A report released last year presented data showing that the cost of most major surgeries and prescribed drugs is higher in the U.S. than in comparable countries. It also reported that the U.S. has fewer physicians per capita than comparable countries – including Australia, Canada and Germany.

Photo courtesy of Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of data from OECD Health Statistics and the AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Some blame these costs on legal changes made by the current Republican administration. Others cite cuts made to the Medicare budget under the Obama administration as the problem. During his presidency, Obama made these budget cuts to provide funding for the Affordable Care Act – otherwise known as Obamacare.

Despite the importance of having trained physicians and accessible healthcare, the huge costs associated with medical school and the inability of many middle-income families to afford insurance is resulting in declining health conditions nationwide.

For many families unable to afford care within the nation’s borders, cities like Los Algodones provide salvation.

“We’re helping the United States take care of the people they are not able to,” said Camacho, the town’s mayor.

Regular visitors to Los Algodones have coined the name “Molar City” for the town. This name has gained prevalence and city officials have invested in the domain name MolarCity.com to advertise to their growing consumer base in the U.S.

The site proudly advertises its purpose to connect with potential customers across the border and displays slogans such as “Molar City IT IS THE MOST SAFE BORDER OF MÉXICO as safe as Disneyland” and a pop-up which appears as one enters the site proclaiming “In Molar City all dental treatment are about 70% to 75% less than in the United Sates and Canada. Make an appointment today!! [sic]”

Screenshot of MolarCity.com homepage.

The emergence of phenomena like that seen in Los Algodones – a city which has diverted the majority of its resources into dentistry to tap into an underserved North American market – are symptomatic of wider issues present in both countries.

As these issues meet at the border, they are exacerbated for everyone.

Professionals within Latin America are incentivized to appeal to North American customers who are generally able to pay more for services than locals. These costs are still cheaper than the increasingly unaffordable health care in the U.S. which attracts customers. Soon towns become like Los Algodones, which boasts that a visit is “more than just a visit to the dentist, it is like the Holidays, Delicious Food, Great Drinks is a big party. [sic]”

The in-your-face campaigns and apparent acceptability of this phenomena attract U.S. residents who flood into Mexican towns to take advantage of cheaper healthcare, and those resources are diverted away from the Latin American populations that require them.

The result is that millions of people in Latin America are without health care because those resources are being used to serve tourists from the U.S. who cannot afford to see professionals in their own country.

This mass exodus of people from the U.S. into Latin American countries to utilize services which most Americans believe should be provided by the government both highlights the inadequacy of the national system and exposes the hypocrisy of assertions against migrants entering the U.S. to use services here that they cannot get in their own countries.

Trump sends National Guard to U.S.-Mexico border

Christina Kirk — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 13:00:22 +0000

On April 4, President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to the Mexican border as the first step in his plan to reduce and control illegal immigration and drug trafficking. This order came two weeks after the president received criticism for signing a spending bill that did not include funding for his proposed border wall. The White House did not indicate the number of troops, cost of the endeavor or specific duties, other than that the National Guard is to enforce U.S. law until Trump’s wall is constructed.

To supplement the order, President Trump tweeted:

“Our Border Laws are very weak while those of Mexico & Canada are very strong. Congress must change these Obama era, and other, laws NOW! The Democrats stand in our way – they want people to pour into our country unchecked….CRIME!”

Because the National Guard’s specific duties at the border are not clear, critics have raised questions as to the prudence of the president’s decision, calling the plan a waste of military resources.

The president made sure to include in his memo that his predecessors, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have implemented similar measures.

The Bush administration’s two-year-long deployment of troops to the border in 2006 cost around $1.2 billion and, plagued by ineffective communication and lack of preparation time, was mostly a failure.

The Obama administration’s deployment of troops to the border from July 2010 to Sept. 2011 cost around $110 million and was aimed at reducing human trafficking and drug smuggling, many deemed the operation unsuccessful.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown of California pledged to send roughly 400 troops to the state’s border with Mexico. However, Brown qualified his participation on the grounds that the enforcement is not tied to immigration. Instead, the governor wants the troops to focus on controlling transitional gangs, as well as firearm and drug smuggling.

Trump, not willing to compromise, tweeted, “Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border. The high crime rate will only get higher. Much wanted Wall in San Diego already started!”

The Republican governors of the three other border states, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, have readily embraced the plan.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said in an April 6 memo that the federal government will provide up to 4,000 troops at the border until Sept. 30. After that, increases in duration of deployments or the numbers of troops at the border will be decided on a state governors on a case-by-case basis.

Photo courtesy of Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

From the Journey: Moriah Vanderburg

Amy Mullen — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 15:00:46 +0000

Between semesters at William Jewell College, senior Moriah Vanderburg spent two months this summer in Cuernavaca, Mexico using her Journey Grant. Cuernavaca is an hour and a half outside of Mexico City and home to La Universal, a university that works with Augsburg College in Minnesota. Vanderburg studied at La Universal and took classes like “Women in Latin America versus Women in the World” and “Mexican Literature.” She is a Spanish and education major at Jewell, but in the program at La Universal, she was the only person that was not studying social work. This is due to the fact that the program focuses on the impact the institution is making in the area. She heard about the opportunity to study there through an older student at Jewell. Outside of the classroom, she was welcomed by a family in Cuernavaca, she embraced the culture by learning more about the Spanish language and experienced the adventures that can be found in Mexico.

During her time living Cuernavaca, Vanderburg gained a deeper understanding of the value of family. The house she stayed in was small, but it sheltered multiple generations of the same family, including the grandmother who had fallen ill. Vanderburg helped with taking care of the family that welcomed her. She was fluent in Spanish before traveling to Mexico but quickly became proficient in the local dialect spoken. She even picked up on Mexican slang after being surrounded by the family’s younger generations.

Every Saturday, Vanderburg went on a field trip with the other members of the program at La Universal. On these excursions, she saw the Frida Kahlo House and trekked up a volcano. Since being home, she has been able to maintain contact with the family she stayed with, thanks to Facebook. Vanderburg used her Journey Grant to expand her knowledge of the Spanish language and found experiences that she will carry with her forever.