February 21, 2008
Memo From Mexico,
By
Allan Wall
Democrats Troll For The Dual Citizen Vote—In Mexico
How many dual U.S.-Mexican citizens live in Mexico?
Estimates of ordinary Americans living in Mexico range
from
125,000 (the number who've registered with embassies and
consulates)to half a million, and the number of dual
citizens is unknown, but may also be as high as half a
million.
American citizenship is a desirable commodity in
Mexican society. It’s not that all these would-be
“Americans” are
yearning to transform themselves or their children from
being Mexicans. No, they want the
benefits of American citizenship, as an ace in the
hole for the future. In investment terms, they are
diversifying their portfolios.
As a matter of fact, one of Mexico’s wealthiest men,
Emilio Azcarraga, has considered taking out American
citizenship so he could increase his ownership of
Univision.
What’s
American citizenship about, if not
expanding your investment opportunities?
Believe you me, almost everybody in Mexico knows
about our insane
“anchor baby” policy. They know that any child
born in U.S. territory, regardless of the legality of
his parents,
is an instant citizen. Thanks to that policy, there
are plenty of people in Mexico who are dual citizens.
Several months ago I went to a U.S. consulate, and
was served in the American Citizens Services section of
the consulate. As its name indicates, this section is
for American citizens. Nevertheless, it provides
services in both English
and Spanish—which means an American citizen
need not even know English to be served there.
(In fact, I’ve been told that on another occasion, an
American citizen went there and nobody spoke English!)
And when I looked around the room in the American
Citizens Services section, almost nobody looked like a
typical American citizen
who happened to reside in Mexico. Nearly everybody
there resembled a Mexican who happened to be an American
citizen.
While waiting, we chatted with a Mexican lady who was
getting the
citizenship paperwork for her adult son. This adult
son is a natural- born American citizen because he was
accidentally born on U.S. soil. She hadn’t even lived in
the U.S.—she had just crossed the border to attend a
party and
went into labor, and presto—an
American citizen was born!
There is a large and growing host of Mexicans who
live in Mexico, identify as Mexicans, but just happen to
be American citizens also.
Just imagine if somebody could energize the
dual citizen vote in Mexico. Could it happen?
It may already be happening.
The pieces are all in place, after all. There are
plenty of dual citizens here and no impediments to their
voting. And there are activists who are already
encouraging it.
Four years ago, I personally heard a revealing
conversation on Mexican radio. A representative for
the
Kerry campaign was being interviewed. She
specifically appealed to dual citizens of Mexico and the
United States to vote for Kerry.
That was four years ago. Now, in 2008, there is even
more of this going on.
Consider another simultaneous development. The
Democratic Party recently instituted a new way for
registered Democrats living abroad to vote in the party
primary. It was called the
Global Presidential Primary and was held from
February 5th- February 12th. (The
Republicans Abroad are not having a Global Primary like
the Democrats and aren't going to have delegates to
specifically represent expatriate Americans. They will
help an expatriate American
vote by absentee ballot, but as a voter
in his own state.)
There’s nothing new about Americans voting from
another state or another country by absentee ballot.
That’s
how I vote.
But the Global Presidential Primary is different. In
that program, expatriate Democrats voted, not as
citizens of their home states (as with regular absentee
ballots) but specifically as Democrats Abroad.
Democrats living in foreign countries are
choosing 22 delegates to represent expatriate
Democrats at the convention this summer.
Needless to say, the 22-member Democrats Abroad
delegation has to be chosen according to
Affirmative Action principles. According to the
Democrats Abroad website:
“Throughout the process, under the affirmative action
plan, Democrats Abroad must make every effort possible
to ensure not only general balance of the delegation but
also to include representatives of
Asian-Pacific Americans,
African Americans, Hispanics, and
Native Americans, as well as members of the
LGBT Community and disabled persons and youth. Our
goal for
ethnic diversity amongst the complete delegation is
four and our goal for representation from the LGBT
Community is one.
