What USA can do to help Mexico and Central America become better countries financially and politically?

Answer 1

The corruption is embedded so deeply in most Latin and South American nations that there isn't much we can do for many. Helping them requires a major cultural change. Remember many of these nations had the same resources the US and Canada had when starting out. The difference is a fundemental cultural difference. Hispanics often flourish when in US or Canadian cultures. So there is nothing wrong with the people. They have plenty of natural resources. These nations have sufficient populations.

The 3 cultural flaws that have to be removed to allow success in Central and South America are

Removal of the deeply ingrained structure of corruption. To get something done in these countries you have to bribe somebody. In fact often to prevent bad things you have to bribe somebody. In jails you can live like a king if you have money or they can be total hell if you don't. This scratch my back I scratch yours exists from top to bottom. It is the primary cause of poverty in any nation. The more corruption a Gov has the less effective it is. This corruption would have to be fought on every level of Gov. The drug trade with the US and Europe makes an already difficult task even harder.

Hispanic nations have a strong tradition of large extended families. This is a problem in that like the Irish and Italians and other nations who have similer cultures, what is yours is also your cousins, your brother in laws your brother in laws brother. To be inhospitible to family is a major sin in Hispanic culture. This combined with the corruption steals incentive. Why work hard when no matter how hard you work somebody is just going to take it away from you? Adoption of the nuclear family that has been a major part of the success of the US and Canada. It allows wealth creation thorugh hard work. It also provides incentives for smaller families and reasons to fight corruption.

The third thing that has to be removed is the obsessive jealousy of the US. It causes some nations to make self destructive decisions based on emotional reasons rather than what is in the best interest of the nation. The teaching that the US stole their wealth is both factually incorrect and damaging to Hispanic nations. While the US hasn't always been a great neighbor it has done more good for these nations than harm. We didn't steal anything. Corruption has allowed some foriegn countries to take advantage of situations in South and Central American nations. Nothing different than what local companies were doing.

Solve these three problems and these nations will flourish. They have abundant natural resources. They at this moment have good financing if they can demonstrate stabilitiy. The population of these nations when given a good environment are hard working industrious people. You would quickly see contributions in science and technology appearing out of these nations, a huge rise in the standard of living and perhaps even the rise of a super power like Brazil. Poverty in Central and South America is artificial. It is purely because of these three factors and nothing can be done to make a real impact until these three issues are solved. Once solved the other issues such as crime, overpopulation, government instability, and so on will solve themselves.

Answer 2

For starters, they need to clean up their real culture of corruption. Some of the biggest crooks are sometimes the judges and cops. Drug dealers and those, today's equivalent of slave traders, transporting migrant workers to sneak into the US are a cruel, dangerous, and soulless second government. Which brings me to the second point.

If these modern-day slave traders weren't siphoning off some of the best and most industrious of their workers, then when American companies drop thousands of workers from the payrolls and outsource their production to Latin American countries, these hardworking people would be able to do that work at home.

A couple-hours drive from a town where I used to live, there was a factory built in Mexico. When common workers were earning the equivalent of 1 or 2 dollars an hour (dollars were going for something like 2 or 3 thousand pesos apiece back then), the car company was paying something like 5 to 8 dollars an hour. That was great money so people began flocking to the new factory town. That made housing scarse, schools crowded, streets packed, stores often empty, and prices soaring--something you would expect in a "boom town" event, think gold rush days in California or Alaska where price inflation ballooned. Well, that made things difficult, but what made things even more difficult was that they learned that people doing the exact same thing in the same car company were earning wages like 20 to 30 dollars per hour in the US. That caused so much additional discontent, that I understand that they don't make cars there anymore.

The summary is this. Crime and corruption drive good people out. Sudden prosperity has its price. Discontent spoils a lot of good things that should be left to develop. There is development going on in Latin America and if the Latin Americans dismantle their criminal infrastructure and stay more content with the new opportunities as they develop, they all will improve.

Answer 3

They need to rethink some of the company moves that they allowed to relocate in China and other places. Give them incentives to move to Mexico and Central America. Surely countries in our own hemisphere are more easy to deal with and more friendly politically

Answer 4

Bomb the crap out of them.

No seriously though, stop funneling billions of dollars in aid to their corrupt governments. Demand that if they want our money and resources, they have to live up to our expectations of decent government and human conditions. Demand they stop shipping thier poor and desolate to our country. Demand they focus on building schools, hospitals, roads, and other amenities rather than lining the leaders pockets.

However, it is not our responsibility to do any of this. In fact, we should not even be giving them aid, as that is not our responsibility either.

Answer 5

it's not our responsibility to help them become better countries. I'm tired of that piece of crap Vicente Fox trampling all over the rights of his citizens and encouraging them to jump the border into the United States. if he would just give them the quality of life that they need IN Mexico, they wouldn't feel the need to come here illegally. that man is pondscum.

Answer 6

Oh dear...

Help them build a good infrastructure. Eliminate corruption. Support the local economy. Stop the drug trade.

Answer 7

what they have not already done .beside invade those sorry country and rebuild them .they are a regime just like Iraq was.the us give millions of USA dollars every year .

Answer 8

Eliminate all of the corruption and narcotics distribution!

Answer 9

STOP GIVING THEM EVERYTHING THEY ASK FOR

MAKE THEM WORK