voices of mexico issue 56

Voices of

Mexico

CISAN • UNAM

™

No. 56 July • Septem

ber 2001

Women and PoliticsMaría del Carmen Alanis Figueroa

Olga Costa’s and José Chávez Morado’sPainting

Small Businesses The Long Road to CreditEnrique Pino Hidalgo

Guanajuato History, CandyAnd Ceramics

Poblanos in New YorkLuz María Valdés

www.unam.mx/voiceswww.unam.mx/voices

NUMB E R 5 6 J U L Y • S E P T EM B E R 2 0 0 1 M E X I C O $ 4 0 U S A $ 9 . 0 0 C A N A DA $ 1 1 . 7 0

Our Voice

Women and PoliticsMaría del Carmen Alanis Figueroa

Elevating Foreign Policy Principles To the Constitutional LevelAlonso Gómez-Robledo Verduzco

Other Voices in the Mexican Catholic ChurchTanius Karam

The Quebec Summit The FTAA and Academic ResearchJohn Dickson

José Chávez MoradoA Man of Another Age

Olga CostaA Brief Look at a Serene LifeCarlos Magdaleno

PopocatépetlLiving in DangerJuan Marcial

International Cervantes Festival

Small BusinessesThe Long, Winding Road to CreditEnrique Pino Hidalgo

Science, Art and Culture

Number 56 July • September 2001 4

7

12

19

25

30

36

44

51

55

ContentsTM

North American Affairs

Economy

Politics

Editorial

Through the Rearview Mirror Reflections on Ethnography From The Edge of FictionKathy Taylor

Against DiscriminationJesús Rodríguez Zepeda

Late Twentieth-Century MigrationPoblanos in New YorkLuz María Valdés

“Welcome to Ralph’s World”Neo-Conservatism Takes Hold in CanadaKelly O’Donnell

Guanajuato Down Through TimeAurora Jáuregui de Cervantes

The Delights of GuanajuatoElsie Montiel

Guanajuato’s Ceramics

Two Art MuseumsJuan Manuel Ramírez Palomares

The Santa Rosa Forest in GuanajuatoGerardo Vázquez Marrufo

61

66

71

75

85

91

95

100

104

The City in WritingHumor and Irony in the Contemporary Mexican Urban Short Story (Part II)Lauro Zavala

Two Short Stories by Luis Miguel Aguilar

Román Piña ChanAn Exemplary ArchaeologistJoel Santos Ramírez

La verdadera historia del chocolate Miruna Achim

Through the Rearview Mirror. An EthnographicalNovel of Mexican Taxis / Por el espejo retrovisor.Una novela etnográfica de taxis mexicanosClaire Joysmith

111

117

119

121

123

Society

CoverJosé Chávez Morado, Tehuanas, 81 x 67 cm, 1949 (oil on canvas). Edgardo Villafranca collection.

Back Cover Olga Costa, Dead Child, 82 x 104 cm, 1944 (oil on canvas). Private collection.

Canadian Issues

In Memoriam

The Splendor of Mexico

Mexico-U.S. Issues

Reviews

Literature

Ecology

Museums

4

Elections were held recently to designate the member countries for United Nations working commis-

sions. For Mexico and our North American neighbors, the decisions about which countries were to

be part of the Commission on Human Rights and the UN International Narcotics Control Board were

particularly important.

Surprisingly, the United States was not elected to either of these two commissions. There are two proba-

ble explanations for this. The first is that this is the result of the U.S.’s lukewarm attitude in everything regard-

ing the United Nations, reflected in the fact that the new administration has not yet named its ambassador

to the General Assembly (who will very probably be John Negroponte, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico).

The U.S. government trusted too much in its allies and did not even take the trouble to negotiate their sup-

port in this case.

The second probable explanation is more profound and is related to the clear anger on the part of the U.S.’s

European allies, Russia and China. In the first place, they are clearly very unhappy with the U.S.’s unilateral,

arrogant actions, particularly with regard to the world's next 30 years of nuclear security. They are also dis-

pleased with the U.S. refusal to support the Kyoto Protocol, which regulates the carbon emissions into the

atmosphere that are responsible for global warming. Although not all the European countries have yet ratified

it, they still blame the United States for the protocol’s non-application. There is also increasing irritation among

the world community with the U.S. government for its reticence to sign the treaty to create the International

Criminal Court. At the same time, while outlawing capital punishment is now a condition for European Union

membership, President Bush has distinguished himself as a defender of the measure in many different fora.

Seemingly, it was a combination of all these factors that led to teaching the U.S. a lesson, with such unfor-

tunate results for the United States. The lesson: the multi-polar world of today is not willing to just forgive

and forget, not even with the only surviving world superpower. The unfortunate outcome for the world com-

munity could lie in the consequences that the U.S. absence from two such internationally important com-

missions could have.

Two scenarios are possible: in the first, if the U.S. decides to take its revenge, it could opt for unilateral action,

ignoring the United Nations, and for stopping payment on its UN debt, in a clear challenge to the international

community, that would have grave consequences for the viability and possibilities for the organization’s action.

The other alternative is that the United States take on board the implications of its allies’ discontent and try to

build a new consensus to legitimize its positions. Undoubtedly, this last scenario is the less probable one, but it

would also be the most beneficial in today’s international context.

* * *

Women are acquiring more and more importance in political activity in Mexico. María del Carmen Alanis

explores this issue in her contribution to our “Politics” section. Alanis points to the fundamental role women

played in last year’s federal elections and their important contribution to the consolidation of our democracy.

However, she also notes that despite certain advances in gender equality in politics, women’s participation in

important elected posts is still at a minimum. She suggests the need to promote a political culture that takes

gender equality as one of its fundamental points if we really want to have an important impact among women.

OUR VOICE

5

Also in “Politics”, we present our readers with a contribution from international relations expert Alonso

Gómez-Robledo, who makes a profound analysis of the general principles guiding Mexican foreign policy and

the importance of their having been elevated to a constitutional level in 1988. Gómez-Robledo reviews each

of these principles, and he looks at the different interpretations that each has been subjected to in international

law and their underlying ideological and geopolitical interests.

We close this section with an article by Tanius Karam about another of the political actors that have had

an important impact on society at the turn of the century in Mexico: alternative positions in the Catholic

Church, represented above all by the Christian base communities and liberation theology. Karam describes

how today, when politics has “gone to the right,” the movement has lost ground and influence with regard to

the space it occupied from the 1960s to the 1980s. He also says, however, that, far from disappearing, the mo -

vement is still alive since clearly the conditions that gave rise to it continue to exist, as shown by the Zapatista

uprising in Chiapas.

With these contributions, Voices of Mexico continues its practice of analyzing the role of new political and

social actors in Mexico at the beginning of the millennium. That is why we have also included in our “North

Ame rican Affairs” section an article by John Dickson, which looks at the important contribution that we must

expect from academia in our three nations for understanding the new situation created by globalization and the

ex pansion of international free trade. Dickson introduces the issue of the viability of a Free Trade Area for the Ame -

ricas (FTAA) by 2005, one of the priorities in the discussions and accords at the recent Quebec Summit and

shares his thoughts on the political significance of the anti-globalization protests.

We have dedicated our “Science, Art and Culture” section to painters Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado,

who made their home in the city of Guanajuato where they had fruitful lives as artists and promoters of art and

culture. José Chávez Morado, born in Silao, Guanajuato, is one of Mexico’s outstanding painters, committed

not only to his art, but also to his political and social convictions. Carlos Magdaleno has contributed to this

issue with his personal, intimate view of the life and work of Olga Costa, whom Carlos Mérida defined as “the

white angel of Mexican painting.” This section also includes a brief description of the next International

Cervantes Festival, which for 29 years has been celebrated in the city of Guanajuato. Lastly, Juan Marcial’s arti-

cle “Popocatépetl. Living in Danger” reminds us of the perils of living in the shadow of a volcano.

Micro- and small businessmen and women will undoubtedly play an important role in the Mexican econ-

omy in the early part of this century. Traditionally, this sector has contributed the majority of jobs in the econo-

my and a high percentage of the creation of wealth. In our “Economy” section, Enrique Pino looks into the

obstacles that micro- and small companies have confronted in getting credit, training and access to new tech-

nology. He also looks at the new Mexican administration’s policies with regard to them: the Fox program of

supporting “hole-in-the-wall” businesses, says the author, will undoubtedly foster this sector’s dynamism to a cer-

tain extent, but by no means is it sufficient nor does it correspond to its importance in the nation’s economy.

Mexican taxi drivers are seen as true ethnographers and political analysts of the society in which they live

by U.S. author Kathy Taylor. In a delightful article for our “Society” section, Taylor describes how her original

project of doing an ethnographical study of Mexican taxi drivers became a work of literature full of anecdotes

and reflections on Mexican culture from the point of view of taxi drivers. Taylor’s article makes us want to

read her novel, published both in English and in Spanish, Through the Rearview Mirror/Por el espejo retrovisor.

“Society” also includes Jesús Rodríguez Zepeda’s article about one of the most difficult and complex prob-

lems facing Mexico today: discrimination. Rodríguez maintains that discrimination, far from decreasing, has

reached unprecedented levels in contemporary Mexico. One of the reasons is that Mexican legislation does

not contain clear and precise wording on the question, but only vague considerations that give rise to differ-

6

ent interpretations and therefore an evasion of responsibility. Until there is a political culture of equality and

legislation that specifies what constitutes discrimination and the corresponding sanctions, it will be very dif-

ficult to combat. One strategy could be the design of affirmative action policies such as those that resulted

from the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States.

Luz María Valdés has written a revealing article for the “Mexico-U.S. Affairs” section about another impor-

tant social actor in North America: migrants. She specifically looks at the migration from the state of Puebla

to New York. People from Puebla, poblanos, according to Valdés’ field research, have been able to successfully

incorporate themselves into productive life in the Big Apple. They are already the largest group of Mexican

migrants in New York with impressive networks of family contacts there that facilitate newcomers getting jobs

when they arrive.

Kelly O’Donnell has contributed a well documented article to “Canadian Issues” about the trend toward

neo-conservatism in Canadian politics that has already affected two of the main provinces, Alberta and

Ontario. The prime ministers of both are a clear jump toward the right from traditional Canadian centrist ide-

ology. O’Donnell describes how these politicians have achieved great popularity, among other things, because

of their neo-populist style and their images as “ordinary guys.” This strategy has functioned much better for

the charismatic Ralph Klein in Alberta, recently reelected for a new term, than for Mike Harris in Ontario,

who has been severely criticized by the opposition.

“The Splendor of Mexico” section takes us this time to the city of Guanajuato. Aurora Jáuregui de

Cervantes takes us for a brief trip down through the past of this colonial mining city, an almost inexhaustible

source of wealth and witness to important events for the nation’s history, whose original underground street,

whimsical urban layout and architectural beauty have merited its being declared a World Heritage Treasure.

The article “The Delights of Guanajuato” tells us briefly about Mexican confectionery, which is fighting to

preserve its identity at the same time that it must adapt to the demands of modernity. We have also dedicat-

ed several pages to the world of ceramics in Guanajuato, that takes us back to both pre-Hispanic and colo-

nial times, a world whose techniques have been handed down to us to produce pieces that can be classified

as works of art.

Guanajuato is home to many museums. We have included two of them in this issue: the People’s Museum

of Guanajuato and the Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado Art Museum. Both are housed in outstanding exam-

ples of local architecture and are committed to the promotion of art and culture in the city.

Our “Ecology” section consists of an article by Gerardo Vázquez Marrufo about Guanajuato state’s Santa

Rosa Mountains, whose importance as a center of biological diversity was recognized from the times of von

Humboldt, but which only now are being systematically studied with an eye to their conservation.

Mexico City, an archipelago of many cities –its neighborhoods, old and new–, the great creator of night-

mares and dreams in third dimension. One author who has succumbed to the temptation of narrating the city

is Luis Miguel Aguilar, from whose short story “Nuevos tipos mexicanos” (New Mexican Types) we publish

two fragments that accompany the second part of Lauro Zavala’s essay about urban narrative in Mexico.

Without a doubt, the name Román Piña Chan will always be associated with contemporary archaeological

research. Piña Chan’s contributions have benefitted entire generations of scholars. In an article by anthro-

pologist Joel Santos Ramírez, Voices of Mexico pays homage in our “In Memoriam” section to this member of

a generation of great archaeologists who began to emerge in the 1920s.

Paz Consuelo Márquez Padilla

Director of CISAN

7

Without a doubt, the success -ful organization of the mostrecent federal elections was

a definitive step toward the consolida-tion of democracy in Mex ico, particu-larly with regard to the public’s trust inelections. And, I am entirely convincedthat its success is due in great part towomen’s committed political efforts.1

On July 2, great numbers of womenparticipated in the most diverse ways:as polling booth officials, party repre-sentatives at polling booths, electoralobservers, electoral officials and coun - cilors in all levels of electoral councilsand, of course, as candidates and vot-

ers (we might note, however, that wedid take one step backward in that nowoman ran for president in this race).This could lead us to believe —erro -

neously— that, in addition to other de m -ocratic objectives reached, im portantadvances had been made with regardto gender equality in political partici-pation. This would be even more thecase if we take into consideration theNovember 22, 1996 electoral reformwhich stipulated that:

National political parties will in clude

in their by-laws the stipulation that the

number of candidacies for deputies and

senators filled by a single gender will

not exceed 70 percent and that they

will promote greater political participa-

tion of women.2

And women’s candidacies grew from25.4 percent in 1997 to 33.4 per centin 2000. The Social Demo cracy Party(PDS) registered the greatest numberof women hopefuls (40.4 percent) andthe Party of the De mo cratic Center(PCD), the fewest (30.25 percent).However, paradoxically, the number

of women actually elected to the Fifty-eighth Congress dropped from 18.8percent in 1997 to 17.2 percent (thatis, in the Chamber of Deputies, thereare only 86 women, compared to 414men).3 In the Senate, only 17.2 per-cent of the seats are held by women(22 out of 128). In absolute numbers,there are 8 fewer women legislatorsthan in the Fifty-seventh Congress.Internal organization of the Cham -

ber of Deputies follows suit: of 40 reg-

Women and PoliticsMaría del Carmen Alanis Figueroa*

* Executive director in charge of electoraltraining and civic education, Federal Elec -toral Institute.

Anto

nio

Nav

a/AV

E

In the Chamber of Deputies.

Politics

Voices of Mexico • 56

ular commissions, only five (12.5 per-cent) are presided over by women: Atten -tion to Vulnerable Groups; Health;Science and Technology; Equity andGender; and Population, Borders andMigration.Of the Senate’s 49 commissions,

only 11 are headed up by women: In -di genous Affairs; Social Develop ment;Equity and Gender; Youth and Sports;Environment, Natural Re sources andFishing; Agrarian Reform; Par lia men -tary Rules and Practices; Foreign Re la -

tions for North America; Foreign Rela tionsfor Latin America and the Ca rib bean;Foreign Relations for the Asian PacificRegion; and Foreign Relations forEurope and Africa.This contradiction between having

a greater number of female candidatesand a smaller number of women actu-ally elected is due to the fact thatmost parties applied the letter, but notthe spirit of the law. They relegatedwomen to secondary positions such asthe candidacy for alternate (in thecase of deputies elected by absolutemajority) and the last places on thelists for proportional representation.Worse than that, they did not fulfill theirown by-law requirements that demandthat they effectively promote women’spolitical participation in public deci-sion-making through greater access toelected positions.

Despite this, however, we shouldpoint to women’s enormous political res - ponsi bility in organizing and monitor-ing the 2000 federal elections.Women made up 51.68 percent of

all registered voters and 51.75 percentof the final voters’ list for the July 2elections.4

More women than men acted aspolling booth officials after all propos-als had been drawn by lottery from theregistered voters’ list. Of the 452,125people who monitored voting and

counted the votes at the 113,405 pollingstations nationwide, 240,998 (53.3percent) were women and 211,127(46.7 percent) were men.We should point out, however, that

women are under-represented amongthe Federal Electoral Institute’s (IFE)leadership bodies and operationalexecutives. This is clearest in the make-up of its General Council, composedof eight men and only one woman, eachwith full voting and speaking rights. Inthe lower decision-making bodies,1,319 (66.21 percent) of the electoralcouncilors were men, and 673 (33.79percent), women, out of a total of 1,992.Of the IFE’s six Executive Depart ments,only one (16.6 percent) is headed upby a woman (for the moment, anotheris temporarily headed by a woman,but under the title of “office head”). Ofthe 1,660 officers of Local and District

Councils on July 2, 1,424 (85.78 per-cent) were men and only 236 (14.22percent), women.A total of 38,433 Mexican citizens

participated as electoral observers, ofwhich 21,606 (56.21 percent) were menand 16,827 (43.78 percent) were women.Among the 860 foreign observers reg-istered with the IFE, 586 (68.13 per-cent) were men and 274 (31.86 percent)were women, indicating that elec toralgender inequality is also a concern inother countries.The Reforma newspaper put voter

participation at 63.9 percent, of which48 percent were women and 52 per-cent, men.5

I think that the underlying basis ofthis brief review of women’s electoralparticipation is our level of politicalculture. Let me explain. In my opin-ion, there is still a deeply rooted —anderroneous— understanding that womenare less effective in performing publicfunctions.In any case, I think it is very im -

portant to look further into the conse-quences that this step backward ingender equality could have for women’ssocial and political interests withregard to their participation in formalpolitics. And I use the expression “for-mal politics” intentionally becausewomen’s political participation is notlimited to attaining public office orparticipating in elections, nor is thestruggle for their equality restricted tothe political sphere.The figures show what many polit-

ical analysts and studies done from agender perspective had already uncov -ered: that women’s participation inpublic decision-making bodies doesnot correspond to their level of effec-tive overall participation in politicalactivities.

8

Most parties applied the letter, but not

the spirit of the law. They relegated women

to secondary positions such as the

candidacy for alternate and the last places on

the lists for proportional representation.

