Mexico Is Getting Better, And Fewer Mexicans Want To Leave

Interesting piece just published in The Atlantic Monthly, dealing with the subject of Mexicans crossing over the border into the U.S.

Here's the beginning of the article. Click on the link at the bottom of this page for the full article....

Shortly after the new bipartisan immigration bill was released this week, one opponent, Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, said it contained "a fatal flaw:" the provision for a 10-year process through which some illegal immigrants could gain citizenship.

"It legalizes almost everyone in the country illegally, also known as amnesty, before it secures the border," Smith said. "As a result, the Senate proposal issues an open invitation to enter the country illegally."

Smith voices a common fear among border-security hawks: That any so-called "amnesty" or legalization plan will somehow spur more foreigners to make unauthorized dashes across the border. A recent poll by the Rasmussen company found that nearly half of respondents thought a pathway to citizenship would lead to more more illegal immigration.

But here's one thing that might allay those fears: Mexicans, who make up the plurality of illegal immigrants, are feeling better and better about their country, and fewer are interested in moving across the border.

Though an estimated 300,000 people still enter the U.S. illegally each year, that represents a precipitous fall from the first half of the decade, when the number was 850,000. In 2010, net migration to and from Mexico was approximately zero.

Part of the reason, of course, is the global economic downturn, which eliminated many of the low-wage job opportunities that Mexican immigrants might have come to the U.S. to seek.

But in addition to the U.S. becoming a less attractive destination, part of the explanation for the drop is that prospects in Mexico are actually looking up.

Even though Mexico is clearly still struggling, there are signs that the country is gradually improving. Crime is down in border cities like Ciudad Juarez. Mexico's fertility rate is falling and its population is aging, meaning there are fewer young workers scrambling for jobs (half of all Mexican immigrants are under age 33). For the first time in decades, Mexico has a fledgling middle class. Its GDP growth rivals Brazil's, and economically, some economists think the country is doing even better than the United States. According to the OECD, Mexicans are about as satisfied with their lives as people in Iceland or Ireland are.

For just one example, we can look at the mean "life today" score, in which Gallup asks respondents to think of a ladder with 10 steps -- with each next step representing an improved overall situation -- and rank their lives as being on one of the ten steps. According to that score, Mexico's mean "life today" score is 7.1. In the U.S., it's 7.0. By comparison, in 2007, that number was 7.2 in the U.S. and just 6.6 in Mexico. Here's the latest view from Gallup, with the two countries nearly identical in their average life rank....

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/mexico-is-getting-better-and-fewer-mexicans-want-to-leave/275064/

I am sure the LOCAL Mexican professionals DO NOT share this view....... a LOCAL Doctors father and brother kidnapped towards the end of last year (in Guadalajara) and found dead this spring........ and the doctor in Chapala whose wife and sister in law (I think that is who she was ) were also kidnapped in ajijic and slaughtered

Of course, thanks to Pena, no or poor publicity - so it never really happened.

I wonder who is next for something not happening. For sure these professionals and their associates are NOT feeling good about the county

I am mexican professional.
If I had the chance to leave, I would've already left my country and gone to the States legally, I dont want my children to grow in this violent environment.
With all due respect, unqualified labor people might not be interested in leaving for the States because there aren't jobs available for them, but a good number of upper middle class people are thinking about leaving if given a chance, among them are doctors,engineers,etc.
Our reality is that crime is hitting hard on upper middle class because we can't afford to hire bodyguards or leave the country and run our businesses from abroad unlike riches.

Mad_Max wrote:I am sure the LOCAL Mexican professionals DO NOT share this view....... a LOCAL Doctors father and brother kidnapped towards the end of last year (in Guadalajara) and found dead this spring........ and the doctor in Chapala whose wife and sister in law (I think that is who she was ) were also kidnapped in ajijic and slaughtered

Of course, thanks to Pena, no or poor publicity - so it never really happened.

I wonder who is next for something not happening. For sure these professionals and their associates are NOT feeling good about the county

also Mad Max 10:47 today



.



Two explosive devices were thrown at the offices of Mural newspaper in Guadalajara, Mexico, in the early hours of Wednesday, April 17, causing some property damage but no injuries or loss of life. As of this posting the perpetrators have not been found.

The attack occurred around 3:30 am local time at the newspaper’s offices in the municipality of Zapopan, which is part of the greater Guadalajara area in the state of Jalisco. The two explosions appear to have occurred only seconds apart.

Mural, which is part of the Reforma Group, stated that this is the first attack against it in 14 years. The damage from the attack was not observed until guards inspected the exterior of the property at 6 am.

One bomb exploded on Mariano Otero avenue, next to the front door of the newspaper, and another on Lopez Mateos near the newspaper’s parking lot. These were not powerful devices – the first created a one inch deep hole in a wall.

Intimidation is a possible purpose of the attack, although with no one claiming responsibility it is uncertain what the specific intention was.

México is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, with about eighty journalists killed since 2000.

