Mexicans Express Disappointment, Concern At Trump's Super Tuesday Wins
Donald Trump's Super Tuesday success didn’t go unnoticed in Mexico, where disapproval of the Republican front runner has been expressed with everything from Trump-themed piñatas to public condemnations from ex-presidents.
The reaction stems from Trump’s now infamous comments in which he referred to Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. If he becomes president, he’s threatened to erect a border wall at Mexico's expense and deport people who crossed into the country illegally.
Tuesday night Carmen Martinez sipped soda at a cafe across from the central square in Mexico City's Coyoacan neighborhood. She called Trump an 'American Hitler.'
“It's astounding the racism he represents,” she said in Spanish. “Especially after the civil rights struggle led by Martin Luther King, it’s as if the U.S. is moving backwards.”
Nearby Antonio Padilla was picking up his car at parking garage. He’s an accountant who favors Hillary Clinton because of her sympathy toward immigrants. Padilla affectionately refers to her as his “novia” or girlfriend. But when asked about Donald Trump he gets upset.
“Trump forgets that the U.S. has prospered thanks in part to cheap Mexican labor,” he said.
Like many other Mexicans, Padilla is following the American primaries because he knows the two countries share more than just a border. Our fate, he said, is bound by culture, commerce and family.
Reporter Jude Joffe Block contributed to this story.
