Ex Mex or Big Daddy

Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants

Author: Jorge G Castaneda

A fascinating and revealing look at the United States' largest, most controversial group of immigrants, by Mexico's former foreign minister.

In the wake of the massive, nationwide rally in support of immigrant rights in May 2006, which drew a record number of participants, one thing has become clear: in the United States today, no domestic issue sparks as much public debate or is as politicized as immigration, with the spotlight focused on Mexican immigrants above all others.

In Ex Mex, former Mexican foreign minister and well-known scholar Jorge G. Castañeda draws on his experience in both capacities to dispel some of the most widely held and mistaken ideas about the United States' largest immigrant population. Through Castañeda, we learn who the newest generation of immigrants from Mexico is, why they've chosen to live in the United States, where they work, and what they ultimately hope to achieve. Castañeda also offers an insider's account of the intricate and secret negotiations that took place between Mexico and the United States in 2001-2—contradicting some of the official versions published here—and the unilateral actions that were taken by his government to improve the conditions of Mexican migrants when talks between the two countries became stalemated.

This timely and authoritative book will be required reading for the debates about immigration that will soon be part of the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

The Washington Post - Pamela Constable

A sharp-eyed student of American politics, Castaneda offers a trenchant if jargon-filled analysis of the recent congressional debacle over immigration reform. He echoes Fox's urgent call for bilateral action, but he warns more coolly that nothing, neither walls nor deportations, will stop poor Mexicans from crossing the Rio Grande until the region's severe economic imbalance begins to change.

Kirkus Reviews

A reasoned and reasonable view of Mexican immigration by former Mexican foreign minister Casta-eda (Politics and Latin American Studies/NYU; Perpetuating Power, 2000, etc.). In Mexico, writes the author, the current minimum wage is about $300 per month and the average wage about $500 per month. Approximately one-quarter of the Mexicans who arrive, legally or not, in the United States make more than $2,500 per month and send $400 home to Mexico, improving lives on both sides of the line. Given these considerations and the boost to the domestic economy-to say nothing of the absence of workers who might otherwise be unemployed-can one expect the Mexican government to make serious efforts to curtail the northward flight? Not likely, and the flight will doubtless only accelerate until Mexico creates enough jobs and enough wealth to satisfy the needs of its people-again, not likely. Mexico can impede the northward flow, Casta-eda notes, and has done so in the past. In the summer of 2001, for instance, President Vicente Fox sent armed military patrols into the desert to deter migrants, and the number of people attempting to cross dropped immediately. Yet this requires a political will, notes the author, that has not been seen since, and even if the traffic cannot be stopped completely, Mexico "certainly possesses the capacity to try." Fortified border or no, Casta-eda foresees an increase in Mexican arrivals-20 million in 2015, up from about 12 million today-until "they start to taper off through assimilation, creeping legalization, demographics, and economic growth in the south." Against nativist and isolationist alarmism, Casta-eda suggests that such a thing is not so bad. The notion that theillegals bring crime is gainsaid by the statistics, and there are, after all, jobs that need to be done and American employers eager to fill them. Casta-eda removes the shrillness from the immigration debate. His calming argument merits an audience, especially among the fence-builders in Congress.

New interesting book: Yoga Basics or Lung Cancer

Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics

Author: Bill Boyarsky

Revealing and frank, this highly engaging biography tells the story of an American original, California's Big Daddy, Jesse Unruh (1922-1987), a charismatic man whose power reached far beyond the offices he held. Unruh, who was born into Texas sharecropper poverty, became a larger-than-life figure and a principal architect and builder of modern California--first as an assemblyman, then as assembly speaker, and finally, as state treasurer. He was also a great character: a combination of intelligence, wit, idealism, cynicism, woman-chasing vulgarity, charm, drunken excess, and political skill all wrapped up in one big package. He dominated the California capitol and extended his influence to Washington and Wall Street. He was close to Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedys, but closest to Robert Kennedy, and was in the Ambassador Hotel kitchen when Kennedy was shot. Bill Boyarsky gives a close-up look at this extraordinary political leader, a man who believed that politics was the art of the possible, and his era.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments     ix
Prologue     1
The Death of a Boss     6
The Road to California     18
The GI Bill of Rights     30
Hat in the Ring     43
The Education of a Rookie     58
Segregation and the Unruh Civil Rights Act     74
Fair Housing and White Backlash     90
Animal House     110
Backstabbing Democrats     129
Dirty Dealings and High Idealism     146
A Full-Time Legislature     163
Unruh, Robert Kennedy, and the Anti-War Movement     173
Unruh versus Reagan     191
The Man with the Money     207
Epilogue     221
Notes     225
Index     249