Mexicans eye U.S. election – and economy
By Homero Nava for msnbc.com
MEXICO CITY – Given our common 1,900-mile border, it’s not surprising that Mexicans south of the border are paying close attention to the U.S. presidential election.
Migration issues and the violent anti-drug war along the border region are big issues – but without a doubt, the top worry for many Mexicans is the economy.
While Americans have been wrestling with the bailout plan, Mexico has already been suffering – the peso’s value has plunged by 18 percent this month, its worst monthly performance since December 1994, when Mexico’s currency fell by 48 percent.
The peso rebounded a bit this week, but Mexico’s growth rate has slowed from 4 percent to 1 percent and unemployment is on the rise.
Many Mexicans have placed responsibility for the disaster squarely on President Bush, and by extension see presidential candidate Sen. John McCain as someone who would pursue the same policies as the current administration.
"We definitely don’t want another Bush. I have more faith in [Barack] Obama, because at least he would listen to new models and new ways of working," said Vanesa Musi, a Mexican artist.
Musi is not alone, many in Mexico are hoping for the arrival of the "Obama era."
According to a Reader’s Digest Global Presidential Poll, 70 percent of respondents support Obama, and 25 percent support McCain.
Hitting Mexicans bottom line
As opposed to McCain, the popular perception of Obama in Mexico is that he is some kind of superhero, the only man capable of taking the rudder of the sinking economic ship.
Already there are reports of Mexican migrant workers beginning to return from the U.S. because of the lack of job opportunities.
Mexico City's municipal government predicts that between 20,000 and 30,000 more immigrants will return for good from the United States during the Christmas holiday because they cannot find work, according to the Associated Press.
While that may spell the end of the "American dream" for thousands of Mexican migrant workers, it has an effect back home, too: Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. are sending less money home.
During August of this year, remittances were down 12 percent from the same period of 2007, putting Mexico on track for the first decline in the amount of money sent home by migrants in more than in a decade.
Those remittances form a desperately needed safety net for many families – especially the children of many immigrants – and in some regions entire communities or towns depend on that cash for survival.
But, even if remittances are down, with Mexicans accounting for approximately 5.9 million undocumented workers in the U.S., according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center, illegal immigration is still an incredibly important issue for Mexicans watching the U.S. election.
"The candidate that can do a much better job regarding immigration is certainly Obama, not only because he is in general a much more open person, but also because he has suffered discrimination himself," said Jorge Ganem, an architect in Mexico City.
However, immigration is rarely discussed on the campaign trail by either Obama or McCain. Their biggest challenge, in the closing week, is to convince Americans who best can lead the country out of its economic mess.
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