Dispatch From the DF: What Mexicans think of the US

by Alejandra Garza de Gutierrez

I hope most people who have a sibling will understand me on this one.

There is a new study released by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, and the news isn’t good from south of the border. According to the study, of the 21 nations included in the survey, Mexicans had the biggest drop in positive opinions toward the United States. I personally blame it on a perfect storm of events. The main one being SB 1070 in Arizona. But step back and you’ll see it’s just the biggest in a long line of reasons: reports of U.S. drones flying over the Mexican border, America’s reluctance to stem the flow of arms south into the hands of narcos, the endless negative coverage of Mexico in American media outlets, and Americans’ appetite for illegal drugs which fuels a drug war fought in Mexican cities and villages.

Mexican media leads negative opinion

This shift in opinion is something I see reflected every day living in Mexico City. Turn on the television, and you’ll see Joaquin Lopez Doriga , the leading Mexican anchor, calling SB 1070 “esa ley racista de Arizona”. I scream at the television, “That’s an opinion! You’re not supposed to chime in.”

Pick up any newspaper and you will find dozens of editorial columns dedicated to the topic written by prominent political analysts and scholars. Mexicans are united in their repudiation for SB 1070. Even if they don’t plan on traveling to Arizona or Georgia. Even if they’ve never been to the United States.

It is probably the only thing Mexican political leaders of all parties agree on. They make speeches, they carry banners, they call on the U.S. to stop passing these laws. And I want to ask them, exactly how they plan on defeating these American laws while standing on Mexican soil.

This debate is particularly heart wrenching for me. For the moment, I am a Mexican-American living in Mexico City. It’s not an easy thing to be. Chilangos are not the most welcoming people to outsiders, much less foreigners.

Pobrecita, your daughter speaks English

Recently, my three year old daughter spoke to me in English at a party. The people sitting at our table were horrified. Horrified.

“Your daughter speaks English,” one father said to me with pity.

“Of course she does. My daughter is bilingual,” I answered while wondering how close of a friend he and my husband truly were before deciding against calling him a pendejo.

“That’s right you’re from the United States. Pobrecita, she’ll feel excluded,” another mother said.

At this point, I was ready to throw the salsa bowl in their faces and take my gringa daughter on the next plane north.

“She’ll be fine,” I said, making a mental note to cross them off our invite list for parties.

Only in Mexico City is it considered a flaw to speak fluent English at 3 years old.

True, it’s an isolated event, but it opened my eyes.

Alucino a los gringos

Across all socioeconomic levels, there is growing resentment toward our neighbor to the north. One of my dearest friends loves to go to Las Vegas and shop. Her only complaint about America is the Americans. She tells me, “Alucino a los gringos.” When I remind her that I am from the United States, she tells me that I’m Mexican no matter where I was born. Coming from a chilanga, it’s the ultimate compliment. I, however, feel uneasy.

I am caught in the middle of this debate. I understand that they are horrible laws intended to make the lives of hardworking immigrant families much harder and drive them out of their communities. The tactics and arguments are misguided at best, racist at worst. This is what happens when a federal government refuses to act on an issue that divides us. Local governments step in and clumsily try to cobble together immigration policy without looking at the issue on a bigger scale.

It’s a familia thing

And I love Mexico. This country runs through my veins. My heart soars when my husband speaks to me in the language of my parents. There is a part of me that feels at home when I see the Mexican flag wave. There is no denying the generations of history my family had in this land until my father headed north with the dream of a brighter future.

But at the same time, the United States is my home, even if I am far away right now. U.S. sovereignty is something that I want to defend. And this is where the sibling comparison comes in. It’s kind of like when my sister and I fight. I call her thoughtless, she calls me selfish. Then I tell my darling husband about the fight and he says my sister is kind of thoughtless.

And I glare at him,” She’s my sister. Don’t you dare talk about her that way.”

It’s the same way I feel about the U.S. on this issue. Like most families, we have our problems. And, like the best of families, our love is unconditional. We’ll work this out. Until then, while I may call it these laws misguided, racist and ridiculous, don’t you do it. Not unless you want a bowl of salsa thrown at you.

Alejandra Garza de Gutierrez is an American journalist and political activist living in Mexico City, Mexico, with her husband and daughter.