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Deanna Perkins
Mrs. Monica Tillery
AP Literature
Fall 2011
Behind Closed Borders
“Illegal immigration reaches all time high” a headline reads, the face of a Hispanic male
staring through the border fence filling up the picture below. This story is often depicted, though
with slightly different details, in newspaper articles across the United States and throughout the
world. Illegal immigration is the hot topic of today, and the average American has strong views
opposing it. But have many considered the reason why there are Hispanic men, women, and
children risking their lives to find a new home? By barely skimming through numerous articles
and headlines, one can find the turmoil that causes thousands to flee their country. Drugs,
poverty and violence, to name a few, are leading indicators of an impulse to “take flight” that is
affecting so many.
Mexico lags behind the rest of the world due to its lack of contribution to global
economic trade. According to nber.org, “it appears that people living in areas with the least
exposure to globalization -- regions that are not attracting foreign investment and are lacking in
industries that serve international markets -- are lagging behind those residing in regions that
have felt its full force.” This quote perfectly describes the defining issue of Mexico’s crisis. The
country lacks exposure to the rest of the world because of a dwindling trade system. As a side
effect of its weak economic growth, Mexico has become one of the foremost countries affected

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by the recent global economic crisis. While poverty has risen almost 1.7% between 2008 and
2010 for the entire world, a whopping 52 million people in Mexico, around 46% of the
population, now live in poverty, with 5.5 million living in extremely abject conditions
(Chron.com). The poor man’s plight is often characterized by “limited access to basic services,
productive natural resources, credit and education [that] perpetuate these conditions” (tph.org).
Sadly, poverty is only an indication of more malignant and troublesome issues.
By looking at education and health, it is easy to understand the divide between the rich
and poor. While the rich may attend better schools, including private schools in the U.S., the
chances of those in rural areas having quality education is slim to none. According to
nationsencyclopedia.com, “the quality of instruction is low, the bureaucracy is ineffective, and
students do not stay in school (only 60% of Mexican children complete primary school).” Most
children in Mexico do not have a standard system that offers quality education. For them, it is
easier not to stay in school in order to work and support their family. Unlike Americans, who
traditionally have an 8 hour work day, the average Mexican man works 12-14 hours or more at
wages that are below the U.S. minimum. They often take two or three jobs at a time. Even with
these intense work hours, a paycheck may not be enough to put food on the table or cover the
cost of medical care.
One of the leading factors of death in Mexico is preventable disease. In a study formed
by Bupa examining the average Mexican lifestyle, Dr. Eddy Sollie, a medical director at Bupa,
found that “healthy lifestyle choices among the surveyed are clearly missing, yet chronic disease
is most prevalent among the general population… What is most concerning is that many of these
diseases are preventable, and we know that exercise and nutrition are effective lifestyle choices

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to reduce the risk of developing long-term conditions” (republica.net). Such long-term conditions
include diabetes and heart disease, the two most deadly killers in North America. They are linked
to obesity, a condition involving excess body fat that affects heart health and the efficiency of the
body’s immune system.
The physique of the average Hispanic person is often described as overweight. When
investigated, this obesity reveals a lack of proper nutrition. The average Hispanic family lives on
a traditional diet of corn, bread and beans. Many families cannot add leafy greens to their diet
because they are not mass produced in Mexico due to its desert geography. These commodities
must be imported from around the world, which is often a costly option. Furthermore, the food
may retain diseases that cannot be properly washed away due to polluted water in the pipeline
system. Expense, disease, and pollution force Mexican families to choose “foods [that] are cheap
and widely available” (foodbycountry.com), rather than foods that are healthy.
However, there is another option to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Vigorous exercise is a
substitute. In the same study conducted by Bupa, the testers found that “nearly one-third (30%)
of cardiovascular disease and more than one-fourth (27%) of diabetes could be avoided if
everyone began to incorporate exercise to their daily routine” (republica.net). Just as with diet,
proper exercise habits are difficult to achieve. Bupa added that “when asked to name their
biggest barrier to making healthier lifestyle choices, one-third of those surveyed stated it was
lack of time (33%), while almost one-fourth (23%) stated it was due to the expense”
(republica.net). Not only is a healthy lifestyle more expensive, but the exercise component also
consumes time that can be used to support the family. Due to the poverty of most rural families,
lifestyle choices may not even be an option.

