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[i_am_ben]

Maybe the US should be admitted into Mexico

 

[Ganzlinger]

According to Mass Effect lore, Canada, Mexico and USA merged into one country in 100 years from now.

 

[EatinOlives]

Maybe the US should be admitted into Mexico

I support this idea.

First order of business: abolish all sour cream and replace it with delicious (real) Mexican crema.

 

[Manmademan]

Oh boy, ok, were to begin.

First of all, yes, México never fully recovered from the Mexican-American war, but even further we never recovered from the Mexican revolution. Mexico is a country that has always been in constant war, not because we did not had the means to stop it, but because we ourselves are a extremely corrupt nation helmed by our own devils. Even today, politics and criminals go hand in hand, this may be a generalization, but its true more often than not and even decent politicians are tied by the criminals, sometimes willingly, other not.

But here is the interesting part: A lot of those issues have been reinforced, and sometime provoked, by the USA themselves. You go through our full history and you will always see the USA participation somewhere there. Be it lending intell, signing advantageous deals to support either side of a conflict, and recently even selling weapon multiple times to the same drug lords they are supposed to be against. I am not saying is the USA fault, its not, its the mexicans themselves that have brought this continuous mayhem into our lifes, but its clear to me that, if the USA wanted to annex the rest of México to itself, they would have done so long time ago.

And why would they? Why would they add us when they already have a lot of what they need from us? We already gave them ridiculous advantages in the deals we have made, an example is the oil, that is our principal export and revenue maker, and we sell it crude to the US, just to buy it back once its refined, more expensive.

Personally, it sounds like a interesting idea. It could work in theory, but the problem is the social and cultural barrier, and that one is huge. The survey you showed its at university level, and university level is NOT the popular opinion. The popular opinion still has a grudge against the USA, and, more importantly, a great amount of pride. I am sure that if something like what you proposed happened an armed conflict would rise for sure. Chances are we will lose, of course, but you can expect thousands of death, even millions maybe. If there is something Mexicans love is the status quo, "mas vale malo por conocido que bueno por conocer".

I dunno man, this is all just a few of the issues from our side I can see. From the American side? I honesty don´t think the american will see us as equal level citizens, they will continue to see mexicans as second class and it will show. The conservative side will try to make the mexican states far less important than the original counterpart. Immigration is going to be huge, but that would give its own problems. Millions of dollars are going to have to be moved to make that movement possible, and the proposal of the escaped capital to fund it seems a little reaching and it would need to be incredibly tempting, china levels of cheap production, and how would that be possible Mexico its supposed to be equal to the USA? The mexican citizens would want all the advantages of an american job, like the higher paying salary, and if we don´t get that immediately things could go sour.

All this is just scratching the surface of what could go wrong. Realistically, if they USA want it to happen, it WILL happen, since they already have our high politicians as pets, we all know that. Fortunately, Mexico is a country of extreme patience, so unless they really REALLY do something big to aggravate the country then it can happen. But be sure blood would be shed, be it with the drug lords, the rebels, or a mayor revolution, it won´t be a clean transition.

Shut it down, this thread is over.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I feel like the Holy Britannian Empire should be a thing

 

[Barbacoatl]

SalvaPot you make some good points, but I hope you realize oil is a finite resource. Not only that, but Pemex has proved to be as corrupt and inefficient as you point out the rest of the government to be. So if you ask me, opening the oil industry to foreign investment and exploration, etc. is a good thing. Manufacturing will be from now on the most important industry. The cash cow of crude will come to an end. Not today, not in 20 years. But it will.

 

[jchap]

The US would be crazy to saddle themselves with all of the problems of Mexico.

 

[SalvaPot]

SalvaPot you make some good points, but I hope you realize oil is a finite resource. Not only that, but Pemex has proved to be as corrupt and inefficient as you point out the rest of the government to be. So if you ask me, opening the oil industry to foreign investment and exploration, etc. is a good thing. Manufacturing will be from now on the most important industry. The cash cow of crude will come to an end. Not today, not in 20 years. But it will.

