A SMOKIN' VIEW OF LIFE IN MEXICO AS A DRUG MECCA

The following are translations of future letters to the editor of El
Universal, a newspaper in Mexico City. The date of publication: May 12, 2016.

Dear Editor:

Yesterday's massive immigration rights rally in the capital should be
a wake-up call for all Mexicans. I could not believe my eyes: one
million American illegals marching in the streets to protest that
bill in Congress to secure our northern border. We are being overrun
by these people and it's our own fault: We should never have
legalized drug possession back in 2006. -- IGNACIO RAMIREZ, Veracruz

Dear Editor:

Yesterday while taking my daughter to school, we had to step over
three Americans nodding on the sidewalk. I asked them in plain
Spanish to move, but they just gave me glassy-eyed stares and sat
there drooling on themselves. If you want to solve our immigration
problem, forget about amnesty, forget about hardening the border.
Just remove the incentive. After all, they're only coming here for an
opportunity they can't find in their own country: the opportunity to
do legal drugs. -- CARMEN RUELAS, Tijuana

Dear Editor:

Is it too much to ask that they learn to speak the language? -- MARIA
RODRIGUEZ, Zacatecas

Dear Editor:

I have nothing against Americans. Some of my best friends are
American. So this is not about racism or nationalism. It's about the
necessity for a sovereign nation to control its borders. Last night
on the news, I saw hidden camera footage of hundreds of Americans
swimming across the Rio Grande, carrying bongs and rolling papers in
watertight bags. One border patrol agent told the reporter it's not
worth it to catch them. They just keep coming back. -- JOSE QUESADA, Acapulco

Dear Editor:

Some people want to build a fence along the border. I say, build an
electric fence. That would solve everything. -- JORGE CRUZ, Leon

Dear Editor:

The current anti-immigration mood in our country is shortsighted and
wrong. It troubles me that we as Mexicans have such a negative
attitude toward people who come here simply because they want to
start new lives. New lives doing drugs, but

still . . .

People keep saying undocumented Americans are taking jobs from
hardworking Mexicans. The truth is, the Americans take menial,
demeaning work most Mexicans are unwilling to do. Do you want to make
your own vanilla soy latte? I know I don't. -- ANA GOMEZ, Guadalajara

Dear Editor:

In 2006, I lived in a cardboard box in a mountainside. I supported
myself by collecting rags and bottles. Ten years later, I own a
palatial home, a getaway place on a beach in Acapulco and I'm closing
this week on a spacious condo on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. I
feel we should make it as easy as possible for the Americans to stay
in our country. I believe in diversity. Diversity has been very, very
good to me. -- ESTEBAN MORALES, President U-Pick Marijuana Farms, Chihuahua

Dear Editor:

I am an immigrant from the United States; I moved here legally in
2006, right after the law was passed. While I can understand the
anger some native Mexicans feel at seeing so many Americans coming
here, I hope that doesn't lead lawmakers to do anything that would
destroy the one thing I've always cherished most about this country.

By which I mean your live and let live spirit, your willingness to
leave a girl alone to enjoy her hobbies. That means a lot to me. Oh,
and by the way, crack is wack. -- WHITNEY HOUSTON, Ensenada