Backlash against US citizens in Mexico since the election?

I was just wondering that as well.   My daughter and I will be in PV for three weeks over the holiday season.   And I am planning partial retirement there in the next couple of years.    For the most part I know that the Mexican people are warm, friendly and giving.   Let's hope it remains this way.   I am protesting this election and many are pleading that we get rid of the Electoral College once and for all.

Why should there be any backlash?  People understand the difference between politics /politiciens and citizens. Only issue is the drop in peso which can affect cost of living for Mexicans, but this can be easily offset by increase in spending from Americans in expats and tourists areas. I suspect there will be even more interests in attracting Americans and other tourists, Mexicans are pragmatic!

There have been no negative comments about Americans that I have heard.

Actually my friend has shared some trump jokes. They wonder what happened,  as do many of us. They have also expressed concern about how those of us, living in Mexico are doing. I have been in three different cities recently and I have had nothing but positive responses. They are sympathetic and concerned. They remain quite well informed, so they know what happened was not our doing.

They have also noticed a large increase in Americans seeking information about moving to Mexico, Costa Rica  and Canada. Its not Mexico you need to worry about.

Other than some volatility in the peso, and the question about what sending back green card workers, and those considered "illegal" would mean. Some have just said who would work in the fields without guest workers ?   Good question, given that crops rotted 4 years ago when field workers were told to go home. So they have seen this type of instability and they know who causes it. They will adjust as they always do, and probably work in the soon to be growing expat and tourist industry.

I have seen one Facebook post from an acquaintance who is becoming prominent in local politics where he lives.

He picked up on the new peak in claims that the Electoral College should be abolished.  My response was to ask if he thought it would be good if only Mexico City elected Mexico's president.

Silence.

I have had a similar experience, Travellight. The merchants I deal with in the mercado are all sympathetic. The people I meet downtown are all consoling, and ask how such a thing could happen. I am not too concerned, as I've been here for 23 years now and don't expect to return to the states.

I'd like to remind everyone that political discussion/comments are not permitted Expat.com, it WILL lead to individual posts or the entire topic being removed.  This is addressed in the forum's Code of Conduct statement.

Please keep the discussion related to the expatriation or cultural aspect

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

gudgrief wrote:

I have seen one Facebook post from an acquaintance who is becoming prominent in local politics where he lives.

He picked up on the new peak in claims that the Electoral College should be abolished.  My response was to ask if he thought it would be good if only Mexico City elected Mexico's president.

Silence.

This is a misleading argument on many levels. The electoral college was devised to permit only white, rich, males with property to vote. Also at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, states were thought of being more important than the national government. We have popular elections of every public office except for President. We changed the Constitution to permit Senators to be elected by the people rather than be appointed by the Governor and extended the right to vote to women. We also changed state and federal constitutions to permit everyone over that age of 18 without criminal record to vote.

Just because the Constitution was written by our Founding Fathers does not mean it it not subject to change with the growth of the citizenry. Some of their ideas were just wrong. Fortunately, most were right.

This is a topic that reflects on the culture and behavior of the people in the country where we're expats.  It has nothing to do with local or US politics.

In my rounds of several local businesses, everyone treated me in the same way as they have for the 8 years I have been in Mexico.  People who know me asked why the popular vote didn't make Hillary the winner.  I explained and they understood.

I just can't see that politics, it's education.

In San Miguel de Allende, we have noticed that the locals seem to be going out of their way to be nice & cordial. They are always friendly, but since the election it seems to have gone up a notch! Very unlike the hate and vitriol that seems to be spreading in the US. Glad to be here!!

I voted for Trump,my friendS are aware of that fact,perhaps they dont understand why,but I dont expect them to.They dont treat me differently.I live in Mochoacan,I dont understand local politics nor do i want to,its not my country,I just reside here,Mexicans son bien tranquilos,no tengas meado,ven.

Have no on the ground info, however I did post a request for rentals in Lake Chapala  and made a reference to coming down for winter and a mild anti Trump comeent . I got several quite nasty rejections of never renting to me ! ,

Sorry Shell,

As the saying goes, it is always best to avoid discussions of religion, or politics.

That said , you should know that both SMA and Chapala are very expat heavy. Their attitude is not a reflection of the people who are native to this beautiful country; You should just come visit.

Try someplace less expat heavy and keep politics out of the dialogue, and things should go much smoother.

Hola Gracias por el informacio!  Due to the shortage of affordable rentals and  my belated search to find them,Ive decided on Lake Atitlan. From my communication w expats there ,there is much more available in my price range.

