The government of Mexico has sent up to 75 firefighters to Los Angeles, California to help put out multiple wildfires in the region. “We’re looking to get as much resources as we possibly can,” said California governor Gavin Newsom. Greeting the Mexican firefighters at Los Angeles International Airport, he added, “we’re honored that the Mexican government sent us 72 of their best and brightest.”
Also battling the wildfires along the Mexican firefighters are nearly 1,000 incarcerated people who are paid a daily rate of between $5.80 to $10.24 to put out the flames in some of Los Angeles’ wealthiest neighborhoods. Some wealthy homeowners have resorted to hiring private firefighters, paying them up to $2,000 an hour to protect their homes.
The offering of assistance to the capitalist behemoth United States is nothing new. In 2005, Cuban President Fidel Castro offered President George W. Bush, medical assistance following Hurricane Katrina. The offer of assistance was immediately rejected by Bush. Nevertheless, while waiting for an official response, Fidel told the Henry Reeve (Medical) Brigade that the floodwaters had “reached the poorest neighborhoods of New Orleans. Havana was closer to that city than New York, Washington, Chicago, Boston, and many other cities in the United States. Guided by the principle that cooperation in situations of catastrophes has nothing to do with ideological differences, we offer our help to save human lives.”
Repeating what he’d said in a previous speech, Fidel added that, “Masses of desperate, humble people, children, mothers, women, elders, required urgent medical attention. In such a situation, it makes no difference how rich a country is, its number of scientists and great technological advances. What is required in this moment are young, qualified professionals who, in anomalous situations, can be dispatched by air or other means to buildings or other areas where human lives are at risk… Three days ago, in this very hall, we held a moment of silence in memory of the victims of that hurricane which struck this brotherly people.”
Price gouging, the longstanding privatization of California’s water supply, and attempts to take advantage of people in despair by purchasing their home well below market value, are standard practices. Newsom has been forced to implement state of emergency powers to make unsolicited offers to buy people’s property in fire-affected areas illegal if the amount is “less than the fair market value.”
Mexican assistance to its northern neighbor came days after Donald Trump threatened to rename the Gulf of Mexico, the “Gulf of America,” prompting President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum to mock the incoming head of state. “The United Nations recognizes the name Gulf of Mexico. But next, why don’t we call it Mexican America?” Sheinbaum asked, referring to much of the North American continent four centuries ago. “It sounds nice, doesn’t it? Since 1607, the Constitution of Apatzingán was Mexican America. So let’s call it Mexican America.” Speaking at her daily news conference, Sheinbaum was standing before a map from 1607 where much of what is today North America was named “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America.”
Trump has also promised to impose hefty tariffs on Mexico. “I’m putting tariffs on Mexico. Every damn thing that they sell into the United States has got to have like a 25% tariff until they stop drugs from coming in.”
In terms of providing assistance to help put out the California wildfires, Laura Vázquez Alzúa, the director of Mexico’s Civil Protection, stated, “We will stay as long as necessary. We will support in a spirit of solidarity and with all our experience and commitment to the people of California.”
