The Forgotten Ones
It seems like the title of this Luis Buñuel movie that takes place in Mexico is perfectly applicable to Mexicans living in the United States.
This is not a new complaint to the Mexican government, which despite having several programs to serve its fellow citizens, does not place a lot of importance on the potential cultural, social, economic and political bridge between Mexicans living in their country and those who have decided to live in the U.S. A case in point is the inadequate voter participation system designed for the diaspora.
Ten years after the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) was created, for example, it has not taken advantage of the numerical and political strength that the group could have as a participant in Mexico-U.S. bilateral relations. And while the IME was founded in April 2003, Enrique Peña Nieto’s PRI administration is not the exception in showing that being interested in Mexicans abroad is not important to governments that still operate with virtually only a domestic focus.
Less than eight months after being appointed to direct the IME, Arnulfo Valdivia Machuca is already packing his bags to become Mexico’s ambassador to Colombia. Apparently, the Mexican government is not willing to establish a more relevant policy. This does not only involve Mexicans in every country, but especially those in the U.S., who between documented and undocumented total about 33.7 million, almost the population of Venezuela or Colombia.
The new director of the IME should come in very energized and with a well-targeted agenda to create the bilateral bridges that the Mexico-U.S. relationship needs, in the political, cultural, economic and mutual security realms.
That is the least that this community deservesa community of people who hold their homeland in their hearts and who, with their work, constitute one of the biggest sources of revenue for their country.
