Purposeful Ramblings Through My Mind

The situation Latin America is what is driving illegal immigration. What most Americans do not realize is just how closed the economies in most Latin American countires are. This is changing down in South America with Lula and Hugo, but in Mexico and Central America, the economy is controlled by a tiny elite. It's very hard to start businesses in Mexico without connections. So the econonmy down there generates fewer and fewer jobs even as the population continues to grow. Plus government services are pretty much non-existent. People in Mexico are coming up North because it's that or pick up a gun and the Mexican government is pretty good at dealing with its opponents. Things are worse in Central America. The people who come up endure unbelievable hardships just to get here. That speaks of a lot fear and desparation. They're not coming up to the US because it's easy to get in, but because the situation in their home countries leaves them no alternative.

Now the scary thing about the Bush Republicans is that they want to create an economy based on the Mexican model. That happens, and you guys in Canada will be dealing with illegals from the US.