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Mexico is still a developing country. Most of its resources and technology are
concentrated into government projects and large cities such as Mexico City and Puebla.
Mexico’s main medical problem is that “despite much higher access to infrastructure and health
services in urban areas, infectious diseases such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections are
equally common among urban and rural poor children. This suggests that water and sanitation
systems are of remarkably poor quality. While much attention is being paid to expanding
coverage, quality is not keeping up” (World Bank). The only way to live in such an atmosphere
is to fight microorganisms through medical technological advances. Sadly, most of the urban and
rural population are overcrowded and have limited access to a doctor. Those who live in isolated
areas may not have any medical help at all, allowing diseases such as Hepatitis A and rabies to
run rampant. Children are exposed to millions of pathogens and infectious bacteria every day.
Staying healthy is a feat that cannot be accomplished if a certain quality of life is not sustained.
Furthermore, sufficient medical help comes with its own set of problems. Many common
medical stimulants, such as Aderol and OxyContin, are coveted by drug addicts. These
medications are often abused to gain a temporary “high,” and a majority of their users live in
Central America. Naturally, these legal drugs are often stolen, sold, and abused by those in the
underground industry. Drugs are the biggest money makers on the black market, and have
dangerous consequences when they are abused.
The modern world has a larger base of drug users now more than ever before. Narconon
conducted an Addiction Survey in 2008 and found that in Mexico alone “the number of people
who had used drugs increased by a million between 2002 and 2008 - from 3.5 million to 4.5
million… for those between the ages of 12 and 25, 43% are exposed to drug use; half of those

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experiment with drugs and 13% use drugs frequently. The number of those addicted to illegal
drugs increased 51% to nearly half a million” (narconon.org). This statistic is further supported
by the current drug war ravaging Mexico. In Mexico, drugs are almost completely accessible.
The “power plants,” places where drugs are grown, are everywhere, making it a simple job to
pick the desired poison up from a local dealer. Drugs such as marijuana are known to thrive and
grow in many places – even someone’s backyard. That is what makes it so easy to produce and
distribute.
Mexican authorities do not stress enough the danger of marijuana and other drugs. The
“high” users experience is nothing compared to the serious mental side effects marijuana causes.
“The natural chemical balance of the brain is disrupted, affecting the pleasure centers and
regulatory systems…depression often occurs with marijuana usage, which feeds into the cycle of
more drug use to treat the pain created by drug use” (marijuana-addiction.net). However, drug
cartels and other dealers are not interested in their customers’ health. They are only interested in
making a profit.
Thousands of pounds of marijuana are shipped, flown, and smuggled around the world
every year. What may shock some Americans is that the biggest market for Mexican drugs
cartels lies within the United States. According to dailycaller.com, “Mexican Drug Trafficking
Organizations (DTOs) maintain drug distribution networks or supply drugs to distributors in at
least 230 U.S. cities… [they] transport multi-ton quantities of drugs from Mexico into the United
States annually using overland, maritime, and air conveyances.” The cartels actually control
parts of the Mexican border using methods such as bribery and threats. Anyone who stands in
their way is often cut down. DTOs generate a product many consumers are desperate and willing

