La Ley de Elode

In the last three days, I have gone from Puebla, Mexico through tiny farming towns along the state's southern border experiencing the ingenuity of Mexicans - who after years of being forgotten by their own government - have taken the law into their own hands and headed north to take advantage of the U.S. market. The family meltdown aside, in many of these towns, the American Dream has brought them two story houses made of cement to replace those made of cardboard, nylon, and wood that barely kept them dry in the rainy season. There are cars were there were horses and mules only three years before; children have shoes and can afford to study all the way through high school if they choose to; there are lights in the street; roads have been paved, and slowly medical services and small businesses are moving in to provide additional services and jobs.

Not only are the migrants bringing hope to their forgotten communities but they are also attracting the interest of local, state, and federal government services that are finding ways to mix public treasury money with the donations from migrants - who only 10 years ago did not have enough money to buy beans for their families. This overhaul of wealth gained from the US, is slowly created a culture of progress within a culture of poverty and anguish that has existed since the Spanish conquered the Aztezs, the Mixtecs, the Toltecs, and all the smaller indigenous groups caught in the middle years ago. There is no doubt that the growing hope in these small towns has raised the likes of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to the position of power where he now finds himself. People that never bothered with politics, are beginning to pay attention...and although this year Obrador may not succeed in proving that the election was tainted or in actually achieving the majority of the vote, he already has the support of hundreds of thousands of Mexican farmers, and they will not stand for defeat the next time.

While the Mexican government was asleep, Mexicans took the ley de elode. Mexicans from forgotten towns that lacked electricity, potable water (running water is still a ways a way), paved streets, or credible elected officials who did not rob from the most desparate, risked their lives and broke up their familes so that they could recreate their world. They went north when it was easier to cross the border and they brought back the American Dream. As Americans, we know that the American dream is not just a material one, but it also encompasses those ideals of progress and opportunity that say - anything is possible. Much more powerful than a car or a house, Mexicans return from the U.S. with the consciousness that they desrve better, that they can make a better world, that new ideas will provide a greater future for their children, and that it is time for their tired Mexican government of thieves who have manipulated the poor indigenous community for years to take a hike.

The Mexican government is now waking up and attempting to provide many of the public services that never existed before because some of them are beginning to see that their days of abuse, corruption, and robbery are over. But, it may be too late. These poor Mexicans have realized what they deserve as a result of their exposure to the land of opportunity. While the immigration situation has created an enormous amount of contradictions, dead ends, and suffering, it has played a significant role in the creation of change, hope, and possibility. With luck, the growing cosciousness of change will continue to push the old rule of corruption and manipulation out in order to welcome a new politics of democracy and opportunity so that Mexicans can create the American Dream, Mexican style and keep their families together south of the border.