Earlier: L.A. TIMES: Californians Are Gentrifying Mexico City

As an American who lived a decade and a half  in Mexico, I take an interest in the attention now being paid to Americans in Mexico. 

Travel Noire ran an August 8 article entitled Digital Nomads: See Why Mexicans Are Fed Up With Them, by Bruno Bragga. Here’s what it says:

With a vibrant nightlife, impressive gastronomy, rich culture and relaxed visa rules, Mexico City has been attracting an influx of digital nomads and tourists, mainly from the United States and Canada.

Mexico’s capital is indeed a great city. I’ve written several articles about it, see here, here, here and here. 

The irony is beyond rich here.

But at least we send our best and brightest with resources- they aren’t sucking “free” everything from the Mexican government #illegalimmigration

Digital Nomads: See Why Mexicans Are Fed Up With Them https://t.co/rGrHxF3JS1

— IlliniFactoryWkr (@IlliniWkr) August 8, 2022

Now that many have discovered they can work from anywhere, they figure, why not Mexico City?

Permanent residency applications in Mexico have doubled during the pandemic. According to the website Nomad List, Mexico City is the world’s fifth fastest-growing remote work hub.

But there’s a downside for the natives. 

However, this trend is annoying Mexicans who see rents and cost-of-living skyrocket. Some locals are urging would-be remote workers to stay away.  Last week, a local activist collective called ‘Observatorio 06000’—hosted a protest against gentrification. “Housing yes! Evictions No!” the protestors urged. “Mexicano wake up, they are going to raise your rent!

They could be right about that.  But what about the effects of decades-long mass Mexican migration to the United States?  Don’t the natives there have a right to complain about that?

The Los Angeles Times report last week showed how Americans brought a scent of the “New Wave” imperialism as taquerias and local stores slowly turned into cafes and Pilates studios.

It even increases the prevalence of a certain foreign language which is already used throughout the world. 

English is said to be becoming more popular as more Americans move to and visit Mexico City to take advantage of lower rents and affordability.

According to Mexico’s government immigration policy, visitors can stay in the country for six months without a visa.

Yes, but if an American overstays that six-month visa, it’s likely nothing is going to happen.   Mexican immigration authorities aren’t too strict with Americans. 

I had to pay a hefty fine once, however. 

A study, published by the Global Cities Business Alliance, reveals that the average rental price in a city like San Francisco is 2,824 dollars, while in the Mexican capital it stands at 385.

In 2021, the average salary in the US was 4,630 dollars per month, compared to 1,300 in Mexico. The Roma-Condesa corridor is one of the most expensive areas of the capital. The rent for a flat ranges between 700 and 3,000 dollars. Many of them are shared among several tenants, who pay a lower price per room.

You can see how an American ”digital nomad” could probably find a bargain in Mexico City. 

The arrival of the digital nomads has meant a new injection of resources in the area, a circumstance that owners and merchants celebrate. However, residents are experiencing price rises, and not just rent.

“We are the only ones with Black skin,” Fernando Bustos Gorozbe, a 38-year-old writer and university professor, told the Los Angeles Times. “We are the only ones who speak Spanish except for the waiters.”

Bustos then posted a video file on Tik Tok saying that the influx of Americans  “stink[s] of modern colonialism.”

As Bustos points out, Mexico already has its own class of rich white people—rich white Mexicans. 

“Mexico is classist and racist,” added Bustos. “Preference is given to whites. Now, if a local wants to go to a restaurant or a club, he not only has to compete with rich white Mexicans but also with foreigners.”

Over 1.6 million Americans are living in Mexico, according to the State Department. Many arrived during the coronavirus pandemic when Mexico eased restrictions before many places in the United States. Also, official data says that over 1.2 million foreign visitors arrived at the Mexico City airport in the first four months of this year.

Mexico  has the right to kick all the gringos out of Mexico if that’s what it wants.  Somehow I doubt they’ll do it.  Americans and Canadians bring in a lot of money.