Armando Gonzalez: Look in the Mirror to Begin the Process of Solving Mexico's Problems Armando Gonzalez - Mexico News Daily
go to original December 31, 2014

We humans traditionally regard the turn of the year as an opportunity for change, to start something new, to correct any mistakes we might have made in the past. It’s like we’re granted a new deadline to fulfill our dreams and plans.

Some write down long lists they know beforehand will never be completed: lose weight after the holidays; be more disciplined at work; wake up earlier and exercise; call that old, neglected friend; be more tolerant with our kids, employees, and relatives; brush off rumors or gossip; don’t get angry by the unavoidable blockades by teachers and students, etc., etc.; or by the awful vandalism of anarchist groups.

Most of us would like to forget a 2014 full of conflicts and the consequences of the horrible tragedy at Iguala. At least we know that these events will hasten changes in law enforcement, and in the fight against nation-wide impunity and corruption.

The global decline in oil prices and its inevitable consequences for our economy are also part of this 2014.

We’re a country inhabited by very opportunistic beings, where only a very low percentage pay taxes or meet their civic responsibilities, but all demand that daddy federal government solve all our problems, including embezzlement and the seepage of organized crime into municipal and state governments, the manifest corruption in candidate selection by almost all political parties, and in the management of natural disaster relief funds, etc.

Our country is a representative and federated republic. The official name of México is Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or Mexican United States. Therefore, accountability should be shared with the federated states.

Let’s wish that next year we can fulfill our part of the job, as citizens, that our country requires. Let’s give ourselves an honest look in the mirror and determine how much of what has happened over the years is our own fault.

That would be a good resolution for 2015, and one we must endeavor to accomplish.

Happy 2015.

Armando González is a former journalist who lives in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.

See the original at Mexico News Daily

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