To the editor:

The Pulse section of Oct. 9 reports the opinions of Rev. G. Teske about Mexico. I am glad that he is interested in my country and I hope his trip and readings just whetted his appetite.

Two points caught my attention. He says: “I discovered the vast majority of them (the Mexicans) are very poor people with no place to turn.” Mexico is indeed a country much poorer than the U.S. About 50 percent (World Bank’s data) of the population classifies as poor (these provide the bulk of the illegal migrants to the U.S.), and this fact is undeniable, but a “vast majority”?

Many Americans simply do not realize that their southern neighbor is the 13th largest economy in the world, (CIA Fact Book). Mexico has large and modern cities, major companies, world class universities, is the second country in Latin America in scientific research, and has a significant middle class. Tens of millions of Mexicans belong to it, and thus “vast majority” may be misleading.

The second comment is about the book Teske named as his “focus” to understand Hispanic history and culture: “The Open Veins of Latin America” by Eduardo Galeano. This book, extremely popular in left-wing circles, is a very poor choice to begin your studies about Latin America. It is regarded as compulsory reading by many, but it must be balanced by lectures that provide different perspectives and give insight into other facets of a complex continent.

I may find interesting Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States,” but I would do myself a disservice if I did not try other authors and other points of view.