Mexico sits in what many people term Central America, although it is still technically
North America.
Mexico and the United States have a long and often chequered history, but what if they
merged?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I am your host, Rebecca Felgate
and today I am asking What If Mexico Joined America?
Of course by America we mean the United States of America, that is just how YouTube titles
work…don’t dwell on it.
Before we launch into this video, I want to ask you guys whether or not you think Mexico
should be part of the USA?
I look forward to the fruity comments section!
So, Mexico and the Unites States.
Mexico was under Spanish Rule until 1810, while the USA escaped British rule in 1776.
The two neighbouring countries share a lot of history and indeed, large parts of the
Unites States used to be Mexico.
California, Nevada, Utah, large parts of Arizona and New Mexico and a little bit of Wyoming
were at one point Mexican territory, but historical events such as the Louisiana Purchase and
the Mexican American war divided up the land.
If history tells us anything, we know that boarders are fluid.
So, what if Mexico became part of the states?
Firstly, if Mexico did join the Unites States, what exactly would happen to the land – Mexico
is 1.964 million square kilometres, so over four times the size of the United States biggest
state, California.
Would Mexico be a super state or divided up into several smaller states?
If the latter happened, I am not sure the people of Mexico would be such a fan of the
division of their identity, but of course part of that would already have been sacrificed
in a merger with the states.
Speaking of identity – the States would have 127.5 million more Spanish Speakers entering
the fold.
American English would still be the most spoken language, but with the percentage of Spanish
speakers hugely increased, this would be enough to declare the States a bilingual country.
Things like street signs would be in two languages, especially in the south.
The population of the states would rise to 453.2 million…although this wouldn’t change
the world population rankings for the USA who would still be third behind China and
India.
However, with Mexico now annexed, Japan would rise to take its spot as the tenth most populated
country in the world.
How would current citizens of the United States feel about welcoming in 127.5 million people?
Well, I imagine some would be pretty mad…I’ll let you imagine what they might look like
and sound like.
A lot of people would feel their culture is under threat, although the United States is
already comprised of a whole wealth of cultures already.
Others would be worried about jobs and space, but with the additional 1.964 million square
kilometres of land, there would be potential for economic growth in new American cities.
Would cities be renamed?
Or would they stay in Spanish?
There already are a number of Spanish named towns and cities in the south anyway.
Circling back to the economy, Mexico does have a lot of natural resources, with oil
being the main player.
On top of that, Mexico has iron ore, copper, phosphate, gold and diamonds.
There is also a lot of room for agriculture.
Let’s also consider the new shape of the United states, the new mammoth country would
have domination over the Gulf of Mexico – which would have many benefits, especially in terms
of fishing and coastline tourism.
Until things got going and the economy was stimulated, merging Mexico and the united
states would create a new poverty line in the states.
The average family income in Mexico is below 5 thousand dollars a year, which would mean
massive transfer payments and subsidies for the new states, which could hurt the existing
ones.
I don’t imagine that would be popular.
A big question on a lot of peoples lips would be crime, and specifically the manufacture
and distribution of narcotics.
Many people think the DEA could stamp it out given the opportunity – but if crime in
poorer states of the USA is still an issue, how exactly would the states straighten out
new problem areas?
What would this new country be called?
Amexico, Annexico, Mexmerica?
Where would it stop, though?
If Mexico join the Unites States, would Trump’s wall instead be on the boarder of Guatemala?
Perhaps instead of merging as a country, Mexico would become like Puerto Rico, an unincorporated
territory of the USA, but somehow I don’t think that would fly.
Ultimately, I imagine most people would feel uneasy about a merger.
Both countries have their own issues as they are.
Would they really be resolved by centralising power?
The good thing about questions like that of todays video is that they spark so many other
questions.
I think we will leave this one here for now.
What do you think would happen if Mexico joined America?
Are you Mexican or American?
Would you be for this or against it?
Let me know in the comments section down below…
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Life’s Biggest Questions.
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