Trump is masterfully exploiting long-held visions of Mexico as a nation defined by crime to further his political agenda
These views can be traced back to 19th-century legends about bandits robbing coach travelers between Veracruz and Mexico City
to the images of Pancho Villa or other revolutionaries in the early twentieth century
while Trump is now using this reputation as a political means to an end
over the past century the US has been instrumental in the creation and perpetuation of the myth
Mexico’s violent reputation—at least in the US—became a powerful stereotype by the mid-20th century
After a decade of revolutionary fighting cost the country around five percent of its population
a new political class emerged and changed the ways of politics in Mexico City
this generation brought with them bodyguards who were also enforcers
gunmen that came to be known as pistoleros
Although Mexican citizens demanded that pistoleros be punished
the US media’s narrative of Mexico as a country of illegality and danger had taken root in the minds of American readers
is perhaps the best literary look at the myth of Mexican pistoleros and their legendary mixing of politics
without reaching the levels of the late 1920s
was enjoying higher levels of education and more and more people were flocking to its cities
coupled with the futile “war on drugs” engaged by Mexican authorities with the urging and cooperation of the US government
has one again brought violence back to the border
This latest incarnation of the myth centers on all-powerful
It is true that since the mid-20th century
drug traffickers have taken full advantage of a thriving US market
Illegality made the business risky but highly profitable—and perversely
ensured that only the most violent narcos thrived
most Mexicans viewed the growth of the industry with weary eyes
when Mexican authorities arrested big bosses
is that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born people of comparable age in the US
They often come to the US fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America
and they provide essential labor in some sectors of the US economy
Yet Trump’s grasp of the facts echoes William Burroughs’s explorations of Mexican mind-altering products
and conspiracy theories can in their own way alter reality
Republicans in Congress are willing to fund the wall
creating an additional reason to paint Mexico as a national adversary
It is unlikely that the Mexican government will agree to pay for it
thus potentially imposing a new reason for antagonism between the two nations
In the decades following the war of 1846 and multiple US interventions
Mexico has gradually managed to foster stable regimes and mend fences with the northern neighbors
The current tensions throw some of this progress into jeopardy
and could even lead to costly commercial and immigration disputes in the short-term
Trump’s characterization of Mexicans as criminals seems likely to remain a theme that he and the Republican party generally can exploit for electoral gain
Mexico-US relations will outlast and eventually transcend these negative stereotypes
depositing the legend of the violent Mexican into the same mythical past that cowboys now inhabit