Politics

The July 2 election results —sotranscendental for the democratic lifeof the country in general— are notquite so positive if looked at from thevantage point of gender equity. The 86women deputies and 22 women sena-tors in the Fifty-eighth Congress areby no means proportional to the 51.68percent of women registered to vote.Nor does their number correspond tothe proportion of women who un doub t -edly sympathize with and are activein political parties, working very hardduring the campaigns and on electionday as party representatives at bothpolling stations and the IFE’s councils.Much less does it correspond with thespirit and intention of the law foster-ing gender equity.Innumerable studies have already

been done about the relationship be -tween advances in gender equality inlegal and political regulations, legalbodies and political parties’ foundingdocuments and the real levels of equal -ity in society.It is true that legal recognition of

gender equality and its explicit ex -pres sion in the Constitution and manypieces of legislation are a positive sym p -tom of the perception by certain socialgroups (generally an elite like academ -ics, party leaders, independent profes-sionals and some sectors of govern-ment) who have the duty to propitiatewomen’s political equality. This equal-ity is understood as equal opportuni-ties, autonomy and prestige. An exam-ple of this can be found in the recentNational Women’s Institute Law,6 whichstipulates that the institute shall pro-mote, coordinate, execute and followup on actions and programs designed toguarantee equal opportunities to womenin legal matters and in the country’spolitical, cultural, economic and social

life. Among its tasks will be the foster-ing and strengthening of public, gov-ernmental and social policies that makenon-discrimination and equal treatmentfor the sexes possible.To that end, the law posits the im -

portance of stimulating a culture ofnon-violence toward women, as wellas the promotion and supervision ofcompliance with international treatiesaimed at protecting women and fos-tering their development, as well asencouraging every part of the federal

administration to include a gender pers -pective in all their programs. However,this is not enough.If we compare the formal expres-

sion of gender equality in the law andpolitical bodies with the specific indi-cators of inequality on a social and cul -tural level, we will be faced with a ratherpessimistic panorama. The spirit andintention of the law is not even re -motely reflected in real relationshipsin society.Suffice it to point out that in the

new president’s cabinet, only threeministers (16.67 percent) are women(tourism, social development and agra -rian reform). In addition to the afore-mentioned dearth of women in the fe d -eral Congress, the situation is no bet ter—rather, it is even worse— in the caseof women’s participation on a state andmunicipal level. According to the Na -

tio nal Women’s Commission (Conmu -jer), today, only 115 out of 2,487 ofthe country’s mayors are women (aninsignificant 4.6 percent). Of the coun -try’s 2,167 síndicos (a kind of city mana -ger),7 only 107 (barely 4.94 percent)are women, and of Mexico’s 14,692city councilpersons, 2,474 (16.84 per-cent) are women.State legislatures follow the same

pattern: of the 1,113 state deputies inthe 32 local legislatures, 954 (85.7percent) are men and only 159 (14.3

percent) are women. The one with thebest ratio is Mexico City’s FederalDistrict, whose Legislative Assemblyhas 18 women (27.3 percent) and 48men, followed by the states of Tlax ca -la, with 25 percent women deputies;Yucatán, with 24 percent; Sinaloa, with22.5 percent; and Chihuahua, with 21.2percent.In the other 27 state legislatures,

fewer than 20 percent of the deputiesare women. Of all 745 state congres-sional commissions, only 14 percentare headed up by women, many ofwhom, obviously, lead commissions incharge of gender and equity issues,family care, childhood, youth, seniorcitizens and the physically challenged.To cite a few examples, in Durango, nolegislative commission is headed up bya woman, whereas in Aguasca lien tes,only the Style Commission is lead by

9

The July 2 election results are not quite

so positive from the vantage point of gender equity.

The 86 women deputies and 22 women senators

are not proportional to the 51.68 percent

of women registered to vote.


a woman. A certain qualitative differ-ence is the case of Campeche, wherea woman heads the Industrial Develop - ment, Economy and Tourism Com -mission.I think that the underlying reasons

for this unequal participation of womenin what is called “formal politics” arethe cultural perceptions that in Mex -ico continue to reinforce clearly unequalpatterns of imaginary representationbetween the genders.For that reason, it is absolutely nec-

essary to reinforce cultural policy —as

the IFE has done with its strategiclines of action and annual programs—if we want to help change women’spolitical participation in national deci-sion making.The IFE has included among its prin -

ciples and long- and medium-rangeobjectives the design of strategies forcivic education that imply the dissem-ination of the appreciation and under-standing of democratic values, practicesand institutions among the gen eralpu blic. As part of this task, one insti-tutional priority is fostering citizens’participation with strict res pect for thelegal framework; peaceful by nature,divorced from any form of violence;free, not subject to any form of pres-sure or impositions from without, andtherefore the product of individuals’self-determination to be come involvedin public matters; informed (which im -plies a minimum, objective familiarity

with the issues, their implications andthe context in which their participationtakes place); and responsible, in thesense that concrete actions make pos-sible the conciliation of individual in -terests with those of the general good.The IFE takes particular care to im -

print a gender perspective in the designof the content and materials for its civiceducational programs, regardless of thepublic at which they are aimed, be itchildren, young people, marginalizedsectors, politically vulnerable groupsor people with limitations in democra-

tic political culture. Beyond this, wehave also as signed ourselves the taskof designing civic educational and dis-semination programs on democraticpolitical culture specifically for women.We have commissioned specialists

to do research projects on the state ofdemocratic culture in general and so -ciety’s perception of women’s politicalparticipation in particular in order todesign these programs. One such studyis “Citizens and Demo cratic Culturein Mexico,” by Yolanda Meye n berg andJulia Flores of the National Autono -mous University of Mexico Institutefor Social Research; another is “Womenand Policy: Ba lance Sheet and Per -s pectives,” by Autonomous Metro poli -tan University researcher Anna MaríaFernández Poncela.Among their conclusions, Meyen -

berg and Flores state that, in effect,there is a slightly lower level of politi-

cal socialization on the part of womenthan of men. According to FernándezPoncela, however, the degree of inter-est and involvement in politics is sim-ilarly and equally low among both.She also says that the truly importantindicator for political participation isschooling levels, since greater educa-tion corresponds to higher interest andvice versa.These studies also lead us to con-

clude that, socially speaking, peopleperceive men as better qualified forpolitical posts, although this percep-tion is less pronounced among youngpeople.When Flores and Meyenberg asked

people, “Who do you think is betterqualified to be the president of Mex -ico?” only 14.2 percent said women.Of those surveyed, 37.3 percent res -ponded that men were; 37.3 percentsaid either; and 11.2 percent said theydid not know.Perhaps the most worrying thing

about these figures is that some womenalso share these perceptions, whichcould lead us to conclude that per-haps, some of them are less socializedto and interested in politics, have lessinformation and participate less in orga -nizations of all kinds. This is a seriousmatter given that women make up51.71 percent of registered voters, orover 31 million adults.What is clear to us at the IFE after

reviewing these research results is thatin terms of political culture and socialpractices, a serious lack of in formationhas a negative effect on women’s polit-ical participation. For that reason, oneof the main challen ges we face in civiceducation is having an impact on polit-ical culture and even on some institu-tional policies in order to foster in creasedwomen’s political participation, not only

10

The underlying reasons for this unequal

participation of women in “formal politics” are the cultural

perceptions that in Mex ico continue to reinforce

clearly unequal patterns of imaginary representation

between the genders.

Politics

quantitatively, but particularly qualita-tively. That is why the IFE includes inits strategy the idea of becoming aspace for different institutions and pu b -lic, social and private organizations in -terested in providing information, de -signing and developing programs forwomen about their rights and obliga-tions in a democratic political systemto come together and reflect on how todo that.The aim is to establish a common

agenda that will aid in creating a de m -ocratic political culture with genderequality, that will propitiate a fastertransformation of the legal and politi-cal precepts contained in our Consti tu -tion, legislation and treaties, conven tionsand other international instrumentsthat Mexico has signed8 into a realityof the social relations between men

and women. We must recognize thatwomen are social actors with their owninterests, needs and specific demandsand that, therefore, this agenda mustinclude all the social phenomena thatinvolve women, with a priority on thosedirectly linked to their condition aswomen, among others, reproductivehealth, intra-family violence, the accessto health, education, employment andwages similar to those of men and, ofcourse, effective access to the exerciseof political power.

NOTES

1 I would like to thank Cecilia Tapia Mayans,Susana Garaiz Flores and Diego BugedaBernal for their invaluable help in gatheringand systematizing the information used inthis article.

2 Código Federal de Instituciones y Procedi mien - tos Electorales (Cofipe), Article 22 (MexicoCity: IFE, 1996).

3 Interview with the Chamber of DeputiesPress Office, 9 January 2001.

4 The final voters’ list is made up of all thoseregistered voters who picked up their voterregistration cards. [Translator’s Note.]

5 Reforma (Mexico City), 3 July 2000, p. 8.

6 Diario Oficial de la Federación (Mexico City),12 January 2001.

7 Síndicos are elected officials who work underthe mayor in different executive capacities thatvary from town to town. They may be mem-bers of the opposition since they are not elect-ed as part of a slate with the mayor.

8 I am referring specifically to the Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Discrim i -nation Against Women and the Platform ofAction that came out of the Fourth World Con -ference on Women held in Beijing in 1996.

11

12

Elevating Foreign Policy PrinciplesTo the Constitutional Level

Alonso Gómez-Robledo Verduzco*

Mexico cannot give itself the luxury of a foreign

policy that bends to the circumstances of the moment,

a mere glittery garment, ready to be put on or taken

off as the momentary needs of this or that passing

political situation dictate.

In Mexico, the Senate approves overall foreign policy guidelines.

Cou

rtesy

of t

he S

enat

e

Politics

13

INTRODUCTION

In 1988, Mexico’s Constitution wasamended to include the guiding prin-ciples that the president must use todevelop foreign policy:

• Non-intervention;• Self-determination of peoples;• Peaceful solution of disputes;• Banning the use of threats or forcein international relations;

• The legal equality of states;• International cooperation for devel-opment;

• The fight for international peaceand security.1

The first question we have to ask our -selves is if there was a real need to amendthe Constitution to expressly includethese foreign policy principles. At firstglance, there does not seem to be a realneed because these principles are in -cluded in a multitude of internationalinstruments that Mexico has signed,approved, ratified or adhered to. Suf -fice it to mention Mexico’s ratifica-tion of the United Nations Charteron November 7,1945, and of the Orga -nization of Amer ican States Charteron No vem ber 23, 1948.2 The guide-lines of our foreign policy are express-ly stated in the principles, proposalsand objectives of both these charters.In addition, they are also delineated inone form or another, clear ly, preciselyand legally unquestio nably, through-out the chapters referring to the rightsand obligations of member states.According to article 133 of our own

Constitution, both these charters areinternational treaties approved by the

Senate and, therefore, “the su preme lawof the land.” We also cannot deny thatthe guiding principles established inArticle 89, Fraction X of our Cons ti tu -tion are part of “international com monlaw,” that is, the law that is obligatory forall nations, regardless of internationaltreaties, pacts, accords or conventions.Now, if we review the precept about

foreign policy guidelines that has beenamended, we cannot know if it is a mereenunciation of the guidelines or if it

purports to be an exhaustive list. Thiscould cause delicate problems of con-stitutional and international policy inthe future, which would undoubtedlylead to a restatement of “new princi-ples” and, therefore, new and proble -matic consti tutional reforms. However,possibly its greatest merit is elevatingour foreign policy guidelines to a con-stitutional level, which makes for theirgreater dissemination, a greater under - standing of their significance andbreadth and compels a more carefulanalysis of them, both from the pointof view of legal theory and that of po -litical practice.3

OUR FOREIGN POLICY GUIDELINES

I. Non-interventionism

Non-intervention is a principle of inter -national common law. However, the

extremely multifaceted nature of in ter -vention in international relations meansthat respect for this principle is veryrandom. According to The Hague Inter -national Court of Justice 1986 decision,the existence of the principle of non-intervention in the opinion juris of statesis fundamentally based on well estab-lished and significant international prac -tice. This principle can be understoodas a co rollary of the principle of sov-ereign equality of states.4 The interven -

tion prohibited must, therefore, affectissues or matters about which the prin -ciple of sovereignty of the states allowseach of them to decide upon with abso -lute freedom. Concretely, says the court,this freedom is reflected in the freedetermination of each state’s political,economic, social and cultural systemand the formulation of its foreign pol-icy. Therefore, all states must abstainfrom applying, fostering or causingthe use of economic, political or othermea sures to force another state tosubordinate the exercise of its sover-eign rights in order to obtain any kindof advantage or benefit; they mustalso abstain from organizing, aiding,fostering, fi nanc ing, provoking or tol-erating armed, subversive or terroristacti vities aiming to violently changethe regimen of another state; and theymust abstain from attempting to in -tervene in the internal struggles ofany other state.5

* Researcher at the UNAM Institute forLegal Research.

Non-intervention is a principle of inter national

common law. However, the extremely

multifaceted nature of in ter vention in international

relations means that respect for this principle

is very random.


14

II. The Self-Determination of Peoples

Most international doctrine and juris -prudence agrees that the notion of self-determination became a key princi -p le of contemporary international lawwhen the United Nations Charter wasadopted.One of the UN’s aims is “To develop

friendly relations among nations based

on respect for the principle of equalrights and self-determination of peo-ples” (Article 2, Paragraph 2).Article 55 of the charter stipulates,

“With a view to the creation of condi-tions of stability and well-being whichare necessary for peaceful and friend-ly relations among nations based onrespect for the principle of equal rightsand self-determination of peoples, theUnited Nations shall promote: a) high-er standards of living...b)solutions ofinternational economic, social, healthand related problems... [and] c) uni-versal respect for, and observance of,human rights.”Resolution 1514 (XV) adopted by the

UN General Assembly in 1960 is con-sidered the true basis for the decolo-nization process that would give riseto the creation of numerous states thatwould, in turn, gradually become partof the international organization itself.It should be recognized that this “De c -laration on the Granting of Indepen -dence to Co lonial Nations and Peo -

ples,” initially proposed by NikitaKhrush chev, was insufficient for thesepeoples to achieve self-determination,a principle universally accepted asobligatory under international law.However, we must also recognize thatsubsequent juridical evolution madeit possible to situate this right on thesame plane as other principles, suchas the prohibition of aggression or

that of the peaceful solution of con-troversies. International history andpractice would be responsible for giv-ing the principle its full legal value,parallel to its undoubted political va l -ue as a democratic ideal. However, none of the UN’s many

resolutions and declarations includesa precise definition or a single conno-tation about what should be under-stood by the word “people.” The mainreason seems to be that this right toself-determination is not linked to theparticular characteristics of a collec-tive body, but to the concrete situa-tion in which that body finds itself. Inthat sense, the “peoples” who mayenjoy this right would be those whoare subject to foreign domination orexploitation.Here arises another, related prob-

lem: the phenomenon of secession, par -ticularly grave in the case of new states,which frequently involves a very het-erogeneous population and a politicalpower whose effectiveness is weak or

non-existent. It is not difficult to un -derstand that a well-rooted, consolidat-ed people, with a thousand-year-longhistory, strong both internally and ex -ternally, could, in a concrete case, tol-erate the secession of an ethnic groupthat has not assimilated to the rest ofsociety. But the consequences wouldbe quite different in the case of statescomposed of 20 or 30 different ethnicgroups that may be hostile to eachother. In this case, if the state allowsthe se cession of one group, it runs theimminent risk of being swept up ina secessionist whirlwind that wouldsoon con demn it to disappear alto-gether. Un doubtedly, the right to self-determination put into prac tice by “peo -ples” integrated in a sovereign statequestions and, therefore, endangers,a real or supposed national unity andterritorial integrity.According to several UN resolutions,

a people subjected to the dominationof a foreign power has the right to be -come independent. But, these sameresolutions also include the idea thatsaid “domination” would not exist if thestate in question had a government re p -resentative [sic] of the whole of thepeople under its rule. It is here, pre-cisely, that the ambiguities, contradic-tions and fluctuations involved in thiscontroversial, ticklish issue of self-de -termination become clear.6

Regardless of this, diplomatic prac -tice shows that a given “people” witha sufficiently structured organizationto be capable of autonomous interna-tional action and broad recognition inthe international community, can andmust be considered an internationalactor, based fundamentally on the prin -ciple of effectiveness.If we examine United Nations prac -

tice, we could think that it has adopted

A people subjected to the

domination of a foreign power has the right

to be come independent. But, said “domination”

would not exist if the state had a government

re presenting all people under its rule.

Politics

15

the idea according to which self-deter -mination should be considered an anti-colonialist and anti-racist principle ora principle of liberty as opposed to theoppression of a foreign state. Never -theless, this same practice would alsoseem to indicate that the principle of“self-determination of peoples” doesnot include or cover the rights of mino r -ities and nationalities that inhabit asingle sovereign state.In this last sense, I have said that

the principle of territorial integrity ofstates plays a fundamental role, sinceit constitutes a kind of barrier that theprinciple of self-determination can-not ignore, barring those exceptionalcases of colonial domination or of aracist go vernment. Never theless, thepro cess of decolonization producedthe formation of many new states,most of which were immersed inabsolutely dramatic under develop -ment. These states’ internatio nalaction, particularly in the UN Gen eralAssembly itself, would give birth to“International De velop ment Law,”with an eye to achiev ing economicand cultu ral in de pendence along withthe already com pleted political inde-pendence; in other words, with aneye to building a new internationaleco nomic order.7

Throughout its history, Mexico hasproclaimed the right of peoples to self-determination, and, without a doubt,this is one of the principles that hasguided its foreign policy. In addition,it has signed and ratified very impor-tant international conventions in whichthis principle is stipulated, such asthe In ter national Pact of Economic,Social and Cultural Rights and theInternational Pact on Civil and Po li -tical Rights of 1966, le gally binding forMexico since 1981.

III. The Peaceful Solution Of Controversies

This principle is part of most interna-tional instruments regarding the main-tenance of peace and security. Statesare obliged to solve their internationalcontroversies by peaceful means. Toescape this obligation, they can claimthat the conflict they are facing —that

may have led to the use of force— doesnot constitute a “dispute,”8 or they mayeven admit that there is a controversy,but that it does not constitute an inter-national controversy.This principle predates the prohibi-

tion of the use of force. It was underthis principle of seeking peaceful solu-tions that The Hague Con ven tion of1907 was signed, with the idea of pre-venting the use of force in internation-al relations as far as possible.In international law, all the proce-

dures for the solution of controversiesare “voluntary measures.” In that sense,we can point to a contradiction betweenthe general obligation to solve contro-versies and the eminently facultativenature of each of the means and pro-cedures that make it possible to fulfillthe general obligation.This is why different techniques and

procedures make it possible for the statesto commit themselves to submitting adispute to the framework of the previ-ously negotiated instrument. This is pre -

cisely the aim of the so-called “com mit -ment clauses” of arbitrating treaties, ofconciliatory accords or even of the fa -mous “facultative clause of obligatory ju -risdiction,” whereby the states recognizeipso facto and without special conven-tion, the jurisdiction of the Inter na tio n -al Court of Justice with regard to anyother state that has accepted the sameobligation.

