I'm Always The Bad Guy

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

You know I am a nice guy but a bit of a rebel rouser, more than that, attempting to bring consciousness to things.  Well, I guess I did it again.  I love SMA and I just can't stay away from it or one of the famous Yahoo groups.   

Yesterday someone posted about being a resident and not being able to keep their American plated car.  I understand whole-heartedly, but that is not the way life is.   So I asked the question? Can you legally import a Mexican-plated car into the U.S.?  I asked that to make a point about the situation at hand.  Sure, in some cases and some states, you can legally import a car into the U.S. from Mexico.  In fact, I asked about it with our last travel trailer in the case I wouldn't be able to sell it here.   Texas said yes and that it would cost $180.   A friend moving from D.F. had just bought a new Jetta and didn't want to give it up.  Same deal, some cars you can and some you can't.  

Many people think the Mexican law is not fair and should be changed to include residents, and also non-residents who live in Mexico.  It will never happen.  What people don't understand is that politics is behind the issue.   When the U.S. changes a law and it affects Mexico, Mexico does it double back and vice versa.   Another issue and I have explained it to ad nauseum is the fact that the law attempts to reduce the importation of junk into the country, protect new car production and dealer sales.  Obviously a good law and one that up to now has done exactly those things.  You have to be a Mexican to legally import a vehicle permanently into the country.

After my post,  and I told Juan I should be receiving hate mail any moment, my mailbox started to fill up. You see, some of these people don't have the huevos to post a comment on the group in public.  They like to send private messages.  I was called several names but the most common is the "a" word.   Do I care?  Not really, but I do care about the rules and where I live.   For some odd reason, ex-pats, especially those from the U.S. change their colors once they start living here.   You've heard me speak of this before.  They are notorious for wanting to start a boycott when a local cable company changes venues, a store doesn't sell a particular product or sells one that doesn't meet their satisfaction, join illegal clubs that help them obtain bogus license plates to avoid paying car taxes, and the list goes on.

I am being told now to mind my own business, start my own Yahoo group for Monterrey (that will never happen as I'm not fond of most ex-pats anyway), stay the hell out of SMA because they don't want "mean" people. 

Amazing isn't it?  These same people are complaining about the pollution in SMA, the bad driving habits and laws, and yet they want the Mexican government to change the law so they can drive their clunkers around Mexico.   Some of the mails I received have been the same in the sense that many ex-pats living in SMA don't have the money to buy another car.  WHAT????????  

This all goes back to the same thing and why Mexico has changed their immigration laws.  Mexico has seen the writing on the wall and has now raised the amount of money one must have to live full-time in the country.   Mexico sees the wave of poor retirees that could be coming soon and inundate an already broken social care system.   

What I have said may not sit well with the troops but it is the truth especially the paragraph above.  It is a reality many retired Americans are facing and they are scrambling for a place to call home that they can afford.  

Here is an excerpt from one mail and I will stop here:

You say your job is to help the people to be happy.  You really need to concentrate your efforts elsewhere...I'll bet there are a lot of unhappy people in Monterrey...or better, how about Nuevo Laredo.  I would imagine there are loads of unhappy people there...you could even help the cartels.  I'll bet that if they were happier they would stop killing each other.  You and your happiness project has a lot of work ahead of you, but it is not needed here.