Brain Drain in Mexico

The Great Mexico Brain Drain: The other face of Mexican immigration

by

Hector Carreon

La Voz de Aztlan

Los Angeles, Alta California - January 23, 2004 - (ACN) The images that most Americans have of Mexican immigrants are principally those created by the media and certain immigration reform groups. These images are of Mexicans swimming across the Rio Grande, jumping the iron fence at San Ysidro, dying in enclosed railroad box cars or of those meeting death in the hot and arid Arizona desert. For many years, however, there has been a constant flood of other types of Mexican immigrants. These are wealthy and well educated Mexican immigrants that fly here in Mexicana and Areomexico airlines as students and tourists and decide to stay here.


Americans, especially those in the border states of California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico have suddenly become conscious of the vast number of Mexican immigrants that now reside here. To the typical Anglo mind, spotting Mexican immigrants is easy, or so they think. Their criteria for identifying a Mexican immigrant, legal or undocumented, is that they must first have brown skin, be wearing a sombrero and be standing at a bus stop. It is a rare "gringo" that can spot a Mexican immigrant at a trendy store in La Jolla, Rodeo Drive, Fashion Island, Santa Barbara or other exclusive shopping areas in California.
 

The immigration of middle and upper class Mexicans to the USA is increasing exponentially. Most of these well to do Mexicans have bachelor, master and doctorate degrees. The disturbing phenomena of the best-and-the brightest Mexicans emigrating to the USA is caused by the present and worsening economic crisis in Mexico. Yesterday, the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Geografia e Informatica (INEGI) released a study that found that 684, 000 Mexicans with university degrees are presently unemployed. The IMEGI study found that Mexico is not producing enough employment opportunities for the highly skilled and educated sectors of Mexico.


A February 15, 2002 article by Natalia Vitela of Grupo Reforma, states that whereas 12% of Mexico's labor force resides in the US, 30% of Mexicans with PHDs do so. Ms. Vitela also says that 79% of all science students that the Mexican government funds to study in the USA never return to work in Mexico. This "brain drain" can have nothing but bad consequences for Old Mexico, however many here see this as a "loss for Mexico but a gain for Aztlan".


One perfect example of the "Great Mexico Brain Drain" is articulated by Texas Public Radio commentator Kristina Ruiz-Healey in one of her radio essays at the TPR web site.

Kristina Ruiz-Healy was born and raised in Mexico City and is a daughter of a surgeon. She and her family immigrated to the USA in 1985 during Mexico's economic crisis caused by the devaluation of the peso. Kristina Ruiz-Healy still calls Mexico City home even though she now lives and works in San Antonio. Her personal radio essay "Mexico Brain Drain" is one in a series called "A View from Two Countries". Her spoken essay, which can be accessed at the Texas Public Radio web site, gives an outstanding perspective of the Mexican immigration trend that is not familiar to most "norte americanos".





Taken From Aztlan Net