Now, the difference between “diplo -matic means” and “jurisdictional means”is a classic and essential distinction ininternational law. “Diplo matic means,”such as good offices, mediation or thoseoffshoots of “parliamentary diploma-cy,” inside international organizations,are mea ns that can be used and ap -pro priated for any kind of dispute, andthe decision will not be binding. Bycontrast, “jurisdictional means” cannotbe used except for in the case of juridi-cal disputes; they imply an arrange-ment or solution that emanates from abody established so that, at the end ofa process, it can make a decision basedin law.

IV. The Prohibition of Threats And the Use of Force in International Relations

This principle is probably the centralcog in the United Nations securitymechanism. However, it does bring

International history and practice would be

responsible for giving the self-determination

of peoples principle its full legal value,

parallel to its undoubted political value

as a democratic ideal.


16

with it certain limitations and ambi-guities that have become clear in thehistory of international relations. Theselimitations arise mainly out of the factthat recourse to the use of force is pro -hibited only in the framework of in -ternational relations and because of itsdesign: that is, that it be used againstthe territorial integrity and politicalindependence of any state, or in anyother way that would be incompatible

with the aims of the United Nations.This means, even if only implicitly, thatrecourse to the use of force can be le -gitimate under certain circumstancesor in order to pursue certain ends orobjectives.The main exception to the prohibi-

tion of using force is “the legitimateright to self-defense,” whether it be in -dividual or collective. While the needto include this fundamental excep-tion is indisputable, its breadth is con-siderable and its application brings withit an extremely difficult problem: as Mi -chel Virally says, neither more nor lessthan the definition of what an “aggres -sion” is, which will justify or legitimizethe right to self-defense.9

One of the problems that the pro-hibition of the use of force has alwayscome up against is determining whether“force” should be understood as only mi -litary force or, if, as the countries of La -tinAmerica have always argued, it alsoincludes all kinds of force, in clud ing

political, economic and other formsof pressure.It is important to point out that the

1969 Vienna Convention on the Lawof Treaties (ratified by Mexico in 1974and in effect since 1980) stipulates insections 51 and 52 that coercion exer-cised on a representative of a state toexpress his/her consent to bind his/herrepresented state by a treaty will haveno legal effect (will be absolutely null

and void) and, on the other hand, anytreaty that has been signed under threator as a result of the use of force, in vio -lation of the principles of the UN Char -ter, will be equally void. The conferencealso approved a declaration condemn-ing the recourse to threats or the useby any state of pressure in any of itsforms, whether it be military, politicalor economic.10

V. Juridical Equality of States

This principle means first of all thatdespite differences in power, devel-opment or industrialization, all states,as subjects of international law, areentitled to the same rights and capa-bilities.One of the UN’s fundamental prin-

ciples is that “The Organization is basedon the principle of the sovereign equal -ity of all its Members” (Article 2,Paragraph 1).

The Charter of the Organization ofAmerican States also proclaims thisprinciple, but in more detail, saying,“States are juridically equal, enjoy equalrights and equal capacity to exercisethese rights, and have equal duties. Therights of each State depend not on itspower to ensure the exercise thereof,but upon the mere fact of its existenceas a person under international law”(Article 9).It might have been better to speak

in terms of “sovereign equality,” as theUN Charter does, given that, strictlyspeaking, independence is a corollaryand concrete manifestation of “sover-eignty.”11

A first and essential right in mattersof immunity theory is derived fromthis principle of juridical equality ofstates: that no state shall be brought tojustice under foreign do mestic juris-diction if it has not given its expressconsent. It follows as a corol lary that no legal

action can be brought by the courtagainst any state’s goods, rights, assetsor sites in foreign territory. In otherwords, immunity of execution supple-ments its immunity of jurisdiction,which is a cause-effect relationship.The Declaration on the Principles

of International Law with Regard toFriendship and Cooperation AmongStates in Accordance with the UnitedNations Charter (UN General Assembly1970 Resolution 2625) also dealswith the principle of sovereign equal-ity of states. In general, most doctrineaccepts that the 1970 declaration isone of the most important ever adopt-ed by the in ternational community andthat it has had much greater impactand influence than was originallythought with regard to the develop-ment of international law. It does not

If we examine UN prac tice, we could think

that it has adopted the idea that self-deter mination

should be considered an anti-colonialist

and anti-racist principle or a principle of liberty as

opposed to the oppression of a foreign state.

Politics

17

amend the UN Charter, but clarifiesits basic principles contained in Ar -ticle 2 and elsewhere.

VI. International CooperationFor Development

Despite the primacy given in the UNCharter to problems of internationalsecurity, economic and social cooper-ation also occupy an important place.International cooperation should

above all make it possible to create theconditions of stability and well-beingneeded for peaceful and friendly re -lations among nations based on theprinciple of equal rights and self deter - mination of peoples, as stipulated inthe Charter’s Article 55. While it is clearthat the fin al objective is political innature, goals of an economic characterare also defined, among them, that ofpromoting a “higher standard of living,full employ ment, and conditions of eco -nomic and social progress and devel-opment” (Article 55, Section a).These objectives were based on the

belief that underdevelopment was world -wide in nature, that it brought with itdisturbing consequences not only forthe countries directly involved, butfor the world as a whole, threatenedby grave instability because of severeeconomic disequilibrium.The division among industrialized

and non-industrialized countries, thelatter marginalized from benefits ofscience and technology, is much moregrave and has many more long-lastingeffects than ideological divisions. AsMichel Virally says, the abyss separat-ing developed from developing coun-tries introduces an element of funda-mental imbalance in the world econo my,the long-term political consequences

of which are unpredic table and highlydangerous and cannot be suppressed orsoftened except through a substantialimprovement in the most backwardeconomies.The ideology of decolonization togeth-

er with that of development were un -doubtedly for a long period the mostpowerful driving force in the UnitedNations system for countries with pre-carious, highly unstable economies.

VII. The Struggle for InternationalPeace and Security

Together with the Dumbarton-OaksProposals, the UN Charter postulatesthe maintenance of peace and securi-ty as the organization’s first and mainaim. Nevertheless, the peace it is talk-ing about is peaceful international rela-tions. This would seem to mean thatits express intention is not to inter-vene in internal wars.This principle is the aim of the or -

ganization simply because without it,its other principles cannot be compliedwith, nor can the basic conditions beestablished that would make possiblethe achievement of the organization’sother aims.Clearly, the UN Charter offers no

magic formula capable of dealing withevery kind of situation that threatensinternational peace and security. Itmere ly offers a specific framework forits application, giving each and every

one of its member states a series of rightsand obligations for acting collective ly andin concert every time there is a threatagainst the peace of any of them.The very system of security is found -

ed on a mechanism of cooperation inorder to be able to act jointly in the de -fense of a state that is a victim of aggres -sion. At the same time, the system’sproper functioning depends on the coop -eration of the permanent members of

the Security Council and, in ge neral,of the global effectiveness it shows.Another important aspect is that to

maintain international peace and se cu -rity the states must peacefully achievethe “adjustment or settlement of in -ternational disputes or situations whichmight lead to a breach of the peace”(Article 1, Paragraph 1).In addition to recognizing the degree

of interdependence of foreign policyprinciples, it is also important to notethat, while it would be utopian to thinkthat all disputes can be solved throughtraditional means, as the former presi-dent of the Inter na tional Court of Jus -tice in The Hague, Manfred Lachs, usedto say, there is always the possibility of“adjusting” international situations inthe interests of the parties in volved. Thesettlement of controversies is a very am -bitious operation, whose objec tive is bring - ing litigation to a close. How ever, both“settlements” and “agree ments” are meantto prevent a breach of the peace.

One problem that the prohibition of the use

of force has always come up against is determining

whether “force” should be understood as only

military force or if it also includes

political, economic and other forms of pressure.


18

Lastly, we should note that while thesystem of collective security was cha r -acterized from the start by its realism,it was also very ambitious. The instru-mentation of the military apparatus thatwas the key in the system through the“special accords under article 43,” com -mitting themselves to put at the dis-position of the Security Council thenecessary armed forces for the purposeof maintaining interna tional peace andsecurity, never happened, and there-fore, the whole edifice was condemnedto collapse.12

CONCLUSION

We should be fully convinced that in -ternational law cannot be a secondaryaspect of the foreign policy of a coun-try like Mexico.We cannot give ourselves the luxu-

ry of a foreign policy that bends to thecircumstances of the moment, a mereglittery garment, ready to be put on ortaken off as the mo mentary needs ofthis or that passing political situationdictate.International law must be our instru -

ment par excellence to maintain ourpolitical independence. This is purerealism, not “legalistic” posturing.Good sense has always shown that

a weaker country must always seek theestablishment of a system that will notallow the more powerful to have com-plete freedom of interpretation of thelegal system in direct proportion to theirmilitary and economic might.

NOTES

1 Fraction IX, Article 89 of the Cons ti tu -tion was amended by the decree published

in the federal official gazette, the DiarioOficial de la Federación, 11 May 1988.

2 The OAS Charter was amended by theBuenos Aires Protocol of 1967 and the Car -tagena de Indias Protocol of 1985.

3 In that sense, “Once the possibility offraming our international doctrine in theConstitution is opened up, it is possiblethat the new norm would not include allMexico’s fundamental, permanent princi-ples regarding this matter. What is more,it could be the means whereby each pres-ident stated his momentary preferences inthe matter.” Emilio O. Rabasa, “Nota in -troductoria,” Los siete principios básicos dela política exterior de México (Mexico City:Comisión Na cional de Asuntos Interna -cionales, 1993), p. 13.

4 Affaire du Détroit de Corfou (fond),“Arrêt du 9 avril 1949,” Recueil des Arrêts,Avis, Consultatifs et Ordonnances. Opi -nion Individuelle de M. Álvarez, p. 45,point VIII.

5 See N.A. Ouchakov, “La compétence in -terne del États et la non-intervention dansle droit international contemporain,” RecCours Ac. H., book 1, vol. 141, 1974,pp. 1-86. Article 2, paragraph 7 of the UNCharter, which prohibits the interventionin “affairs that are essentially of the inter-nal jurisdiction of the States,” was alreadypart of the founding document of theLeague of Nations (Article 15), but allowedthe League of Nations’ council or assem-bly complete latitude in exercising the fun -ctions of mediator or conciliator. For itspart, the OAS Charter establishes the prin-ciple of non-intervention in its Article 18,which excludes any type of influence “pre -judicial to the state.” See Antonio Au -gusto Cançado Trindade, “The DomesticJurisdiction of States and the Practice ofthe UN and Regional Or ganizations,” In -ternational Law and Cor po rative Quar ter ly,1976, pp. 715-765.

6 A. Sureda Rigo, The Evolution of theRight of Self-determination-A Study ofthe United Nations Practice (The Hague-Boston: A.W. Sijthoff-Leiden, 1973),p. 397. Sureda was quite right when hesaid, “After all, self-determination start-ed off as an individual right, and becamea collective right because it was thought

that individual rights could be betterexercised within a demonstrably coher-ent human group” (p. 356).

7 Alonso Gómez-Robledo V., La soberaníade los Estados sobre sus recursos naturales(Mexico City: UNAM, 1980).

8 The notion of “dispute” implies a verycir cumscribed object, in contrast with the“situation,” which is more diffuse andalmost always prior to the emergence ofa controversy. But the notion of “dispute”also implies the notion that there are“parties” among which diverging pointsof view have arisen; and, since the “dis-pute” is international, said parties are noother than the states.

9 Michel Virally, “L’Article 2: Paragraphe 4,”La Charte des Nations Unies, Jean Pierre Cotand Alain Pellet, comps. (Paris: Bruilant,1985).

10 Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobreel Derecho de los Tratados, Documentooficial A/CONF.39/11/Add 2. This im -portant declaration was the most thatthe developing countries could achieve;obviously, since it is part of the finalstatements of the conference, it is notlegally binding.

11 Guy Lacharrière, “L’influence de l’iné-galité de développement des États surle droit international,” Recueil desCours de l’Académie de Droit Inter natio -nal, vol. 2 (The Hague: Martinus Nij -hoff, 1973), pp. 227-268. We should beclear that, in fact, it is because statesare not equal that a proclamation of theprinciple of equality is necessary.

12 Michel Virally, L’Organisation mon - dia le, op. cit., pp. 468-482. As long asthe Military Staff Committee does notfunction according to Article 45 of theUN Charter and as long as permanentarmed forces and the necessary logisti-cal means are not put at the disposal ofthe Organization, the United Nationswill always depend on the powers for itsarmed might. See Marie-Claude Smouts,“Le Conseil de Securité,” Aspects du Sys -tème des Nations Unies dans le cadre del’idée d’un nouvel ordre mondial (Paris:Pedone, 1992), pp. 61-69.

19

TRENDS IN MEXICO’SCATHOLIC CHURCH

The Catholic Church is no uniformmonolith. Its view of itself and under-standing of its mission and presence inhistory varies from one time, countryor region to another. This article takes alook at one of the faces of the manifoldcomplex that is the Mexican CatholicChurch. To do that, we need to estab-lish minimum criteria.

Juan Bautista Libanio says that themodel of “Catholic identity” —that is,institutional doctrine, practice and struc - tures with a firm, coherent, stable le -gal basis— appeared in the sixteenthcentury with the Council of Trent andre mained almost unquestioned and with -out significant fissures until VaticanCouncil II (1963-1965). After that date,the eccle siastic zeitgeist can be ex -plain ed by the attempts at restorationor destruction of that identity, by thedifferent reactions it has caused and,con sequently, by the different pas-toral pro jects that have grown out ofit. In this context, Li banio distinguish-

es four ten dencies in the post-Councilchurch:a) The postmodern position consid-ers the current situation irreversibleand favors the disappearance of acom mon identity, leaving the task ofperpetuating the message of Christto the free will and spontaneouschoice of small groups.

b) The conservative position does notrecognize the irreversibility of thecollapse of the identity inherited fromthe Council of Trent and diligentlyattempts to maintain and rebuild it.

c) The moderate, neo-fundamental-ist tendency proposes creating an

Other Voices in the Mexican Catholic Church

Tanius Karam*

* Professor of communications at the Ma -rista University of Mexico City. tanius @yahoo.com.mx

Octavio Nava/

AVE


identity that would be the true cod-ification of Vatican II. This tenden-cy is based on two suppositions: theirreversibility of the dissolution ofthe identity established by the Coun -cil of Trent and the need for a clearcommon identity for all. Their stra -tegy is to proceed with the reformsof Vatican II in the fashion of theCouncil of Trent; that is, to developa compact, simple message and re -sort to ecclesiastical authority as themain unifying factor.

d) The tendency of pluralism andcommitment strives for a more dia -

lectical, historical and dynamicCa tholic identity that would bebuilt through commitment andpluralism in today’s Latin America,in the spirit of the Latin AmericanBishops Conferences of Medellín,Co lom bia (1968) and Puebla, Mex - ico (1979).1

In general, the Mexican CatholicChurch continues to be vertical, cen-tralized, hierarchical and conservative.With the exception of a minimal open -ing between 1969 and 1971, motivatedby the cruel events of October 1968,2

Mexico’s Catholic hierarchy has beena faithful follower of the Vatican line.This can be ex plained by relations be -tween church and state in the last twocenturies in Mexico.

Because the other voices in Mex -ico’s Catholic Church are a minorityand because they receive scant if anymedia coverage, I think it is useful topresent some of the characteristics ofthis other face, the critical “other” with-in the church that falls into the cate-gory of Libanio’s pluralist-commit-ment tendency.

LIBERATION THEOLOGY

In 1971, Peruvian theologian GustavoGutiérrez published his Teología de la

Liberación (Liberation Theology) inwhich he summarized the tendenciesand orientations derived from the sec-ond and third Latin American Bis hops’Conferences (CELAM). They ori ginatedin documents that came out of theVa tican Council II, such as LumenGen tium and the pastoral constitutionGau dium et Spes, which redefine thechurch as the “people of God” and pro -mote the active participation of laypeo ple in the world. The Latin Amer -ica bishops effected their own readingof Vatican II from the point of view ofthe Latin American situation, leadingto the second Latin American Bishops’Con ference in Medellín, Colombiain 1968.Liberation theology interprets Chris -

tian faith from the point of view of the

experience of the poor. It attempts tohelp them see their own faith in anew light so that the reading of theScrip tures will give them the suste-nance for affirming their dignity andworth, as well as their right to fighttogether for a better life. Poverty is con -sidered the product of a social struc -ture, and there fore this theology iscritical of that struc ture which makesit possible for a few to have so muchwhile millions and millions live in des -titution. Liberation theologians havecriticized those ideologies that justifythis inequality, in cluding the use ofreligious symbols.Berryman describes this theology

start ing from three points: the inter-pretation of Christian faith throughsuffering, the struggle and the hope ofthe poor; a critique of society and theideologies that support it; and a cri -ti que of Church activity and that ofChris tians from the point of view of thepoor. At the same time it is a new in -ter pretation of the meaning of Chris -tianity and the recovery of a prophetictradition found in the Bible.3

ECCLESIASTIC BASE COMMUNITIES

One of the main movements inspiredin this conception of faith and of thechurch is that of the ecclesiastic basecommunities (CEB), which arose insidethe Catholic Church in the late 1960sin the turbulent context of that time:stagnation and crisis of national eco no -mies, emergence and consolidation ofauthoritarian and military regimes, par -ticularly in the Southern Cone of theAmericas, and the emergence of newsocial theories like dependency theo-ry. The CEBs’ novelty consisted in theirability to mobilize and their redefini-

20

With the exception of a minimal

opening between 1969 and 1971, motivated

by the cruel events of October 1968, Mexico’s Catholic

hierarchy has been a faithful follower

of the Vatican line.

