Taco Bell's reentry into Mexico is like "bringing ice to the Arctic"

When the NAFTA trade agreement was signed January 1, 1994, Mexico was practially virgin soil for international food chains. Since then, dozens of KFCs, Burger Kings and Starbucks have sprung up on every street corner. After trying its luck and failing the first time around in 1992, Taco Bell has recently re-opened up shop for a second time, with plans of eventually having 300 stores be located in Mexico. Obviously, coming in and telling Mexicans how to, of all things, do tacos, is not going to fly with a country that prides itself on its rich, though totally fattening, cuisine.

I know I was dismissing the chance of full out national revolution when talking about solutions to Mexico's immense poverty, but who knows what drastic measures Mexicans will resort to in protecting their cultural rights to the taco.

But while Mexicans eagerly buy many American brands, the taco holds a place of honor in the national cuisine. Mexicans eat them everywhere, anytime of day, buying them from basket-toting street vendors in the morning or slathering them in salsa at brightly lit taquerias to wrap up a night on the town.

Taco Bell has taken pains to say that it's not trying to masquerade as a Mexican tradition.

"One look alone is enough to tell that Taco Bell is not a taqueria," the company said in a half-page newspaper ad. "It is a new fast-food alternative that does not pretend to be Mexican food."

It's still a mixed message for Mexicans like Marco Fragoso, a 39-year-old office worker sitting down for lunch at a traditional taqueria in Mexico City, because the U.S. chain uses traditional Mexican names for its burritos, gorditas, and chalupas.

"They're not tacos," Fragoso said. "They're folded tostadas. They're very ugly."

Taco Bell failed with an earlier, highly publicized launch in Mexico City in 1992, when it opened a few outlets next to KFC restaurants. Now both KFC and Pizza Hut are owned by Yum Brands.

But Mexicans were less familiar with foreign chains back then and the economy was on the verge of a crisis. The North American Free Trade Agreement had yet to be signed. The restaurants didn't even last two years.

Not a smart move Taco Bell.