Mexico: Challenged with Change

            The strategy behind the re-branding of a company is to improve the PR and increase the marketability of a product. Such is the case with the government of Mexico. Officials are trying to re-brand its drug-tarnished image in order to improve economic and social conditions in the country.

            Simon Anholt is an expert on the re-branding of countries. "Mexico has been trying for nearly 300 years to emerge in some way in the mighty shadow of the United States, and partly as a result of that it has simply never bothered to present itself to the rest of the world." Much of his findings are based off the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index. The report also ranked Mexico 31^st out of 50 countries according to public perception. The U.S. is ranked number one. Mexico scored highest among other countries in Latin America. However, its US neighbor ranked it 42^nd, near the bottom. This poses as a serious problem for the Mexican economy, which is largely dependent of American tourists. At the moment, Mexican government officials may have bitten off more than they can chew. The country’s economy is strained by the increased international demand for gun and drug trafficking. Mr. Anholt argues that positive PR can be beneficial to the tourism industry, but it won’t change the country’s image. "If you are talking about the overall reputation of the country, that's not subject to marketing because it is not a product for sale. There is no point in standing around moaning about Mexico's image when hundreds, thousands of people are being killed each year.”

Mexican President Calderon has cited the US as an increasingly negative role in Mexico’s current problems. He said the problem of drug trafficking stems from the fact that the US is the single largest consumer of drugs in the world. Many of the guns used by Mexican cartels were manufactured in America. A report conducted by the U.S. Senate suggested that an estimated 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes from 2009-2010 could be traced back to the U.S.

My initial reaction to the article was one of excitement and optimism. I believe that a country’s economic future should not be jeopardized due to the over generalization and stereotyping in the media. Mexico is oftentimes viewed as an underdeveloped country. This assumption is false. Even though the economic conditions in some areas are less than ideal, globally speaking the Mexican populace is economically enfranchised. Mexico is currently the 13^th largest economy in the world (nominal) and 11^th (by Purchasing Power Parity). The stereotype only persists due to its proximity to the United States. Furthermore, I do not believe it is our right as outsiders to blame Mexicans for the social problems Americans have a history of only exacerbating.  

-Drew Mades

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9694817.stm