Mexico is the future Business Engine of North America These are not Breaking News. Many of us consider Mexico to have the potential to become a new hub of the Mexican American culture, with industrial development to benefit North, Central America, and the Caribbean Nations with nearby agricultural and industrial centers to support millions of people with jobs available to people who otherwise would go elsewhere looking for opportunities. Mexico is also one of the most stable regions in the World, with no natural external enemies and excellent weather almost year-round. Mexico is a great place to work, vacation, or retire. The labor force in place is young and willing to work hard, on-the-job training and formal education can easily be provided, and the proximity to major consumer markets will benefit all businesses, producers, and consumers. Conditions will improve, better-paying jobs will be created South of the borders with the United States of America, and migration issues will recede. The illegal migration of working will reverse itself since Mexico and Central American citizens will start to find employment in the new agro-industrial region where their language is spoken. Opportunities for higher-paying jobs will be attractive to folks living on the northern side of the wall. Many will jump fences to seek employment in Mexico. On January 10, 2023, the presidents of Mexico, the United States, and the Canadian Minister came together to revive the North American Coalition. They signed the Declaration of North America (DNA) to promote regional business development. North America is a significant global market for goods and services, albeit with relatively high transportation costs and energy usage. The idea is to establish an industrial, educational, and agricultural complex in Mexico, ideal for supplying North and Central America, Europe, Africa, and South America via the Atlantic Ocean without going through straits and canals. American workers willingly will jump over the border walls to work in the new companies. How do we do this? Three countries collaborating to establish social and economic stability, providing equal opportunities to all citizens within a democratic union, represents the ideal outcome of the necessary efforts and sacrifices for such a venture. The merger will transform local cultures. Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean share over three thousand years of history and cultural markers, but they were subjugated by the European migrating people who came to the new land. This is history and we learn to live with it, and the wrongdoing was never fixed, and is now time to accept this historical fact and fix the wrong by better understanding the diversified cultures of the land. This must be done through public education in both - or all three - idioms. There are only two major languages, or maybe three counting the French spoken in Canada. However, for all practical purposes and arguments, American English and Spanish spoken in Mexico and Central America are the major idioms in the region. All three idioms should be taught in K-12 classrooms to all students. By the time they graduate from 12th grade, every student should be able to read, write, and speak these languages. This approach will enhance learning proficiency, promote cross-cultural exchanges, and contribute to peace and prosperity in the region. Funding a large, multi-nation project of this scale is challenging but possible, especially when it aims to promote economic growth, provide practical job training, and offer formal education to millions of people. Such initiatives promise to improve living standards for everyone and foster peace among nations. If the United States and Canada do not fulfill their obligations under the agreement, China, South Korea, and Japan will proceed to set up manufacturing plants in Mexico to serve the same consumer markets. This could result in substantial job losses and missed opportunities for people in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

My Football Team

It has been a long time since I took to the keyboard to write some of my experiences, feelings, and observations of what goes on around me.

I worked all my life and never wanted any other way. At the young age of eight or ten, I was asked, what I wanted to do when I grew up, a doctor, a fireman, a football player, a movie star, the country president, or what. My ambitions were not that high, and I had no intention to go to schools for a long time to become any kind of professional. I finally decided, and reply to the question, “I want to be a salesman, like my father.” He traveled regularly, and when he would come back home, he had money and adventurous tails to tell us.

I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be like my father.

Twelve years old, precautious talker with a great imagination realized that if I could bring to town items that most people wanted, make them available, people would buy from me, and if I bought for less then I sold for, I would have money left over, of as it is called; a profit.

Now the real challenge was to find products or services I could provide in my neighborhood that others would want and buy. Not a difficult task for a young boy with imagination, energy, and perseverance to accomplish the tasks.

My small “barrio” had no youth soccer team, and no adult wanted to put the time to organize one, to get equipment, find a coach, and find teams to play against. So my first challenge was to convince players to play for ME. A twelve-year-old that was not a star player, just a mediocre goalkeeper. Until now, we play in the public parks and playgrounds, what we called a “Pelada.” One team would keep their shirts on, and the other bear their chests, basically naked in our shorts or underwear.

To unify our team, we needed uniforms, number five professional soccer balls, and soccer shoes with cleats and all. We needed to look good as if we were local champions.

There was no sponsors initially, so I went around begging for money from sympathetic locals that could afford to make small donations for our Cause. Found a store that sold uniforms and equipment, convincing the merchants to sell me shirts and stuff at a discounted price, and bought one shirt at the time, balls and a few pairs of soccer shoes, and now was able to show off the uniform of the future team, “Mundial Futebol Clube.”

Sponsors start to line up with money and help to buy all the equipment needed.

Finding talented players was not too difficult in a poor and middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As soon as the word was out that someone started a new club, with an official name and uniforms, we had enough players and teams from around the area began to inquire about paying against us, and a small league of eight teams was formed, a schedule was worked out, with the help of some adults.

The team was not bad, and we made a good impression, but the games were played in other neighborhoods, and we had to travel, and we needed more money for the train tickets and food away from home. We needed another source of income to cover expenses.

I was too young to sell drugs safely, so I had to find merchandise of value, hard to find locally, and trade with enough profit to cover the cost of travels. I found what we needed in illegal fireworks, bought out of State and sold them with a substantial profit, enough to keep the team traveling, fed, and equipped with our red shirts, dark shorts, and soccer shoes.

Problems.

I now had an organized team that played well, look good, have money to travel, and extra income to support the team, and I was only twelve years of age, and not an indispensable player, so I was quickly cast out as leader of the organization, replaced by some 25 years old.

That was how I became a salesperson, like my father.