Oh yeah, it was just an example of how Mexico doesn´t refine its own oil itself, instead of depending on the USA to do it. I hope oil becomes useless soon, only then will Mexico stop depending on it so much and look for other sources of revenue. We can make money in so many other fields that are neglected and most likely won´t end up in a monopoly as crude as Pemex.

 

[Bregor]

Personally, I believe that the era of expansion through assimilation is essentially over. I do not wish to see the dissolution of any already established governments, but believe closer ties between existing ones is better than actual amalgamation.

 

[Barbacoatl]

Oh yeah, it was just an example of how Mexico doesn´t refine its own oil itself, instead of depending on the USA to do it. I hope oil becomes useless soon, only then will Mexico stop depending on it so much and look for other sources of revenue. We can make money in so many other fields that are neglected and most likely won´t end up in a monopoly as crude as Pemex.

Agreed on all points, and thanks for your post.

 

[Ecotic]

Oh boy, ok, were to begin.

First of all, yes, México never fully recovered from the Mexican-American war, but even further we never recovered from the Mexican revolution. Mexico is a country that has always been in constant war, not because we did not had the means to stop it, but because we ourselves are a extremely corrupt nation helmed by our own devils. Even today, politics and criminals go hand in hand, this may be a generalization, but its true more often than not and even decent politicians are tied by the criminals, sometimes willingly, other not.

But here is the interesting part: A lot of those issues have been reinforced, and sometime provoked, by the USA themselves. You go through our full history and you will always see the USA participation somewhere there. Be it lending intell, signing advantageous deals to support either side of a conflict, and recently even selling weapon multiple times to the same drug lords they are supposed to be against. I am not saying is the USA fault, its not, its the mexicans themselves that have brought this continuous mayhem into our lifes, but its clear to me that, if the USA wanted to annex the rest of México to itself, they would have done so long time ago.

And why would they? Why would they add us when they already have a lot of what they need from us? We already gave them ridiculous advantages in the deals we have made, an example is the oil, that is our principal export and revenue maker, and we sell it crude to the US, just to buy it back once its refined, more expensive.

Personally, it sounds like a interesting idea. It could work in theory, but the problem is the social and cultural barrier, and that one is huge. The survey you showed its at university level, and university level is NOT the popular opinion. The popular opinion still has a grudge against the USA, and, more importantly, a great amount of pride. I am sure that if something like what you proposed happened an armed conflict would rise for sure. Chances are we will lose, of course, but you can expect thousands of death, even millions maybe. If there is something Mexicans love is the status quo, "mas vale malo por conocido que bueno por conocer".

I dunno man, this is all just a few of the issues from our side I can see. From the American side? I honesty don´t think the american will see us as equal level citizens, they will continue to see mexicans as second class and it will show. The conservative side will try to make the mexican states far less important than the original counterpart. Immigration is going to be huge, but that would give its own problems. Millions of dollars are going to have to be moved to make that movement possible, and the proposal of the escaped capital to fund it seems a little reaching and it would need to be incredibly tempting, china levels of cheap production, and how would that be possible Mexico its supposed to be equal to the USA? The mexican citizens would want all the advantages of an american job, like the higher paying salary, and if we don´t get that immediately things could go sour.

All this is just scratching the surface of what could go wrong. Realistically, if they USA want it to happen, it WILL happen, since they already have our high politicians as pets, we all know that. Fortunately, Mexico is a country of extreme patience, so unless they really REALLY do something big to aggravate the country then it can happen. But be sure blood would be shed, be it with the drug lords, the rebels, or a mayor revolution, it won´t be a clean transition.

Some great points, I appreciate the thoughtful post.

A few things. It's true, the conservatives in America would probably try to undermine the Mexican states. But the people in Mexican states would likely vote more similarly to the Hispanics already in America (mostly, but not monolithically, Democratic) and especially if conservatives are being openly hostile to their interests. Blue State America and the Mexican States would quickly find common cause and the conservatives in America would be greatly outnumbered in the new United States and marginalized. Conservatives would have to adjust to serving the interests of the people in the Mexican States or they'd never matter anymore.

I can't see the outbreak of violence happening amongst the people in the Mexican states if the Mexican government accepts to be a part of the United States. If the Mexican people are a people of patience, as you say, they'll understand it will take a few decades to be brought into parity with the rest of the U.S. Again, they won't be at the mercy of America's whims, they'll have a very substantial share of the new Congress. People only turn violent when they are left out of the process; voiceless. The Mexican States would have effective veto power over policies that directly harm them.

