Opinion Archive

What to Make of Our Similarities

April 16, 2008

Last week this column touched on the differences between Americans and Mexicans. This week the focus is on the multiple similarities that exist between our two North American countries.

We share a European cultural heritage, with both Spanish and English mainly Latin-based languages. In religious terms, Mexico and the US are broadly similar, given that both countries have Chistian majorities. Despite the fact that many of our citizens take this for granted, one need only look at national neighborhoods like those in the Middle East, or in South Asia to understand just how different two countries can be. These similarities in particular bode well for us both. There is, for example, very little possibility of a “clash of civilizations” happening here.

Both Mexico and the United States are Western democracies. Mexico’s presidential system, its Constitution and its Congress are, in part, based on the American model. Both countries have been defined by the immigrant experience, which permeates the concept of citizenship. For example, it is unthinkable for countries like ours to base our citizenship on jus sanguinis (based on blood), like most European countries, rather than jus soli (based on place of birth). In that sense, our two nations are profoundly “American” (in the broad sense of the word), seeing themselves as lands of opportunity for people from all parts of the world.

The current US would be impossible to understand without the 30% of its territory which once belonged to Mexico. It is a huge swath of land that includes California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, parts of Utah and Wyoming and, of course, Texas. There, place names and Western culture are a testament to the shared history of our two countries. Thus, the cowboy heritage that Americans consider so emblematic of their culture was adopted from the early Spanish/Mexican settlers. This is why so much of the vocabulary is actually in Spanish (ranch/rancho, burro/donkey, lasso/rope, rodeo, etc.)

On the other side, Mexico’s history would be unintelligible if it weren’t for the influence of the United States. Mexican liberals were inspired from the very beginning in both their search for independence and the ideals of the northern neighbor. Juárez was backed by the US, which helped the fall of Emperor Maximillian and finally rid the country of European rule.

We have shared symbols: the US flag flew over the Zócalo in the mid-nineteenth century (which is why the Marines’ hymn begins “From the Halls of Montezuma…”) and the Mexican eagle still graces the upper left-hand corner of the Seal of the City of Los Angeles. The official name of Mexico is the United Mexican States.

Mexico’s consumer culture has been imported practically unchanged from the United States. Wal-Mart is this country’s largest retailer and the material aspects of the “American Dream” are very much a part of the aspirations of Mexico’s middle classes.

Both Mexicans and Americans prize their freedoms. Thus, both are countries that are generally open to trade and globalization. While it is true that Mexico and the US have learned very different lessons from history (Mexico is a pacifist nation, while the US often imposes its ideas by force), both peoples share similar values when it comes to freedom, individuality and democracy. Compare these attitudes with countries like Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, or even Japan, which prizes its racial homogeneity and is often mistrustful of the rest of the world.

Then there is the very real process of integration that is mixing our peoples and our cultures, with approximately 9% of the US population being either Mexican, or of Mexican descent. Over a million Americans live in many different parts of Mexico and millions more tourists travel between our two countries. In fact, each is the other’s favorite travel destination. Hundreds of billions of dollars in trade and hundreds of millions of legal border crossings via 27 inland ports of entry and 55 lanes of traffic cement our ties along 2,000 miles of border. In fact, that entire region exists only in relation to the sister communities on the other side.

Politicians often lead us to believe that our differences are irreconcilable and that “good fences make good neighbors”. But, fortunately, the reality is very different. And even when we have differing viewpoints, such as those relating to international relations, it is often to our unspoken mutual advantage: the main beneficiary of Mexico’s pacifism is the United States, while Mexico benefits from the implicit security shield that the US provides. Imagine a world where Mexico sought to use its nuclear technology for weapons, or where Mexicans born in the US were denied citizenship, as happens with Turks born in Germany. Unlike in other world neighborhoods, Mexico and the US are similar enough for peaceful coexistence to be the rule, not the exception.

For the latest thought-provoking article by Agustin Barrios Gomez please go to our Opinion Column page

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