Exemplary People in Mexico and Hungary: A Brief Comparative History from the Mexican Perspective

Hungary shares with Mexico three characteristics: the paprika, the colours of the flag and the gypsies (Roma), whom Mexicans call ‘Hungarians’ because they play the violin very well! Mexico and Hungary also have great similarities (or, if you will, historical anomalies): the loss of more than half of their territory; their accentuated nationalism and the presence of a quasi-perfect dictatorship; expressed in Mexico during decades of the ruling PRIAN, and in today’s unique Hungarian Orbanism. From the beginning I shall ask the reader’s indulgence for an ‘outsider’ analysing Hungarian affairs, always complex, interesting and sometimes contradictory.
Hungary’s geographic centrality in Europe has been a factor of prime importance, having been drawn, voluntarily or involuntarily, to all the important historical conflicts that have occurred in the old continent, particularly among its Central European neighbours. Its Christian cultural focus, adopted by King István, which was multi-ethnic, underpinned political stability starting from the eleventh century AD.

(Extract from the Introduction)