Correspondent Lee Sang-hee] On the 12th, the Arizona Major League Baseball team said, “Tickets for the 2023 WBC (World Baseball Classic) Group C match between the United States and Mexico, which will be held at 11:00 am (Korean time) on the 13th, are sold out.” notified The match between the two teams will be held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Home of the Arizona team, it has a capacity of 48,519 spectators.
In the first match of Group C on the 12th, Mexico lost 4-5 to Colombia, while the United States beat Great Britain 6-2. However, in the face-to-face match between the two teams, the atmosphere is like a war cloud hanging over them because of the subtle history and racial conflict between Americans and Mexicans in Arizona beyond baseball history.
Arizona was formerly a territory of Mexico. However, in 1854, it was sold to the United States for ‘only’ $10 million (about 13.23 billion won). The U.S. government divided the purchased territory into Arizona and New Mexico in 1871 and incorporated it into the federal government.
Arizona, which was born in this way, was originally an absolutely American region, with 94.5% of the total population being white. However, with the passage of time, the white population declined. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2020, Arizona’s white population has shrunk by 59.8%. On the other hand, the proportion of Latinos (Latinos and Latin Americans), including Mexicans, increased to 30.6%. Compared to 14.5% in the 1970s, this is a remarkable growth.
For this reason, all public institutions and schools in Arizona provide services in two languages, English and Spanish. Although it is American land, there is no inconvenience in living even if you do not speak English. Depending on the region, it is difficult to tell whether it is Mexico or the United States. There are also many Latino populations who have entered the political arena, such as mayor or congressman, using the growing population ratio as a stepping stone.
Many Mexicans and their descendants in Arizona believe that the US government “extorted” their land in the past by buying and selling. Because of this, quite a few emotional battles between whites and Latinos also cause conflicts in various parts of society.
Ten years ago, on March 10, 2013, the 3rd WBC Group D match was held at Chase Field. Canada and Mexico faced each other on this day, and Canada touched Mexico’s emotions with a surprise bunt in the top of the 9th inning, with Canada leading 9-3. This is because it is generally an unwritten rule in baseball not to bunt when the score difference is large. Mexico later threw a beanball to Canada’s follow-up hitter, Rene Tosoni, and eventually the two teams came to the ground and cleared the bench.
A bigger problem arose after that. When the ground was cleared to some extent due to the refusal of the referee, violence broke out in which Latino spectators threw water bottles and fruits at the Canadian players who were returning to the dugout. Some Canadian players struggled with the crowd and the safety net. Even when the announcer warned the agitated crowd that they could be arrested if they continue to use violence, they did not calm down easily. Violence by angry crowds continued until a number of police officers were dispatched.
At the time, the American media analyzed that ‘a sense of victimization toward white people may have settled in a corner of the hearts of the Latino spectators who were violent at the stadium that day.’
According to the US non-profit organization KFF, in fact,안전놀이터 a survey found that 7 out of 10 black people in the US have suffered from illegal searches and arrests based on their race by the police. exists as a problem. Latinos and whites are no exception.
For this reason, some are concerned that if the US-Mexico match overheats, the bench clearing or crowd violence that occurred in the past Canada-Mexico match may recur. This is why more extraordinary attention is focused on the confrontation between the two teams.