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to pay any price for, and will resort to violence in order to protect their industry. In 2007, “more
than a thousand people [had] been slain throughout the country in the first six months of [the]
year in drug-related violence”(News America Media). Police officers and Special Forces work
around the clock to prevent drug cartels from making their profit, but drugs are not the only
problem.
Other battles wage within Mexican cities. Murder, theft, and sexual abuse appear in such
overwhelming numbers that authorities simply cannot keep up. Often, “Mexico's violence is
spectacular and lurid [with] tales of street shootouts, decapitations and bomb blasts filling
Mexico's news pages and airwaves” (mcclatchydc.com). Sadly, the media is telling the truth.
Due to a massive collapse in the funding of police training, a lot of criminals involved in
organized crime are able to walk in the streets with their weaponry freely displayed. Sometimes
they even collaborate with corrupt police forces to commit their crimes (travel.state.gov).
Internal corruption is the reason why Mexico and other countries all over the world are slowly
crumbling.
In conclusion, the people of Mexico face many dilemmas. Due to food shortages, medical
complications, drug wars and violence, they are forced to consider escape routes. However, there
may be a solution. A simple first step to educating Mexican citizens about developing good
habits would be to use medical coloring books, in order to show young children what a healthy
lifestyle looks like. Coloring books blend fun with learning new concepts. Pictures imprint
themselves in children’s minds, which is useful when trying to portray a topic that is often
difficult to absorb through simply reading. Associating pictures with words provides a bigger
impact for people of all ages when trying to bring across a point. By instilling good habits early,

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the next generation can develop into well-educated and informed young adults, ready to help
solve their country’s problems.
Works Cited
Advameg, Inc. “Food in Mexico-Mexican Food, Mexican Cuisine.” Food in Every Country.
Advameg, Inc. , n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-
to-South-Africa/Mexico.html>.
ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Poverty in Mexico grows 1.7 percent in 2 years.” Chron. Hearst
Communications Inc., 29 July 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.chron.com/
business/article/Poverty-in-Mexico-grows-1-7-percent-in-2-years-2081134.php>.
Ballasy, Nicholas. “Mexican Drug Cartels - US Influence - Justice Department Report - The
Daily Caller.” The Daily Caller. The Daily Caller, 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
<http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/30/drug-war-mexican-cartels-u-s-reach-expands-over-
400-percent-in-two-years/>.
Davis, Matthew. “Globalization and Poverty in Mexico.” the National Bureau of Economic
Research. National Bureau of Economic Research, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.nber.org/digest/apr05/w11027.html>.

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EMarketed. “Marijuana Side Effects.” Marijuana Addiction. eMarketed, 2005. Web. 12 Nov.
2011. <http://www.marijuana-addiction.net/marijuana-side-effects.htm>.
Encyclopedia of the Nations. “Mexico Poverty and wealth, Information about Poverty and
wealth in Mexico.” Encyclopedia of the Nations. Advameg, Inc. , 2011. Web. 22 Oct.
2011. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Mexico-POVERTY-
AND-WEALTH.html>.
The Hunger Project. “Mexico.” The Hunger Project. The Hunger Project, n.d. Web. 22 Oct.
2011. <http://www.thp.org/where_we_work/latin_america/mexico/
overview?gclid=CMXlpuj25asCFUnr7Qodqm5wKA>.
Narconon International. “Mexico Drug Addiction - Mexican Drug Use.” Narconon. Narconon
International, 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/
mexico-drug-addiction.html>.
New American Media. “American Weapons Flood Mexico, Fueling Violence - NAM.” New
America Media. Pacific News Service, 11 July 2007. Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
<http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/
view_article.html?article_id=ae0f349b5a2797fa94e4da7f5022104f>.
Office of Inspector General. “Mexico.” Travel.State.gov. Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S.
Department of State, 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://travel.state.gov/travel/
cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#crime>.

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Republica. “Bupa Health Pulse Survey Reveals Mexicans Lead Unhealthy Lifestyles.” Republica.
The Republica Building, 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://republica.net/bupa-
health-pulse-survey-reveals-mexicans-lead-unhealthy-lifestyles/>.
Root, Jay. “Mexico crime continues to surge- McClatchy.” McCaltchy. McClatchy Washington
Bereau, 22 Sept. 2007. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2007/09/22/
19879/mexico-crime-continues-to-surge.html>.
World Bank Group. “URBAN POVERTY IN MEXICO.” 23 Feb. 2006. PDF file.