Antonio Navalón
Everyone knows that when there are internal difficulties in a home, a company, or a family, having an external enemy often helps promote the unity needed to defeat that common adversary. Today, not only Mexico but the entire world lives in a state of constant alarm, where every day we must prepare for the unexpected.
Meanwhile, the structural issues that define our happiness or unhappiness, our profitability or our losses, our crises or our progress, remain on hold, waiting to overcome the daily provocation that, in our case and in that of most of the world, comes from the political implementation of whatever President Trump decides to do each morning in Washington. But the time has come to get back to work. The moment of truth has arrived to start doing the math and figure out what plans countries have to move forward.
The time has come to rebuild national objectives. Let’s not kid ourselves: between the democratic crisis, the political crisis, and the crises brought about by the violent awakening of the American empire, the truth is that we have abandoned our dedication, our attention, and, above all, our social and political capacity to change course and create objectives that will take us somewhere.
Many issues and areas have been affected, suffering from stagnation or neglect as a result of the endless crisis we are living through. I want to focus on two. The first: we need to consolidate our accounts. The accounts have to be balanced. There is no present or future without national projects that allow us to truly address social gaps, social discontent, and the erosion of an economy that leaves us with no choice but to rebuild the model, which is curiously strong at the moment as a result of the USMCA, and at the same time so affected by the national security issues that impact us.
Is a USMCA without Mexico possible? No. Can the United States bear the cost of the industrial and labor exodus from neighboring countries such as Mexico and Canada? Even if it could, the dismantling of facilities and the loss of personnel would have a social impact that goes beyond demonstrations against mass deportations. The big question here is not only about illegal migration, nor is it about the crisis caused by illicit drug trafficking, which is undoubtedly undeniable and whose solution is essential for a secure future. It encompasses everything that comes with a share of the economy, where crime increasingly controls more and more every day, given the success of its industries.
The states must do their own math and see what the country really gets out of its investments. In that sense, this government has to take the time to present a realistic balance sheet. The balance sheet cannot be an unlimited cumulative figure of daily losses resulting from delusions that were held and applied beyond any objective economic rules or estimates. López Obrador certainly opened the heavens, but at the same time, he gave way to an economic hell that must now be faced. Everywhere, from Texcoco to Dos Bocas, the costs of Obradorism’s impossible dreams are appearing. This is a big decision that, whether she likes it or not, the president will have to make, which is to save what can be saved. Above all, she will have to determine whether the increasingly scarce resources should really be used to cover and remedy a black hole—apparently bottomless and with no way out—that appeared as a result of the costs of the pharaonic dreams of the first six years of the Fourth Transformation.
President Claudia Sheinbaum will also have no choice but to go beyond the ideological search and defense of the benefits and advantages of the regime invented by López Obrador, and begin to take a stand and defend the fronts that are emerging in Mexico City. Above all, that of gentrification. Mexico City must be defended. We must remember that, despite everything, Mexico City has always been—since the Revolution and the transition from the Porfiriato to the present day—a place of welcome. What is now called CDMX has been characterized as a place where freedom of expression reigns and a place where the lack of internal security or the fact that we could be killed at any moment should not be confused with the fact that, without a doubt, it continues to be one of the cities in America where dreams most often take root.
It is imperative to analyze the consequences of the demonstration that took place a few days ago in Condesa and Roma. This is a phenomenon that began with a protest, coincidentally now, against the “gringos.” But it arises not only because they occupy most of the apartments and are therefore responsible for rising prices, but also because the breakdown of acceptance and integration of immigrant minorities and majorities who come to the city can cause a security problem for our neighbors and for those who have decided to go and live in Mexico City. There is also an additional element, which is the unconscious attitude of “revenge” adopted by many nationals in response to the actions of ICE and security agents in the United States against Mexican migrants.
Mexico City is a great city, not only because of the millions of people who live here, but also because it is an example that should not be lost. It is a benchmark not only because the left has governed it for the last 25 years, or because it was the cradle that rocked the dream of the López Obrador presidency and gave birth to the 4T movement, but because of its capacity for integration and its cultural offerings, now deteriorated by the mistakes of the 4T government’s policies. However, what makes Mexico City most special is that, despite the demonstrations and problems it may face, it remains a place where it is possible to be, feel, and breathe freedom.
“Gentrification.” What a curious term. A strategy needs to be devised that focuses on healthy coexistence and controlled growth. However, what is now classified as gentrification was once referred to as progress, development, tourism, and attracting investment.
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