 

[machemachete]

If the project is succesful, Spanish is goint to be the second lenguaje in the US (In Miami everybody speaks it)

Fine by me given that is my native lenguaje.

 

[Barbacoatl]

If the project is succesful, Spanish is goint to be the second lenguaje in the US (In Miami everybody speaks it)

Fine by me given that is my native lenguaje.

I have news for you...

 

[Stumpokapow]

obvious US hate is obvious. You been to Mexico?

I see my post more as "turnabout is fair play", given the premise of the post I quoted. I don't "hate" the US. I live in the US. And I live there there because I choose to. That doesn't mean I think it's "better" than all the countries in the world and they all need rescuing and only the magnanimity of the great American people can welcome all those poor there-be-dragons countries into the umbrella of freedom and justice and the shining city on the hill. The premise is extremely patronizing even before we discuss whether it's wrong.

 

[PSqueak]

Mexican here, at this point, an American Union in liu of the European Union is more likely than this fairly ridiculous idea.

Bring on the "Americos"!

 

[EMT0]

Why would Mexicans willingly choose to make themselves de facto second class citizens as a part of the US? Have you seen how obsessed some idiots here are with 'teh poorz leeching on our taxes payed, therefore fuck government, taxes, and the poorz!'.

This would be a disaster.

 

[SalvaPot]

Some great points, I appreciate the thoughtful post.

A few things. It's true, the conservatives in America would probably try to undermine the Mexican states. But the people in Mexican states would likely vote more similarly to the Hispanics already in America (mostly, but not monolithically, Democratic) and especially if conservatives are being openly hostile to their interests. Blue State America and the Mexican States would quickly find common cause and the conservatives in America would be greatly outnumbered in the new United States and marginalized. Conservatives would have to adjust to serving the interests of the people in the Mexican States or they'd never matter anymore.

I can't see the outbreak of violence happening amongst the people in the Mexican states if the Mexican government accepts to be a part of the United States. If the Mexican people are a people of patience, as you say, they'll understand it will take a few decades to be brought into parity with the rest of the U.S. Again, they won't be at the mercy of America's whims, they'll have a very substantial share of the new Congress. People only turn violent when they are left out of the process; voiceless. The Mexican States would have effective veto power over policies that directly harm them.

Thank you. Mexico is, nowadays, mostly voiceless.

The general mexican perception is that voting doesn´t matter and nothing will change. The voting process is completely different here than it is in the U.S., thinking the Hispanic vote is equal to the mexican vote is quite misguided, there is a fair amount of conservatives on Mexico and, even worse, there line is really really blurry between conservatives and liberals.

In theory, we have been governed by 70 years by liberals (Or central, depending who you ask), then 12 by conservatives, then our current president is liberal/central. The current power, PRI, has been in power almost all of those years and a goof chunk of those have been allegedly against the will of the people, of course we "can´t prove it", but its a voiced secret.

I am telling you all of this as a context of how the mexican people think. Election period its mostly an opportunist fever, votes are bought left and right and no one stops it, because no one cares enough to make it stop. I myself do vote, but I really don´t think my vote would make a difference.

Politically, it would be hard to make a difference in the USA, and I don´t think we will be even given the chance. If the idea of the US is to anex Mexico, what they could do is make the offer, wait for the violent rebellion, and then just intervene Mexico with the excuse of said violent rebellion. From a fairly pessimistic point, violence is unavoidable, so might as well do it in a favorable condition.

And this remind me, we are not taking into account the international implications of Mexico been added to the US. How would other countries react to it? Wouldn´t it be similar to what happened with Crimea? Of course, maybe the US intentions are pure, but when the drug lords rise to try to protect their millions, the US will need to make a militar presence. When will this happen? Before of after the integration is made? Would other countries, like Russia or China, who also has interest in Mexico, would let it happen?

We are taking for granted that no one else cares for Mexico other than the US, so adding it sounds fairly simple, but how hard would it be for another country with interest to, say, fund the resistance movement to avoid the US entering Mexico in the first place. They don´t even have to send money, just saying something about how they don´t like the idea of Mexico been part of the US can be dissuasion enough.

