Three GOP Presidential Candidates Have Threatened To Invade Mexico So Far
The GOP Presidential debates last Wednesday were a sycophantic cluster of detestable characters but one aspect of it hasn't been seriously addressed. Both Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis proposed to a cheering crowd the idea of using the US military in Mexico to deal with the drug cartels. Ramaswamy and DeSantis are both several months behind the Presidential front-runner Donald Trump who stated in April 2023 that he had a "battle plan" to "attack Mexico" and target cartel strongholds. This is evolving rhetoric from the GOP combining their relentless reporting on the Southern Border and stoking fears of Mexican refugees combined with the fentanyl crisis which they place at the hands of the cartels. Completely ignoring the origins of the opiate crisis being American made highly addictive pharmaceuticals like OxyContin, Republicans in the House and Senate have proposed the authorization of military force in Mexico.
Invading Mexico is a logical next step for the MAGA movement and would certainly pour gasoline on the culture war fire by empowering the white supremacist urge for racial domination with the promise of ending the opioid crisis. Historically, taking violent action in the drug war has always failed to yield effective long term results but this hasn't stopped to Republicans from using it as an excuse to pursue racist policies. Nixon famously used the drug war to prosecute hippies and the black community and provide the cops a convenient excuse to arrest anyone they didn't like. Invading Mexico serves a similar double purpose for the fascists in the MAGA movement who long to feel superior and engage in violence. Fascists need a double purpose, one that scapegoats their issues onto another group and simultaneously empowers them to put their boot on their oppositions neck.
One of the lies Trump, Ramaswamy, and DeSantis love to promote is the idea of being "anti-war." Trump claimed throughout his first campaign in 2016 that he would end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. When Joe Biden ended the Afghanistan occupation, Trump criticized him about the U.S. weapons left behind for the purpose of a swift exit. Trump, throughout his first term, never attempted to end the war he campaigned on finishing. Trump, Ramaswamy, and DeSantis, are the three highest polling GOP presidential candidates in descending order. All three promise to ease off providing support for Ukraine, an attempt to appear as anti-war candidates. They claim that the war in Ukraine, which is not endangering American lives and where America is providing only intelligence and weaponry, is too much of a burden for the American economy but want to engage in a hot war style invasion of a neighboring country. These are the lies that fascism relies on to stay relevant and maintain its growth. The populist support they gain by mainstreaming these issues could build into a messy and violent war if any of these candidates reach the White House.
