Jaime Martínez Veloz , with lucidity and passion, calls for congruence regarding an issue that concerns all Mexicans. This is how we inaugurate his weekly column in San Diego Red.

A couple of days ago, in unison with the speech of the president of Tijuana, which was later praised by a tweet from Donald Trump, they began to spread the image of a Honduran man who supposedly rejected beans as food, which raised a huge indignation among many Mexicans, who, without realizing that it was a manipulated image, got upset because of an attitude that seemed inappropriate for a person who says he is sacrificing himself for a better tomorrow.

The man with the original banner was Roberto Gómez, originally from Honduras, participated in an act of protest in 2015 to demand the release of his son arrested by the police of that country.

Shortly after that protest, the man of the banner was murdered in his native Honduras. The original message said:

I want my children to have quality education, with no repression or authoritarianism.

The message in the photograph was disseminated in Mexico, in the midst of the events of the caravan of migrants, says:

In Honduras, we do not eat beans, if you’re going to support try to do it with something better

The publication with the alteration of the original text with the evident purpose of creating animosity against the Honduran migrants, which could only have been concocted by the rottenest individuals of the fascist right, and have used with no scruples this migratory issue to promote xenophobia and racism, regardless of the damage this may cause.

We live in difficult times. Insecurity, corruption and impunity are the hallmarks of an incompetent, absent or accomplice of groups outside the law, in many cases.

Migrants are not to blame for the ills we suffer, by saying this it would disqualify our entire society, which has been shaped by one of the most important migratory currents of the contemporary era.

Violence, poverty, exclusion, insecurity and corruption are the product of the bad administration we have had and of an unjust and unequal system.


The rejection against Honduran migrants is a position that simplifies the most serious social problems of our society. Nobody is a migrant by choice, but out of necessity. Not having their legal documentation is not a crime.

To qualify migrants as criminals is to blame them for trying to exercise their right to exist or it would be like blaming ourselves, when one day we decided to leave our land of origin and our belongings, to come and look for a better fate for our children. Or have we forgotten that?

They also suffer the same problems as us, but in even more serious conditions. People who have come to Tijuana from Central America are fleeing from one of the poorest and most violent regions of the planet.


The route they have taken is one of the most dangerous in the world, that is why they have decided to leave in a caravan.

If there is someone in the caravan that commits illicit acts, they will be sanctioned according to the law, but also not by one or several, we will all qualify in the same way.

Mexico is observed throughout the world for opening its doors to families fleeing extreme violence. The Mexican country has resources to deal with a crisis like this. Destining them to solve this problem as soon as possible does not alter the rest of the social programs.

To help them is a moral, political and legal obligation, let us not forget that millions of Mexicans have emigrated to our neighboring country and have contributed to the greatness of it, as well as those who have arrived here, or rather with whom we have arrived here.

Let's see ourselves in the mirror of our compatriots in the United States and assume the challenges that this means. I am convinced that as a country we have the capacity to overcome the challenges that new realities demand from us.

On November 1st, there was a meeting between officials of the three levels of government, including representatives of the Federal Government that will take office on December 1, to join efforts and coordinate actions to address the emergency, which is an encouraging sign, that I believe should be encouraged and strengthened to form a High Level Committee, where the plurality of the Congress of the Union is incorporated.

An issue of this magnitude is a matter of the highest importance of the Nation, nobody can or should take advantage of this situation, because whoever does it will put at risk not only the political organization to which it belongs, but the nation as a whole.

The relationships in this type of phenomena are in many cases fragile, and by some error, omission or attempt of manipulation, triggers events that can end in tragedy.

Thus let us way to face the challenges that the arrival of the migrant caravan brings. We have to organize ourselves. You have to join forces to move forward together.

Channeling the migratory phenomenon, in a comprehensive manner, addressing the reasons behind it and providing an orderly treatment in humanitarian terms, according with applicable laws, is an urgent need at this time, to avoid major complications.

We all have to do this and much more, also contribute from our trench all that is necessary to face the emergency what our State lives today, where all of us who live here, whether we or our ancestors, (except for the Yuman People) come from other parts of the Country or the world, to this generous and supportive land.

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— Jaime Martínez Veloz (@jaimemveloz) November 1, 2018

Jaime has represented Baja California twice in the Federal Congress and one in the local. Author of five books about politics and former title holder of the Dialogue Committee in the Indigenous towns of Mexico. Current director of Centro de Estudios y Proyectos de la Frontera Norte 'Heberto Castillo Martínez'.

Twitter @jaimemveloz

Fotos: Shalom Valdez