Talk: The Continuity of U. S. Imperialism [] Center for Global Justice

More than Neighbors: US/México Solidarity

Javier Bravo & Bill Gallegos

People in the US think of México as a neighbor with whom we share a border. But it is looked at far differently than the other country that shares a border, Canada. US policy made and makes the difference. Just four decades after México won independence from Spain, the US invaded and then annexed nearly half of México. This melded the two countries’ peoples and destinies; the nations overlap. The US left has consistently failed to recognize the immense political significance of the US annexation of Mexico’s northern territories — a major factor in the US becoming an unrivaled imperial super power, and in creating the conditions for the emergence of the Chican@ Nation in the US Southwest.

On the México side, annexation and the assertion that the US had a “right” to control the hemisphere led to México’s under-development, forced dependency, and direction from US capitalism. With worsening conditions under neo-liberalism, in 2018 the Mexican people had enough. They voted overwhelmingly for a “4th transformation” under the leadership of the fledgling Morena Party and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. That election is of historic significance, and it could change the future not only of México, but of Latin America – and the US.

The history of the US/México relationship, both on the part of the two governments but also on the part of the two working peoples, is not past; it defines the present and determines the future. Now is a unique moment to rev up our bi-national solidarity.

Two representatives of the Mexico Solidarity Project will discuss the relation between our two nations.  Javier Bravo, is a historian, social movement activist, and Morena militant in Guanajuato MX.  Bill Gallegos is an organizer for racial and environmental justice and a veteran of the Chicano movement in Los Angeles.  Both are founders of the bi-national México Solidarity Project.  Meizhu Lui, an Editor of the Project’s weekly Bulletin (read and subscribe here:  https://mexicosolidarityproject.org/archives/), will moderate.