They couldn’t leave “LGBT”
out, now, could they?
Speaking as an expatriate American myself, I have to
say this whole thing bothers me. Shouldn’t we expatriate
Americans think of ourselves as U.S. citizens, of our
home states, who happen to reside abroad, and not as
people who define our political interests as
"Americans Abroad"?
One of my fellow Americans residing in Mexico, Mags
Petela, is a Democratic party activist, and editor of
the
Mexico Democrats Abroad newsletter. On
Mexico Connect (a website for gringos in Mexico),
Mags has
an article promoting the Democratic Global Presidential
Primary . Here’s part of what she said about it:
“Imagine yourself on
February 5, so-called Super Tuesday, sitting on your
Mexican patio, your laptop computer open and connected
to the Internet. You press Enter on the keyboard, and
your vote for the Democratic candidate for president of
the United States is instantly, securely recorded with
the Democratic Party. No es un sueńo—it’s not a
dream, it’s a reality. Between February 5 and 12, 2008,
millions of U.S. citizens living in Mexico and more than
100 other nations will be able to vote in a historic,
first-ever online Global Presidential Primary to choose
the Democratic nominee for president. No computer? No
problema! Voters can cast a primary ballot in person
on February 5. Here in Mexico, voting centers will be
set up in Ajijic, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico City,
Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan. Can’t get there? Just
send your ballot by mail or fax instead!...”
Notice how easy she makes it all sound! And it did go
off as planned. But notice what else she exhorts her
readers;
“Be sure to bring
another eligible voter with you when you vote, and
notify others…So we can maximize our voice as expats.”
"Maximize our voice as expats"? What is she
talking about? We are Americans living abroad, not
people who should be identifying ourselves as
expatriates for political reasons!
Anyway, why is this necessary? Mags explains that
“It’s all part of a
growing political trend and has been
reported in the New York Times and
International Herald Tribune: Americans living
abroad are finally getting a voice.”
"Finally getting a voice?" What? We have
always had a voice. We can vote by absentee ballot,
through our state, as I have done for years.
Well, Mags explains why that’s just not good enough:
“But why should anyone
living abroad vote in the Democrats Abroad Global
Primary instead of their home states presidential
primary? A vote in the Global Primary makes party
candidates, leaders, and legislators sit up and take
notice of the needs of Americans living abroad—needs
that include gaining
Medicare coverage in our foreign homes, tax equity
for Americans working overseas, and simplified voting
procedures.”
Yes, it’s all about making life easier for Americans
abroad, isn’t it? Should that be our government’s number
one priority?
But didn’t we voluntarily choose to live abroad?
And, get this, Mags also says that
“U.S. citizens in
Mexico, including Mexican-Americans with dual
nationality, can vote in the Democratic Global Primary
if they meet these few simple criteria…” (which she
goes on to list)
So here we have a Democratic activist living in
Mexico encouraging the dual citizen vote. It couldn’t be
plainer.
(Some people
try to throw a curveball and make a distinction
between Mexican nationality and citizenship, but that’s
a red herring—read my explanation
here. In Mexican law, nationality is the
pre-condition for citizenship; citizenship refers to
those of Mexican nationality who are 18 or over and in
full exercise of their rights (including voting).
Now, do you suppose that our friend Mags is the only
American in Mexico promoting dual citizenship voting?
She’s not. Here is a very prominent case: Ana Maria
Salazar. Who is Ana Maria Salazar? She is an analyst,
author, commentator, academic, CFR member and former
U.S. government official. In the Clinton Administration
she worked in Colombia for the
State Department (95-97), then was in the White
House as a policy advisor to the Special Envoy to the
Americas (98) and then was Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for
Drug Enforcement Policy and Support. (See bios
here,
here and
here ).
