Brian Thompson
In response to fears of a zombie Pancho Villa, some Texas lawmakers have proposed crafting a plan to address the potential collapse of the Mexican government and what that would mean for the state.
“You hope for the best, plan for the worst,” said Katherine Cesinger, a spokesperson for Governor Perry's office.
Fears of a tidal wave of refugees fleeing a new Mexican Revolution came about after a State Department report last year fingered Pakistan and Mexico as unstable governments which could potentially collapse. Drug-related violence in northern Mexico claimed over 200 lives in the first month of 2009, and border cities like El Paso are already seeing refugees showing up.
As if Republicans weren't already afraid of Hispanics crossing the border en masse, state officials say a nightmare scenario would mean a humanitarian crisis with thousands of refugees streaming across the border.
According to Cesinger, the plan is still in its early stages and mainly deals with law enforcement. Other issues, such as humanitarian needs, have not been discussed yet.
Tony Payan, a political science prof at UT-El Paso, has suggested that Texan state officials talk frente a frente with their Mexican counterparts in order to prevent any sort of destabilization from occurring in Mexico. He said that state and local leaders in the two countries often mistrust one another despite having good knowledge of the situation on the ground.
We just hope that this resurgence of zombis revolucionarios doesn't lead to Nazi zombies wanting a piece of the action as well. Then we'll all have to flee into Oklahoma, and who knows if they have a plan in place.