Chabat on Friends

Jorge Chabat, with more reserve than Pablo Hiriart, thinks the flu epidemic should open Mexico's eyes that it has definite friends and adversaries in the world:

And when President Fox began to fight with some non-democratic countries, lots of people nostalgic for the myth of the "coolest kid on the block" screamed to high heaven. How was it possible to abandon such a valuable Mexico tradition of being everyone's buddy, especially our Latin American friends. There were even those in the paroxysm of the policy of universal buddyism who openly defended bonds with Saddam Hussein's regime and suggested that we could be friends with ETA, Al Qaeda, and the Farc.

Because a good part of those voicing defending international buddyism dominated the Mexican Congress at the beginning of the presidency of Felipe Calderón, the president decided to recover said tradition to have a house in peace. That's why, since its arrival to power, the present government has dedicated itself to getting along with the whole world, supposing, naively, that because of that the whole world would treat us well. But what a surprise! With the influenza, half of our Latin American buddies and others from other regions have painted us in a bad light, including our "best buddy", the Cuban government.

There is no doubt that that the flu epidemic has seriously affected the country: it has harmed our health and the lives of various Mexicans, the daily routine and the economy, but it has also exploded one of the myths of traditional foreign policy: that the whole world loves us. Maybe it's time for the Mexican government to revise its foreign policy and learn the difference between the friendly countries and those that are not.

I agree with that Mexico's trying to be on everyone's good side is counterproductive, outdated, and could stand to be downplayed a great deal. At the same time, I'm not sure I agree that the countries that imposed strict limitations on contact with Mexico did so out of hostility. Look at the countries that canceled flights: Peru, Ecuador, China, Cuba, and Argentina. They all have nominally leftist governments, but there is a world of difference between China and Argentina, between Peru and Cuba. Furthermore, Brazil and France both criticized Mexico as well (and seemingly without any foundation for doing so), and neither country could reasonably be classified as an adversary of Mexico's. Some countries reacted with more zealousness than others, but I've not seen anything that convinces me that there is an ideological component to those reactions.