Today, I want to express my strong concern about the latest proposals made by the Republican candidate Donald Trump, in his campaign for president of the United States. He has said that he will build a wall between Mexico and the United States, and now that he will force Mexico to pay for that wall by cutting off remittances. He has also said he will open a trade war with Mexico and China; he has offended women, Muslims, Latinos and his own American people.

To a Mexican and citizen of the world, these statements are disgraceful and highly offensive. Trump has said Mexicans are the problem, calling us rapists and criminals. He thinks building the “Trump Wall” will right every wrong in the United States. Indeed, he’s built a huge mental wall around himself already, which doesn’t allow him to see the greatness of our people.

Despite that, I want to thank him for his racist and ignorant ideas. Thanks to them, Mexico is in the global spotlight; every day, more and more people inside and outside the United States are realizing the decent way Mexicans live their lives.

Take Hollywood, for example. This year, a Mexican cinematographer won his third Academy Award in a row. In science and technology, a number of young and bright Mexicans won the International Robotics Tournament in 2015. And in Silicon Valley, one of the key advisers during the creation of Google was a Mexican professor: Hector García Molina.

I can talk about my grandfather, José Fox, who was born in Ohio and decided to pursue his American dream. He found it in Mexico, where he settled, married and started a family. Five generations later, we’re still here, working hard for Mexico and our people.



Trump reveals plan to finance Mexico border wall with threat to cut off funds Read more

The United States has been the champion of open markets, but it seems like Donald Trump doesn’t want his country to benefit from such a thing. Instead, he promotes new paths and policies which will only isolate the United States from the rest of the world. Where are American companies going to do business? What are they going to do with their investments abroad? It’s clear that nobody will win this war. It’s a lose-lose situation.

He says that he’ll make America great again, but I believe he’s only making it worse. America is already great, largely thanks to the hard work and perseverance of immigrants from all over the world who made it their home. Did you know that 40% of the Fortune 500 companies in the United States have been founded by immigrants?

Trump is surely a false prophet who will guide the great nation of the United States to the bottom of the ocean, all the way through the shores of ignorance, racism, hunger and despair.

At the end of the day, it won’t be Mexico or the rest of the world that will struggle because of the wall or the new policies that Trump is suggesting. It will be the United States and his own people who will pay the price for Trump’s egocentric and xenophobic dreams.

That’s why I ask every Mexican, inside and outside our country, every American and the rest of the world to stand together. Let us not divide our dreams and opportunities; let us be inspired by compassion and true leadership. Let’s raise our voice against this dictator and together let’s walk towards harmony and prosperity all over the globe.