With the arousal of the current debate about racism being represented in this comic, already traditional to Mexicans, it is indispensable to take a careful look at it and reflect seriously upon its content. The main character, Memín, does indeed look like he's African; however, he represents in the comic a typically Mexican hero. He's a poor boy, son of a single mother, and in his personality there's a mix of characteristics that are generally known and accepted as the characteristics of the typical (or stereotypical) Mexican; such as, being ingenious in facing day to day situations, for which school is not good enough; being somehow lazy; doing everything for his mom's love; being loyal to his friends; having a good heart above all... This is why it is difficult to accept that the comic actually promotes racism and discrimination against African Mexicans. It sounds more realistic to say that this comic is a reflection of racial reality in Mexico, which is very mixed, and very different from the North American racial reality. It seems that the comic shows how the parameters by which racism is understood in North America don't apply to Mexico.
It is not easy to distinguish an Afromexican community in Mexico, as it is in the USA; and it could even be said that if it exists it's invisible, because of the great extent of mixing of immigrants and original populations that occurs and has always occured in Mexico. Memín dresses in a certain way that sometimes seems to be a stereotype; there are also other characters in the comic that ridiculize him with references to his skin color. That is wrong, and worthy of an analysis that can prevent the popularization of mistaken concepts and expressions. However, it is not valid to condemn the entire comic, because it contains positive elements as well as negative ones, and that is precisely how it reflects the complexity of the Mexican idiosyncrasy when it comes to concepts such as race and racism.