Category Archives: South of the Border

"Ladies and Gentlemen," former Mexican president Vicente Fox used to begin his speeches. Such an innocuous phrase, yet it caused him enormous trouble in Mexico. Why? Because all previous presidents and most other politicians addressed their audiences as "Senores," i.e. "Gentlemen." There is little equity for women in machismo-land, you see, a place where even domestic violence is considered a husband and father’s privilege. These are just a few of the revelations in one of the best political books I ever read, Fox’s "Revolution of Hope." I learned more about Mexico from it than I ever learned living here, where even we gringos imagine that we have a certain kinship with Mexico. Fox encourages such feelings because he wants our relationship to grow stronger, and for us to be more welcoming of his paisanos coming here in the millions. I was not sympathetic to that before I read his book. Now I’m wavering. In his unparalleled candor and humor, he makes a compelling case for that and many other things. Ignore most of the critical commentary at Amazon’s site for the book. His Mexican political enemies seem to have taken it over. Probably some "Senores," so-called. But do consider the book. You’ll learn a lot about our closest and, potentially, best neighbor.