Politics

tion of religious faith from the pers pec -tive of poor people when surroundedby an ethos that for decades had soughtto reproduce and maintain the estab-lished order.The CEBs define themselves as com -

munities because of their lifestyle.Usually, each CEB is made up of 10 to15 people who meet once or twice aweek to discuss their problems and solvethem according to the Gospel. Eachhas a coordinator whose function is topreside over celebrations, moderate groupmember participation and foster dis-cussion. Their conception of religionis not divorced from the transformationof the world and for that, they use ame th odology known as “see-judge-act”:“see” the people’s situation and identi-fy both social and ecclesiastic projectsand practices; “judge” and think aboutthe kind of society the members wantin both socio-political and Biblical-theo -logical terms; and, finally, “act,” thatis, implement stra tegies for organizedaction in the construction of a morejust order of things.4

Mexico’s first CEB appeared in 1967in Cuernavaca with Fathers Rollandand Genoel, and the Mov ement for aBetter World (MUMM), led by FatherOrozco, promoted them. In 1968, theMUMM coordinated different meetingsto turn the parish into a true Christiancommunity. The following year saw thefirst national meeting of CEBs. Manyof these communities were born linkedto the Biblical movement and otherkinds of groups that did not have thesame orientation as the CEBs. At the endof 1969, a first national meeting of Mex -ican theologians was held where par-ticipants promoted the need to createnew secular movements like the CEBs.In the first stage,5 the analysis theCEBs had of the situation was often naive

and idealistic; sometimes, they were amere inventory of proposals. They didnot integrate fully into the popular mov e -ment and action was centered main-ly on thinking about council documentsand on courses and workshops aboutthe lay people’s apostolate, the churchas missionary and the situation of thechurch in today’s world.In 1973 the working method changed

to using the needs of the grassroots com -munity as its starting point, begin ninga liberating Biblical reflection and af -firming that faith should lead to a cri -tique of social reality. The groups were

better organized and the communitiesbegan to grow, particularly in thosedioceses in which they had supportfrom the bishops. CEB members stud-ied the relationship of faith to politicalcommitment, critically read the Mex -ican bishops’ letter called El cristianoante las opciones sociales y políticas (TheSocial and Political Options Facing Chris -tians) and discussed attitudes contraryto the Gospel in society and politics.From the methodological point of view,they advanced somewhat by discover-ing that their methods for ana lyzing theworld had to be consistent with the kindof society they aspired to. In those years,new analytical methodologies were de -v eloped and communication with a com-munity, educational and popular per-spective was strongly promoted.

In January 1979, in the frameworkof CELAM III in Puebla, attended byPope John Paul II on his first visit toMexico, the CEBs analyzed the road theyhad travelled since 1968 and took advan -tage of the opportunity to meet anddialogue with theologians and bishopsfrom other parts of the hemisphere. TheDocument of Puebla that came out ofthe meeting took on board and fol-lowed the general orientation of whathad been said in Medellín, confirmingthe CEBs in their work. A year later, inMarch 1980, some members of theMex ican communities participated in

the hemisphere-wide meeting of CEBsin Redonda, Brazil.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIONOF THE CEBs

CEBs are not evenly distributed in all ofMexico. The states with the largestnumber of these groups have dioceseswhose pastoral activity is different frommost, dioceses, with a critical perspec-tive, more open to social issues. It wasin Morelos that they appeared first, withthe complete support of MonseigneurSergio Méndez Arceo (1907-1992), oneof the most important figures in thecurrent called “the Church of the poor.”For 20 of the 30 years of his bishopric,from 1963 to 1983, he acted with a li -

21

One of the main movements inspired in

Liberation Theology is that of the ecclesiastic

base communities, which arose inside the

Catholic Church in the late 1960s in the

turbulent context of that time.


be ration theology perspective. In 1983,when he retired because of age, hefound ed the Óscar Arnulfo RomeroSo lidarity Committee to continue hiswork with the peoples of Central Amer -ica, an outstanding feature of his yearsas bishop. With his death in 1992, lib-eration theology lost one of its main de -fenders and an individual with an ex -tremely high international public profile.Other areas of the country with a high

concentration of communities is Vera -cruz, particularly the region called LaHuasteca, the industrial area of La La -guna (Torreón, Coahuila and Gómez

Palacio, Durango) and Chihuahua, par -ticularly the Tara hu mara Mountains,because of encouragement from its bish -op, Mon seig neur Llaguno, who par ti -cularly fostered pastoral activity amongthe indigenous people there. I shouldalso mention Monseigneur Talamás,bishop of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua,and Mon seigneur Robalo, former bish-op of Zacatecas, as some of the few whosupported liberation theology and theCEBs. The dioceses of the southernPa cific area (Oaxaca and Chiapas) de -serve special mention: for some yearsthey were the site of important churchactivity, growing participation with anorientation to social commitment andnon-traditional positions. Here, figureslike the bishop of Te huantepec, Mon -seigneur Arturo Lona, and Samuel Ruiz

García, bishop of San Cristóbal de lasCasas, stand out. Both Lona and Ruizlabored in the framework of pastoralactivity open to political, economic andsocial dimensions, and their lives wereoften threatened or directly endangered,as were those of the people who workedwith them.Don Samuel Ruiz came into na tio n -

al and international public view withthe January 1994 events of the Chia pasHighlands, but his work dates back to1960 when he was named bishop ofthe San Cristóbal diocese. Two yearsafter his arrival, he initiated an ambi-

tious program to train indigenous peo-ple as catechists. He started schoolsand ensured that his was one of thefirst dioceses to ordain indigenous dea-cons. In 1974 he organized the Indige -nous Congress, atten ded by 2,000 in -digenous delegates representing thejust under 400,000 indigenous peopleliving in the state of Chiapas. In gen-eral, his work is widely recognized.In 1993, papal nuncio Girolamo Pri -

gione organized a campaign to promoteSamuel Ruiz’s removal arguing, amongother things, “deviations in doctrine.”In the midst of that campaign camethe Zapatista uprising of January 1994,after which Ruiz be came an importantmediator between the indigenous andthe federal government. This did notstop the ecclesiastic dispute, but it did

clearly show up Prigione’s intentions.Years later, amidst a shower of negativeopinions, Prigione was removed by theHoly See. In accordance with cano n -ical law, Samuel Ruiz resigned his dio-cese when he turned 75 in 1999.In the 1990s, after the fall of the

Berlin Wall and the collapse of the re -gimes of so-called “real socialism” manygroups went into crisis, particularly afterBrazilian theologian Leo nardo Boff leftthe priesthood.6 These events shat-tered and dispersed the communitiesin Mexico, but they did not disappearcompletely. In 1992, at their fourteenthnational meeting, the communities es -timated that there were 10,000 CEBsnationwide, located in 40 of the coun-try’s dioceses.

THE EMERGENCE OF NGOs

At the end of the 1980s, nongovern-mental organizations began to multi-ply nationwide and became an alter-native space for creative participationfor many Christians who wanted toexperience their faith as part of a moreactive commitment to the oppre ssedgroups of society.Many civic human rights organiza-

tions have been created because of aconcern about justice and the justicesystem in Mexico. The decline in liv-ing standards has meant that the fightfor justice has been taken up by civicassociations committed to the de fen seof human rights like equality beforethe law, security, individual liberties,freedom of association, etc. Several dio -ceses throughout the country —par-ticularly in the more conflict-ridden re -gions— have human rights centers. Thisis the case of the dioceses of Tehuan -tepec and San Cristóbal de las Casas.

22

At the end of the 1980s, nongovernmental

organizations began to multiply nationwide and became

an alternative space for creative participation for

many Christians who wanted a more active

commitment to the oppre ssed groups of society.

Politics

Some parishes, like San Pedro Mártirin the outskirts of Mexico City, have ahigh level of participation and theirown human rights center. Others arenot located directly in parishes or dio-ceses but do belong to religious con-gregations from where they carry outdefense and promotion of these rights.This is the case of the Jesuit MiguelAgustín Pro Center and the Domi ni -can Fray Domingo Vitoria Center, bothin Mexico City.In the 1990s, the most visible CEB

participation was in solidarity move-ments and activities at different spe-cific political moments like during theXi’Nich March7 and the “Exodus forDemocracy.”8 These were mo ments andspaces in which Chris tians, CEB mem-bers committed to grassroots causes,together with other groups, have de -manded justice in matters of humanrights and democracy.

SOME FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Liberation theology and the CEBs havebeen minority and marginal but veryvibrant movements. Some priests, re -li gious and lay persons have given theirlives or been subject to harassment andviolation of their basic rights as theyhave supported grassroots struggles,as is the case of Bishop Samuel Ruiz.9

The last Latin American BishopsConference held in Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic, in 1992, was thescene of a battle to maintain the spir-it of the decisions of Medellín andPue bla. It was not an easy battle, sin -ce large sectors of the church distrustliberation theology’s doctrinal propos-als. The new balance of forces —withthe presence of more conservative sec -tors— made for a more centralist orga -

nization of the conference than for-merly, making it difficult for the bishopsto present a position that more faith-fully represented their own. The SantoDomingo document reaffirmed the pre -ferential option for the poor, but notwith the vigor of previous documents:there are fewer allusions to social issuesthan in the Medellín and Puebla doc-uments, and the language to deal withthe ones that are mention has beenmodified.The CEBs do not act together as a

compact movement. Rather, they arelinked to communities or networks thatagree on certain values contained inthe spirit that founded them.We can conclude that liberation the -

ology and the CEBs in Mexico are notas visible as they were in the 1970s;although their participation, such asin the cases of the Xi’Nich March andthe “Exodus for Demo cracy,” has beenpicked up by the me dia, in general theyreceive less and less coverage in bothsecular and religious media. Never -theless, some events show how the pre -ferential option for the poor —whichimplies a more horizontal, collegiatevision of ecclesiastic relations— con-tinues to be alive and well among somegroups. In the last few years —side-stepping the old so cial-analytical cate-gories— religious congregations andother groups have founded many civicorganizations from which people aretrying to struggle for the creation of aless unjust world.

NOTES

1 Juan Bautista Libanio, La vuelta a la gran dis-ciplina (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Paulinas,1986) as quoted in José de Jesús Legorreta,comp., La Iglesia católica y la política en el

México de hoy (Mexico City: Universidad Ibero -americana, 2000), pp. 134-135.

2 Miguel Concha Malo et al., La participación delos cristianos en el proceso de liberación popu lar(Mexico City: Siglo XXI, 1986), pp. 91-96.

3 Phillip Berryman, Teología de la Liberación(Mexico City: Siglo XXI, 1989), p. 11.

4 Comisión de Análisis de la Biblia y Teología delas CEB, CEB y compromiso político (MexicoCity: n. p., 1988), pp. 8-12.

5 See Miguel Concha Malo et al., op. cit.,pp. 225-247.

6 In 1985, Franciscan theologian Leonardo Boffpublished Iglesia: carisma y poder (Church:Charisma and Power) (Salamanca, España:Editorial Sígueme), in which he questionedmatters such as the infallibility of the pope.Boff was ordered to abstain from writing orgiving lectures for a year and, in exemplaryfashion —surprising even church authorities—he obeyed the order. Church authorities liftedthe prohibition before the year was up, but therelationship continued to be tense until Bofffinally left the priesthood in 1992.

7 The 1994 Xi’Nich March began in Palenque,Chiapas, and culminated at the Our Lady ofGuadalupe Basilica in Mexico City. Indige -nous people and their organizations from Chia -pas demanded the freedom of unjustly jailedprisoners, the implementation of promised pu -blic works projects and the return to the com-munities of money that had been “lost” bylocal mayors. After the march, the Xi’Nich Or -ganization was formed. This group was de co -rated by the French government in De cember1999 for its human rights defense work andits support for other sectors of the Chiapassocial movement.

8 In March 1999, an estimated 15,000 Party ofthe Democratic Revolution activists began the“Exodus for Democracy,” a march from the Gulfstate of Tabasco to Mexico City to demandhonest elections and the investigation of themurder of Aurelio Peñalosa by the FederalElectoral Tribunal and then-President ErnestoZedillo.

9 For a more detailed description, see MiguelConcha Malo, op. cit., p. 158 onward.

23

25

Academic research is vital forunderstanding the new situa-tion in the three countries of

North America and the entire hemi-sphere and for taking advantages ofcurrent opportunities —non-existentone or five years ago— for improving ourpeoples’ quality of life by dealing withthe problems of the environment, water,energy and organized crime that affecteach country differently, but that can-not be solved in isolation.

I will focus on three questions: thenew situation in the hemisphere, theresults of the Quebec Summit andsome reflections on the protests thattook place at the time of the summit.

I have observed new and surpris -ing events in my country that I neverthought to see when I came to Mex -ico 18 months ago. The first is demo-graphic: this year’s census confirms atrend that we all suspected even thoughwe lacked the empirical data to proveit. The figures indicate that Latinosare the largest minority group in theUnited States: almost 12 percent of

U.S. inhabitants are Latino. This sec-tor of the population has grown almost50 percent since the 1990 census (in -creasing from 22 million to 33 million)and is expected to reach 43 million bythe year 2010, making the United Statesthe second largest Spanish-speakingnation in the world, after Mexico.

The second change is linked to theimpact of the North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA) on our threecountries. Seven years after cominginto effect, the United States’ twomain trade partners are the two otherco-signers of this treaty. Trade among

The Quebec Summit The FTAA and Academic Research

John Dickson*

* Minister Counselor for Information andCultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

The three North American heads of state at the Quebec meeting.

Shaun Best/Reuters



the three countries has more than dou -bled (going from U.S.$289 billion in1993 to U.S.$659 billion in 2000)and almost tripled in the case of bilat-eral trade between the U.S. and Mex -ico (rising from U.S.$89 billion in 1993to U.S.$263 billion in 2000). The num-ber of jobs also grew.

These figures are very linked to anew political attitude. I never imaginedthat congressmen like Phil Gramm

—much less Jesse Helms— wouldvisit Mexico bringing with them themessage that we should work togetherwith its government in mi gratory mat-ters and in our efforts against organizedcrime, water and energy integration.This attitude of my country reflects anenormous change with regard to pre-vious years, when Pro position 187 waspassed in California and anti-immigrantmeasures passed in the 1996 migrato-ry legislation.

All of this —demographics, politics,trade— helps explain why PresidentVicente Fox has begun to use the term“convergence” when he talks aboutour societies and their future relations.Our actions, ideas, values and econo -mies are merging, integrating rapidly;there is a process of convergence in thehemisphere, whether we like it or not,and it has a life of its own that we donot want to turn around. In fact, wecould not do it in today’s world inter-connected by new communicationstech nology. It is preferable to un der -

stand the process, which de serves se -rious study and analysis, and take advan -tage of all the benefits it has to offer.

What happened at the Third Su m -mit of the Americas in Quebec is anew example of this convergence.Never theless, summits or negotiations—such as the one to create a new freetrade area— are not, in my judgement,what drives convergence in the hemi-sphere, but rather an indicator of what

is happening in that process in and ofitself.

The two summit results most com-mented on by the media were the ap -proval of a democracy clause and therenewed commitment to developing ahemisphere-wide free trade agreementby the year 2005. In fact, there are twodistinct mechanisms: one is the FreeTrade Agreement of the Americas andthe other, the summits.

The April meeting dealt with manyother topics in addition to free trade.For example, the hemisphere’s leadersapproved an almost 40-page work planthat includes 18 concrete actions thattheir governments want to carry out inareas as diverse as strengthening de -mocracy, protecting migrants’ rights,improving access to health and educa-tional services and integrating disasterprevention measures.

Another example of the U.S.’s newpolitical attitude that was clear in Que -bec is linked to President George W.Bush’s statements and participation in

the meeting. It was obvious to every-one that the president has a particu-lar interest in the hemisphere and inusing his own weight to further theintegration process. Proof of this isthat he announced six U.S. initiativesthat very practically expressed theleaders’ concerns:

• Third Border Initiative: an effortto deepen cooperation between theUnited States and Caribbean na tions,particularly with regard to HIV/AIDS,natural disaster response and lawenforcement.

• Andean Regional Initiative: its aimis to foster stability and democracyin this region. In the budget Pre s -ident Bush has requested for fiscalyear 2002, he apportions U.S.$882million to finance international pro-jects, create democratic institutions,contribute to development and sup-port anti-drug programs.

• The creation of three HemisphericCenters for Teacher Excellence inthe hemisphere to train teachers,increase literacy and support basiceducation.

• A new American Fellows Programaims to foster mutual understand-ing and excellence in governing inthe hemisphere through exchangeprograms for outstanding medium-and high-level government officials.

• The creation of an Inter-AmericanE-Business Fellowship Program aimsto offer young professionals in thehemisphere the opportunity to learncomputer technology.

• Increased funding for the TropicalForest Conservation Act, will allowthe nations of the hemisphere toswap reduction or restructuring oftheir debt for tropical forest conser-vation measures.

26

Our actions, ideas, values and econo mies

are merging, integrating rapidly; there is a process

of convergence in the hemisphere, whether we like

it or not, and it has a life of its own that we

do not want to turn around.


Lastly, President Bush underlinedthe importance of free trade and pro -mised that he would ensure the ap prov -al of the fast track procedure —nowcalled “trade promotion authority”-before the end of the year. This im -plies that the U.S. Congress wouldgive the executive the authority to ne -gotiate trade treaties, while the Con -gress itself would have the power toapprove or reject the treaty as a whole,but not change it. This authority doesnot mean negotiations cannot go for-ward, but rather is another sign of thepresident’s commitment.

I would like to make three obser-vations about the demonstrations inQuebec during the Summit of theAmericas.

First of all, I think the rights ofassembly and of protest are an indis-pensable part of democracy, as long asthese rights are exercised peacefully.Acting violently to capture the atten-tion of television is not the only wayto be heard. In fact, the world did not

understand these groups’ demandsbecause they were obscured by theviolence used.

Secondly, all of those present agreedon pointing to the importance of eachleader being democratically electedand that his/her mandate be the prod-uct of a vote; that is, that each leaderrepresent his/her people’s choice. Des -pite the differences in the size of theireconomies, all the leaders signed theagreements because they thought thatthe process included the needs of allthe peoples. In that sense, it is impor-tant to note the broad range of deci-sions made in Quebec in the frame-work of this plan of action. I think thatthe leaders speak to the demands ofcivil society in issues such as migra-tion, the eradication of poverty, theenvironment and many others.

Thirdly, the critiques of globaliza-tion by some of the so-called “global-phobes” are paradoxical. If it were notfor the very nature of globalization (in -terconnection, technology and rapid

communications), no one would knowabout these groups’ criticisms. Theyare taking advantage of and benefit-ing from the system they criticize todisseminate their messages. In fact,the world knows much more about thepro blems of the environment, arma-ments, mines, human rights, etc., be -cause of globalization. From my pointof view, civil society has used its net -work to keep up to date about thesummits, participate in the discus-sions and contribute positively to theresults.

Lastly, in this context, research playsa very important role. Supporting theprocess, understanding what happensat the summits, ensuring that govern-ments do what they commit them -selves to doing are the challenges fac-ing university researchers. This summitis an enormous forum for discussion ofissues that must be studied, analyzedand supported in economic, political,cultural, sociode mographic and edu-cational research projects.

27

Protesters in Quebec.

Gregg Newton/Reuters


Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado

Olga Costa and José Chávez Morado

not only shared a long married and productive artistic life together,

they also loved Guanajuato and its people to whom they donated their

house and several art collections. Here we pay homage to their artistic

achievements and their generosity and interest

in the promotion of art and culture.

