When President Vicente Fox said Mexicans should be glad they weren't born in the United States, it was a reminder of an ugly little truth.

Aside from the U.S. economy, many Mexican citizens -- especially those still living in Mexico -- don't care much for the United States.

''We are already a step ahead, having been born in Mexico. Imagine being born in the United States, oof!'' Fox said earlier this month with a chuckle, according to the Associated Press, following a remark that Mexicans should be thankful for their heritage.

The comment, made at a public event, raised some eyebrows in the United States, but went all but unnoticed in Mexico.

Mexicans often see America as full of broken families, rampant drug use and unchecked materialism, run by a government that doesn't hesitate to go to war or meddle in the affairs of others -- a standing underscored by the current conflict in Iraq.

''It is an incredible schizophrenia we live with -- we don't have a good perception of the United States but we do cross the border,'' said Edna Jaime, a Mexico political analyst.

Mexicans still point with anger to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, under which Mexico signed away about half of its territory, including what would become Texas, California and other U.S. states.

They also wonder why the United States would now want to build a wall along the border to keep out undocumented immigrants, yet the U.S economy is so reliant on their labor.

When it comes to illegal drugs, Mexicans see the United States as very willing to point the finger at Mexican drug cartels, but not willing to do more to reduce drug consumption among the American people.

''It doesn't surprise me Fox would say that at all,'' said Henry Dietz, a Latin America expert at the University of Texas at Austin. ''Part of it is envy, part disdain, part a need to separate themselves and maintain an identity that is not overwhelmed by the United States,'' Dietz said.