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Kanine posted:I guess this is more of a question towards Latin America in general. As a resident of a Latin American state, why do you think historically Latin American countries haven't fought each other very often? It seems like most of your part of the world has had to deal with a lot of civil wars but not many situations with two or more actual states engaging in traditional war. I know that there are distinctions, but it seems like Latin America is a lot more homogeneous than any other part of the world. It would be more difficult for a government of one Latin nation to skew another nation as an "other." A Guatemalan and a Peruvian have a lot more in common with each other than say, a German and Frenchman. Sorry if it's a weird question or if I sort of answered it already but I just think it's an interesting thing to ask and discuss. We don't talk about it too often, but I think we snatched the state of Chiapas from Guatemala, there wasn't a military war but I guess that's the reason they don't like us so much.  Fake edit: And doing a quick research Mexican conflicts were and are more internal. Specially during the times of Independence. At much we got Americans,French and Spanish trying to invade the country.
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Feb 12, 2015 14:29
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Desperado Bones posted:We don't talk about it too often, but I think we snatched the state of Chiapas from Guatemala, there wasn't a military war but I guess that's the reason they don't like us so much. Yes. As far as I know, the only foreign conflict the Mexican army has ever participated was WWII, after german U-boats sank a couple of oil ships. Vicente Fox thought about sending mexican soldiers to Afghanistan in 2002.  Thankfully, in a strange out-of-character moment, he decided that wasn't the best idea.El Chingon posted:This is something that got me interested, I own Tropico, but I don't find most of the content offensive since it is mostly influenced by what people call a "Banana Republic" from the 20th century. I'd believe countries from Central America and the caribbean would find it offensive though.  You can barely see it from this shot. Fake E: now that I look at it, that church kinda looks like it was modeled as a bare-bones version of the old Basilica of Guadalupe: 
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Feb 12, 2015 15:32
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Kanine posted:I guess this is more of a question towards Latin America in general. As a resident of a Latin American state, why do you think historically Latin American countries haven't fought each other very often? It seems like most of your part of the world has had to deal with a lot of civil wars but not many situations with two or more actual states engaging in traditional war. I know that there are distinctions, but it seems like Latin America is a lot more homogeneous than any other part of the world. It would be more difficult for a government of one Latin nation to skew another nation as an "other." A Guatemalan and a Peruvian have a lot more in common with each other than say, a German and Frenchman. Sorry if it's a weird question or if I sort of answered it already but I just think it's an interesting thing to ask and discuss. There are some reasons reasons for this. First one is borders. If you look at Latin America today, it is not that much different from 150 years ago, and the borders have a crucial part in this. Most of the borders of these countries have territories where it would be very difficult to march an army. The amazons in the central part of South America, the Andes mountains in the south part of South America. The jungle and mountains in Mexico and Central America. Second one is social/racial differences. The difference between these groups in latin american countries fuels internal strife and results in civil wars. Third as you mention, is that we are more homogeneous. Our culture is somewhat similar from what I've experienced, even in Brazil. Pentaro posted:
Haha I didn't notice that about the churches. Well, I don't find it offensive though, and that church could very well be based off any church in Latin America, 95% of them look the same.
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Feb 12, 2015 16:22
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El Chingon posted:Haha I didn't notice that about the churches. Well, I don't find it offensive though, and that church could very well be based off any church in Latin America, 95% of them look the same. Even modern churches are still being constructed in that style.  That's what I love about Latin American Catholic churches, the architecture, the interiors and the whole iconography. There's something fascinating about entering a church that's all golden inside and has human sized statues of archangels.
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Feb 12, 2015 18:35
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Interregional wars were more common in the 19th century, right? At least in South America. The Pacific War jumps to mind immediately and various border disputes. And obviously you have Mexican-American war, Yucatan, native disputes etc for Mexico, not to mention France Its a good question though. I can believe geography playing a big part for some of it.
