At least a 20-hour flight separates Mexico and Ukraine. But when it comes to understanding each other, the divide seems even greater.
Mexicans heard about the fall of the Soviet Union, while Ukrainians know the taste of tequila and Mexican soap operas.
Bilateral trade remains modest, reaching just $78 million in 2009. Despite Mexico being one of the world’s top 20 exporters, the trade balance is in Ukraine’s favor. One of the most populous countries in the world with a population of 111 million people, Mexico has only about 30 citizens living in Ukraine. They include diplomats, students, businessmen and their spouses.
Mexican Ambassador to Ukraine Berenice Rendуn Talavera hits the floor at the Mexican Independence Day celebration on Sept. 15.
To improve trade and ties, Mexico sent their first ambassador to Kyiv last year with a clear message to bolster business. Corn, beer and tourism come first on the business list.
It didn’t take long for the first Mexican investor to board the plane. Gruma Corporation, a major corn flour and tortilla producers, bought two mills in Cherkasy for $9 million to set up a corn-processing business. If the pioneer is successful, more investors may probe the ground.
The Danish brewing company, Carlsberg Group, bought distribution rights to Mexican beer in Ukraine in 2009 . The famous Corona brand has already sold 600,000 liters of beer in the first eight months of 2010. In contrast, Russian distributors sold only 80,000 liters more over the same period. And Russia has almost three times the population of Ukraine.
Despite Mexico being one of the top travel destinations in the world, many Ukrainians have yet to bridge the distance and discover it. In winter, tour operators that signed contracts with some 50 travel agencies in Ukraine will compete for tourists traditionally seeking sun in closer Egypt and Thailand.
Living in Ukraine
The few Mexicans living in Ukraine seem to be a happy bunch. They say they are well-integrated into society and have found something precious to keep them cozy, even far away from home. Alba Becerra, in charge of administrative issues in the Mexican Embassy, has nothing to complain about.
Mexican dancers burn the floor at Independence Day celebration organized by the Mexican Embassy in Ukraine on Sept.15.
“I received only the best from Ukraine: impeccable education in international relations paid by Ukrainian government, a loving Ukrainian husband, a good son and a well-paying job when the embassy opened in Kyiv in 2005,” Becerra said.
Becerra came to Ukraine in 1990s. She said she wanted to fulfill the dream of her socialist father, who wanted at least one of his 10 children to study in the Soviet Union. After marrying a Ukrainian man, she decided to stay. “Now my husband says that I cook borscht better than a Ukrainian woman,” she said with pride.
Becerra said it’s hard getting used to some people being rude in public transport and most importantly, envy, which she thinks Ukrainians have for each other. Mexican women, according to Becerra, are less independent than Ukrainian. “In Mexican provincial towns, girls know that their education will stop when they get married and they usually do this early,” she said.
Entrepreneur Larisa Garcia, who also came to Ukraine in its early years of independence, has a similar story. She followed her parents to Ukraine on a job posting, but then stayed behind, marrying a Ukrainian man. Losing her job during the 1998 crisis, Garcia started an amateur makeup class that by now has grown into Terra Viva style studio that employs 16 people. “I feel [so much pressure] from the government that it seems that it’s almost a crime to make money in Ukraine,” she said of her daily business routine.
On the positive side, she likes Ukrainian business culture better than the one at home.
“In Mexico, it’s O.K. to be one hour late and people saying ‘we’ll see’ instead of simply ‘no’ to you when they are not interested. Ukrainians say ‘no’ if they don’t want something and it makes things easier,” she said.
Like Becerra from the Mexican embassy, Garcia feels that women have more freedom in Ukraine. “Try wearing mini-skirts and transparent blouses, like many Ukrainians do, in Mexico. You’ll get verbally abused at the very least,” she said.
Mexican dancers burn the floor at Independence Day celebration organized by the Mexican Embassy in Ukraine on Sept.15.
Studying in Ukraine
Horacio Canales came to Ukraine in 2008 looking for a school teaching aerospace mechanics. National Zhukovsky Aerospace University in Kharkiv served him well. “Besides, I always loved the old [post] Soviet Union countries,” he said remembering how Ukraine came up on his radar.
But like many foreigners in Ukraine, Canales sometimes falls victim to discrimination and racism. His school would not let him practice at Kharkiv plants because of his foreign passport, he said.
Another student from Mexico on a post-graduate program at the same university is Juan Pablo Bastida. In addition to cultural peculiarities, he tries to get used to constant police checks on the street.
Despite these issues, both students have high hopes for their Ukrainian degrees. “Mexican aerospace industry is growing at great speed. And Mexico supports its scientists well, so I can also work at a state laboratory,” said Canales.
Doing business in Ukraine
Many foreigners come to make money in Ukraine by teaching languages. Few, however, succeed in the highly competitive teaching field.
Gregorio Vazquez, a Mexican educated in the United States, begs to differ. After traveling the world, he decided to open a language school in Kyiv. Along with business English, he teaches his students to become business savvy.
“Together with my students, I opened an online clothing shop where we sell American wear at a cheaper price than in Ukrainian brand shops,” said Vazquez. “With another group, we opened a grain trading brokerage [where] we discuss all the business processes in English.”
Vazquez believes in Ukraine’s business potential, despite its many shortcomings.
“Where else in the world can you make money out of selling $10 Levi’s jeans 10 times more expensive in the shop on Khreshchatyk?” he mused, encouraging students and business partners to discover Ukraine for themselves.
| Mexico’s Independence Day On Sept. 16, Mexico celebrates a double jubilee – 200 years of Independence from Spanish rule and 100 years since the Mexican Revolution. In 1500, Spain conquered Mexico and enslaved indigenous Mexicans. More than 300 years later, on Sept. 16, 1810, a priest named Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla started the War of Independence against the Spanish, but it took 11 years to defeat the colonial power. In 1910, young Mexican leader Francisco Madero led a revolution against the authoritarian regime of President Porfirio Diaz and moved the nation on a more democratic path. Sept. 16 is now commemorated every year in town squares across Mexico with civic ceremonies and parades, with the largest taking place in Mexico City. In Kyiv, Mexican Independence Day will be celebrated by the Mexican short film festival on Sept. 16-20 in Kyiv cinema house and Mexican Fiesta at Tequila House restaurant on Sept. 24-25 with the presentation of Mexican chef Esteban Remes Melo. Factbox: Mexico is a federal republic consisting of 31 states in North America, bordering Belize, Guatemala, and the United States. Mexico is geographically the 15th largest country in the world, with a total area of 1,964,375 square kilometers. Mexico is governed by President Felipe Calderon, who took the office in 2006, promising to fight drug trafficking and cartel wars that had become rooted in the country since the 1980s. A four-year drug war has already taken 28,000 lives in Mexico. Global export commodities: manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton. Global import commodities: metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts. Gross domestic product per capita: $13,200 in 2009 Mexico City is one of the three largest cities in the world, with a metropolitan area population estimated at 20 million people. Corn is the main food crop grown in Mexico. It is grown on half of the cultivated land. Corn is used to make flat pancakes called tortillas. Mexican cuisine is world famous, including fajitas, quesadillas, enchiladas and tacos. Source: (CIA factbook, http://www.buzzle.com, http://www.facts-about-mexico.com) Useful Links: Mexican Embassy in Ukraine, http://www.sre.gob.mx/ucrania/ Mexican restaurant in Kyiv: |
Kyiv Post staff writer Kateryna Grushenko can be reached at [email protected]
Read also ‘Mexican ambassador: We want more trade with Ukraine‘ by the same author.