Olga Costa, The Bride, 70 x 55 cm (oil on canvas). Private collection. José Chávez Morado, Bird Seller, 36.5 x 33.5 cm (crayon sketch). Echeverría ZunoFamily collection.

Photos reproduced courtesy of the Guanajuato State Cultural Institute

30

José Chávez Morado

A Portrait of the Nation, 70 x 90 cm, 1961 (oil on canvas). Artist’s collection.

Cart of Crazies, 70 x 91 cm, 1950 (oil on canvas). Artist’s collection.

Photos reprodu

ced courtesy of the Guanajuato State Cultural Institute

Talking about José Chávez Morado isone of the greatest difficulties a mod-ern Mexican art lover or critic could

have. Part of this is his diverse, prolific, eclecticand paradoxically unified body of visual work: inaddition to being a painter, sculptor, engraverand designer, he was also an outstanding politi-cal and union activist, educator, cultural pro-motor, museographer and essayist. He is a manof another age, an age in which man’s efficien-cy was not measured in quarter-hours or bits ofknowledge.His professional training did not take place

mainly in schools. He did study at ChouinardSchool of Art in Los Angeles and at MexicoCity’s National Fine Arts School, but José Chá -vez Morado can be characterized as the proto-type of permeability and eclecticism in formalmatters. Although he has remained faithful tohis creed and political practice —he is a leftist—he has also participated in government activi-ties to promote art.José Chávez Morado was born in Silao, Gua -

najuato, January 4, 1909, into a family with re -publican traditions, from which part of his po -litical beliefs stem. His paternal grandfather,Isidro Chávez, was a militant of the BenitoJuárez movement despite the tenacious op -position of the opulent mine- and landownersociety in the region. José’s parents were JoséIgnacio Chávez, merchant, and Luz Mo rado,housewife.His initial education was basically what mo d -

estly-positioned families “of good principles” tryto give their children. José’s paternal grandfa-ther had a sizeable library where he broadenedout his interests and filled his mind with fan-tasies. There, he soaked up history, poetry, sci-ence and fiction; some of these books wereillustrated and fanned his desires to sketch. Hisfamily atmosphere concentrated the pure roots

31

A Man of Another Age1

The Kite, 161 x 76 cm, 1970 (oil on canvas). Agustín Salvat collection.


of Spanish Catholicism —a motley mix of pop-ular religiosity, superstitions, artfulness and pro-found humanistic spirituality— and certain localelements that, despite modification —or pre -ci sely because of them— flower with surprisingbrilliance in domestic customs, popular fiestasand particularly in the folk art of the region.At the age of 16, probably feeling oppressed

by the closed-in, small-town atmosphere of hishome, he took an adventurous trip to the UnitedStates, where he worked as a laborer on fruitfarms in California. Apparently, it was in this

period that he decided on his vocation as an ar -tist; he increased his habit of sketching by mak-ing diagrams and notes on the human figure. Itwas at this time that he first came into contactwith Mexican muralism when he watched JoséClemente Orozco work on fres cos at PomonaCollege in Claremont, California.In 1931, once back in Mexico, he enrolled at

Mexico City’s National Fine Arts School, wherehe studied engraving with Francisco Díaz deLeón, painting with Bulmaro Guzmán and li -thography with Emilio Amero. The germ of Chá - vez Morado’s vocation as a monumental artistcan be seen in his education, since the inclusionof geometrical and lyrical elements and criticalconcepts formulated in the composition of hisgraphic message reflect the overall situation ofvisual integration and urban art. In 1933, he firstmanifested what would be one of his constantconcerns, artistic education, that he dealt withas a teacher, as an organizer of schools and studyplans and as a promotor of museology.In 1935 he began his career as a muralist, an

employee of the Ministry of Education and amarried man, having married a student at theFine Arts Central School, Olga Costa. He also

got off to an auspicious start in set design, a fieldin which several visual artists were particularlyinterested.Chávez Morado’s first mural was on the cen-

tral staircase of the Veracruz Normal School inXalapa and was entitled The Antiimperialist Strug -gle in Veracruz. It was commissioned after a rec-ommendation from the Revolutionary Leagueof Writers and Artists (LEAR) to the Mi nister ofPublic Education, Gonzalo Vázquez Vela. ChávezMorado, a LEAR member, published communist-leaning engravings in the organization’s maga-

zine in 1937. He also participated in the LEARMex -ican delegation to the International Alliance ofAntifascist Inte llectuals congress in Valencia,Spain, where he was in charge of setting up theexhibit, “One Hundred Years of RevolutionaryMexican Art.” He was also a journalist; in 1942he published four issues of a mural-magazine orposter-newspaper called El Eje-Le. A few yearslater, under the pseudonyms Juan Brochas andChon, he contributed to the Mexican CommunistParty newspaper La voz de México (The Voice ofMexico) in which in 1944 he polemicized againstDavid Alfaro Siqueiros’ idea of creating a Centerof Realist Art. Salvador Toscano, then director ofthe National School of Visual Arts, Guillermo Ruiz,director of La Esme ral da art school, Diego Ri -vera, María Izquierdo, José Clemente Orozco andManuel Rodríguez Lozano, among others, alsoparticipated in that discussion.In 1938, Chávez Morado joined the Po pular

Graphics Workshop, a response to Mexican pro -gressives’ enormous need for visual communica-tion. He remained there until 1941, doing aconsiderable part of his work in graphics, main-ly in linoleum and lithographs. His easel paint-ings of those years had recurring themes and are

32

The most common theme in Chávez Mo ra do’s

work is urban and rural landscapes,

mainly those of the highlands and

the area around Gua najuato.


testimony to his loving identification with urbanscenes and an imitation of the discourse of thepopular customs that marked the productionand the impetuous course of his life.One of the most notable aspects of Chávez

Morado’s work as an educator has been his pro-motion of museums. Together with Olga Costahe promoted the Spiral Gallery, an experimentthat aimed to disseminate the work of artists ofdifferent ages and currents. Out of those effortscame the Modern Art Society. In 1944, he orga-nized his first individual showing in the Mex ican

Art Gallery, and in 1945, he won the engravingcompetition organized by the Mexico City gov-ernment to commemorate the thirty-fifth an ni -versary of the Mexican Revolution.The concept of visual integration became a

constant concern of Mexican art from the timethe idea of incorporating public monumental artinto general programs of cultural developmentbecame current. Chávez Morado’s position wouldmerge all aspects of the visual arts, whether mo n -umental or not, in the urban setting. He was infavor of pluralism and considered both privateand government initiatives positive.Thirty-two murals were painted in Mexico by

artists like Juan O’Gorman, Diego Rivera and Da -vid Alfaro Siqueiros in 1952, most of them inUniversity City, then under construction. ChávezMorado did three of them: The Return of Quet -zal cóatl and The Conquest of Energy, both mo -saics, and Labor, in vinelita. In 1955, educationalauthorities and the Guanajuato state govern-ment commissioned him to decorate the stair wellof the Alhóndiga de Granaditas granary buildingwith the mural The Abolition of Slavery by DonMi guel Hi dalgo y Costilla. Ten years later, on thesecond staircase, he painted Song to Guana juato.

33

His work includes

fantastic fancies satirizing

backward attitudes

in society.

Little Stairways, 100 x 120 cm, 1973 (oil on canvas). Echeverría Zuno Family collection.

Cross on the Scaffold, 100 x 75 cm, 1943 (oil on canvas). Jorge Espinoza Ulloa collection.


In 1956, at the Mexican Visual Arts WinterSalon, Chávez Morado won first prize for his oilpainting Miners and worked intensely on theorganization of the National Visual Arts Frontexhibits.In 1966, retired from his post as director of

the School of Design and Crafts, he and his wifeOlga went to live in Gua najuato at the formermin ing hacienda Torre del Arco, which was to beboth their house and studio. An untiring cultur-al promotor, he soon became involved in adapt-ing the Alhón diga’s museography. In 1967, hetook charge of new projects for the museum,which he directed for a decade.In 1974, Chávez Morado received the Na tio n -

al Prize for the Arts, and in 1975, he began thepaperwork necessary for the state government toacquire a colonial monument, the family home ofthe Marquis de Rayas, to house the People’s Mu -

seumof Gua na juato, to which he and his wife do -nated their art collection and which he di recteduntil 1982. In what had been the build ing’s cha pel,Chá vez Morado painted The Frac tur ed Pilaster,The Real de Minas de Guanajua to and Guana jua -to Society in the Nineteenth Century.The most common theme in Chávez Mo ra -

do’s work is urban and rural landscapes, mainlythose of the highlands and the area around Gua -najuato. Some examples are The Awnings (1941),Symptoms of Decadence (1945), Prickly Pear Tree(1952), among others. Popular fiestas and cus-toms, usually related to profoundly significantreligious allegories allusive to national politicaland economic situations can be seen, for exam-ple, in Black Mexico (1942) and Scene at a Fair(1950). He ponders the process of the mixing ofthe races as the bulwark of cultural and ethnicintegration of modern Mexicans in Self-Portrait

34

The Oath, 24 x 29 cm, 1947 (ink and distemper). Juan Evenchutz collection.


with My Nana (1948), A Portrait of the Nation(1961) and Toltec (1961), among others.Women, particularly indigenous women, are

an important presence in his work. A few exam -ples: Tlacotalpeñas (1936), Tehuanas (1949), TheGreat Tehuana (1936), The Girl of the Cage(1974). His work also includes fantastic fancies,usually satirizing backward attitudes in so ciety,for example, The Witches’ Sabbath (1944), Cartof Crazies (1950), State of Grace (1969). Paint -ings like Nocturnal Construction (1959), Requiem(1950) and Tzompantli (1961) present boththe spectacle of advanced technology and thedispossession of the laborers who work with it.His body of work is rounded out with a smallnumber of still lifes and the self-portraits paint-ed from 1973 to 1980.From the formal point of view, Chávez Mo -

rado’s work can be considered prototypical of

the realism that sprang up parallel to post-revo-lutionary muralism, with many folk art influ-ences. International influences like surrealism(The Witches’ Sabbath, Nameless Fable), cubism(Pair of Arches No. 1) or action painting (The Tan -gle) can also be detected, however. This showshis eclectic receptiveness and a critical histori-cal view.Today, José Chávez Morado, whose rich and

diverse body of work is part of a trend in whichsocial conditions have an impact on artistic pro -duction, continues to paint in Guanajuato.

NOTES

1 Summarized version of José de Santiago Silva, José ChávezMorado. Vida, obra y circunstancias (Guanajuato: Edi cio -nes La Rana, 2001).

35

The Witches’ Sabbath, 30 x 55 cm, 1944 (gouache). Mr. and Mrs. Jorge Espinoza Ulloa collection.

The Fruit Seller, 195 x 245 cm, 1951 (oil on canvas). Modern Art Museum collection, Mexico City.

36

It was early summer 1993 when José Chá -vez Morado invited a small group of friendsto witness a solemn ceremony in the Arcos

House at one end of the Pastita neighborhoodin Guanajuato. In the patio, near a curved stonebench on a small cement pedestal was an enor-mous honey-colored flower pot whose base had

already set. The ceremony began once everyonewas there.

Accompanied by an assistant, Chávez Mo -rado slowly emptied fresh earth from the baseof holm oak and pingüica trees from the SantaRosa mountains into the flower pot. Suddenly,he stopped and his assistant began mixing itslowly. Chávez Morado then went into the houseto the dining room table where he picked up asmall polished bronze urn.

Olga CostaA Brief Look at a Serene Life

Carlos Magdaleno*

* Director of the Gene Byron House-Museum, Gua - na juato City.

Photos reproduced courtesy of G

uanajuato State Cu

ltural Institute

37

When he returned, the assistant had finishedmaking a hole in the dirt inside the pot. Therewas a profound silence as Chávez Morado tooka small folded piece of paper out of his pocket.After reading a brief, hand-written message,more loving than sad, addressed to a single per-son, he prepared to carry out the ceremony wehad been invited to witness. The silence nowwas tense and emotional. José Chávez Moradoslowly and delicately deposited the contents of

the urn in the earth, taking care that not eventhe slightest speck of dust was swept into the air.When he finally finished depositing the ashes,he covered them with another handful of dirtand then a siempreviva plant (siempreviva means“forever alive”). He did all this alone. With that,the ceremony had come to an end.

The flower pot, a sturdy, sober piece of thickclay, had been thrown especially by ceramistGorky González. The inscription is a name andtwo dates in black paint: Olga Costa 1913-1993.

It was the end of a painful pilgrimage thathad begun in November 1988 and had meantthe intermittent voyage through hospitals, clin-ics, convalescence, vigils, diets, abstention frommany pleasures, frequent bouts of sadness andthe melancholy of a person who had known,extracted and shared a myriad of pleasures anddelights, permanent residents of the most livelypart of her sensibility.

When we left what had been the home ofthe Chávez Morado-Costa family, since April1992 the Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado ArtMuseum thanks to their legendary generosity,one would like to think that we all took with usthe inspiring impact of having been privileged—though sad— witnesses to a good-bye to avery dear loved one.

After all this, one asks oneself who OlgaCosta had been, was and is.

The Kostakovski family residing in Odessaabandoned Russia and set up housekeeping inLeipzig at the beginning of the twentieth cen-tury to avoid the difficult political situation thatheralded what would later be the October Rev -olution. Don Jacob Kostakovski continued hisviolin lessons there at the same time he beganhis career as a composer. Olga Costa was born

in that Ger man city, August 28, 1913. The Kos -takovskis went to Berlin with their two daugh-ters Lya and Olga in 1914, when World War Iwas breaking out.

Also for political and economic reasons —andperhaps also ethnic reasons, for they wereJewish— the Kostakovski family decided tomove to Mexico when Olga was 12 years old.They arrived in the port of Veracruz in 1925.Let us stop here a moment.

During their stay in the port of Veracruz, twothings happened, one real and the other hypo-thetical. The real event: the family was robbedof all its belongings when it arrived in Veracruzand for that reason —because of the legal in -vestigations involved— they had to stay therefor about a month.

The hypothetical event is that perhaps thechild Olga Costa perceived the existence of anoth-er world for the first time in her life, a worldbursting with a surprising and explosive varietyof vegetation, men and women with dark skinand curly hair, undoubtedly diametrically op -posed to what she would have seen in what wasthen a poor, rabidly hostile, aggressive, grey Eu -ro pe. This other world was intensely warm andvoluptuously rich in fruit and floral aromas.When I use the term hypothetical, it might just

It would be impossible to scrutinize

the entire cosmic tumult that occurs naturally

in the objects Olga Costa illustrated, with no other

tools than your eyes.



38

Bejeweled Woman, 64 x 49 cm, 1965 (felt pen and ink). Artist’s collection.

Portrait of José Chávez Morado, 55 x 40 cm, 1939 (oil on canvas). Artist’s collection.

Landscape in Penumbra, 30 x 38 cm, 1972 (felt pen). Artist’s collection.

Red Quelite, 120 x 100 cm, 1980 (oil on canvas). Moisés Djaddah collection.


39

Pilgrims, 50 x 60 cm, 1968 (oil on masonite). María Asúnsolo de Colín collection.

Green Vase, 40 x 30 cm, 1971 (oil on canvas). Private collection.


40

mean that it is a leisurely lapse of reflection,since this seizing of intense color, that suddenaccumulation of the goods of nature are whatbest represent the vast body of work that cameout of Olga Costa’s soft, kind brush. She woulddevelop it in full in the 1930s after her 1935marriage to painter José Chávez Morado andhaving Mexican-ized her last name.

Once the Kostakovski family set up house inMexico City, while Don Jacob gave his violinand music lessons and continued maturing as acomposer, Olga and Lya enrolled in the Ger -man College. After that, Olga’s life continuedwithout incident until the early 1930s whenshe began studying with her first teacher, Gua -temalan painter Carlos Mérida, who said some -thing we still consider valid: “Olga Costa is thewhite angel of Mexican painting.”1

When exactly was Olga Costa’s desire andaffinity for painting born? It is difficult to pindown a date: it has been said that she was inter-ested in Diego Rivera’s murals, which she mayhave watched being painted for a good time,increasing her interest in colors. She also re -membered moments of political upheaval expe-

rienced by artists of the time, such as Diegohimself and Siqueiros, just to mention two.Olga Costa would had to have seen the creativeside of these public figures, even if at the sametime she noted the political events of the times.

Sergio Pitol has commented that in 1936,already married, on a trip to Jalapa, Olga paint-ed some good canvases, even though she didnot take herself very seriously. However, herstay in Jalapa has left us with some notablepaintings like Bathers, Bouquet with Blue Back -ground, Lady in Green, Women Bathers, Nude,just to mention a few. They are a brief but firmexample of the explosive chromatic form of herpainting. This experience was the beginning ofa long, successful road that she would abandononly a couple of years before her unfortunatedeath.

Her career from 1936 on is known to all ofus. Sergio Pitol defined Olga Costa’s great themesas follows:

a) Scenes laced with humor, which she called“the irony of the cure;”

b) still lifes and portraits;

My Garden, 120 x 70 cm, 1979 (oil on canvas). John Nevin collection.


41

c) scenes of Mexican customs, such as a deadchild, pilgrims, etc.; and

d) her final period: an immersion in the openspaces until she arrived at the fantasticgardens of her last years.2

In each of these stages, with the distinct formscreated by her visual personality, her profoundindividuality, her paintings never attempted tobe more than that: painting.

It would be impossible to review and scruti-nize the entire cosmic tumult that occurs natu-rally and simply in the objects Costa illustrated,painting by painting, sketch by sketch, withoutany more inspiration or emotional tools thanjust your eyes. The selection of each of the ob -jects to be reproduced —in this case, re-creat-ed— might be explained perhaps in the urgentyearning for seeing and feeling the extension ofher own skin. That profuse and varied chroma-tism comes about in Olga unsurprisingly, as sheproceeds with her routine of taking care of herplants and flowers, that is, in the accidents ofeveryday life. But they also occur when she dis-covers things there and even when they are not

really there, such as in the case of her imaginarypieces. Here, I am talking about paintings likeGreen Vase (1971); Golden Fish (1980); Untitled(1981); Stained Glass (1982); and especially inthis example, Island of the Air (1963) and ThePuddle. These are works that form a whole ofsmiling riddles, visual explosions in which shenever stopped using what was always a constant:temperance and a playful, comic air; firmnessand a smile.

Olga fits, as no other artist, Pitol’s definition:“Olga Costa’s life is her painting.”3 And even ifcloistered —or more aptly, confined to— theMexican school of painting —which Olga nei-ther denied nor flaunted— Pitol’s comment canbe emphasized even more, but in the oppositesense, in the case of other women of her gener-ation, such as Frida Kahlo or Tina Modotti. Theircreations, their artistic endeavors were rudelysurpassed and sometimes absorbed by periph-eral activities, mainly political struggles. In OlgaCosta, any attitude on the margins of painting(except for, of course, her unequivocal solidari-ty with the political and social causes that hergeneration and her fellow painters defended,

Two Profiles, 44 x 59 cm, 1964 (oil on paper). Artist’s collection.


42

particularly those that activist José Chávez Mo -rado championed) would have been a simpleintellectual accessory. They would have sepa-rated her irremediably from her only possibletask, painting. Costa, one might add, is her ownserenity.

In 1944, Fernando Gamboa, Mexico’s great-est museographer, commissioned Olga to painta canvas that is still one of the fundamentalicons of great Mexican painting. For her, inaddition, it represents her own visionary pa n -orama. That painting is The Fruit Seller thathas belonged since then to the Modern ArtMuseum.

Anyone who has the good fortune to stand infront of this masterful canvas will have felt thesurprise and satisfaction of recognizing his/herown piece of identity. The joy in viewing it man-ages to banish all our analytical, technical oracademic pretensions. With this canvas, OlgaCosta has reached a plateau; there she affirmsand unfolds everything she had ever paintedthroughout her entire life as an artist, charac-terized by her obsessive, detailed, laborious re-creation, celebration and consecration of themysterious gifts of nature.

In 1990, Olga was given the National Prizefor the Arts and attended the ceremony pushedin her wheelchair by José Chávez Morado, whohad received the same prize in 1973.

That year she had gone through several se -vere health crises. A little while later she hadher last exhibition at the People’s Museum ofGuanajuato, which she had founded withChávez Morado in 1979. Her last show consist-ed of a small group of paintings, among them awhite porcelain vase with thousands of tiny, dif-ferent flowers. Chávez Morado named the workThe Resurrection. It could not be more eloquent:it combines the vitality of that kaleidoscopicturbulence that made up the total, absolute cre-ative act of Olga Costa, who left us two yearslater, on June 28, 1993.

But that is not completely true. Olga Costacannot leave us, nor can she be very far from us.The portentous chromatism revealed in heruntiring creative efforts will be a perennial pres-ence and the certainty of the premise that, “OlgaCosta’s life is her painting.” And her paint ing ismore alive than ever.

NOTES

1 Olga Costa mentioned this comment when talking aboutthe time when Carlos Mérida was her teacher; it was oneof her favorite phrases.

2 Sergio Pitol, Olga Costa (Guanajuato: Edi ciones La Rana/Instituto de Cultura de Gua najuato, 1998), p. 10.

3 Pitol, op. cit.

Plain Landscape Planted with Marigolds, 36 x 83 cm, 1977 (oil on wood). Dr. and Mrs. Luis Muñoz Castellanos collection.

44

In the Shadow of the Volcano

Popocatépetl Volcano gave signs of life in De -cember 1994 with an emission of ash that cov-ered the nearby city of Puebla in a fine film. This

simple reminder put citizens and authorities alike onnotice about the risks of living on the flanks of a vol-cano. Alerting scientists, it was the signal needed toprompt joint work by them and authorities to monitorvolcanic activity and evaluate the risks of an eruptionfor nearby towns.

Six years later, between February and September2000, Popocatépetl once again showed signs of dis-quiet. Then, from October on, volcanic activity in -creased until mid-December. The magnitude of thesignals were monitored and the very high rate oflava production —by December 18, it was estimatedbe tween 15 million and 19 million cubic meters—formed the largest dome observed in the episode andgave rise to the fear of an imminent eruption.Municipal and state authorities stepped up the alertand established a security radius of 13 kilometerswhere they began to evacuate towns between De -cember 15 and 16, including a few outside the securi-ty radius. On December 18 and 19, in three episodes,the volcano ejected large amounts of hot debris onto

its flanks hurtling them, scientists believe, a maximumof 5 to 6 kilometers from the crater. After December19, activity decreased and the next expected periodof activity —around De cember 23 according to thetime-predictable model— did not occur, indicatingthat the magma supply had changed. What isbelieved to be the first dome-destruction explosionoccurred on December 24, ejecting incandescentdebris 3.5 kilometers from the volcano and producingan ash plume 5 kilometers above the crater. This wasthe largest energy-release eruption of Popoca tépetlever monitored with instruments.

Authorities reduced the security radius to 12 kilo-meters and since no towns are located in that area,people returned to their homes.

An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the new dome vol-ume has been destroyed by the activity since December18. Because the dome mass has been removed by smallto moderate explosions in many of the previous domegrowth-and-destruction episodes since 1996, a similarscenario is expected in the near future.

Fortunately, the crisis was not as severe as predicted.But no one knows what Popo catépetl —or “Don Goyo,”as local residents call the volcano— has in store.

Note: Based on a Cenapred report, published by Bulletin of Global Volcanology Network 12 (Smithsonian National Museumof Natural History, December 2000).Special thanks to Dr. Carlos Valdés González of Cenapred.

Fede

ral H

ighw

ay D

ivisio

n of

the

Tran

spor

tatio

n an

d Co

mm

unica

tions

Min

istry

/Cen

apre

d

Hen

ry R

omer

o/Re

uter

s

45

Mexico is situated in a region of greatvolcanic activity. Of its approximate-ly 3,000 volcanoes, 14 have recently

been active, including the Paricutín (1943), Chi -chón (1982), Tacaná (1986), the Colima volca no,with great activity in recent years, and Po poca -tépetl (De cember 2000). Every year between50 and 65 volcanoes in the world becomeactive, but only a few cause loss of human life

and property damage. The effects on the popu-lation are not necessarily proportional to the sizeor violence of eruptions, but rather to the prox-imity and number of human settlements sur-rounding the volcano.Popocatépetl, 5,452 meters above sea level

and more than 700 million years old, with itsmajestic, ancestral beauty, is undoubtedly a high-risk volcano. Throughout its long history, it hashad numerous minor eruptions, a few major onesand has produced great paroxysmal events that

PopocatépetlLiving in Danger1

Juan Marcial*

* Mexican free-lance journalist.

Ram

iro R

amíre

z/Re

uter

s


46

are more dangerous because they liberate agreat deal of energy in a short time. Between1993 and 1995, the kind of activity the “Popo”has shown seems similar to that of 12 otherepisodes reported since the sixteenth century:underground eruptions that liberate great quan-tities of magmatic gases along with old materialdeposited in the volcanic cone.

THE INVISIBLE

The volcano has been stable since January 1995because the possible source of disturbance inthe deeper areas has been smaller than the vol-cano’s ability to liberate its energy. Until now,there has been no extreme danger. If the vol-cano did not have the capacity to benignly lib-erate accumulated energy, as it does now, thebalance would be disturbed and the scenariowould be much more dangerous. The possible break in that equilibrium will

depend on the rea sons why energy is being gen-

erated in the depths of the volcano. One reasonwould be the introduction of new mag ma intothat area. A mix of new and old magma rapidlycause an accu mulation of energy that couldlead to a major eruption. Continuous monitoring —every few days or

weeks— is carried out to observe the processestaking place in the volcano’s depths. Based onthese observations, scientists attempt to detectsufficiently ahead of time whether this mix ofmagma is occurring, if it is accelerating or ifnew magma is being introduced. Apparently, inthe depth of the volcano and its conduits today,there is no serious accumulation of energy. AsDr. Servando de la Cruz from the UNAM Geo -physics Institute says, however, we can predictnothing in the long run. We cannot even assignstatistical probabilities since we do not knowwhat is happening at a deeper level, more than10 kilometers down, and no equipment cangive us more precise data.Dr. De la Cruz defines Popocatépetl as a ma -

ture stratovolcano capable of remaining dormant

The situation would be more dangerous if the volcano did not continuously liberate energy.

Hen

ry R

omer

o/Re

uter

s


for long periods or evolving toward more dan-gerous phases. He also says that no periodicityis possible in volcanology. The current eruptiveactivity of the volcano reminds us, he says, thatthe risk is there, has been there and will con-tinue to be there, because it is always possiblethat the volcano will reactivate. If it becamemore actively eruptive, however, he concludes,fortunately today we have better scientific andtechnical resources to lower the risk and reducethe vulnerability of surrounding inhabitants, aswas shown in December 2000.

THE VISIBLE

The moderate seismic and fumarolic activitythat began in 1993 prompted authorities to setup monitoring stations. Today, joint work by theUNAM Institutes of Engineering and Geophysicsand the National Center for Disaster Pre vention(Cenapred) is done at 11 telemetric stations.Ce napred also has a center for data gathering

and processing and carries out four kinds ofmonitoring: visual observation and seismic, geo-desic and geochemical monitoring.2

Visual observation consists of watching forphysical changes in the volcano, like rock or mudslides, deformations, fumaroles, emissions ofash or gases, or any other indication of percep-tible change. To accomplish this, a video cam-era has been aimed at the north flank of the vol-cano, transmitting day and night directly toCe napred, where the information is analyzed.Seismic monitoring is one of the most impor-

tant kinds of observation. The vibrations it reg-isters and measures make it possible to inferwhere the hypocenters are generated and located,the points inside the volcano where energy isliberated. This makes it possible to locate bod-ies of magma underneath the volcano and todiscern whether the magma tends to rise or openup new avenues toward other conduits, how itwill evolve and how deep the seismic activity is.In the case of Popocatépetl, this acti vity is de -v eloping between 3 and 10 kilometers underneath

47

Despite the danger, the view of the volcano can also be spectacular. December 19, 2000.

Dan

iel A

guila

r/Re

uter

s


the crater, basically directly beneath it, slightly tothe east (in the direction of the city of Puebla).The volcano’s seismic activity is only local

and should not create concern that it will shiftor cause major earthquakes because it is theresult of magma that is attempting to escape,the pressure of which creates fractures andsometimes gas emissions.Geodesic monitoring is carried out at three

stations, each equipped with tiltmeters that reg-ister the slope or deformation of the soil as a

result of pressure from inside the volcano.3 Thisdata is useful, based on the hypothesis that alarge eruption will be preceded by significant de -formations in the volcanic edifice.Geochemical monitoring is the chemical

analysis of gases, fumaroles, geothermal s pri ngs,the composition of ash, lava and other productsof the volcano. Other variables associated withvolcanic activity that are also monitored are winds,temperatures, precipitation, PH and radon gasand sulfur dioxide emissions.

48

Pyroclastic flows, explosions, a rain of incandescent material and lava emissions are the potential dangers to nearby settlements.November 29, 1998.

Dan

iel A

guila

r/Re

uter

s


THE THEORY

Based on the studies of deposits derived from Po -pocatépetl Volcano, the following potential dan-gers to nearby settlements have been identified:pyroclastic flows and waves and explosions; mudslides, gigantic slides of parts of the volcanic edi -fice (avalanches of debris); a rain of pyroclas ticmaterial and ballistic projectiles; the emission oflava spills and possible associated domes.4 In thecase of Mexico City, the greatest risk would comefrom the air pollution caused by great amounts ofvolcanic ash being expelled from the mountain.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Since the moderate eruption of December 1994,significant advances have been made in civil anddisaster prevention. In June 1994, the govern -ment began a campaign directed at local residentsthrough pamphlets, leaflets and vi deos. At thesame time, Cenapred called on civic authoritiesin charge of public safety in Puebla, the State ofMexico, Morelos, Tlaxcala and Mexico City todevelop a joint plan to facilitate their own coor-dination in the case of a high-risk scenario. Outof those efforts came the Popo catépetl VolcanoOperational Plan which delineates each state’sresponsibilities in case of an emergency and in -s tructions on how to proceed. The plan has beenperfected to the point of developing its Emer gen -cy Planning Map, dividing the whole area intodifferent risk zones so that the population canbe evacuated according to the risks in each area.The scientific commu nity developed a code for avolcanic alert, dubbed “the volcanic alert stop-light” by Cenapred. For practical purposes, thealert system has been likened to a traffic stop-light: green represents a normal situation andcauses no change to people’s day-to-day activi-ties; yellow is an alert, mean ing that normal activ-ities can go on as usual, but everyone must keepinformed of any changes; and red is an alarm,signalling the need to begin getting people awayfrom the high-risk areas and protect them.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS

Even though authorities carry out the campaignto inform the public about how to differentiatebetween a normal and an alert situation, whatto do and where to go in case of danger, on theslopes of the volcano, people cling to a glimmerof hope to convince themselves day in and dayout that there is no danger at all; the threat ofdeath has always been part of their lives.For Professor Teodoro Romero Carreón, prin-

cipal of National Anthem Primary School, “thepublic has been overwhelmed with information”from official sources. For that reason they seethings in the long term. They understand that adanger exists, but they do not accept the ideathat it is imminent. Their attachment to theirhomes and their religion make them insensibleto the threat and are two of the reasons whymany local residents refuse to abandon theirhomes despite the danger. Professor Romerothinks people with a different attitude should gohouse to house explaining the risks involved “andnot frightening people because they’re not fright-ened anyway, and most people are willing to dieon their land no matter what happens.”

NOTES

1 This is an abbreviated version of the article “Popocatépetl,vivir en peligro,” first published in the UNAM School ofScience magazine Ciencias 41 (January-March, 1996),pp. 50-55.

2 Cenapred’s web site provides up-to-date information:http://www.cenapred.unam.mx/mvolcan.html [Editor’sNote.]

3 Tiltmeters are set on a concrete base and measure varia-tions in slope caused by any kind of pressure to a thou-sandth of a degree.

4 Initially, pyroclastic and mud flows are considered themost dangerous threats to surrounding towns. Giant ava -lanches and mud slides can only happen if part of the vol-canic edifice collapses; they would travel at 100 kilome-ters per hour for 80 kilometers, destroying everything intheir path.

49

50

Magma is a word coined in the nineteenthcentury by the Englishman George PoulettScrope, and refers to the molten ma terialfound underneath the earth’s crust andfrom which igneous rock is formed by cool-ing and crystallization.

A volcanic eruption is simply the emis-sion of certain materials from inside theEarth. The different kinds of eruptions arenamed after typical volcanos which be comemodels for the others. Therefore, geologistsspeak of Hawaiian, Icelandic, Merapean andPelean eruptions (the latter is named afterMount Pelé in Martinique, a French posses-sion in the Caribbean).

All eruptions fall between two extremes:effusive eruptions, with the emission oflarge quantities of lava, and explosive erup -tions, in which most of the material is ex -pelled from the volcano as hot, solid frag-ments. Among the explosive eruptions arethe Plinian and Pelean, and among theeffusive are the Hawaiian and Icelandic. Vul -canean and Strombollian eruptions are con -sidered intermediate.

Eruptions differ with regard to the che m -ical composition and varied gas content ofthe materials involved. The gas content is veryimportant because it determines the visco sityof the magma: non-viscous mag ma makesfor an effusive eruption, while highly vis-cous magma causes an explosive eruption.

Explosive eruptions are the more dan-gerous of the two. Hawaiian-type effusiveeruptions emit great lava flows that formrivers and lakes, but cause little loss of

human life, although they may well causegreat economic and social damage. Pelean-type explosive eruptions expel solid frag-ments known as pyroclasts (from the Greekpiros, for fire and clastos, for broken) alongwith a mixture of hot gas and water. Theymay even tear off part of the volcanic coneor form an enormous column that will spillover the sides of the volcano. This kind ofan avalanche is highly mobile and canmove at several kilometers an hour. Explo -sive eruptions can also create huge col - u mns and clouds of gases and particles,capable of traveling long distances and de -positing ash in far-off places.

THE RISKS

The greatest risk is from volcanoes thathave remained dormant for long periodssince inactivity makes people forget thedanger.

The old definition of volcanoes as ex -tinct or active is not very precise, since it isdifficult to establish a time limit that wouldmake it possible to classify any volcano asextinct. Previously, scientists considered thatif a volcano had not erupted within humanhistory, it could be classified as extinct.However, history begins at different timesfor different continents and regions and theeruption of volcanoes previously consid-ered extinct has shown how wrong this cri-terion was. Today, scientists think in termsof probabilities, and volcanoes are classi-

fied as high risk if they have erupted in thelast few tens of thousands of years.

VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN MEXICO

In Mexico the great majority of the largestratovolcanoes (volcanos composed of ex -plosively erupted cinders and ash with oc -casional lava flows) and many fields of mono -magnetic volcanism (volcanism inclu des allphenomena connected with the mov ementof heated material from the interior to ortoward the surface of the Earth) are concen -trated in the Trans- Mexican Volcanic Band,a 1,200-kilometer long, 20- to 150-ki lometerwide volcanic elevation facing east-west.Another volcanic region is the peninsula ofBaja California. Our country also has solitaryvolcanoes, whose origin is less clear, like theChichón, San Martín Tuxtla and the Tacaná,which we share with Guatemala and is partof the Central American chain.

The most disastrous volcanic event inMexico in historical times was the eruptionof the Chichón or Chichonal in 1982. The vol -cano shot up a column of gas, steam andsmoke almost 18 kilometers high, shower-ing ash and pyroclasts for miles around,covering some towns close to the volcanowith meters of debris. About 2,000 peopledied as a result, and the region’s economywas severely damaged after 153 square kilo -meters were completely devastated and30,000 square kilometers were covered withat least one millimeter of ash.

Did you know...?

Note: Fragments taken from the article by Juan Manuel Espíndola and José Luis Macías Vázquez, “El vulcanismo,” Ciencias 41 (Mexico City), January-March 1996, pp. 12-22.

Today, the International Cervan -tes Festival (FIC) is a world-classfestival combining imagination,

memory and artistic creativity.The upcoming twenty-ninth Inter -

na tional Cervantes Festival’s program-ming reflects new times, times of di -ver sity, encounters and dialogue.

Art and culture are the only road toerasing geographical and spiritual bor-ders, the only way our differences andspecificities can be reconciled. Cultureknows no borders.

The twenty-ninth festival will distin-guish itself for its artistic excellenceand its pluralism of currents and gen-res of universal, world culture. The pur -

pose is to ensure that the FIC is markedby the plural, generous dialogue of dif-ferent cultures.

One of the roads a society must fol-low to get to know itself is the road tore-encounters, above all with its lon g -est-lasting works, works of the imagi-nation and art.

For the first time, the InternationalCervantes Festival has its own internalgoverning body, composed of federal,state and municipal officials, who shareboth authority and responsibility. Thisnew form of joint participation hasmade it possible for the FIC to becomea model of working, programming andorganization that will guarantee its per-

manence, continuity and positive im -pact on Mexico’s cultural development.

It is also the first time that the FIChas had a consultative council made upof artists from all the disciplines to es -tablish a rigorous dialogue among thearts that will make up the Festival’syearly programming and guarantee itsexcellence.