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Feb 13, 2015 03:32
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Berke Negri posted:Interregional wars were more common in the 19th century, right? At least in South America. The Pacific War jumps to mind immediately and various border disputes. And obviously you have Mexican-American war, Yucatan, native disputes etc for Mexico, not to mention France Geography, yes and also Mexico has a lot of natural resources that many,many,many foreign countries are interested in. Of course, my theory is that they discovered over time that there's no need of invasions when you are dealing with a country known for having a corrupt goverment.
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Feb 13, 2015 03:50
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Why pay 10,000 troops to take by force what you can get for 100,000 pesos?
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Feb 13, 2015 08:51
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xi8_7Fy6Y Crash course has a good intro to Latin America's tendency towards internal rather than external conflicts and its repercussions. On a different note, how is the United States generally viewed in Mexico and the rest of Central America? Given the amount of Latin Americans that live there these days are things fairly chill or are there still tensions over historic American racism and Imperialism? Would there still be people that think California or New Mexico should be returned and that the US is 'the enemy'? I'm wondering because your posts say there's a fair bit of negative associations and sentiment towards the United States, is this more just a bit of a light hearted jab at the yanks or is there something deeper going on? (For context I'm Irish and there's some bad feeling towards the English which has been very strong historically but these days isn't really serious and mostly manifests itself as light hearted pub talk, I'm wondering if the Irish and Mexican situations are comparable since there's also been huge Irish immigration to England even while Nationalist and Anti-English sentiment was at its height).
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Feb 27, 2015 04:01
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khwarezm posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xi8_7Fy6Y Yes, I've known of people who believe Texas,New Mexico,California and a bunch of other states should return to Mexico, as they were either stolen, or sold by a Santa Anna to the US. And truly hate anything American. And then there's people who think the contrary, they wish with all they hearts that Mexico becomes part of the US, some believe that will fix a lot of problems. And love everything American.
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Feb 27, 2015 04:40
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Desperado Bones posted:Yes, I've known of people who believe Texas,New Mexico,California and a bunch of other states should return to Mexico   ( )
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Feb 27, 2015 07:27
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khwarezm posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xi8_7Fy6Y I saw the crash course video, it makes some fairly good points but I didn't agree on the whole with it. Regarding the hate towards the US, I have this hypothesis that at least half of it it's because of education. When you study mexican history in school, you always get told on how unfair was the Mexican-American war, how the US took advantage of a weak new nation and how one president was responsible for everything bad that happened. It puts the seed for the hate that will later grow into what it is after reading and watching news about racism, or watch how movies depict the country and so forth. Regarding Central America and South America, I think the US also was involved in most of Latin America a century ago, so there's also some history there, but by talking to people, the dream for them would be to immigrate to Florida (Miami specifically) and get a well paid job there, that's the american dream for them. I don't see this sentiment in Mexico but I have seen it in all countries in Latin America I've visited.
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Feb 27, 2015 19:48
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If you are interested in organized crime/violence/corruption/all that fun stuff in Latin America, this website is the proest of pro clicks : https://www.insightcrime.com
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Feb 28, 2015 22:01
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themrguy posted:If you are interested in organized crime/violence/corruption/all that fun stuff in Latin America, this website is the proest of pro clicks : https://www.insightcrime.com Pro click indeed
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Mar 6, 2015 16:17
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Desperate Bones, and anyone. I plan on travelling overland in Mexico for a couple of months (visas permitting). US citizen. Of course, I'm reading up but I traveled over-land through Mexico from the Guatemalan border to the US border by bus and train 20 years ago. Loved it everything about my trip: folks, food, ruins, nature, etc. I'm looking for the hidden great, authentic places that are in the nooks and crannies in Mexico to experience/visit. Any advice.
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Mar 16, 2015 08:38
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Positive Optimyst posted:Desperate Bones, and anyone. Could you give us more information about how you'll be traveling and your interests?