Again, this are all "what ifs", but in making such a big change we need to take into account what is to gain and what is too lose. Those the US really can afford making a mistake while trying to integrate Mexico? Can they afford another potential war? Or posing a bigger threat to another country? Politics and International Relations its all about gaining the upper hand, and a move such as this will clearly put the US at a new advantage if it goes flawlessly, so why would others let him?

In my opinion, if something goes wrong, they have more to lose than to gain. See it this way: You and your best friend are neighbors, he always has money but he is awful with it and expends it in stupid stuff, but is always willing to share it with you, and take advantage of him, not in full but most of the time. He has issues but he can hold his own and its kind of in friendly terms with you, even if you once took a full bedroom from his apartment and annex it to yours, its mostly in the past now. When something goes wrong, you can always let him fend it off by himself, maybe help him out a little bit to luck good. You also have your own problems to deal with, mostly the guy across the street whose house just keeps getting bigger and bigger, but you are doing fine.

Would you just propose him to be part of your house, just adding his house to yours, but hey, you can decide what we eat mondays and wednesdays, and let me get rid of that deadly asbastos and deadly man eating scorpions for you. Whats that? YOU WHERE THE MAN EATING SCORPION KING ALL ALONG. OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE.

 

[mAcOdIn]

Yeah, I think this is a terrible deal for Mexico, probably for most Americans too.

I also wanna call BS on bringing Mexico up to parity with the US, we haven't even bothered bringing all of the US up to parity with each other no way in hell we bring a country as large as Mexico then up to parity. I also think just that that whole age of big spending is dead in our country anyways, even with such a large stimulus package recently we built nothing of any real consequence unlike in generations past. I don't know if the vision is just weak, the will isn't there or if safety laws or some other modern reason hinder the kind of rapid growth seen in the past or what but money sure as hell doesn't seem to get the same shit it did in the past.

And that's just infrastructure. No way in hell are we fixing law enforcement in the Mexican regions that need them. Again, just looking at how we treat our own citizens just how would America tackle that in Mexico? Would we send our, seeming, less corrupt law enforcement to police Mexico or would we just fund already crooked cops to police them for us? Either approach sounds like a disaster to me.

Regarding voting, sure, the new Mexican Americans would indeed be a lot of votes, however their overall command of capital would still be disproportionately small. What I'm saying is is their votes will surely matter but the big money that's going to choose the candidates that run and get all the air time is still going to be in the hands of rich white Americans meaning that yes the Mexican vote will be important but they'll be deciding between two candidates that will probably be well off white Americans looking out for what was traditionally Americans and any interests in the newly annexed Mexico they support will just be pandering BS like any support a politician offers minority groups now.

And like SalvaPot mentioned I see little that offers us any real chance to compete with places like China in this deal. Again as he points out it's not just population that drives them it's that they do work for less. If we honestly wanted to compete with China we could do so easily and we don't need to annex Mexico, we just throw away our current standard of living, scrap some safety laws, scrap some health regulations, lower everyone's pay and get to working in the factories for long hours. So as he mentions then what exactly would Mexico bring to the table but a region with cheap labor? And what does that offer the average American? It drives their wages further down so current US citizens sure aren't going to like it and again as SalvaPot said if the new Mexican Americans are supposed to be equal how the hell would they feel being basically our slave labor with shittier working conditions and pay than the rest of their new country?

I don't believe anyone benefits from this except the rich and large corporations and I feel the average people on both sides of the border lose out in this scenario.

 

[Pedrito]

Plenty of countries manage just fine without being the absolute economic power of the world. The USA can remain prosperous without going on a merger and acquisition spree.

 

[G.ZZZ]

Who cares about this shit we want a true Old World Empire of Yurop! Fuck this EU half-hassed shit.