That is understandable.   But for travelers, it may be necessary.   No?   Especially if they expatriate from another country.

Thanks for all the replies, folks.  For some reason I didn't get email notification that anyone had replied to this thread.

After reading your comments and experiences, I feel relieved.  Good to know, as we may well return to the country in the future.  We feel more comfortable with most Mexicans than with many Americans these days!

Anywhere you go in the world, you may run into anti-American ideologues. In Mexico, they are mostly among expats from other countries and international tourists.  In my experience, they are few and far between in Mexico.  There are also a handful of Mexican socialists, communists, Fidelistas and those enamored of Chavez and Venezuela's current government.  Again, they are few and I haven't noticed any public activity, much less, anything that would make me believe they were something to be concerned about.

I have been working in Mexico for over 6 years and have made a lot of friends, Mexicans are a very loving group. Once they know you, its for life. I have had the discussion about our elect and they understand it's not us all that feel that way. I feel bad Donny said those things, but if he could meet some true Mexicans he and anyone that spent time with them and their  family would change their thoughts, I know I did. It's probably better he didn't it would be sad to see any of his influence on them

The hospitality and love you get is wonderful.
God bless them

The sad fact is, one man saying the wrong thing can destroy normal people's lives.
Regardless of your or my opinion of Trump, he's very likely to cause problems as we've already seen with China.
As president, his words are commonly seen as those of America, even when they aren't.

As a note, this isn't intended either to support or be against any individual politician, but I admit to a dislike of the vast majority of them regardless of what they claim to support.

It is meant to be factual and disinterested.

Folks are asking questions to be safe!  I have mulled this one over myself.  I didn't feel the primary context was political.  Easy on the censorship please.

evaskor wrote:

Why should there be any backlash?  People understand the difference between politics /politiciens and citizens.

I would love you to be right, but I don't think you are.

The good news is the more extreme members of any given society tend to be a minority who want to believe all Americans/Muslims/Chinese/Mexicans/whoever are the same, but those minority fools can still cause issues for poor sods who just want to live a normal life.
Expats have had to put up with trouble caused by extreme and/or simply stupid politicians for a very long time and that's not likely to end any time soon.

I hope I'm 100% wrong.

ShariKay wrote:

Folks are asking questions to be safe!  I have mulled this one over myself.  I didn't feel the primary context was political.  Easy on the censorship please.

A post with absolutely no political point for or against anyone.

The problem with political topics is those who support any given politician tend to see anything potentially negative and being anti whoever, not just a concern about possible problems.
I agree the topic is valid, but I know there is a potential for problems as even the most balanced post can be seen as digging at whoever.

The topic is basically, will the words of a politician upset the lives of expats in another country?
The sad answer is there is a possibility, especially if that politician is very insulting to the people of that country.

This is going to be down to the feelings of the locals, and many of them are likely to decide their position based on press reports they read.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/10/mexic … th-horror/

Fred wrote:

The topic is basically, will the words of a politician upset the lives of expats in another country?
The sad answer is there is a possibility, especially if that politician is very insulting to the people of that country.

This is going to be down to the feelings of the locals, and many of them are likely to decide their position based on press reports they read.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/10/mexic … th-horror/

Yes the question was about upsetting expat lives , but in a specific country. Mexico. I have yet to find anyone in Mexico who is upset with Americans in general in Mexico because of trump. Of course some countries are much more politically unstable and more judgmental. Those countries , currently demonstrating a thin skin instability are often not very safe period.

But here in Mexico, I have found people to be very bright , kind, and interested. They are curious and they ask questions. They see and read the news and ask more questions. They are not politically naive and they don't just believe everything they read..

I have had discussions about Mexican politics and U.S. politics with many, they are sympathetic and concerned. They have had unusual politicians themselves, so they can relate and compare.

travellight wrote:

Yes the question was about upsetting expat lives , but in a specific country. Mexico. I have yet to find anyone in Mexico who is upset with Americans in general in Mexico because of trump......

.......But here in Mexico, I have found people to be very bright , kind, and interested. They are curious and they ask questions. They see and read the news and ask more questions. They are not politically naive and they don't just believe everything they read...

Excellent news.
I make no attempt to hide my disdain for politicians who upset things for ordinary people (regardless of who they are or what they claim to support), so it's good news if the people that politician has potentially insulted don't take out any anger on innocent expats just because they come from the same country as any given fat mouth.

To be insulted, I think you have to value the opinion of the speaker, and see them as a power figure whose word, and opinion have some credibility. That is not the case. If all Americans acted that way, or even most Americans, it would be another story, but enough Americans have been here, live here, and visited here to leave a different mostly positive impression.

travellight wrote:

but enough Americans have been here, live here, and visited here to leave a different mostly positive impression.

