Comments on: Poll: The Natural Question

By: lieben

lieben — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:15:12 +0000

Interessante Informationen.

By: asdf

asdf — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:31:19 +0000

So jose your trying to say Mexico should be more like the usa who accepts others as Americans even if they weren’t born in the u.s.

I guess it would make sense, if you look at the usa squad they are all “american” but their ancestory is from all over the place. They have africans,europeans, heck they even have mexicans now.

I don’t mind naturalized players, most likely because I was born in the u.s. I didn’t even know Zinha wasn’t Mexican until I heard his name, he looks “mexican” enough to me. Besides I think the naturalized players are good because most of them really give an extra effort to prove their love and worth for their new home.

By: Al

Al — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:38:13 +0000

I have no problem with naturalized players only if they’re not using Mexico as their safety net because they can’t make the team of their respective country. The thing is, you don’t KNOW this and you can’t point the finger at Leandro or someone and tell them that they’re just in it so they can play in a World Cup. I could think of some exceptions to this *cough* Guille Franco *cough* but I get the vibe that these naturalized players are all for Mexicanismo.

Would Edgar Castillo be considered naturalized only because he was born in the US? His blood may be Mexican but he wasn’t legally born Mexican. Just like him, Guille, Leandro, Sinha etc had to obtain their Mexican citizenship afterwards. They’re all just as Mexican as Castillo.

By: Jose

Jose — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:07:01 +0000

Let me clarify a bit: Mexicans currently define “Mexicanismo” by both blood and culture. The United States, with the exception of many “Natural Born” activists, has usually defined Americanism by a set of vague ideas and principles. In order to take the next step in progress, Mexicans (and really, much of Latin America) will eventually need to emphasize the ideas behind their foundation (freedom from tyranny, self-determination, equality among citizens) as being integral to their nationality, and NOT place the onus of “Mexicanismo” on whether your grandparents were Mexican and you grew up watching el Chavo del Ocho, celebrating el Dia de los Muertos, and listening to rancheras (*ahem* so to speak).

By: Jose

Jose — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:58:08 +0000

This speaks to a larger issue within Mexico itself which needs to be dealt with.. in the hearts and minds of every Mexican. As a rising regional economic power, Mexico has begun to attract immigrants from all over Latin America in a way unseen before. This is why the Mexican league has so many foreigners to begin with: its economic clout relative to other countries in the region.

Nevertheless, Mexico has yet to develop a culture of integrating immigrants. They remain a very defensive culture (I won’t say xenophobic), and hold to ideas of “true” Mexicanism.

Take, in contrast, the United States, which has had an immigrant culture for centuries. Newcomers are eventually welcomed as fellow Americans, having practically every right as a natural born US citizen (minus being pres/vice pres). Take, for example, the governor of California, the largest U.S. state: an Austrian immigrant.

As its economic clout continues to grow, Mexico is beginning to attract some of the best talent throughout Latin America: Central Americans, Caribbeaners, South Americans. In order to be successful at this, they need to redefine within themselves whether they’re willing to accept immigrants as their own, or whether they will continue to treat these people as second class Mexicans–and potentially lose this talent to a country that is willing to accept them as their own.