 

[burntchomsky]

So what OP's post made me think about:

I have heard it said that when Rome conquered another area (often they were forced into the war because of aggression), they would often attempt to leave that territory to its own devices afterwards. Basically, they'd neuter the other kingdom's offensive capabilities, then attempt to leave it alone. However, it became extremely common that these nations, after being conquered, would beseech Rome that they become provinces of the Empire, allowing for their population to become Roman citizens. This occurred because Rome believed strongly in the essential good of peace (i.e. pax Romana) and other nations envied this peace and the prosperity that accompanied it, as well as the advantages of Roman citizenship.

Now, if you compare Rome's method of annexing territories to Western colonialism over the past few hundred years, there are some huge differences. Colonialism was about forced conquering, dominating the natural resources of different areas, and often involved the enforced slavery of its peoples. Colonialism was (and is) bad.

But when you look at a situation like what you mention with Mexico, it makes me think that there are some goods about one country being the 'benefactor' of another which often get obscured. I wonder if there is some 'third way' by which the US can make Mexico, over time, a part of it, but do so in a way that is not about dominating resources or people. Basically this would be analogous to a European country seeking to join the EU.

It really doesn't matter what we say in this thread, though, as this will never happen. The main reason being, aside from the logistical nightmare of it all, that the US would never take on, willingly, the massive responsibility of trying to solve the economic / civil problems of a country like Mexico. Can you imagine the politics of this scenario? If our senators / representatives can't solve immigration issues because of gridlock, how in the world could they ever deal with something this big?

 

[Winterfang]

Did the Cartel propose that?

 

[ISOM]

Why would the US want Mexico? That is a losing proposition. It's the same reason why Canada wouldn't want the US.

 

[Hunter S.]

It would create more problems for the USA, rather than solving them. No

 

[Ecotic]

...

And this remind me, we are not taking into account the international implications of Mexico been added to the US. How would other countries react to it? Wouldn´t it be similar to what happened with Crimea? Of course, maybe the US intentions are pure, but when the drug lords rise to try to protect their millions, the US will need to make a militar presence. When will this happen? Before of after the integration is made? Would other countries, like Russia or China, who also has interest in Mexico, would let it happen?

We are taking for granted that no one else cares for Mexico other than the US, so adding it sounds fairly simple, but how hard would it be for another country with interest to, say, fund the resistance movement to avoid the US entering Mexico in the first place. They don´t even have to send money, just saying something about how they don´t like the idea of Mexico been part of the US can be dissuasion enough.

Again, this are all "what ifs", but in making such a big change we need to take into account what is to gain and what is too lose. Those the US really can afford making a mistake while trying to integrate Mexico? Can they afford another potential war? Or posing a bigger threat to another country? Politics and International Relations its all about gaining the upper hand, and a move such as this will clearly put the US at a new advantage if it goes flawlessly, so why would others let him?

...

This is the only part I felt I had something new to add.

If the U.S. were to offer Mexico statehood into the Union and Mexico accepts, then the international community would have no qualms with that. It'd be a legitimate decision made between two consenting nations, not an illegal and unwanted invasion. No other world powers would interfere. I can't see any other outside nations having any significant grounds to contest a consenting union between the U.S. and Mexico.

 

[Triplicates]

Well, fortunately or unfortunately, the time for that is long past. Integrating all of Mexico could only have been done after another war or series of wars in the 19th century. Likewise, if a few events had gone differently, we could have taken all of Canada in that same time frame. If we have another opportunity at making the United States of North America a reality, it'll be around the end of this century during the global resource and hydrological wars.

 

[Valhelm]

I think that a North American unification could be pretty wonderful, especially if Canada was involved. That being said, there would be huge economic ramifications. I'm not sure if bringing all those manufacturing jobs back to the United States would balance out the significantly poorer populace.

It would be cool to at least make Mexico a kind of US territory, in a kind of permanent and mutually beneficial partnership that helps both nations. I believe that mass immigration is always a symptom first and foremost, and any American politicians looking to restrict immigration should instead try to make things better in Mexico. Greater US influence might have unfortunate implications, but if it wasn't done with profit in mind, it would probably help the Mexican people.

 

[Hunter S.]

Why would the US want Mexico? That is a losing proposition. It's the same reason why Canada wouldn't want the US.

A serious explanation would be interesting here. The satements are very ambiguous

 

[SalvaPot]

This is the only part I felt I had something new to add.

