Increasingly, Trump has his sights set on Mexico—promising to send in US troops in the name of fighting cartels and advancing a so-called drug war policy. But Trump’s actions harken back to an era of US empire much, much older.
See, Mexico has withstood a long history of foreign intervention by the Spanish, French, and multiple times by the United States.
In 1848, Mexico lost more than half its territory to the United States. The US states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and more used to be part of Mexico.
Today, host Michael Fox visits Mexico’s National Museum of Interventions in Mexico City, and we look back at the devastating history of foreign intervention in Mexico amid Trump’s threats against Mexico and elsewhere in the region today.
This is Episode 9 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.
Hosted, written, produced, mixed, and edited by Michael Fox. Script editing by Heather Gies.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Guests: Christy Thornton, Associate Professor of History at NYU
Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox. Monte Perdido’s new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music.
Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Related Episodes
Check out the first season of Under the Shadow here.
Resources
- Here is the link to Mexico’s National Museum of Interventions.
- You can check out Michael Fox’s Patreon to see exclusive pictures of the museum and the wall out front.
- Here is the episode of Michael Fox’s podcast Stories of Resistance about the St. Patrick’s Brigade.
- This is Christy Thornton’s book, Revolution in Development: Mexico and the Governance of the Global Economy
Support Under the Shadow:
Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews.