Mexico and Money

At a time that I'm seriously considering how I might be able to retire to Mexico, something about my plans is troubling to me. The cover story from the February 6 issue of Time Magazine makes mention of the issue that's so troubling. Here is the issue: as U.S. dollars flood into the Mexican economy (primarily from Mexicans working in the U.S.), Mexican towns are changing...housing, clothing, food, and almost everything else is getting more expensive.

That's not so bad for people who benefit from money flowing south from relatives working in the U.S. But it has to be bad for people who don't have that reliable stream of money. For them, their low incomes are just becoming more difficult to live on. Something else that bothers me about the influx of U.S. dollars to the Mexican economy is the prospect (and the Time article addresses this directly) that the money won't necessarily go to improving the lot of the public but will, instead, go toward more expensive homes, more expensive cars, more expensive clothes, etc.

My concern about my interest in moving to Mexico is this: will I contribute, through my dollars going south, to exacerbating the economic reverberations on the Mexican economy? Will the dollars I spend really move through the economy in helpful ways, or will they flow to a few people who will use their good fortune to create more ways of gathering dollars to their own accounts? Will the money I spend simply help the rich get richer? Will it contribute to more Mexicans being able to live a decent lifestyle, with running water and solid housing and good public infrastructure, or will it instead contribute to more sharply defining the divide between the haves and the have-nots?

When I look around Dallas at the neighborhoods that have heavy concentrations of Mexicans and other Hispanics, I see neighborhoods that are insular. Many of the people there speak little or no English and they seem content to establish their own oases in the U.S., setting up miniature pockets of Mexico or 'home' where they can feel comfortable and at ease. I understand their desire to live in a way that reminds them of home, but I also feel that they are intentionally keeping me out...I am not Mexican, and therefore do not belong. I find that offensive.

I don't want to engage in Mexico in precisely what I find offensive here. On the other hand, I don't want to engage so completely that I exercise too much influence and, therefore, contribute to changing a culture. Maybe I view my influence in too grandiose a way...maybe I couldn't change it if I tried.

I wonder how hard, or how easy, it would be to establish relationships with Mexicans so that they, and I, feel comfortable with one another and come to view one another as friends.

As I sit here and think about it, though, I wonder if it's perfectly OK to move into another culture and maintain some insularity. That is, after all, how Italians and Irish and Germans and countless others who migrated to the U.S. have maintained their own sense of cultural identity.

I suppose I would just want to feel sure that Mexicans would, in general, not view me as the arrogant gringo. OK, what can I do to protect myself from being viewed in that way? Learn and speak Spanish. Learn the culture and live the culture of Mexico when in the presence of Mexicans and truly appreciate that culture. Contribute my 'wealth' to help improve the lot of Mexicans in general, not just a few people close to me. Live a lifestyle that does not suggest I am a wealthy American but, instead, live a reasonably frugal lifestyle that is aligned with the Mexican people around me. Something else that occurs to me that might help bridge the divide between Americans (and Canadians) and Mexicans in Mexico is a dual-language newspaper...a paper that would not simply duplicate articles in both languages, but would have some articles in English and some in Spanish. The paper would have to be good enough to prompt Mexicans to want to read the English sections and Americans/Canadians to want to read the Spanish sections. I like the idea, but I am afraid I might be the only one.

Something else I have been thinking about since reading the Time article...setting up a microlending company that would lend small amounts of money to Mexicans who have good ideas about creating a small business and who can justify with a solid business plan getting a loan...and who have a plan for paying it back. I haven't a clue how to go about doing this, but maybe I can find out...or maybe readers of this blog can post information.

I still want to find a way to get to Mexico. I want to feel good about doing it, so I need to be confident that I can assuage my concerns. In reality, my 'wealth' would probably be laughed at by many Mexicans who I might mistakenly assume are dirt poor. I just want to be sure I do not do something that I will regret.