Mexico's President Calderon seeks to change country's name

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent a bill to congress to change the official name of the country.

The current name, the United States of Mexico, was adopted in 1824 and was intended to emulate its northern neighbour.

President Calderon wants to change it to just Mexico, as the country is known the world over.

Mr Calderon, who leaves office on 1 December, said Mexico no longer needed to copy any foreign power.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20457443

[Ken Burch]

1. Fair enough.

n/t.

[MADem]

2. Well, let's hope he never encounters a load of shirty poops with secession petitions! nt

[AverageJoe90]

3. Slight quibble with the BBC: Technically, it's actually the "United Mexican States".

Yeah,. but anyway, I don't see the point. After all, the U.S.A. is just known as America, and we didn't change our official name......

[the_chinuk]

6. I think this is a valid point.

Not of course that EUM are going to hold up on that name change just because some two-bit punk know-it-all in some intertuebz forum has an opinion about it. My official opinion is 'whatever floats Mexico's boat'. They could call their country Justin Beiber Harry Furby officially for all I care …

I went looking for some sort of reference as to why the name Estados Unidos Mexicanos was chosen. President Calderón can have his view of history but I, so far, find no source that documents that the nation was named to emulate the USA. Indeed, the United Mexican States are a federation of "States" that are "United". Speficially, the offical names of each Mexican state is 'The Free and Sovereign State of __________'. Sounds pretty respectable to me. States, and unifying them, were hardly an invention of the USA.

Moreover, not even the United States of America was the first nation ever called the United States. One form of The Netherlands' original name was the United States.

Again, if he wants to thump his chest about the name of his home country, more power to him. He's a lame duck president after all. Whatever floats his boat, as I said.

[Cal Carpenter]

10. Actually America is two whole continents

We are mostly known as the US outside our own borders. It is mostly US-Americans who forget about all the other Americans.

[bvar22]

15. Those would be the US-Americans who don't have maps!

[VWolf]

18. LOL Beat me to it! n/t

[Cal Carpenter]

20. Oh geez I had forgotten about her

Needless to say, I am not including South Africans or folks from 'The Iraq' among the other Americans.

[bvar22]

21. The amusing thing is that she is absolutely correct in using "US Americans"..

...since US Americans are a distinct subset (and minority?) of all Americans.


I'm filing this truism under
Weird Things that make me laugh.

[AverageJoe90]

22. Yeah, Cal, that is true.

Good point.

[Cal Carpenter]

23. Thanks Joe

Someone called me out on that one time, and now it jumps out at me whenever I see it. Just a slight perspective tweak, ya know? Glad it didn't come across as snark, I always worry about that LOL.

[AlphaCentauri]

24. "America Mexicana" was a name used in maps by 1590

The term United Mexican States was coined in Texas

[rateyes]

4. I hope it passes. nt

[Peace Patriot]

5. Well, that's going to cost a lot of pesos!

Name changes for whole countries are expensive.

And you gotta wonder about Calderon trying to get some street cred on sovereignty and independence, on a petty issue like changing Mexico's name, after all he's done to get U.S. "war on drugs" boots and weapons into Mexico, to tear Mexican society to pieces. Entertained Bush Jr. at his secluded hacienda. Took a check for several billion and passed some of it along to the federales. Tried to privatize Mexico's constitutionally protected oil resource but wasn't very successful at it. Beat up the peasants in Oaxaca. Got everybody in southern Mexico shooting at each other. Had a good 'ol Bushwhack time and got his party booted out of power.

Now he wants to spit at the United States over Mexico's name! What a jerk! Stolen election, too. He never was the legit representative of Mexico and isn't now. I hope the Mexican congress stuffs his name-change bill down his throat!

Speaking of secession, how 'bout we give Texas back to Mexico? That state has sure caused us a lot of grief. JFK assassinated there. First mass "random" shooting occurred there (Texas Tower sniper, 1966). Bush Jr. whacked bushes there, on his ranch, while Rome burned. Bush Sr. lurked there. Oil and oilmen despoiled the country and Planet Earth from there. Killed about a million Iraqis, and disgusted and enraged about a billion Arabs and Islamics around the world--and a lot of other people--with the Texan shoot 'em up mentality and phony drawl. Then there's Tom Delay. Ye-e-ech! Of course, Molly ivins came from there, too, but she's dead so we wouldn't lose her with this "gift" to Mexico. What would we lose? Well, a lot of good people who feel as oppressed and worried as we all do, I guess. Shouldn't characterize all people by the crimes of the few. And I like Mexico and Mexicans. Wouldn't really want to inflict them with Texas.

What are we going to do with these secessionists? How about we say, "Okey-doke, you can secede--but only in Texas." Meanwhile take all the good people in as refugees and close the Texas borders. No immigration, none!

Only thing we might miss is Tex-Mex food, but the good people would bring that with them.

[bvar22]

17. You would throw away Texas and force all millions good Democrats who live there to become refugees?

How many would YOU "take in"?

[dotymed]

7. Mexico is fine...

Just glad to see that criminal out of office soon.

[Kablooie]

8. Why not go the other way and name it 'the United States'?

They could have a lot of fun messing around with world politics then.
A plethora of April Fools jokes become possible.

[kayakjohnny]

9. Ha! Good one.

[arely staircase]

19. or canada

that would be some funny shit too.

[lunatica]

11. It's always been Mexico Lindo y querido to me

and it always will be.

[slackmaster]

12. Great idea, and I think we should change our country's name to just "America"

[Cal Carpenter]

13. Ummm no

Please see post 10 above. The US =/= America.

[valerief]

14. Why doesn't he name it U.S. Corporations of Mexico? That seems apt. nt

[bvar22]

16. As long as he isn't trying to change it to "Calderon & Co",

I don't care.
That one is up to the people of Mexico.

[mrf901]

25. more important than people having electricity or piped water

first things first