dissectiongirl

I have written his parents to be somewhat politically conscious people though so left-leaning politics has always been something in the background of his life even at an early age. his parents have talked a lot about how PRI ruined their lives back in mexico and how a lot of it is tied to the usa's grip on latin america, and generally have always instilled in him this more negative view of the usa and similar powers. but they are also prone to believing in conspiracy theories which means his entire family are very paranoid people, which doesn't help isa's mental health at all.

since he's the only citizen in his family, he's lived his whole life watching his parents and his sister struggle with not having the same opportunities he has. with his father being disabled (a T10 paraplegic) on top of that, he is particularly resentful of how the healthcare system punishes his family for being undocumented when all his father ever did was work in construction to provide for everyone before his accident.

so, much of isa's interest in leftist politics is from pure experience. he's very aware of his status as a citizen compared to his family, very aware of how they're treated like an open secret and that the american dream is a scam. add tonatiuh being someone else he later finds out is undocumented too (who herself is also very angry and views all politics as empty gestures) and isa tries to do something, anything, to be a voice for them.

his attempt at this is burning down a building, which amounts to nothing in the long run. all it does is trigger a psychotic episode where he physically hurts his sister and completely stops talking to tona. he doesn't know what to do with his anger and his despair, and only spends his time locked in his room and spiraling over what a failure he is. at his worst, he's fantasizing about causing a tragedy to make another big statement and taking himself out with it.