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Mar 16, 2015 14:19
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burnsep posted:Could you give us more information about how you'll be traveling and your interests? This, por favor. Which part of the country you are going to? and how?
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Mar 16, 2015 17:15
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BTW just found this excerpt from the book "A narco history", which offers a summary about the events surrounding Ayotzinapa: http://m.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_forty-three_20150313 The outrage and the despair felt by those parents is something I cannot imagine.
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Mar 17, 2015 00:18
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Great thread! Mexicans seems pretty hosed over by the cartels and politicians. Are there any politicians and/or political movements that tries to change things for the better, or is that simply not possible? And what is the attitude of people living in Mexico City towards the cartels/politicans?
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Mar 17, 2015 15:06
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Homeless Bebe posted:Great thread! Mexicans seems pretty hosed over by the cartels and politicians. Are there any politicians and/or political movements that tries to change things for the better, or is that simply not possible? I used to be a big follower of the PRD, which is a left-wing party*, and its candidate López Obrador, but I'm definitely not part of MORENA (which is a social movement created by Obrador after he left PRD) * (PAN is the conservative one, PRI is the one that loves Neoliberalism and is loving the country like a cheap whore). But I'm kinda jaded when it comes to politics, things get depressive. Like my sister said, what we probably need is another revolution, because...poo poo, everything is lovely.
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Mar 17, 2015 16:39
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Desperado Bones posted:I used to be a big follower of the PRD, which is a left-wing party*, and its candidate López Obrador, but I'm definitely not part of MORENA (which is a social movement created by Obrador after he left PRD) Eh, they should just figure out how to clone/resurrect Porifirio Diaz.
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Mar 17, 2015 18:52
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Homeless Bebe posted:Great thread! Mexicans seems pretty hosed over by the cartels and politicians. Are there any politicians and/or political movements that tries to change things for the better, or is that simply not possible? And what is the attitude of people living in Mexico City towards the cartels/politicans? I believe every politician has his own agenda. A few years ago (2006) Lopez Obrador was some kind of Libertador for some people. He was the mayor of Mexico City and had great popularity among the poor and the left wing in general, but I think he is just another politician. My parents work in government, specifically in the Mexico City government, and they told me the inside stories on how he is just another politician, how bad he managed things and how stupid were their cabinet members (which would've become high ranking officials if he ever won the election).
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Mar 18, 2015 20:10
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burnsep posted:Could you give us more information about how you'll be traveling and your interests? I'll be traveling by bus (as I did in the mid 90s). Gong overland. My interests are some historical sites (which can easily be found in books / online, some Mayan and Aztec ruins / artefacts, but mostly I want to visit towns and cities. Mountains and the east coast. (I've been to Chaipas, the copper canyons, Oaxaca, Mexico city, etc). I also want to learn about and try more foods. It was 19 years ago, so I would not mind seeing these places again. I would like to travel slowly. My experience on the buses were great. Good bus system.
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Mar 19, 2015 06:38
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Desperado Bones posted:This, por favor. I will enter Mexico on the southern border by bus from Guatemala.
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Mar 19, 2015 06:40
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Definitely spring for the more expensive bus lines when you can (Buscefalo and Tree Estrellas were the poo poo last I was there, which was quite a while ago). You'll have a sweet ride. You get perks like in-seat audio, reclining chairs that almost lay flat, a bagged snack with a sweet bread, and a back bar with coffee and tea. I always cried about how great the nice busses were. And how poo poo US greyhound busses were. Visit the mummies in Guanajuato. Drop by Morelia, Mich. for a day or two and see the aqueducts and rose granite buildings downtown. Hit Guadalajara and take a lovely bus out into the rural areas to see what life outside of metro areas is like. lovely rural buses are also where you'll get folks jumping on at rest stops to hawk candies, play music, and generally give you that street vendor flair.