Nowadays though, she resides in Mexico where she
plies her trade as a commentator and
radio talk show host (in English). And she’s a big
Democratic Party booster, in Mexico!
In the week preceding Super Tuesday,
Ana Maria was discussing the U.S. election on her weblog.
As part of the chat she received a message from Isabel
Hudgins de Medina, who is a spokeswoman for Democrats
Abroad in Mexico:
“Hi Ana Maria, as the
spokeswoman for Democrats Abroad in Mazatlan, Mexican
citizens who also have U.S. citizenship have asked me if
there is much difference between the candidates in their
positions on immigration. They say ‘There’s no point in
voting if none of the candidates are interested in
helping the immigrants in the United States.’ My answer
has been, ‘That’s why it’s necessary to vote so that
they pay attention to us and listen." Is there anything
else that you can add, in way of answer, to these
attitudes of people with dual nationality?...”
So here we have another Democrats Abroad official
promoting dual citizen voting—for the Democrats of
course, and on the basis of immigration policy. Ana
Maria Salazar answered with this statement:
"…I believe that it’s
important that the Americans who live abroad or the
Mexicans that have dual nationality should vote in these
elections so that the candidates recognize the point of
view representing people who live in Mexico and who
understand and live the migratory issue with a very
particular perspective. The more people who go out to
vote, the more attention they will pay in seeking a
humanitarian and viable solution for both countries.
Remember, Ana Maria Salazar is a prominent
personality, a former U.S. government official. And she
is openly encouraging dual citizen voting in order to
bring pressure to bear for amnesty and other open border
policies.
Maybe it’s just coincidence, but these three
Democrats I’ve mentioned, who are trolling for dual
citizen votes in Mexico, are
women! Maybe they need a
stern lecture from VDARE.COM’s Democrat
Brenda Walker.
And the aforementioned example is not the only one.
In a January 11th editorial in El
Universal, Ana Maria Salazar
wrote that
"…for the first time
the Democrats who live outside of the U.S. can
participate in the selection of their candidate. It’s
possible that almost a million Americans live in Mexico,
and with their participation and that of Mexicans who
have dual nationality, they could have an interesting
impact in defining who the Democratic candidate is. For
those readers who have American citizenship and whose
political tendencies are Democratic, check out
www.mexicodemocrats.org to enroll and participate in
the "Global Primary" the first week of February.”
Once again, she is openly encouraging dual citizen
Mexicans to vote in a U.S. election.
The Global Primary is now history, although they
haven't announced who won. But what do you think will
happen in the General Election? Do you suppose these
Democratic activists, who already see the value of the
dual citizen vote in Mexico, will forget about it?
No, I think this is only beginning. Leading up to the
General Election, we can expect to see continued
activism to get out the dual citizen vote for the
Democrats!
As the Mexican Dual Citizen vote continues to be
cultivated, it could turn out to be quite substantial.
And you wouldn’t expect our government to do anything
about it, would you?
Here’s something else I noticed,
on another Mexico Gringo website: a notice about
some meetings in Puerto Vallarta for American citizens.
These meetings are being held by the U.S. Consulate, to
inform expatriate Americans how to vote by absentee
ballots. (In all the years I’ve lived in Mexico, I’ve
never attended such a meeting. I found out myself how to
obtain an absentee ballot, because I wanted to vote).
The ad is bilingual—which presumably means there are
American citizens living in Mexico who don’t speak
English.
And many of them will be voting—completely on the
basis of immigration policy!
Think about that, this election season, as you
contemplate the political panorama. Not only must you
take into account all the
voting blocs in the United States, you must not
forget the
dual citizen vote here in Mexico!
Some Democrat activists certainly aren’t!
American citizen Allan Wall (
email
him) resides in Mexico, with a
legal permit issued him by the Mexican government. Allan
recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with the
Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are
archived
here; his FRONTPAGEMAG.COM
articles are archived
here his "Dispatches from
Iraq" are archived
here his website is
here.
