This Mexican Lawmaker Made A Point About The Wall

One Mexican congressman from the state of Queretaro recorded his opinion about President Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border from a symbolic perch. Seated atop the 30-foot fence separating the Mexican city of Tijuana from California, Braulio Guerra protested Trump's wall by using himself as an example of the futility of even the highest walls. "I was able to scale it, climb it, and sit myself right here," Guerra tells the camera. The takeaway: If a politician has no problem scrambling up a steep border fence, then perhaps a 1,900-mile wall will not better serve the purpose of keeping people out.

In addition to the video, Guerra also tweeted out photos of himself. In one, there are two other men straddling the top of the fence. Guerra claims they came, climbed, and dropped down the other side, all within the short time he spent sitting atop the fence himself. It should be noted that Guerra did not videotape himself while climbing, so it is not currently verified that he scaled the fence without any supplemental help. You can watch the video of Guerra's message below.

Guerra's stunt comes amid rising tensions between Mexico and the United States. Guerra specifically references Trump, and it is no secret that the new president's proposed wall has significantly strained America's relationship with its southern neighbor.

Trump promised his supporters that he would build a wall spanning the entire length of the border between the United States and Mexico, and that (somehow) Mexico would pay for it. During the 2016 election, the former president of Mexico Vicente Fox famously declared, "I'm not going to pay for that fucking wall!" And just one week after Trump took office, current Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a meeting with him over Trump's continued focus on his promised border wall.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went to Mexico to meet with top officials there in what is expected to be extremely tense meetings. As the New York Times reported, the newspapers in Mexico have reported on Trump's recent policies as "apocalyptic" — from deporting non-Mexicans who cross the southern border to Mexico to threatening a crackdown on millions of Mexicans within the United States who provide $25 billion of remittance payments. Trump's language and stated goals are seen as a direct threat to the livelihood of millions of Mexicans.

And as Guerra shows, a new border wall will only exacerbate tensions, while likely doing nothing to stop those who are so determined from coming into the United States.