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Mar 19, 2015 10:33
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Positive Optimyst posted:I'll be traveling by bus (as I did in the mid 90s). Gong overland.  ), but I believe it's a good starting point re: nice places in Mexico.Homeless Bebe posted:Great thread! Mexicans seems pretty hosed over by the cartels and politicians. Are there any politicians and/or political movements that tries to change things for the better, or is that simply not possible? And what is the attitude of people living in Mexico City towards the cartels/politicans?  Most politicians have a personal agenda, regardless of the supposed ideological tennets of their party (that scumbag Ángel Aguirre is a good example of this). Basically,Desperado Bones posted:But I'm kinda jaded when it comes to politics, things get depressive. Like my sister said, what we probably need is another revolution, because...poo poo, everything is lovely. bonds0097 posted:Eh, they should just figure out how to clone/resurrect Porifirio Diaz.
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Mar 19, 2015 12:08
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Positive Optimyst posted:I will enter Mexico on the southern border by bus from Guatemala. Alright, look, my hometown...or the place I've been living for 30 years is Tabasco. I guess you know it's located in the Southeast, making border with Chiapas. If you ever want to wander over here, you can start with the capital city Villahermosa. There's several museums and art galleries over here, the public markets is where you will find the local food, and if you go to the zoo ask if they still have the tours. There used to be some very cheap tours that would take you to the rest of the state's most important touristic places. But if you want the real deal, ask in whatever hotel you will stay where are the taxi cabs or public transport for the following places: Paraiso,Comalcalco,Frontera,El Bellote,Teapa,Macuspana,La Venta. And because the names are escaping me, ask about which are the most famous churches, there are some extremely pretty ones out there, specially if you like the architecture of such places. Paraiso is where you will find the beaches, very nice place, specially if you go during a festival or Semana Santa. Comalcalco and La Venta have some very important Mayan and Olmec ruins. Frontera and El Bellote also have some beaches, and the sea food. Teapa is where people go to bathe in the rivers, same with Macuspana...I know there's a very important river or cascade around there. If you go in to the small towns, you will always stumble with a taste of the local food and customs. Just a warning, stay the gently caress away from Cardenas, it's quite dangerous. And don't go around showing off any expensive cameras or jewelry.
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Mar 19, 2015 14:39
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FilthyImp posted:Definitely spring for the more expensive bus lines when you can (Buscefalo and Tree Estrellas were the poo poo last I was there, which was quite a while ago). You'll have a sweet ride. Yeah, I remember 3 different companies that were very good. Buses were new, left on time, and even the driver wore a tie. Great buses. When I entered the USA via the Juarez-El Paso bridge I got on Grey Hound. Dumpy bus stations in questionable parts of town and cities, and many fellow riders were mentally off. Awful. quote:Visit the mummies in Guanajuato. Drop by Morelia, Mich. for a day or two and see the aqueducts and rose granite buildings downtown. Hit Guadalajara and take a lovely bus out into the rural areas to see what life outside of metro areas is like. lovely rural buses are also where you'll get folks jumping on at rest stops to hawk candies, play music, and generally give you that street vendor flair. Thank you. Researching now.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:25
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Desperado Bones posted:Alright, look, my hometown...or the place I've been living for 30 years is Tabasco. I guess you know it's located in the Southeast, making border with Chiapas. If you ever want to wander over here, you can start with the capital city Villahermosa. There's several museums and art galleries over here, the public markets is where you will find the local food, and if you go to the zoo ask if they still have the tours. Deperado, Gracias por la informacion. Very helpful post! I will go there as I'll be so close to your state of Tabasco.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:28
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Pentaro posted:In that case, you might be interested in the Pueblos Mágicos initiative. There are some glaring omissions and towns that shouldn't be in that list (Tequila Checking it out now. Cheers, Pentaro.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:30
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Positive Optimyst posted:Deperado, De nada! also avoid Tamaulipas, as pretty as that state can be, remember that things are lovely over there. I don't want to know a goon got kidnapped. Also, while in Tabasco, keep your valuables safe. Because of the lovely economy and the growing unemployment there has been a bunch of robberies, I really don't know how bad is for tourists...but locals are always careful of strangers.  Just follow the basics safeties when it comes to traveling.
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Mar 20, 2015 04:37
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Desperado Bones posted:De nada! Thank you, Desparado. I will be as cautios, yet open as I can. I'll do lots of research on the current conditions. Adding to your topic in your OP. I've read that the economy in Mexico (northern area, such as Sonora state) has gotten better. What states / areas are currently doing well and what areas are so-so and bad economically? I know that Mexico is a large and diverse country and I assume there are numerous economic differences.
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Mar 20, 2015 15:57
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Positive Optimyst posted:Thank you, Desparado. PEMEX is going down. Thanks to Peña Nieto's Energetic Reform we are having mass layoffs. Also include all other companies that offered their services to PEMEX. Mainly because they can't get paid, and several oil wells are paralyzed. All the South is having a hard time when it comes to economy. Also, the price of lots of food is going up. Eggs are currently way too expensive.
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Mar 20, 2015 19:11
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Desperado Bones posted:PEMEX is going down. Thanks to Peña Nieto's Energetic Reform we are having mass layoffs. Also include all other companies that offered their services to PEMEX. Mainly because they can't get paid, and several oil wells are paralyzed. All the South is having a hard time when it comes to economy. Also, the price of lots of food is going up. Eggs are currently way too expensive. Appreciate the info. It spurred me to google. PEMEX is quite massive: the worlds second largest non-publicly listed company. A third of all Mexican tax revenue comes from PEMEX. That's huge. You say PEMEX is going down. You mean, downward, but not bust, correct. If eggs are "way too expensive" that's when people get agitated.
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Mar 21, 2015 14:54
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Positive Optimyst posted:Appreciate the info. Well, the idea is that the current goverment follows a neoliberal model. That means they don't agree with all those taxes being used for education,services and health, among others, and they want to bring a bunch of private companies to take whatever they wish. Which was happening before PEMEX was created. PEMEX was created because a bunch of foreign companies would come, take a bunch of oil and left no money in the country. So, I guess is more busting it. There's a lot of politicians that want to see it disappear. But if it happened, the whole country would be in great trouble. They also want to privatize water, just to allow the private companies (specially the mining ones) to use as much water as they wish without breaking any law. It's kinda lovely what they want to do.
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Mar 21, 2015 16:09
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Desperado Bones posted:
I was trying to come up with something witty to say, but I just can't clear the mental image of thousands of people dying of thirst from my head. 
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Mar 21, 2015 20:25
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:I was trying to come up with something witty to say, but I just can't clear the mental image of thousands of people dying of thirst from my head. I swear to you that anyone in this country, that isn't a politician or filthy rich, is having a huge "what the gently caress  " moment.
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Mar 21, 2015 22:44
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:I was trying to come up with something witty to say, but I just can't clear the mental image of thousands of people dying of thirst from my head. Isn't that essentially the plot of the second daniel Craig Bond movie, Quantum of Solace? Nestlé also had that big snafu where they argued water should be privatized because it's a scarce resource and people should pay for usage (which admittedly had some merit) but was then recently caught stealing massive amounts of water from California (which has been suffering it's worst drought in recorded history).
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Mar 22, 2015 14:56
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bonds0097 posted:
Oh,look at that. I think Nestlé and Coca-Cola are one of the few companies behind the "privatize the water!" bullshit. Along with this other company that's building an aqueduct to bring water from one state to another, that is finding legal problems to do so...or something like that. The thing is...this is poo poo.
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Mar 22, 2015 15:07
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I live in an area of chicago with a large mexican-american population. I've noticed that the driving is different.
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Mar 22, 2015 18:10
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Giblet Plus! posted:I live in an area of chicago with a large mexican-american population. I've noticed that the driving is different. Is this the first time you have lived in a city? That seems pretty normal for anywhere more densely populated than a quiet suburb.
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Mar 22, 2015 19:01
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