Although we followed the 2016 US elections closely, the principles of nonintervention and state sovereignty led us to keep a respectful distance from its internal politics, and the few times we did opine, we did so without interfering and without taking sides.

But there are some things that can’t go unacknowledged. I recall that Donald Trump, upon announcing his candidacy on June 16 of 2015, exclaimed, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They send people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists.”

We’ve since asked ourselves whether he truly didn’t understand the basis of mass immigration or if he was just resorting to demagoguery, because Mexico does not “send” anyone to the United States; it happens that millions of people have left our country in the pursuit of a better life through honest work in our neighbor to the north. The majority has left to better their economic situation, while others flee the violence that plagues our homeland.

After the election, and when the Republican contender was sworn into office, we decided to act. We knew that Enrique Peña Nieto would not meet his duty to represent Mexico with dignity and that he would be unwilling to vigorously defend migrants. Experience proved us correct.

After campaign rhetoric morphed into government policy, we could no longer stand idly by in the face of this aggression. Our first move was to participate in a meeting on January 20th, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with the people in the border town of Acuña, Coahuila. Subsequently, in a two month span, we attended public gatherings in Los Angeles, Chicago, El Paso, Phoenix, New York, Washington, San Francisco, and Laredo.

As part of that mobilization, we delivered a note of protest to the United Nations, and a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Trump’s effort to build a border wall between Mexico and the United States, and for his attempts to persecute migrant workers.

• “Privatization is Theft” – Read an excerpt from A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in Jacobin (12/3/2018)
• “The wittiest response I’ve seen to Amazon’s plans to build one of its two new headquarters in Queens comes from OR Books.” – OR Books and A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in the Washington Post Book Club (11/29/2018)
• “Dear President Trump, no wall will stand forever.” – read an excerpt from A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in Literary Hub (10/30/2018)
• “Exceptionally well written… an inherently interesting and ultimately inspiring contribution.” – A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO reviewed at Midwest Book Review (9/18/2018)
• “The new Mexican president represents a break from neoliberalism.” – A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO reviewed at Counterfire (9/3/2018)
• “A book of promises and projections that, now that López Obrador has proved victorious, becomes a checklist for action.” – A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO reviewed at Kirkus (8/29/2018)
• “Mexico Says ¡Basta Ya!” A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in The Nation (7/6/2018)
• “Your Complete Guide to Mexico’s 2018 Elections” A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in Time (6/29/2018)
• “Amlo: five things to know about Mexico’s new president”A NEW HOPE FOR MEXICO in The Guardian (6/28/2018)