****************************************************************
I only have one question!

Why Are You Here?

rs6000 wrote:I am mexican professional.
If I had the chance to leave, I would've already left my country and gone to the States legally, I dont want my children to grow in this violent environment.
With all due respect, unqualified labor people might not be interested in leaving for the States because there aren't jobs available for them, but a good number of upper middle class people are thinking about leaving if given a chance, among them are doctors,engineers,etc.
Our reality is that crime is hitting hard on upper middle class because we can't afford to hire bodyguards or leave the country and run our businesses from abroad unlike riches.

I'm hearing this repeatedly, mostly that the upper class business people and their families have left, and are leaving, in droves for the US. Maybe Canada too, I don't know. I hear there are places in TX like Houston that have huge populations of this demographic. I'm happy they can find sanctuary and continue to run their businesses in MX, but what does that do to the demographics of MX? Will the upper class society of Mexico soon be nothing but criminals?

Thank you for your post, rs6000, very interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States

have a nice journey...........

BS for the average working stiff in a tourist area

I don't know one "professional" or business owner that has left the Guadalajara-Chapala area and has moved to the US along with the "droves". My consuegros (business owners) just got back from the US on a vacation, one of my doctors was in San Diego for a seminar, and neither one jumped ship while they had the chance. I doubt the memberships at the Guadalajara Country Club or Atlas are suffering all that much...and the members aren't all narcotraficantes.
This is my observation, and I have been in business here for over 30 years.
Talk to the members of the Camara de Comercio in Guadalajara and you will find that this just isn't happening and if it does it's for other reasons...like my wife likes the shopping north of the border or some special education for their children, etc.
Everyone is concerned about the drug violence but Mexican families and relationships are too big and diverse to be relegated in large numbers to "self exile". A second home in the US, if one can afford it, is a status symbol for sure.
I`m talking about the upper middle class here, not the folks running across the Arizona desert.
If this were the case, there would be a lot of cheap homes for sale, in areas like Valle del Real, and no new ones being built.

I think the "droves" are moving from northern MX and Monterey area.

Mad Max had a moving sale.....

hockables wrote: I only have one question!

Why Are You Here?

hockables wrote:How much ya want fer the Razor Wire?

Well when they get to Canada they best be prepared to pay huge taxes, be governed up the arse by big brother and freeze their friggin butts off in the winter.

rs6000. Thanks for "weighing in".

Thanks for the replies.
I was just giving you a sense of how we feel about the whole situation.

CanuckBob wrote:......be governed up the arse by big brother ......

tsk tsk Roberto, such juvenile and uncivilized language outside of the Octagon will bring down the wrath of the Otter Lady.

rs6000,
Ur welcome.

CanuckBob wrote:Well when they get to Canada they best be prepared to pay huge taxes, be governed up the arse by big brother and freeze their friggin butts off in the winter.

I came through the US on my way to Mexico recently. The customs/immigration agent asked me where I live etc. He asked what kind of visa I have and if I pay taxes. Then he smiled and said, "That's were I am retiring and I have my Grandpa to thanks. He is Mexican!". My brother has a lot of Mexican freinds in Canada and they are there for the money and hope to return to Mexico some day. They love the safety of Canada but they never seem to get used to the weather!

rs6000 wrote:I am mexican professional.
If I had the chance to leave, I would've already left my country and gone to the States legally, I dont want my children to grow in this violent environment.
With all due respect, unqualified labor people might not be interested in leaving for the States because there aren't jobs available for them, but a good number of upper middle class people are thinking about leaving if given a chance, among them are doctors,engineers,etc.
Our reality is that crime is hitting hard on upper middle class because we can't afford to hire bodyguards or leave the country and run our businesses from abroad unlike riches.

I think most parents feel that way, when the violence appears to be moving closer. A Mexican-American friend, a business woman, took her family to the US for a month this year to get an idea of what it would be like to move. The kids did not want to move so they are here, for now.

Retiring in a country you can leave when things get rough and raising a family in this country are two very different things,
I feel for people who have teenagers anywhere but here it has to be particularly difficult and scary.

People with children, or any dependants, always have other considerations....

Are you saying their children are safer in Houston... or Paris....

I guess, realistically... it would depend on which neighborhoods in Houston ... or Paris you might be talking about

So... are you just engaging in a Let's Slam Mexico Fest.... or are you constructively suggesting REAL options for these Refugees....

I'm getting tired of the slamfest....

Seems U'r hitch'n your ride to the likes of Mad Max, who is currently blazing a trail outta here....

Gonna miss ya Max... as I'm sure, will the rest of Mexico....

Enjoy Detroit

Yes their children would be a whole lot safer in Paris no question about that,

I took a Mexican kid there last year and he was amazed at the things he could do there, he could not do in Mexico. I also really enjoyed the long evenings and being able to go anywhere we felt like at night and if the family move to a a small town in France there are really safe.

We have lived here for over 12 years and the place has changed tremendously and not for the better. I would not bring a family and raise them. There are plenty of other places that are safer than here.