Xenophobia works

Marina Ávila hasn’t accomplished much as mayor of Mexicali, but she does like to put on a show. Most recently she decided to wage a public crusade against a segment of the population that’s basically still working for a living.

Here’s what you need to know about Ávila: She’s a former supporter of the conservative and once-powerful National Action Party who found it politically expedient to switch to President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador’s liberal National Regeneration Movement so that she could win an election.

Last Friday afternoon, she began a hunt for people who work in the Imperial Valley or reside in the United States. Backed by federal and state agencies, the mayor decided to appear in person at the downtown border crossing to inspect those who return to or visit the city.

Officially, the idea was to find out those who had COVID-19 symptoms and those who were carrying too much beer, which could have reflected an intent to throw a party for Father’s Day.

According to official reports, Mexicali authorities detained more than a hundred motorists with surplus beer, much of which wound up in the city’s sewer system, unless the travelers elected to return to the United States with it.

Mexican law limits the quantity of beer travelers can bring across to 12 cans. However, with the suspension of beer production in Mexico, the product began to be in short supply. Little by little, consumers looked for options to satisfy their demand. The only alternative was to cross the border and purchase the product, but restrictions on border crossing limited access to those with permanent U.S. residency or U.S. citizenship. All this combined to create a perfect environment for the local black market that has operated for the last several weeks.

Oddly, no instances of persons being turned away at the checkpoints for having symptoms of COVID-19 were reported. Given the project was purportedly undertaken for this purpose, it would appear to be a bust on this score.

Personally, I think that is good news given it refutes the silly idea that Imperial Valley and Mexicali are infecting each other through cross-border traffic.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped authorities such as Mayor Ávila from pandering to xenophobic and irrational elements within the community by using her power to target illegally a population segment that injects a significant amount of money into the city’s economy.

According to the nation’s Constitution, anyone who steps into Mexico has the same rights as Mexican citizens, including freedom of transit. In other words, any beer that was to be seized had to be done before a traveler passed through the border port facilities, not on the other side of the gates.

If the mayor does not know these rights, she has excellent advisors in her own family: her mom and pop, who both are lawyers.

Nevertheless, this operation to harass us “foreigners” – as we binational folk seem to be regarded no matter where we live – has been viewed as a complete success, as far as the public is concerned. On social media, Mexicali residents have expressed approval, mostly because they blame border-crossers for the local virus surge -- nevermind their own participation in family gatherings and ignoring other recommendations of health professionals, including wearing masks.

Humoring this voter base has helped Mayor Ávila improve her prospects for re-election and even for eventually making a run at the governor’s seat.

Xenophobia works.