The FIC’s tradition and deep rootsin Guanajuato and Mexico have createdpowerful links of identity and re cog -nition, links so profound and determi-nant in the cultural and artistic na tio n -al memory that they have made it partof Mexico’s cultural patrimony. TheInternational Cervantes Festival has

51

A Festival for a New TimePh

otos

rep

rodu

ced

cour

tesy

of t

he In

tern

atio

nal C

erva

ntes

Fes

tival

become the world’s third most impor-tant festival and Latin America’s first.

The new times are being forged withthe active participation of everyone, menand women, citizens who know the valueof their decisions and demand the rightto express themselves and be part of whatis happening. In that sense, the Inter -national Cervantes Festival is a partici-pant in the creation and transformationof habits of participation in cultural life,in order to have a direct impact in theconsolidation of a democratic culture.

Fundamental protagonists in thenext festival are the street and its peo-ple. This is the public space where art isreconciled with life, becoming its mir-ror and revealing the deepest secrets ofMan. Plazas and alleyways will be themain stage where life and art meet, aplace for fiestas, where the privileges ofenjoyment are reserved for both audi-ence and artist.

The audiences’ diversity demands thatwe have a system of discounts to alloweveryone access to this rich, lesson-filledprogramming. Also of benefit to Gua na -juato residents who collaborate with thefestival in a myriad of ways will bethe creation of the Friend of the FICcard, to be inaugurated this year.

The world will be watching Guana -juato from October 10 to 28 this year,when all the arts, every form of expres-sion —from the strictly classifiable tothose that don’t even have a classifica-tion yet, given their innovative nature—come together.

The guest continent for this festi-val is Oceania and the country repre-sented, Australia. From Mexico, theguest region is the Southe ast and itssta te guest of honor, Ve racruz. In allcases, programming aims to make apro found understanding of cultural pro -cesses available to the public and will

include performing arts, visual arts, film,literature and academic encounters.

As of now, the International Cer -vantes Festival expresses its commit-ment to broadening audiences’culturalhori zons. The objective is to foster audi -ences capable of participating in artis-tic processes; this will include studentsand amateurs joining workshops, prac-tical demonstrations, master classes andlectures in which participating artiststake part. Specialized international work -shops will be given and co-production,co-participation and exchange mecha-nisms created to foster the developmentof Mexican artistic creativity.

The International Cervantes Festi valis possible thanks to the joint efforts andeconomic support of the federal go v -ernment through its National Councilfor Culture and the Arts, the govern-ment of Guanajuato state and the sup-port of sister countries and the privatesector, which, with their dedicated par-ticipation have contributed to thinkingabout culture as one of the driving forcesbehind our country’s development.

A festival for a new time is not pos-sible without public participation. TheFIC awaits you in Guanajuato.

52

55

In Mexico, only one-third of thework force has access to credit inthe national financial system. This

restriction is even greater for busi-nesses. At the end of 2000, only 29percent of Mexican businesses enjoyedsome form of credit from any kind ofbanking institution. This is basicallydue to three factors: high interest rates,the banks’ reluctance to grant loansand economic uncertainty. In any case,Mexican banks are not in sync with

the economic and financial modern-ization the country requires.

Six years after the 1994-1995 fi -nancial and productive crisis, the Mex -ican banking system has only just begunto reactivate credit lines to productivesectors. It is, however, far from satisfy-ing the demand, and, above all, thefinancial needs of hundreds of thou-sands of micro-, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs, whose companiesprovide the majority of the country’sjobs. Obviously, the difficulties andchallenges these businesses face arenot reduced to getting re sources fromformal and informal financial markets.

In addition to scarce and expensive cred-it, they face problems in the commer-cialization of goods and services, thelabyrinthine tax structure, accountingand management skills.

The federal government recentlyanno unced that it will take a three-pronged approach to reactivating cred-it to the country’s productive sector:

a) A broad restructuring of the de -v elopment banking system;

b) the reactivation of commercialcredit; and

c) a program of “popular” bankingand micro-financing.

Small BusinessesThe Long, Winding Road to Credit

Enrique Pino Hidalgo*

* Economist, researcher and professor atthe Autonomous Metropolitan University,Iztapalapa campus.

Economy

Anto

nio

Nav

a/AV

E

Micro-, small and medium-sized businesses provide most of Mexico’s jobs.


Given the commercial banking sys -tem’s inability or disinterest in sup -port ing micro-businesses, the role ofdevelopment banks and social bank-ing institutions becomes more impor-tant. By their very nature, these insti-tutions are more oriented to linkingup with the real economy since their

objective is to promote and orientproduction by micro-, small and medi-um-sized companies, which numberedmore than 3.5 million in 1996.

In Mexico, the “popular” bankingsystem is made up of more than 600institutions that take in resources fromlow- and medium-income households.As a sector, it is very heterogeneous anddeals with different financing needs.For example, credit unions receive mo n -ies both from their members and gov -ernment dev elopment banks that theychannel as loans to productive pro-jects. Savings and loan associationsare local; they receive monies fromtheir members and give loans only tomembers. Cooperatives, on the otherhand, are usually part of a regional orstate federation and receive savingsfrom their participants and grant loansto both members and non-members withcollateral.

Community savings associationsare local organizations that receivemo nies from their members and grantthem relatively small loans. And, fi -nally, mu tual aid or solidarity associa-

tions accept contributions from theirmembers with the aim of coveringspe cific emergency expenditures themem bers may confront, such as fu -neral costs, emergency health care orother extraordinary ex penses; theyusually operate on a community, neigh - borhood or factory level.

These financial institutions covermore than 2.5 million people. Des -pite its relative geographic and demo-graphic dispersion, the social bankingsystem represents less than 1 percentof all the assets of the commercialbank ing system. In any case, the po -tential and social and economic im -portance of these kinds of intermedi-aries is clear (see table on popularsav ings and credit).

This article will present a panoramaof the new credit options for micro-and small businesses, as well as a fewinitial observations about the “SocialBanking and Micro-credits Program”announced by President Fox and the“Micro-credit Program” promoted bythe Mexico City government. As weshall see, these policies suffer fromconsiderable limitations, both due tothe overall amount earmarked for loansand the size of the loans granted.However, I think both programs willhave a positive effect in the reactiva-tion of micro-business credit marketsthat until now have been practicallynon-existent.

STRATIFICATION

AND CHARACTERISTICS OF

MEXICAN BUSINESSES

Mexico has different kinds of micro-,small and medium-sized businesses.In some cases, micro-businesses are clas -sified as part of the informal eco nomyand include self-employed workers andnon-paid family-member workers. Inother cases, they are classified as familybusinesses, the informal sector or evenas part of the criminal layers of society.1

They range all the way from womenwho make tacos on portable grills andsell them on the sidewalks outside theirfront doors at night to craftsmen mak-ing wrought iron screens in workshopsin Tlaque paque, Jalisco, filling ordersfor stores in Manhattan. The Interna -tional Labor Organization’s (ILO) moreor less standard definition is based onthe number of jobs they provide and theamount of annual sales or income theytake in: micro-businesses have up to6 employees (except in manufactur-ing where they can have up to 16),while small non-manufacturing busi-nesses have from 7 to 15 employees.2

In the category of micro-businesses,the definition includes:

Family businesses, which are less de -v eloped and operate in traditional in -dustries. Frequently, they are a survivalstrategy and aim their production atthe local market. Generally, their own-ers lack basic skills and ins trumentsfor competing in the marketplace.3

Competitive micro-businesses, whichare more developed. Their owners knowmore about the market and ins titu tionsthat provide advisory and other financialand non-financial services. They havepermanent, waged workers whose laborsare supplemented by tem porary employ-ees when the market demands it.

56

Micro- and small businesses range all

the way from women who make tacos on portable

grills to craftsmen making wrought iron screens

in workshops in Tlaque paque, Jalisco, filling orders

for stores in Manhattan.

Economy

Micro-businesses articulated in consor -tia, which are usually linked horizontal -ly or vertically to larger companies andhave reached significant levels of pro -ductivity, with their output aimed atexport or national domestic markets.4

More generally speaking, the com-panies are characterized by the size ofthe wages they pay, production andsales levels, the value of fixed assetsand, of course, the kind and amountof financing they require for settingup and getting started. These variablesalso act as indicators of en trepre neu -rial activity and certain behavior thatcorresponds to patterns associated withthe size of the firms. From that pointof view, conventional economic theo-ry suggests that efficiency increasesas companies move from being microto medium-sized to large, but that isnow a matter for debate.

In Mexico, micro- and small compa-nies have the following characteristics:

a) They operate with small-scale pro -duction and employ labor-inten-sive production techniques.

b) They use technologies adaptedto employees whose abilities andskills have been learned on thejob or through informal education-al systems outside formal schools.

c) They are frequently owned by asingle family and financing comesfrom their own pockets.

In our country, companies classifiedas micro-, small and medium-sized makeup more than 95 percent of the total2,187,000 establishments and providemore than 50 percent of all jobs.5 Themajority —55 percent— of these firmsare in wholesale and retail trade.

In 1994, large corporations em -ployed 3.374 million workers; medi-um-sized companies 1.518 millionworkers; small firms, 1.697 million; andmicro-businesses, 2.76 million.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT COEXISTING

WITH INTERMEDIATE PRODUCTION

Micro-businesses are extremely variedand encompass survival strategies linked

to self-employment as well as interme-diate production units. They includedifferent forms of commerce and ser-vices that can even generate greaterincome than the wages earned by someworkers in formal sectors. For exam-ple, Doña Francisca, who sells news-papers from a pushcart on a corner oftwo major streets in southern MexicoCity for 6 hours a day, may sell up to150 papers a day. Making one peso perpaper, she takes in at least twice theminimum wage, while a bookstore orstationary store employee usually onlymakes minimum wage for an 8-hourday. (Forty percent of Mexico’s workforce makes twice the minimum wageor less a day.)

In the Mexican economy, micro-busi -nesses are a manifestation of the het-erogeneity of entrepreneurship and ares ponse to their owners’ own need foremployment. In reality, micro-business-es are a mechanism to substitute forthe lack of jobs and/or a reaction to thelow wages prevalent in the formal jobmarket. Regardless of why they arise,the economic role and weight of these

57

POPULAR/COMMUNITY BANKING SYSTEM (2000)

Type of institution Number Members Savings regu- Effectively regulated(1000s) lated by law and supervised

Credit unions 32 19 Yes Yes Savings and loan associations 11 675 Yes Yes Cooperatives 157 1,081 Yes No Mutual aid associations 210 190 No No Community savings associations 247 633 No No

Total 657 2,598

Source: National Savings Bank (Patronato del Ahorro Nacional).


companies is significant both becauseof their sheer number and the numberof jobs they provide —almost 3 millionnationwide.

Usually, micro-business ownershave part of the capital they need toinvest; for that reason they requirefinancing and other kinds of support

like accounting and merchandizingadvice. Owners may very well not pos -s ess the characteristics of the “classicbusinessman (or woman)” (being cre-ative, innovative, etc.), but they repre -sent a social situation and a fi nan cialdemand that cannot be ignored. In thatsense, one segment of micro-firms aresubsistence producers who have setup shop because of the economic andsocial effects of the economic crisesand recessive adjustment programs thatsharpen unemployment: this mightinclude the woman —laid off fromher job or unable to get a job in theformal market— who sells tacos on herdoor step. Prolonged recessions nour-ish the expansion of micro-business-es, while sustained eco nomic recoveryand growth would pro bably reincor-porate many of their owners into theformal job market.

In this sector, we also find wagedworkers and professionals who decideto set up a business based on self-employment; for example, computerdesigners and/or technicians or accoun - tants who work out of their homes.

These are also self-generated jobs, butwith the tendency to a broader outlookin which their owners are closer to the“classical” entrepreneur, with their or -ganizational capacity, business sense,etc. These are “medium-level busi-nessmen.” From the sociological pointof view, these economic actors have

been classified as “the entrepreneurialmiddle class.”6

In brief, in some cases, micro- andsmall businesses are subsistence stra -tegies or temporary employment, whilein other cases, they correspond to pro -jects with more integral, long-rangevisions that require financial andtechnical support for their consolida-tion. These projects can be come sta-ble, successful productive units and,therefore, may be a viable alternativein an economy with high degreesof structural unemployment such asMex ico’s.

LOW CAPITAL INVESTMENT

AND RESTRICTED ACCESS TO

FINANCIAL MARKETS

It is interesting to note that even indeveloped economies, micro- and smallbusinesses also face obstacles to theirentry into bank financing systems.For example, in Canada, developmentbanks are considered abso lutely in dis -pensable institutions for supporting

small businesses so that they can playan effective role in growth and socialwell-being. However, small businessessystematically face difficulties in get-ting loans since most of the commer-cial banks’ money goes to large corpo-rations.7

To foster the long growth cycle thatled to the Asian Pacific econo mies’in dustrialization and modernization,their governments encouraged long-term pro grams that gave preferentialcredit to small companies. In SouthKorea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore,etc., state banks contributed decisive-ly to industrialization by providing sta-ble, long-term loans to small and medi-um-sized companies.8 An illustrativeexample is the Financial Corporation forthe Small Company in Japan. Foundedin 1953, this corporation granted long-term loans to small and medium-sizedcompanies to be used for acquiring in -s tallations and equipment.9

In the case of Mexico, micro- andsmall businesses generally have littlecapital and very limited or absolutelyno access to financial markets. Weshould remember that since 1994,fi nancial support for businesses hasdropped 91 percent. Five years ago,in 1996, more than 136,000 compa-nies were granted loans; by 2000,only 12,000 had been so favored.10

This is crucial for understand ing howthese kinds of companies have devel-oped novel me chanisms for fi nanc - ing and have built informal marketsthrough intermediaries like com mu -nity savings funds, local savings andloan associations and credit unions.The universe of micro-, small and me - dium-sized businesses is a naturalsphere of action for financing by de - v elopment institutions and the so cialbanking system.

58

Micro-businesses encompass survival strategies linked

to self-employment as well as intermediate production units.

They include different forms of commerce

and services that can generate greater income

than the wages earned in formal sectors.

Economy

GOVERNMENT LOAN PROGRAMS

ARE INSUFFICIENT

Recently, the new Vicente Fox admin-istration defined its strategic objec - ti ve of strengthening production andemploy ment, both very hard hit bythe 1994-1995 financial and produc-tive crisis. The administration definedfive overall lines of action:

1) Access to credit;2) deregulation;3) support for exports;4) the creation and strengthening

of productive chains; and5) coordination among government

bodies linked to economic growthand development.

The government’s emphasis onhow urgent it is to reconstruct thefabric of production to make it moreefficient, competitive and capable ofstimulating economic growth is no -ticeable in its diagnosis of the situa-tion. To achieve this end, it gives im -portant space to the performance ofthe country’s micro-, small and medi-um-sized companies.

In that context, President Fox an -nounced the “Social Bank and Micro-credits” program, with its initial fundof 1.2 billion pesos, of which 800 mil-lion pesos come from the NationalFund for the Support of Solidarity Com -panies (Fonaes), and the rest from theMi n istries of Economy and Finance.It is hoped that the loans will go outto more than a million companies andwill ensure the self-employment of 1.3mi llion Mexicans.

To that end, the federal govern-ment has established the prerequisitethat the companies operating in theinformal sector of the economy must

make the decision to become part ofthe formal sector. This will give thema “boarding pass” for loans. In addi-tion, they will be given access to vitalinput and other governmental supportlike discounts in utility rates, specialtax brackets and access to lists of gov-ernment suppliers.

To implement the program, the fe d -eral government will be using the com -munity savings associations and creditunions as its main conduit for grantingloans, particularly to the changarros or“hole-in-the-wall” businesses that feedMexico’s extensive informal economy.The program has been given the Holly - wood-esque slogan of “Own your owndream.”

The country’s chambers of com-merce and industry do not share Mr.Fox’s proverbial optimism about thewhole project and have pointed tothe high cost of the loans. In effect,micro-financing agencies —mainlycommunity savings associations andcredit unions— will be given the fundsat an interest rate determined by fed-eral treasury certificate (Cetes) earn-ings (which came to 15 percent at thebeginning of April 2001) plus one point.The loans will be made to the compa-nies themselves at from 2.5 to 6 per-cent a month,11 which makes for morethan 30 percent a year in interest, mak -ing the cost of these loans equivalentto that of commercial banks.

The advantage of the program,however, is that it practically elimi-nates the collateral requirement, allow -ing access to formal financing to firmsthat would not otherwise have it. Italso would free micro- and small busi -nessmen from the loan sharks in theinformal credit market, who loan money

at 5 percent a day! (A typical exampleof this are the loans available at Mex -ico City’s central market.)

Mexico City’s Federal District gov-ernment is attempting to present itsown alternative to President Fox’s pro -posals: it has also announced a “Micro-credit Program” of 100 million pesosfor the year 2001. This program’s stat-ed objectives are to increase the num-ber of jobs and turn micro-companiesinto small companies, contri buting inthe long term to the consolidation of thecity’s patrimony. Mexico City MayorAndrés Manuel López Obra dor’s pro-posal is to earmark 70 mi llion pesos formicro-credits and 30 million for smallbusinesses.

Most of the loans will not exceed2,500 pesos (about U.S.$250) and willgo to the small family and subsistencebusinesses that proliferate in the infor-mal economy. The repayment periodsare extremely short: 16 weeks with afixed weekly rate of 0.7 percent, or 33.6percent annually. It is true, therefore,that the program has very high financ-ing costs, putting it on the same level

59

In the case of Mexico, micro- and small

businesses generally have little capital and very

limited or absolutely no access to financial

markets. Since 1994, financial support for businesses

has dropped 91 percent.


as the commercial banking system, butthese tiny businesses have no access tothose kinds of loans. Loan candidateswill be all those people who were pre-viously already organized, whose groupswill act as co-signers.

An important chapter in the feder-al government’s financial reform is thecreation of a single legal frameworkfor the intermediaries of the “popular”banking system. Currently, the lack oflegislation has meant that the 600 in -termediaries in this banking sector haveno security deposits to guarantee thesavings of thousands of Mexicans whoput their money into these institu-tions.12 The legislation approved inMay by the Congress requires suchdeposits. Since many savings associa-tions do not have the wherewithal tocomply with this sti pulation, the Fi -nance Ministry will begin the sector’sreorganization with a first step: a one-time Finance Ministry endowment tocreate the savings association insur-ance fund. In addition, the new legis-lation establishes a framework for theprudential regulation and su per visionthat will guarantee depositors’ savings.This is particularly important giventhe recent failure of several of theseassociations due to fraud that left thou -sands of depositors with nothing.

