May 4, 2013

"Remarks by the President to the People of Mexico"

From whitehouse.gov:
Remarks by the President to the People of Mexico 
Anthropology Museum 
Mexico City, Mexico 
9:29 A.M. CDT 
THE PRESIDENT:  Hola!  (Applause.)  Buenos dias!  Please, please, everybody have a seat.  It is wonderful to be back in México -- lindo y querido.  (Applause.)  I bring with me the greetings and friendship of the people of the United States, including tens of millions of proud Mexican Americans.  (Applause.) ...

Despite all the bonds and the values that we share, despite all the people who claim heritage on both sides, our attitudes sometimes are trapped in old stereotypes.  Some Americans only see the Mexico that is depicted in sensational headlines of violence and border crossings.  ... 
We're also seeing a Mexico that’s creating new prosperity:  Trading with the world.  Becoming a manufacturing powerhouse -- from Tijuana to Monterrey to Guadalajara and across the central highlands -- a global leader in automobiles and appliances and electronics, but also a center of high-tech innovation, producing the software and the hardware of our digital age.  One man in Querétaro spoke for an increasing number of Mexicans.  “There’s no reason to go abroad in search of a better life.  There are good opportunities here.”  That's what he said, and you are an example of that.

And, in fact, I see a Mexico that’s lifted millions of people from poverty.  Because of the sacrifices of generations, a majority of Mexicans now call themselves middle class, with a quality of life that your parents and grandparents could only dream of.  This includes, by the way, opportunities for women, who are proving that when you give women a chance, they will shape our destiny just as well as men, if not better.  (Applause.)

I also see in Mexico’s youth an empowered generation because of technology.  I think I see some of you tweeting right now -- (laughter) -- what’s happening.  (Laughter.)  And whether it’s harnessing social media to preserve indigenous languages, or speaking up for the future that you want, you’re making it clear that you want your voice heard.

And because of all the dynamic progress that's taking place here in Mexico, Mexico is also taking its rightful place in the world, on the world stage.  ...  Mexico has joined the ranks of the world’s largest economies.  It became the first Latin American nation to host the G20.

Just as Mexico is being transformed, so are the ties between our two countries.  As President, I’ve been guided by a basic proposition -- in this relationship there’s no senior partner or junior partner; we are two equal partners, two sovereign nations. ... 
And in the United States, we recognize our responsibilities.  We understand that much of the root cause of violence that's been happening here in Mexico, for which many so Mexicans have suffered, is the demand for illegal drugs in the United States.  And so we’ve got to continue to make progress on that front.  (Applause.) ...
And we also recognize that most of the guns used to commit violence here in Mexico come from the United States.  (Applause.) I think many of you know that in America, our Constitution guarantees our individual right to bear arms, and as President I swore an oath to uphold that right and I always will.  But at the same time, as I’ve said in the United States, I will continue to do everything in my power to pass common-sense reforms that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people.  That can save lives here in Mexico and back home in the United States. It’s the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  So we’ll keep increasing the pressure on gun traffickers who bring illegal guns into Mexico.  We’ll keep putting these criminals where they belong -- behind bars.  
We recognize we’ve got work to do on security issues, but we also recognize our responsibility -- as a nation that believes that all people are created equal -- we believe it’s our responsibility to make sure that we treat one another with dignity and respect.  And this includes recognizing how the United States has been strengthened by the extraordinary contributions of immigrants from Mexico and by Americans of Mexican heritage.  (Applause.)

Mexican Americans enrich our communities, including my hometown of Chicago, where you can walk through neighborhoods like Pilsen, Little Village -- La Villita -- dotted with murals of Mexican patriots.  You can stop at a fonda, you can hear some mariachis, where we are inspired by the deep faith of our peoples at churches like Our Lady of Guadalupe.  We’ve got a Chicagoan in here somewhere.  (Applause.)

I reviewed William Julius Wilson's study of Little Village in Chicago for VDARE.
And we’re so grateful to Mexican Americans in every segment of our society -- for teaching our children, and running our companies, and serving with honor in our military, and making breakthroughs in science, standing up for social justice.  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told Cesar Chavez once, we are “brothers in the fight for equality.”  And, in fact, without the strong support of Latinos, including so many Mexican Americans, I would not be standing today as President of the United States.  (Applause.)  That's the truth.

