There has been a lot of talk around town on the subject of the recent announcement by the government of Canada to require Mexicans entering Canada to have a visa. Some people understand this measure; others express indignation that those nasty Canadians would be so hostile towards Mexicans.

As a Canadian, my only observation is that Canada has finally woken up to the fact that there are a lot of Mexicans with a colmillo* the size of brontosaurus’ molar, that have been taking advantage of Canadian immigration policy for years and years.

To give you an example of the Canadians’ “innocence” and lack of real-world experience, take the Canadian passport application. I criticized this a while back. There is a section where you are required to get a personal reference from a professional person; the options are doctor, lawyer and policeman.

Policeman.

In Mexico.

I’m not trashing policemen but come on. This reflects the Canadians complete lack of colmillo.

There must be a zillion Mexicans who have taken advantage of Canada’s refugee and asylum policies to enter the country with a minimum of effort and at great expense to the Canadian taxpayer, who foots the bill for each and every investigation of these supposed ‘refugees’.

If Mexicans are to feel any animosity it should be towards their fellow Mexican huevones* who have screwed this up for them. Another nail in the coffin of the Mexican reputation abroad.

Surprisingly, since I expected a more PRD-ish outlash against the policy, a lot of Mexicans are actually in the same boat on this topic as I am. Have a look at the Universal newspaper website. Their article is very interesting in that it points out:

• Mexican refugee applications from 2005-present, represent 25% of ALL international refugee applications
• In 2008, there were 9400 applications, of which only 11% were proved to be valid

The reactions are in the comments, following the article. Interesting the amount of support shown there.

And to those who insist that the Mexican government should retaliate by applying visa requirements to Canadians, I just laugh. Are the Canadians and Americans coming to Mexico as ‘refugees’ and getting a check from Calderon each month? Are they lining up to take advantage of the fabulous social infrastructure (like the IMSS) ?

Didn’t think so.

It was about time Canada woke up, in my humble opinion.

***********************************************************************

* Colmillo – the knack certain people have for determining where and how to make a situation work in their benefit, extracting the maximum advantage for them usually at the expense of the other party

* Huevones – derogative term for lazy people

The Mexican government(s), in its’/their infinite wisdom, prohibits the sale of alcohol during elections and July 5th, when there will be elections for diputados (a political sub-species of popular representative that makes a huge salary and does precious little for those he or she is supposed to represent) is no exception.

The all-caring government doesn’t want the nasty populace having the opportunity to buy a beer on election day, in case it gets drunk and votes incorrectly. Or gets drunk and disorderly if the election results turn out not quite the aforementioned populace wants.

IMHO, a ridiculous and useless law since those who will want to be drinking during the voting process will have bought their alcohol prior to the cutoff date, July 4th.

It’s all part of the great simulation that we live in a “democracy”. Call me a cynic. My wife does. 🙂

If I could run for office, here are some of the ‘propuestas‘ I would run on.

Ecology/Conservation

As part of a plan to make Yucatan the most ecology-friendly state in the country:

• An immediate ‘hold’ on all ongoing construction permits to review and if necessary, include, greater ‘green’ areas in all housing developments. A swing set and a palm tree on a minuscule corner lot do not a ‘park’ make, nor do they provide the beneficial temperature controlling effects of a larger, more generous ‘green’ area. All future construction permits subject to increased allocation of space to ‘green’ areas.
• A real ‘reforestation’ campaign, emphasizing replanting of vegetation indigenous to the area. No more palm trees and grass. This is not Miami.
• No more golf courses.
• Increase the budget for inspection and control of all well and water drilling activity in the state. The water is being contaminated at an alarming rate and soon it will be useless.
• Immediate implementation of a tax credit for all purchasers of hybrid vehicles.
• Promote installation of plastic and glass recycling plants to reduce soda and beer bottle garbage, which is part of the landscape now. All soda and beer bottlers in the state must either offer a refund for their bottles, or pay a tax in lieu of. No exceptions. Out of state bottlers must pay tax which will be used to pay refund to the general public on bottles collected.
• Invest in solar technology in order to have most state government buildings run by solar power by 2020.
• Tax credits for homeowners who install solar or alternative energy in their homes.
• Tax credits for homeowners who plant indigenous vegetation on their properties.

Taxation

• Any and all Yucatan state taxes to be rolled into one flat tax.
• Push for the federal IVA tax to be applied to everything, as well as pushing for a flat federal income tax.
• Eliminate tenencia tax on autombile purchases for all hybrid and 4 cylinder models.
• Increase vehicle tax on 6 cylinder models and a maximum tax on 8 cylinder models.
• Tax credit (percentage based on vehicle purchase price, used or new) for purchases of hybrid vehicles.

How am I doing so far?