Cardinal Sandoval said the comfort of fatalism is what leads to misery and poverty in Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm

In a recent article for the Archdiocesan newspaper, “Seminario,” the Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiquez, exhorted Mexicans to look at themselves and assume the responsibility for overcoming the country’s problems and to get rid of fatalism.

The cardinal recalled that for decades Mexico has suffered poverty, violence, poor education, corruption, drug trafficking and other problems.  Nevertheless, the said it was easy to blame “the United States or whoever else comes to mind, but rarely do we think of ourselves, who all together, are responsible for what has happened in the country in the last decades or even centuries.”

In his article the cardinal noted the existence of three characteristics of the Mexican psyche that explains the current situation of the country.

The first is conformism which, combined with a bit of fatalism, leads many people to accept negative events.  He added that his leads to blaming God for everything, “when in reality it is we, hidden in the comfort of this fatalism, who are the creators of misery and laziness.”

The second is the lack of a historical memory.  The cardinal pointed out that by not knowing and reflection upon the country’s past, the same errors risk being repeated.

And lastly, he mentioned individualism and the struggle for one’s interests, where what is important is personal gain and not the progress of the country.