MEXICAN CONSUL GENERAL: MULTI-CULTURAL ACTIVIST

THE IMAGE OF THE U.S. AS A GIANT MELTING POT IS MORE OF A CULTURAL MYTH THAN A REALITY HERE, SAYS TEODORO MAUS, MEXICO’S CONSUL GENERAL IN ATLANTA.  AND, ACCORDING TO MR. MAUS, A MORE REALISTIC VIEW OF A COUNTRY COMPOSED OF HETEROGENEOUS, MULTI-ETHNIC COMMUNITIES THAT ENRICH EACH OTHER PROVIDES NOT ONLY A MORE ACCURATE, BUT A MORE HOPEFUL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY TO THE MANY NEW IMMIGRANTS ENTERING THE STATE OF GEORGIA.

THE CONCEPT OF A MELTING POT IS NOT ONLY FALSE, IT ALSO IS VERY DANGEROUS, HE SAID IN HIS OFFICE LOCATED AT 3220 PEACHTREE ROAD. I DON’T THINK THAT THE UNITED STATES EVER MELTED.  FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAD REALLY MELTED IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU ALL WOULD BE NATIVE AMERICANS…..

IN HIS VIEW, DIFFERENT HERITAGES PRESERVED TO SOME DEGREE THEIR NATIVE CULTURE WHILE INTEGRATING INTO A MAINSTREAM CULTURE. BUT HE ALSO THINKS THAT THE SOUTH AS A REGION DEVELOPED DIFFERENTLY FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY CALIFORNIA OR NEW YORK. THE SOUTH DIDN’T RECEIVE MUCH IMMIGRATION, EVEN FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THEREFORE, MUCH LIKE MEXICO, IT HAS REMAINED CLOSED IN ON ITSELF, HE SAID.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED; THE REGION NOW IS A MAGNET TO IMMIGRANTS FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD. THE NUMBER OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS TO GEORGIA HAS RISEN TO MORE THAN  280,000 PEOPLE, AND THE STATE IS COPING WITH ISSUES OF CITIZENSHIP, SCHOOLING AND EQUITABLE WORKING CONDITIONS THAT THE INFLUX EXACERBATES.

MR. MAUS HAS BEEN ACTIVELY ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES AS HE DEVELOPS LEGAL ASSISTANCE, EDUCATIONAL AND HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE CONCENTRATIONS OF MEXICAN WORKERS SUCH AS GAINESVILLE AND FORT VALLEY.  HE ALSO HAS HOSTED SEMINARS AT THE CONSULATE AND MODERATED OTHERS AT LOCAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY THOMAS FISCHER, WHO HEADS THE REGION’S DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICES.

  FOR RELATIONS TO REALLY IMPROVE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, HE THINKS THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH EACH OTHER ON THE BASIS OF EQUALITY. THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IS A CASE IN POINT. NAFTA AS A CONCEPT WILL NOT WORK IF IT BECOMES THE MEANS FOR ONE COUNTRY TO IMPOSE ITSELF ON ANOTHER, HE SAID. IN THE PAST, THE U.S. HAS IMPOSED ITS WILL, SOMETIMES MILITARILY, SOMETIMES THROUGH ECONOMIC AND MONETARY PRESSURE. FOR NAFTA TO WORK TODAY, WE MUST ALL COME OUT WINNERS.

TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, WITH ONE BEING A LARGE DEVELOPING COUNTRY AND THE OTHER BEING A LARGE INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY, ARE TO SOME EXTENT UNAVOIDABLE.  BUT HE DOESN’T BLAME MEXICO’S PROBLEMS ON THE UNITED STATES, EITHER.

THE TRAGEDY FOR MEXICO IS THAT WE HAVE NOT PROVIDED JOBS FOR OUR PEOPLE, HE SAID.  WE ALSO HAVE TO RAISE THE SALARIES OF THE JOBS THAT WE DO HAVE TO A DECENT LEVEL.

WITH MEXICO DESTINED THIS OR NEXT YEAR, WITH OR WITHOUT NAFTA,  TO BE THE U.S.’S SECOND LARGEST TRADING PARTNER AND WITH THE BENEFITS OF JOB CREATION AND TAXES THAT THE U.S. DERIVES FROM ITS EXPORTS TO MEXICO, HE THINKS THAT IT WILL BE IN A POSITION TO ASSURE IT HAS AN EQUAL RELATIONSHIP.

BUT HE CANNOT AGREE THAT EVERY JOB A MEXICAN IMMIGRANT FINDS IN THE U.S. REPRESENTS A JOB THAT IS TAKEN AWAY FROM AN AMERICAN. THE U.S. IS VERY OPEN TO IMMIGRATION, ALTHOUGH NOT AS OPEN AS SOME OTHER COUNTRIES, HE SAID.  YOU ARE OPEN BECAUSE YOU ARE STILL IN A GROWTH PHASE.  YOU STILL NEED IMMIGRANTS JUST AS YOU DID 100 YEARS AGO. AND THE JOBS THAT THE IMMIGRANTS TAKE ARE GENERALLY THOSE THAT AMERICANS WOULD REFUSE TO ACCEPT, JUST AS NEWLY ARRIVED IMMIGRANTS TOOK SIMILAR JOBS 100 YEARS AGO, HE SAID.

MEXICANS WHO SETTLE IN THE U.S. IF THEY BECOME CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO PRESS FOR BETTER WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS. BUT HE ALSO THINKS THAT THEY SHOULD PRESERVE THEIR CULTURE AS WELL AS INTEGRATING THEMSELVES INTO THE U.S. MAINSTREAM. IF THEY WISH TO RETURN TO MEXICO, THEY CAN ALWAYS RECLAIM THEIR CITIZENSHIP THERE, HE ADDED. IT WOULD TAKE THEM ABOUT TWO HOURS OF PAPERWORK TO AGAIN BECOME MEXICAN CITIZENS.