That has to help.

Facts I observe in Mexico and other countries - including USA, prove you wrong.

If you look for trouble, you're likely to find it.  I've stayed away from politics other than to explain how the US systems works and how Trump spoke to a lot of people who felt left out of the political process, being forgotten by the Democratic Party.  As far as specific policies, the most I'll say is how hard it seems to govern 110 million people and how much more difficult it must be to govern 330 million.

I spent the week between Christmas and New Years in Mexico City.  I talked to many people, asked directions, struck up conversations on tours.  Nobody seemed to want to get into political fights.

Transit police in the Metro were courteous and ushered me through the turnstiles without paying just by showing my discount card.  Five out of six museums were free with the discount card and the sixth was only 30 pesos, $1.50. 

Not looking for trouble is minding your own business, staying out of arguments and adopting the conventional courtesy Mexicans show.

I was just wondering if anyone has noticed anything new on this topic now that Trump has begun firing the first salvos in what could end up being a trade war.  All calm on the ground or any changes noticed?

The people I would expect to be surly, are not.  Coffee producers, working class, vendors.and porters at bus stations all will face increased competition for jobs if the wall goes up and there are mass deportations.  All of the people locally have treated me with courtesy and respect.  On a trip to Mexico City 2 weeks ago, all Mexicans treated me well even passengers on the buses back and forth.  Same for last week's trip to McAllen, TX.

Good. That is encouraging.  Hopefully things will level out once there is a cabinet installed with, based on the picks, vested interests in not letting things spiral out of control.

They have already spiraled.   It is very sad what is going on.

Wow Gudgrief, that is a large amount of Spanish to expect the average reader to read or in many cases understand.

Suffice it to say el presidente tried to point out a few trade facts and said no to the wall.

People are worried, especially about how the peso goes up and down every time trump opens his mouth, but they are not taking it out on me. A number of his proclamations have already changed or been walked back, and the U.S is not Mexico's only trading partner. There is already a lot of talk about those other trading partners, primarily China.

The U.S. needs to know many of the taxes ( he has since walked back )  would hurt the U.S. because car parts, Avocados ( literally tons shipped ), and organic products would be impacted,as well as items like vanilla, chocolate, and alcohol. Even Lindsay Graham talked about Mexican liquors and beers.

His cabinet choices would only make things worse in the U.S. so hopefully they are stopped. People here pay attention and they know about the protests, they do not blame us for trump.

Sorry, I had translated the whole letter on an android app while in a restaurant and when I yroed to post it, wi-fi and cell service both went down. 

That was a damn accurate summary you wrote.

travellight wrote:

People are worried, especially about how the peso goes up and down every time trump opens his mouth, but they are not taking it out on me.

That is good news. Politicians, especially ones with a fat gob, have a habit of causing a lot of problems for innocent people who just happen to be from whatever country the loud mouth is from.
Hearing your lack of issues is a compliment to the people of Mexico and their ability to separate normal people from silly politicians.

travellight wrote:

A number of his proclamations have already changed or been walked back, and the U.S is not Mexico's only trading partner. There is already a lot of talk about those other trading partners, primarily China..

China has a history of stepping in to fill trade gaps when other countries reject, marginalise, create political issues, or otherwise try to mess up any given country.
China could well be of interest to Mexico's businessmen, and new trade usually means new opportunities for expats as well as locals.

shell5200 wrote:

Hola Gracias por el informacio!  Due to the shortage of affordable rentals and  my belated search to find them,Ive decided on Lake Atitlan. From my communication w expats there ,there is much more available in my price range.

cool, you can help the Italians clean up the pollution in the lake.

We are property owners and have a pleasant bed and brunch in a rural area on the skirts of the Sierra Madre Oriental.   xxx.  We have had no repercussions in our area of any kind.  The area where we are is generally very conservative and tends to be philosophical about these things.

We are adamantly opposed to the proposal to institute tariffs again, and have spoken in favour of a virtual barrier instead of a physical wall.  xxx.

Most of the posturing has come from the usual suspects...the professional demonstrators, the pseudo-students that are ubiquitous at such times, littering and painting buildings with "venceremos" slogans and other such meaningly marxist drivel.  Nothing much changes.   The folks who hate America and Texas and Americans and Texans have their own devils and while they become fewer as a percentage, they shall always be with us.

What is a discount card and how to obtain?

http://www.whatsupsancarlos.com/inapam- … d-seniors/
should help you.