Poor Mexico: So Far from God, And So Close to the United States

The title of this article is from Porfirio Diaz, president of Mexico for many years, through many corrupt elections. The history of interactions between Mexico and the United States has a bit to be ashamed of, I would agree. However, I would argue that Mexico's problems at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries had more to do with Mexico's proximity to Porfirio Diaz than the United States. Once again, proximity to the United States is being blamed for Mexico's problems, rather than asking if the problem lies a bit closer to home. As you are no doubt aware, on February 25 Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech in which he argued for a new, permanent federal assault weapons ban--for the benefit of Mexico! His claim was that Mexico's increasingly severe problems with the drug cartels is because of weapons smuggling from the United States. Holder's proposal, however, was for a ban on sales much more severe than the previous law, which simply prohibited new manufacture. (2)