Defend the Constitution
Mexican Property is Not for Other Countries
Introduction
A bill has been created in Congress that may ease restrictions on the foreign ownership of Mexican property. As of right now, foreigners are allowed to buy property held in trust by a Mexican bank and the government can step in and revoke ownership. But if this bill is passed, foreigners will be able to buy property outright. If we approve of this amendment, the amount of land we could lose would be devastating. Just look at our history with the United States.
Settling in Texas
In 1821, only 4,000 Tejanos (people of Spanish heritage that called Texas their home) lived in Texas and more were being recruited to gain control of the land when the American settlers first settled in Mexico. By 1830 the population had soared to 30,000 with the ratio of Americans to Tejanos at 6 to 1. When Moses Austin and his son Stephen first started the Texas settlement, the Mexican government told them that the settlers would have to become Mexican citizens, learn Spanish, and become members of the Roman Catholic Church. However, they would end up disobeying these conditions.
Texas Gaining Independence
We first lost a large portion of our land when Texas won its independence from Mexico. In 1829, tensions began rising when the Mexican government outlawed slavery. The Texans didn’t agree and wanted to keep their slaves. The Americans also refused to learn Spanish, the national language, or follow Mexican laws. The Texans abused their right to be part of Mexico. Eventually, the Texans revolted after the Mexican president attempted to enforce his laws. After several bloody battles, Mexico was finally forced to give up Texas. It declared itself the Lone Star Republic in 1836.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
In 1845, American President James K. Polk sent John Slidell to negotiate the Mexican Border and purchase New Mexico as well as California. President José Joaquín Herrera refused to see Slidell. When news reached Polk, he decided to send troops to the disputed area. On May 9th 1846, he started preparing a war message against Mexico, saying that their denial to work with the USA was means for war. He later revised his statement and instead said that the Mexicans came to America to spill blood. After two years of war, Polk assigned Nicholas Trist the job of reaching and signing a treaty with Mexico, but after a delay of time while Mexico was trying to reassemble a government powerful enough to negotiate, Polk pulled Trist. Trist, however had plans of his own and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Americans lied and said that Mexico came over here to purposefully shed blood without getting all of the facts straight, trying to get ahead without honors and morals.
Conclusion
In the past, we have allowed Americans to buy Mexican land from us like Texas under certain conditions. The Texans completely ignored us, revolted, and stole our land. In 1845, the American government tried to buy New Mexico and California. When we denied this proposal, the Americans started a another war. Looking back at these experiences, should we risk letting foreigners buy our land at all? Passing this bill will only lead to disaster.