Letter to the President

Dear President Álvaro Obregón,
I write to you from the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, California, USA.  This year, we had our very large celebrations commemorating the 100th Anniversary of our independence from Spain.  It was a joyous celebration, the first ever hosted by the Consulate.  We had parades, concerts, festivals and then, of course, the annual Yell.  It was a great success and hopefully the beginning of a more involved role in the Mexican community. 

This is the main reason to which I write to you.  I understand you wish for us to be more involved in protecting the Mexican and Mexican-American community here in Southern California.  I also understand that one of the biggest goals of our involvement within the community here is to subtly encourage return migration.  As you have stated, I don't think the best way to do this is to prevent people from leaving but rather making people who are already here come back.  This already is the practice of many migrants, especially in the Los Angeles area.  Yet, Americanization programs are hurting our people here and decreasing their desire to return to Mexico.  These programs not only teach English, but they encourage American social practices and threaten the Mexican family.  I have several ideas on how to combat this dangerous process which threatens our people.  Perhaps the most fruitful of these ideas is to create Mexican schools that the children of immigrants can go to and learn about our practices.  These schools will be funded by the consulate and local business people. The main goal of these schools will be to promote Mexican patriotism among children who may not have ever been to Mexico.  Eventually, we can hope that these schools and our other measures will help productive workers come back to Mexico, which I know is a central concert of you, Mr. President. 

Thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from you,
The Consul

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