Davidow coined the phrase ?the bear and the porcupine?—which has now
entered Mexican political discourse—to describe the difficult
relationship between the hypersensitive Mexican ?porcupine? and the
insensitive American ?bear.?
The author outlines the forces drawing Mexico and the U.S. together as
well as the ignorance and arrogance on both sides that impede greater
cooperation. Part memoir, part political analysis, this book discusses
the ?cowboy presidents? Bush and Fox, points up how often the U.S.
understanding of the Mexican drug world has been manipulated, and notes
that U.S. immigration policy has been a failure according to any
criteria. Davidow reveals the inside story of Castro?s vicious revenge
on Fox for slighting him, and touches on the Zapatista revolt and
subsequent march to Mexico City. He recounts humorous details about
visits to the embassy from ?Planet Washington,? and ends the book with
an epilogue envisioning the future of U.S.-Mexican relations.
On his watch, Mexico shed seven decades of authoritarian rule . . .
Famous for entertaining guests at his residence while wearing a white
guayabera shirt and smoking enormous cigars, Davidow managed to win
great respect here while working on many contentious issues, including
cross-border drug trafficking. . .
Washington Post
Davidow coined the phrase ?the bear and the porcupine?—which has now
entered Mexican political discourse—to describe the difficult
relationship between the hypersensitive Mexican ?porcupine? and the
insensitive American ?bear.?
The author outlines the forces drawing Mexico and the U.S. together as
well as the ignorance and arrogance on both sides that impede greater
cooperation. Part memoir, part political analysis, this book discusses
the ?cowboy presidents? Bush and Fox, points up how often the U.S.
understanding of the Mexican drug world has been manipulated, and notes
that U.S. immigration policy has been a failure according to any
criteria. Davidow reveals the inside story of Castro?s vicious revenge
on Fox for slighting him, and touches on the Zapatista revolt and
subsequent march to Mexico City. He recounts humorous details about
visits to the embassy from ?Planet Washington,? and ends the book with
an epilogue envisioning the future of U.S.-Mexican relations.
On his watch, Mexico shed seven decades of authoritarian rule . . .
Famous for entertaining guests at his residence while wearing a white
guayabera shirt and smoking enormous cigars, Davidow managed to win
great respect here while working on many contentious issues, including
cross-border drug trafficking. . .
Reforma
Davidow's analysis seeks to inform, educate, and contribute to
dissolving the obstacles to understanding on both sides of the border .
. . The book serves as a departure point for the debate and to generate
ideas about the future relationship we should seek with the United
States.
Foreign Affairs en Espanol
Jeffrey Davidow's work is extraordinarily easy to read and full of
delightful anecdotes. . . . If Davidow, in his diplomatic mission in
Mexico, was unusually open and frank, he was also exceptionally
professional. He always protected the interests of his own country while
trying to ?tropicalize? Washington's instructions to accommodate them to
the idiosyncracies of Mexico.
His account is humorous, irreverent, and sincere. .
Foreign Affairs
Davidow, U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 1998 to 2002, witnessed the end of 71 years of one-party rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the successful election of opposition candidate Vicente Fox to the presidency in 2000. This at times indiscreet memoir provides not only fascinating vignettes of the principal actors in Mexico City, but also sharp profiles of leading U.S. politicians and diplomats as they dealt with the always prickly issues on the U.S.-Mexican agenda, from the border and corruption to U.S. insensitivity to Mexico's concerns and Mexican hypersensitivity to perceived slights. On occasion, Davidow evidently saw himself as the bear, unable to avoid the spines of the Mexican press and politicians. (He describes one former foreign minister as "like an irascible professor who has no patience for those who do not appreciate his insights.")
Among Davidow's many notable contributions in this book is an outstanding brief analysis of migration — the role of Mexican immigrants in the United States, the reasons why this population increased so dramatically during the 1990s, and the failure, despite an enormous increase in resources and personnel on the U.S. side, to halt these flows. He also gives an insightful account of the circumstances that led to Fox's victory (and the reasons why Mexicans' high hopes have not been fulfilled) and provides fascinating insider detail on the failed attempt by Fox to bring about a comprehensive migration agreement with the United States — which, Davidow writes, had much less to do with September 11 than previously thought. This vivid account of a vital international relationship, by an ambassador so recently returned from hispost, must be unique in its candor. Predictably, it is already being widely discussed in Mexico, where it appeared in Spanish translation, and it deserves an equally wide reading in the United States.
Library Journal
Career diplomat Davidow served as ambassador to Mexico from 1998 to 2002, pivotal years on both sides of the border. The elections of Presidents Fox and Bush, continuing immigration issues, and the events of 9/11 provide the backdrop for this anecdotal and revealing account of the relationship between the bear (the United States) and the porcupine (Mexico). Davidow stresses mutual misunderstanding, arrogance, and ignorance as the key impediments to improved cooperation. The prevalent Mexican view that cooperation equals submission is a theme running through the text, as is the contrast between the intense Mexican fixation on American policy and American policymakers' relative ignorance of that fixation-what Davidow terms a tortured history between the two. Often comic, and frequently tell-all, the book is diplomatic history from the front. Given the political, economic, demographic, and cultural forces that constantly pull the nations closer, the significance of the book is magnified. Davidow does not mince words or opinions, as his suggestions for the future of U.S.-Mexico relations indicate. He is a persuasive advocate for opening the border, relaxing labor supply policies for both countries, and providing automatic extradition for criminals. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Libs., AL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
loading...