BELÉN FERNÁNDEZ, AUTHOR OF EXILE : REJECTING AMERICA AND FINDING THE WORLD

Beyond the issue of hypocritical US dependence on so-called “illegal” immigration, it is worth considering how the “great guacamole famine of 2019” stacks up against other border-related catastrophes – like the US vilification and exploitation of Mexicans and Central Americans who were forced to migrate northward thanks in large part to US regional machinations in the first place.

Indeed, under normal circumstances, those avocados enjoy superior cross-border freedom of movement compared with, say, the seven-year-old girl who recently died in US Border Patrol custody after journeying from her native Guatemala – a country the US has devoted much time to screwing over politically and financially.

Ditto for migrants from Honduras and other locales where the US habit of backing violent regimes and increasing widespread poverty – pardon, “capitalism” – means that daily existence can often constitute an apocalyptic scenario unto itself and has driven entire families in to participate in one of the largest mass migrations in recent history.

Anyway, back to serious news and the real existential question: “No guac for the Super Bowl?”, as USA Today puts it.

But whether the guacamole materialises in time or viewers have to make do with gobs of non-cheese cheese, there is plenty about the current spectacle in the US that should make one sick to one’s stomach.

Read the article here.