And so given that is Americas heritage, given that we share a border with Mexico, given ties that run back generations, it is critical that the United States recognize the need to reform our immigration system -- (applause) -- because we are a nation of laws, but we're also a nation of immigrants.  Like every nation we have a responsibility to ensure that our laws are upheld.  But we also know that, as a nation of immigrants, the immigration system we have in the United States right now doesn’t reflect our values.  It separates families when we should be reuniting them. It’s led to millions of people to live in the shadows.  It deprives us of the talents of so many young people -- even though we know that immigrants have always been the engine of our economy, starting some of our greatest companies and pioneering new industries.

Like all those world-conquering companies founded by Mexican-Americans, like ... uh ... like ... Artie Moreno's billboard company!
That’s one of the reasons I acted to lift the shadow of deportation from what we call the DREAMers -- young people brought to the United States as children.  (Applause.)  And that’s why I’m working with our Congress to pass common-sense immigration reform this year.  (Applause.)  I'm convinced we can get it done.   Reform that continues to strengthen border security and strengthen legal immigration, so citizens don’t have to wait years to bring their families to the United States.  Reform that holds everyone accountable -- so immigrants get on the right side of the law and so immigrants are not exploited and abused.  And most of all, reform that gives millions of undocumented individuals a pathway to earn their citizenship.   And I’m optimistic that -- after years of trying -- we are going to get it done this year.  I'm absolutely convinced of it.  (Applause.)

...  Just imagine how much the students of our two countries could do together, how much we could learn from each other.  ...
You are the future.  As Nervo wrote in “La Raza de Bronce,” tu eres el sueño -- you are the dream.  (Applause.)

Viva México!   Viva los Estados Unidos!   Que Dios los bendiga!  Thank you very much.  (Applause.) 
END  

The most surprising aspect of Obama's speech is that it didn't include the world "vibrant."

14 comments:

McGillicuddy said...

I’m not sure about Obama’s speech, but this ‘Mexico Rising’ meme that has taken hold in our press has nothing to do with reporting the news, but is instead driven by domestic politics. It’s about making Joe Public think that Mexicans are solid people, they’ve got their act together, so why not let in more of these hard-working souls?

In truth of course, Steve’s ‘Mediocre Mexico’ meme is much more accurate. Mexico has been a low-innovation, middle-income country for generations, and a 4% growth rate isn’t going to change that.

Mexico is actually losing ground to her peers (other large middle-income economies). At the start of the new millennium, the Mexican economy was larger than those of Russia or Brazil. Now, both are almost twice as large as Mexico’s. Mexico hasn’t keep up with Turkey and Poland either. H*ll, only a generation ago, South Korea was a middle-income country; they’ve long since left Mexico in the dust. Who hasn’t out-paced Mexico? South Africa? war-torn Iraq (probably too small to qualify anyways)?

Anonymous said...

We have heard of the American Dream. Why is there no Mexican Dream, other than for Mexicans to move to the USA? Same thing can be said about any other Latin nation.

I am with the Steve Sailer types who have long argued that the USA is superior not just because of our system, but because of our population demographics. Liberals make excuses and say the other guys are poor because of their system, and that they are only coming to the USA for economic opportunity. They say every one is equal and that we are just lucky to have such great real estate and effective political and economic institutions.

On real estate we can't do much about it. But I think many parts of Latin America have better land, climate and resources. So that should be an advantage to them.

On the other issues, political and economic, why don't they just copy our f**cking Constitution? They have had 200 years to watch us. Just copy our laws. Then they will have the same Constitution and Bill of Rights we do. Once this is done, they should be able to recreate the political and economic ecosystem that we have, assuming liberals are correct and all people are the same.

Of course you and I know this won't and can't happen. Even if it did, Latin America would still fail. After all, it is demographics isn't it?

Chicago said...

He's blaming the USA, of which he's the president, for the violence Mexicans are committing. They've got gun laws there too, which don't seem to work any better than they do here. Mexican cartels massacre each other and we're to blame. Need we mention the 'fast and furious' scandal for which no one seems to have been held to account? It's the usual pattern: blame someone other than the one actually doing something bad. Who is the speechwriter, Rev Wright?

Anonymous said...

"Help us mulattos, Jews, and gays to permanently destroy white conservative America. Illegal aliens are not the real threat to New America. If anything, they are welcome as the builders of the New America where the proper role of white Americans will be to serve as second-class citizens taking orders from globalist Jews, kneeling down before blacks, bending over for gays, and making way for more non-white immigrantion, legal and illegal, to conquer and defeat them totally. I don't consider conservative whites as my fellow Americans but as the enemy, and I will use all my power to help you help me defeat them utterly and forever."

Anonymous said...

I guess if he'd blown Nieto on stage, that would've been marginally less disgraceful than this speech.

Were time-traveling Americans the root cause of Aztec sacrifice?



Anonymous said...

"On the other issues, political and economic, why don't they just copy our f**cking Constitution? They have had 200 years to watch us. Just copy our laws. Then they will have the same Constitution and Bill of Rights we do. Once this is done, they should be able to recreate the political and economic ecosystem that we have, assuming liberals are correct and all people are the same."


Yes, I was screaming to anyone who'd listen a few years ago when Mexicans and their progressive idiot "friends" were marching through the streets of American cities, marching with Mexican flags waving, wanting "emancipation" and "economic freedom."

Why the hell weren't the same people marching on MEXICO CITY for those things? And why the hell was there no one from our side telling them to get on busses and caravan to Mexico City to do so?

Anonymous said...

Actually, he said "Viva LAS Estados Unidos." Then just mumbled what sounds like " ...bendingum."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eeRPyuvkYU

PRI and Peña Nieto are driving the spin. They've cut off narco intel sharing with the U.S. and ordered their press to stop reporting the drug violence. And Obama goes down there and cheers them on!

Anonymous said...

This must be a unique occurrence in world politics: an elected leader concocts a blood libel against his own people.

Who does that?

The problem, of course, is that as his mother told step-dad Lolo, [we're] not his people. Eric Holder seconds the sentiment.


David said...

I was walking around in the Palacio Nacional the day after that speech. Through security bars, I saw the room where the speech was given.

One nondescript charwoman was slowly sweeping up in there.

A little guy came in to horse around with her. He left.

In the office courtyards to the side, they had the waterhoses out, washing down the floor (a big activity everywhere in Mexico).

This is the true picture of how the world works. The elite lets off verbal gas for the microphones. Afterward, the regular people - who neither heard the speech nor care - clean up the mess.

I wandered pensively toward a group of tourists hundreds of yards away.

They were preoccupied with admiring the Diego Rivera mural. Lots of scenes of Spaniards murdering the natives.

Everyone who follows politics here says Nieto is the biggest dummy who ever failed to chew gum and walk at the same time. They pronounce his name Pena Nieto, not Peña Nieto (Pena = pain, embarrassment). Unfortunately, these same people are wide-eyed with admiration over Obama's speech-making abilities. "If only OUR president were so intelligent," is the general saying among these people.

>'Mediocre Mexico' meme is much more accurate.<

An even better way to put it is that Mexico isn't the world capital of Type-A personalities. It isn't meant to be that. Remember that Lake Wobegon isn't possible: everyone cannot be above average. Here, you do your job, you concentrate on your family, you relax - and that's all.

Mixing North America and Mexico is an unnatural disaster for both sides. Good fences make good neighbors. Whatever happened to that wisdom? Answer: it was replaced by the new wisdom - the moral primacy of a hell-for-leather scramble for dizzy money, mostly among a tiny number of people, Forbes billionaire types. Or maybe that's the oldest wisdom, as Rivera's mural testifies.

Mr. Anon said...

The country does not make its people. The people make their country.

Anonymous said...

What kind of people applaud that their own people are immigrating or that other countries are making it easier for the immigrants to become citizens elsewhere?

Oh yeah--countries who want to get rid of their poverty.

Hunsdon said...

Mr. Anon: Spot on. Let's do a thought experiment. The population of the Netherlands is about sixteen million, the population of Haiti is about ten million. Let's swap them, in toto. Round up all the Dutch, move them to Haiti, round up all the Haitians, move them to the Netherlands.

In ten years, which country would you rather visit? Dutch Haiti, or the Haitian Netherlands?

jonathan said...

" Liberals make excuses and say the other guys are poor because of their system..."
No. Leftists, they're not Liberal at all, think that other countries are poor because we're rich.They want to rectify this problem by bringing people from poor countries here, which will magically make them as rich as us. This will also have the benefit, to Leftists, of destroying white anglophone culture.

Anonymous said...

"We're also seeing a Mexico that’s creating new prosperity...And, in fact, I see a Mexico that’s lifted millions of people from poverty."

In other words, the government did it. Their increased wealth is not the result of individual initiative, but of the welfare state.