Arriving in Mexico is completely different from the first days of the World Cup in the United States. In New Jersey, there were flags of the participating countries in the lobby of Newark airport but not a hint of the World Cup on the streets.
In Mexico, an exclusive counter for FIFA accredited personnel welcomes immigration delegations. The government official talks about football and the taxi drivers have a national team t-shirt in the car.
It’s not a World Cup in three countries. There are three different World Cups in three completely separate countries.
Trump’s real wall was built by holding the World Cup in such different realities. Tasteless in Canada, odorless in the United States, colorful in Mexico.
At the opening venue of the World Cup, there are protests by teachers, precautionary measures to allow food vendors to enter the Azteca stadium and streets blocked by promised but undelivered works.
There is also happiness on the part of the population for once again hosting the biggest football party on the planet. “We are proud of our flag, we are ashamed of our governments,” said taxi driver Gregorio Gil.
The Aztec stadium received investments of US$ 180 million (R$ 950 million). There is public money, but the management of the stage is private.
Since the 1990s, Televisa has owned Azteca. The organization is part of the Ollamani group, which belongs to the Televisa conglomerate, the largest TV broadcaster in the country.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum, does not attend the opening ceremony for fear of boos. Mexico has no expectation of success, despite reaching the quarter-finals twice in 17 appearances. Both when it was the host country.
However, to play the knockout stages at home, Mexico needs to win its group and, even then, it will only go to the Azteca until the round of 16. The quarterfinals will be in Miami.
Mexico is the protagonist of the World Cup for another reason, politics. Not only due to differences with the Trump administration but for harboring Iran, based in Tijuana, on the border with San Diego, California. It is said that the World Cup protocol will not be followed, because the Iranians will only go to the United States on the day of their games. Then, they return to Mexico.
Breaking protocol is not that. It’s having a country at war receiving the country with which it is fighting for international matches. It has never happened in the history of World Cups. Austria were semi-finalists in 1934; annexed by Germany in 1938, it did not play in that year’s World Cup.
Wise description by Pedro Bial: “For Americans, this is nothing new, because the country is almost always in some conflict or with soldiers somewhere in the world. In the United States, the feeling of war does not exist. It only exists in the country where its soldiers are.”
Canada is the blandest of the three countries. He will play once in Toronto, twice in Vancouver, where he will continue with the unlikely chance of winning his bracket. Otherwise, go to Los Angeles.
The three different Cups will be like this until the round of 16. From Wednesday onwards, the only territory will be the United States.
The question is whether there will be more people speaking English or whether Latinos will make Spanish the official language. It depends on the success of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Portugal, Paraguay, Uruguay and Spain.
There are three World Cups and the chance of success for the North American World Cup lies with the people that Trump despises: Latinos.
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