If the U.S. were to offer Mexico statehood into the Union and Mexico accepts, then the international community would have no qualms with that. It'd be a legitimate decision made between two consenting nations, not an illegal and unwanted invasion. No other world powers would interfere. I can't see any other outside nations having any significant grounds to contest a consenting union between the U.S. and Mexico.

In an ideal world, sure, but if there is rebels in Mexico they will try to gain support from other countries, directly or indirectly, chances are, there would be external influence.

 

[Valhelm]

Oh boy, ok, were to begin.

First of all, yes, México never fully recovered from the Mexican-American war, but even further we never recovered from the Mexican revolution. Mexico is a country that has always been in constant war, not because we did not had the means to stop it, but because we ourselves are a extremely corrupt nation helmed by our own devils. Even today, politics and criminals go hand in hand, this may be a generalization, but its true more often than not and even decent politicians are tied by the criminals, sometimes willingly, other not.

But here is the interesting part: A lot of those issues have been reinforced, and sometime provoked, by the USA themselves. You go through our full history and you will always see the USA participation somewhere there. Be it lending intell, signing advantageous deals to support either side of a conflict, and recently even selling weapon multiple times to the same drug lords they are supposed to be against. I am not saying is the USA fault, its not, its the mexicans themselves that have brought this continuous mayhem into our lifes, but its clear to me that, if the USA wanted to annex the rest of México to itself, they would have done so long time ago.

And why would they? Why would they add us when they already have a lot of what they need from us? We already gave them ridiculous advantages in the deals we have made, an example is the oil, that is our principal export and revenue maker, and we sell it crude to the US, just to buy it back once its refined, more expensive.

Personally, it sounds like a interesting idea. It could work in theory, but the problem is the social and cultural barrier, and that one is huge. The survey you showed its at university level, and university level is NOT the popular opinion. The popular opinion still has a grudge against the USA, and, more importantly, a great amount of pride. I am sure that if something like what you proposed happened an armed conflict would rise for sure. Chances are we will lose, of course, but you can expect thousands of death, even millions maybe. If there is something Mexicans love is the status quo, "mas vale malo por conocido que bueno por conocer".

I dunno man, this is all just a few of the issues from our side I can see. From the American side? I honesty don´t think the american will see us as equal level citizens, they will continue to see mexicans as second class and it will show. The conservative side will try to make the mexican states far less important than the original counterpart. Immigration is going to be huge, but that would give its own problems. Millions of dollars are going to have to be moved to make that movement possible, and the proposal of the escaped capital to fund it seems a little reaching and it would need to be incredibly tempting, china levels of cheap production, and how would that be possible Mexico its supposed to be equal to the USA? The mexican citizens would want all the advantages of an american job, like the higher paying salary, and if we don´t get that immediately things could go sour.

All this is just scratching the surface of what could go wrong. Realistically, if they USA want it to happen, it WILL happen, since they already have our high politicians as pets, we all know that. Fortunately, Mexico is a country of extreme patience, so unless they really REALLY do something big to aggravate the country then it can happen. But be sure blood would be shed, be it with the drug lords, the rebels, or a mayor revolution, it won´t be a clean transition.

I have to disagree with the bolded. There was talk of annexing all of Mexico after the Mexican-American war, but the primary arguments against this were based on intolerance. Many Southerners feared a large Catholic population to manage and many Americans worried that a large minority of "half Indians" would go against national policies against Native Americans. In addition, it was believed by most Northerners that the annexation of Mexico would lead to the expansion of slavery.

US action in the Spanish American War suggests that the government certainly had no moral qualms about conquering Latin American states. It's very likely that another war with Mexico could have happened, had the economic crises of the late 19th century not made war unfeasible, and had the first world war not turned public opinion against aggressive warfare.

A complete US conquest of Mexico certainly could have happened. There's no definite reason why it didn't.

 

[Ecotic]

It really doesn't matter what we say in this thread, though, as this will never happen. The main reason being, aside from the logistical nightmare of it all, that the US would never take on, willingly, the massive responsibility of trying to solve the economic / civil problems of a country like Mexico. Can you imagine the politics of this scenario? If our senators / representatives can't solve immigration issues because of gridlock, how in the world could they ever deal with something this big?

I'd argue the real strength of the U.S isn't and has never been a proactive federal government. It's been a stable institutional framework, a working court system to resolve grievances, and then largely to get out of the way. Stability is an under appreciated merit. Whereas the 60 vote filibuster in the Senate causes gridlock, in another way it's been an effective way of locking in gains once they're had. In other countries the work of previous governments can be undone as soon as the newest one comes in.

I could see Mexico benefiting in the same way, letting the improved institutional framework and capital infusion do the heavy lifting, without the federal government needing to be so heavily involved.

 

[EchoChamber]

If that happens there will be a lot of blood I think.

 

[Valhelm]

Why would Mexicans willingly choose to make themselves de facto second class citizens as a part of the US? Have you seen how obsessed some idiots here are with 'teh poorz leeching on our taxes payed, therefore fuck government, taxes, and the poorz!'.

This would be a disaster.

I'm actually not sure about this. The annexation of Mexico would probably give the United States a Hispanic plurality. An enormous amount of new legislators would be born in Mexico or be of Mexican descent.

 

[Vicetrailia]

All US corporations would fight tooth and nail against this.

 

[Ahasverus]

Ironically, that is how current Mexico came to be. Or do you speak nahuatl and buy your games through barter? Foreign investment creates much needed jobs. Wake up, globalization happened. Do you also reject the massive influx of Japanese auto-makers in the country, or is glorious nippon exempt of raging nationalism?

I honestly see Mexico closer to Colombia than USA, despite geographic impossibility and the huge trade between the north american neighbors. I say bring MexiColombia, or MexiColumbia for our american friends. We're already visa-free carajo. Chile and Peru are also welcome to join but you guys need to settle your beef...heh, right...

No, I don't just want Colombian women. Swear to God.

Mexicolombia would be awesome hahaha but to be honest, it's more probable for US to aborsb Colombia than Mexico.

 

[Ecotic]

I have to disagree with the bolded. There was talk of annexing all of Mexico after the Mexican-American war, but the primary arguments against this were based on intolerance. Many Southerners feared a large Catholic population to manage and many Americans worried that a large minority of "half Indians" would go against national policies against Native Americans. In addition, it was believed by most Northerners that the annexation of Mexico would lead to the expansion of slavery.

US action in the Spanish American War suggests that the government certainly had no moral qualms about conquering Latin American states. It's very likely that another war with Mexico could have happened, had the economic crises of the late 19th century not made war unfeasible, and had the first world war not turned public opinion against aggressive warfare.

A complete US conquest of Mexico certainly could have happened. There's no definite reason why it didn't.

Yeah, all of this is true. In fact Nicholas Trist, the ambassador sent to negotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, completely botched the negotiations. His original instructions were to include the Baja California peninsula and the other border states such as Sonora, Chihuahua, and Nuevo Leon. President Polk was so furious upon his return that he gave him no pay and didn't reimburse his travel expenses.

The Gadsden Purchase a few years later was meant to rectify this, and to purchase all the land that Trist didn't get in the treaty. Santa Anna wouldn't sell it, but the Gadsden Purchase was envisioned to look something like this:

 

[EatinOlives]

Businesses love illegal immigrants because they can pay them pennies on the dollar and they can't say boo or else they'd be deported.

Annexing Mexico will remove all of that. There's no way the US is going for it if they're enjoying the benefits of dirt-cheap labor with none of the drawbacks.

I'm actually not sure about this. The annexation of Mexico would probably give the United States a Hispanic plurality. An enormous amount of new legislators would be born in Mexico or be of Mexican descent.

Huh? In the US plurality of population has never meant or even implied a plurality of that population in office. There's a ton of past history that proves your theory wrong.

 

[Syriel]

I think that a North American unification could be pretty wonderful, especially if Canada was involved. That being said, there would be huge economic ramifications. I'm not sure if bringing all those manufacturing jobs back to the United States would balance out the significantly poorer populace.

It will eventually happen as Canada, Mexico and the US are more alike than they are different.

Each has a Federal system with individual states. Merging all the individual states under one Federal system isn't a massive change.

Except for Quebec. It'll be a United North America and Quebec because Quebec always gonna do its own thing.