CONCLUSIONS

The two new loan programs mentio n -ed have the merit of recognizing theexistence and the economic contribu-tion of micro-, small and medium-sizedcompanies. Nevertheless, their scopeis very limited in two ways. First, theoverall sum they will be offering thesmall business community is very li -mited: Fox’s 1.2 billion-peso program

represents less than 1 percent of the140 billion-peso increase in revenuesthat the federal government hopes forwith its controversial “distributive fis-cal reform.” Secondly, the costs of theloans are quite high.

However, we can anticipate that themicro-credits will have positive effectsgiven the total absence of other re sourcesavailable to micro- and small business-es. At the same time, the pro grams willstimulate Mexico’s credit markets ingeneral by showing that the projects fi -nanced are viable. Micro- and small busi -nesses will be able to show that theyare profitable and, as such, should beeligible for commercial credit.

Probably the most important factorin the whole plan will be the change inlegislation on the social banking systemwhich will facilitate its reorganizationas an alternative for savings and loansfor the enormous world of micro-busi-nesses and for large sectors of low-in -come Mexican working people.

NOTES

1 J. J. Thomas, Informal Economic Activity (Lon -don: Ed. Harvester, 1992).

2 According to Mexico’s Trade and IndustryMinistry, large companies employ more than250 workers and have net annual sales of2,010 times the daily minimum wage or more.A medium-sized company has from 16 to 249employees and annual sales of less than 2,010times the daily minimum wage. Micro-busi-nesses employ up to 15 workers and annualsales for up to 110 times the minimum wage(SECOFI, Compendio Estadístico de la IndustriaNacional [México City, 1997]). According tothe National Micro-business Survey, micro-businesses are those who work in goods, trade,services, construction and transportation that

employ up to six workers, except in manufac-turing, where they can have up to 16 employ-ees (INEGI and STPS, Encuesta Nacional deMicronegocios [Mexico City: INEGI and STPS,1996]).

3 ILO, Integración del sector informal al procesode modernización. La legislación laboral y suimpacto en la microempresa (Lima: ILO, August1997).

4 An interesting case is the subcontractingto networks of small and micro-businessesaround Tijuana’s maquiladora industry, capa -ble of stimulating interindustrial cooperationand entrepreneurial learning. Ariel Mocte -zuma and Alejandro Mungaray, “Subcon tra -tación entre maquiladoras y pequeñas empre-sas en México,” Comercio Exterior vol. 42,no. 2 (Mexico City), February 1997.

5 This estimation is arrived at on the basis ofcounting all the companies not considered“large,” which is why the figure covers micro-,small and medium-sized businesses. See theinteresting study sponsored by Coparmex,BDEA and FUNDES Mexico, El fenómeno de laempresa media mexicana en estadísticas (Me x - ico City: Ed. FUNDES México, 1998).

6 Coparmex, BDEA and FUNDES Mexico, op.cit., p. 11.

7 Donald Layne, “Políticas financieras na cio na -les para la promoción de la pequeña empresa”(paper read at the International Seminar onthe Role of the Micro-, Small and Me dium-sized Company in the Process of Globa lization ofthe World Economy, Mexico City, March 1993).

8 Kato Kimihiko, “Esquemas de financia mien topara la pequeña y mediana empresa en el Ja -pón” (paper read at the International Se mi naron the Role of the Micro-, Small and Me dium-Sized Company in the Process of Globa liza tionof the World Economy, Mexico City, 1993).

9 Ibid.

10 ”Reactivaremos las uniones de crédito: Na fin,”El Universal (Mexico City), 28 March 2001.

11 ”Tasas de interés quitan el sueño,” ElFinanciero (Mexico City), 21 February 2001.

12 ”En una mar de incertidumbre nace progra-ma de microcréditos,” El Financiero (MexicoCity), 21 February 2001.

60

61

What do Mexican taxis havein common with the Inter -net? Instead of a virtual

chat room, imagine a kind of mobilediscursive space where you can stepin and out of a collective conversationabout the topics of the day. And theserver is the taxi driver himself (“su ser -vidor”), an amateur ethnographer of hisown culture and self-appointed story -teller. Sound like a novel?

Some years ago I realized that when -ever I took a taxi in Mexico, I wouldlearn more about what was going onlocally and even nationally than fromany other single source. Sometimes theconversations were so engaging that itwas hard to get out of the taxi. Once Ihad tapped the driver’s wealth of in -formation and opinion, it wasn’t easy tostop the flow, and I would find myselfstill listening at each stage of trying toexit the cab —even standing at theopen door to hear the end of the story.I was especially taken with taxi drivers’gift for storytelling and the love of

conversation that often overpoweredthe urgency of looking for work andkeeping the taxi moving. And so beganmy relationship with taxis and theethno graphic research for my bilingualbook, Por el espejo retrovisor/Throughthe Rearview Mirror, which at somepoint during the process of writingturned into a novel.

The book was published last fall inMexico, but I am continually remind-ed that it isn’t really finished. Nor is itreally mine. In Mexico it seems thateveryone has had experience with taxis,and most have their own stories to add

Through the Rearview MirrorReflections on Ethnography from

The Edge of FictionKathy Taylor*

* Professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studiesat Earlham College, in Rich mond, In dia -na. [email protected]

Society

Mexican taxi drivers: amateur ethnographers of their own culture.An

tonio Nav

a/AV

E


to the collection. I especially enjoy tel -ling taxi drivers about the book to seewhat reaction I will get. They are almostalways eager to tell me their stories,and usually do so with great style andpassion. In the words of one taxista:

“I’ve been driving taxis for 23 years. I

have lived some incredible stories. If

I told them, they would leave you with

your mouth open and your eyes wide.

If I were to write a journal, for example,

people just wouldn’t believe it. They

would say it was a novel.”

In both its ethnographic and fictio n -al aspects, this book was and clearlystill is a collective project. Its themesinvoke universal yet profoundly per-sonal experiences of conversation andstorytelling from within the anony-mous but intimate space of the taxi.

Everyone talks about the danger ofhailing taxis on the street, especially thegreen and white “bochos” that arethe most economical and prevalent.I have heard all kinds of stories and Igenerally warn my students not to takethem. However, I often find myself in aposition where I need to get somewherequickly and these taxis are the easiestsolution at hand. I have never had abad experience with them, nor evenfailed to have a great conversation.Re cently I got in one of these taxis withmy 83-year-old mother, and thoughtto myself that this could be the timethat would justify all those admoni-tions. Statistically it was bound to hap -

pen sometime. But we were soon in -volved in a wonderful conversationabout the meaning of life and reli-gion, and I mentioned my book. Sud -denly the car broke down and the driv -er managed to pull to the side of thebusy six-lane highway. After gettingout and inspecting the engine, he cameback shaking his head to give us thenews. “I’m so very sorry, señora, butyou will have to take another taxi,” hesaid as he helped us out of the car. Hethen hurried to flag down a taxi andled us across the street, holding the

traffic while we passed. After makingsure that we were settled, he shookhis head and apologized again, adding“What a pity, we were having such awonderful conversation.” He seemedto have forgotten his stalled car, theheavy traffic, and the general struggleto make ends meet in his disappoint-ment over the loss of the conversation.

There are special moments of en -counter in a taxi —moments that areso vivid that they become suspendedin a kind of fictional bubble that canbe replayed and reread in the mind asif outside of time. Although the con-versation is moving through the veryreal traffic and topics of daily life, these“freeze-frame” moments seem to envel -op it all —the research, the writing, thecasual conversation about the book—in a larger fictional field; as though itwere all part of a novel. On one recentoccasion I had again taken my chanceswith a “bo cho” taxi, although not with-

out precautions. As I got in, a Mex -ican friend of mine said loudly not toworry, that she had written down thedriver’s ID number. The taxista smiledat me in the mirror and sighed. “Ah,señora, we all have to pay for the sinsof a few, no?” That began a warm andanimated conversation without needof an introduction. He talked of hislife as a taxi driver and I told him aboutmy book. He was fascinated and beganto tell some of his own stories thatcould have been included. Suddenlyhe paused to look at me in the mirror.“What is the title of your book, señora?”he asked. “Through the Rearview Mi r -ror,” I answered smiling. His eyes litup as we met in the mirror with theshared understanding that both of uswere part of a larger story. The threadsof connection between us were strongerat that moment than our obvious dif-ferences. I have learned from these en -counters to take seriously the phraseon the side mirror, Objects in the mi r -ror are closer than they appear.

But perhaps I should start at thebegin ning of the story. The projectbe gan in the early 1990s as an ethno-graphic one, a study of the lives of taxidrivers in a small provincial city in cen-tral Mexico. Three students went withme to Mexico and we talked to manydifferent groups related to the taxi busi -ness. We took a lot of taxis. Throughcasual conversations we heard theiropinions on the topics of the day andcollected their stories. Over the nextseveral years I returned to Mexico oftenand the conversations continued. Astime went on, the stories began totake on the shape of fiction and theproject grew organically as a disciplin -ary hybrid, fertilized by my interestsin current theoretical discussions ofrepresenting culture in both literature

62

There are special moments of encounter

in a taxi —moments that are so vivid that they

become suspended in a kind of fictional bubble that can be

replayed and reread in the mind as if outside of time.

Society

and ethnography. In recent decades,there has been rising interest in writ-ing from the border regions betweentraditional disciplines. The socio-litera -ture of testimonial narrative has founditself alongside oral history, journalis-tic and ethnographic fiction and othercollaborative interdisciplinary texts.The multiple perspectives, fragmentednarrative and metafictitious self-exami -nation that characterize much of post -modern writing raise questions aboutwho should tell the stories, with whatauthority and for whom. The processof writing is re vealed in these textsand the reader is invited to participatein the construction of the narrative.Even in formal academic writing thechallenge has been not only to writethe definitive interpretation of the textor object studied, but also to examinethe influence of one’s own perspec-tive in the process.

These multiple visions and meta-commentary have become commonmarkers of postmodern literature andhave also impacted ethnographic writ -ing. The essays in Writing Cul ture,1

for instance, look at ethnographic dis-course through the lens of literarytextual analysis, developing new mod-els of postmodern ethnography. Ka ma -la Visweswaran writes more recentlyin her Fictions of Feminist Ethno gra -phy2 about the close ties between lit-erary forms and anthropological writ-ing; discussing both the fictions ofethnography and the idea of fiction asethnography. In her essay “Betrayal,”she uses a dramaturgical form as a wayof revealing and even subverting rela-tions of power by exposing their un -folding in the telling of the story. Thewriter is on stage with the actors, con -s tructing and deconstructing her textas we read.

The focus of traditional ethno gra -phy was to interpret another culture,to translate it for the understanding andelucidation of the mo dern world. To“organize the chaotic reality” as Bro -nislaw Malinowski said, “subordinat-ing it to the laws of scien ce.”3 Post -modern ethnography, in the words ofStephen Tyler, privileges discourse anddialogue over text and monologue,and emphasizes the cooperative andcollaborative nature of the study overthe ideology of the transcendentalobserver. The ethnographer tries to

un derstand another culture throughthe eyes and experiences of the peo-ple of that culture. The story that iswritten is a dialogue between the vi -sion from within the culture of the“informants” and the observationsfrom without by the ethnographer.The text that emerges is a weaving ofthe story of a culture, the story of theexperience of the ethnographer in writ -ing the text, and the reflection of theidentity of the latter on the text. It is adiscursive experience. James Cliffordsuggests that culture is a relational con -cept, “an inscription of communicativepro cesses that exist historically be tweensubjects in relations of power.”4 It is amontage of voices and conversations,a continually present dialogue. Insteadof fixed points of observing and beingobserved, it is a discursive space thatis mobile and relational.

A symbol par excellence of this mo -bile discursive space is the ubiquitous

taxi that is found in the very center ofdaily life in many parts of Latin Amer -ica. Since many Mexicans don’t owncars, they must rely heavily on publictransportation, and taxis make up asmuch as half of the traffic on the streetin towns such as the one representedin the book. As storytellers and guidesto the cultural landscape, taxi driversoften become im portant mediators ofinformation and opinion. There seemsto be a natural forum in the taxi busi-ness for exchange of information andopinion, a kind of collective conversa-

tion that keeps its finger on the pulseof the times and the continual con-struction of Mexican identities. Oftenleading multiple lives, taxistas repre-sent many walks of life, and workingas they do at the crossroads of a cul-ture, they become entangled in theunfolding dramas of all sectors of so -ciety. Perhaps also a mariachi, teacher,cam pesino, mechanic, butcher, formergymnast, soccer coach, fisherman, orsmall businessman, for example, theymay become involved in adventuresof romantic intrigue, kidnapping, po -litical corruption, prostitution, robbery,as well as performing small acts ofkindness and heroism in the daily lifeof their community. For some, drivinga taxi is a transition, a temporary sub-stitute for something else that hasfailed. Or perhaps a way to make a lit-tle extra money on the side during alean period. For others, it is a way oflife, a constant, at times desperate, strug -

63

There seems to be a natural forum in the taxi

business for exchange of information and opinions, a kind

of collective conversation that keeps its finger

on the pulse of the times.


gle to survive. “Times are hard, seño-ra”, I heard over and over, followed bythe familiar refrain “Esto ya no es ne -gocio” (You can’t make money at thisanymore). A few seem to enjoy a rea-sonably good income and they appre-ciate the freedom their job offers them.What ever their experience, taxistas arethere in the middle of modern life;observing, listen ing, interpreting andtelling stories.

Over a number of years I collectedstories, conversations, opinions and cul -tural interpretations from my behind-

the-wheel ethnographic partners. Notonly did I quickly become aware oftheir positions as ethnographers with-in their own culture, I also realized thatI was often their captive informant aswell as a traveling reader of their sto-ries. When faced with the question ofhow to write my book, it became clearthat I would not be able to leave theback seat of the taxi. The ethnograph-er/author doubles as both director ofthe play and actor in it, seeing her ownimage reflected in the rearview mirroras she tries to write about the other.

Frederic Jameson writes about akind of self-observation in the processof interpreting another culture. Aswe struggle to understand the other, weend up interpreting our own cultureand the position from which we areobserving. The text comments on itsown commentary. Clifford also refersto this metacommentary in his discus -sion of reflective ethnography, which

“encounters the other in relation toitself, while seeing itself as other.”5

Thus, in postmodern or self-reflecti veethnography, the rhe toric of objecti -vity of traditional ethnography givesway to autobiography and ironic self-portrait.

This reflective experience of writ-ing ethnography can be personally pro -found. One sees one’s own othernessreflected in the eyes of the other. I amother because they see me as such.The look of the other defines us, asSartre said. But I am also other be -

cause I am no longer the same personas before. The encounter transformsme and I leave my own fingerprintson the situation that I study. VincentCrapanzano discusses the paradox ofthe ethnographer like that of the trans -lator, of trying to make the foreignfamiliar, while still preserving its veryforeignness. But what happens whenthe foreign ceases to seem foreign?When the ethnographer finds her ownplace in the conversations and com-plex relationships of another culture,does she stop translating? Or does shebegin to translate herself? In MexicoI have discovered an “other” in myself,a part of me that has a different voiceand sees a different image in the mir-ror. “We are all others,” wrote a friendof mine in a song. “Todos somos otros— los otros, nos-otros, vos-otros...”6 Westudy the other to discover our ownotherness. We recognize (or re-cognize)ourselves in the mirror of another cul-

ture. Through the intimate dialoguewith that culture, subject and objectare confused and the writer becomesa character in her own work.

While riding around in taxis re -search ing the book, I couldn’t escapethe feeling of being in a postmodernnovel infused with the magical-literaryquality of daily life in Mexico. Every -thing was always already there; the frag -mentation and multivocality of the text,the mobile discursive perspectives, theabsent center signified by the mirrorin which the reader’s image is reflect-ed, the commodification of everything,the encounter with the other and con -tinued re-fashioning of identity againstthe backdrop of late capitalist econom-ic relations. I wrote about what I sawand heard and the stories I was told.I also imagined other stories. But myimagination could never outdo the wildinventions of reality in Mexico. And myinformants/literary characters movedeasily back and forth across the hazyborder between ethnography and fic-tion so as to confound even the author.A few real-life characters inserted them -selves into the story. One such char-acter, already legendary in the town,hardly needed literary embellishmentto make her “well-rounded” or “fleshedout.” In the early stages of the project,when I had three students workingwith me on the research, the two malestudents went with a Mexican friendof mine to a late night hangout in thered light district of the town, knownas the “Zona de tolerancia”. (There iseven a bus route called “foco rojo”—“red light”— whose final destina-tion is the famous “Las Vegas” of thetown.) A popular place for taxi driversto gather after work, we were told in nouncertain terms that the only womenwho entered there were “going to

64

We recognize (or re-cognize) ourselves in

the mirror of another culture. Through the intimate dialogue

with that culture, subject and object are confused and the

writer becomes a character in her own work.

Society

work”, so we decided that only the menwould go. When they entered the bar,a woman, who they later learned wasthe senior prostitute, quickly greetedthem. “Did you come to interview me?”She asks them. “Everyone does, youknow.” So what could I do? I had nochoice but to let her into my book.

After the book was published, anoth-er real-life character (a mariachi-ta xis -ta) walked into a store to buy a copy ofthe book, asking for a discount becausehe was in it. I would not be too surprisedif Zapata himself appeared to claim hisvery real part in the story. Some taxis-tas have since told me that I left animportant story out of the book, the oneabout the phantom passenger. As thestory goes, along a certain stretch ofroad leading out of town a mysterious

woman stops taxis to catch a ride. Laterwhen the driver turns to talk to her, shehas vanished. Whether or not she is“real” is less important to them thanthe truth of the story, of which theywere all convinced. I have often feltlike that phantom passenger, imaginingmy way in and out of taxis and blurringthe lines of definition between the actu-al and the possible, the text and thepretext. The book has grown beyond itscovers now, to be revised and retoldwith each new encounter in a taxi. I findit hard to resist raising my hand to catchjust one more ride, one more conversa-tion through the rearview mirror. Thereflections in that mirror help us seepictures of who we are, framed againstthe backdrop of where we’re going. Ourrealities and our dreams are reflected in

the eyes of others. We see them as theysee us, our eyes meeting in the mirror inthe very act of seeing.

NOTES

1 James Clifford and George E. Marcus, eds.,Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics ofEthnography (Berkeley: University of Cali forniaPress, 1986).

2 Kamala Visweswaran, Fictions of FeministEthnography (Minneapolis: University of Mi n -nesota Press, 1994).

3 Bronislaw Malinowski as quoted in TrinhMin-ha, Woman, Native, Other: Writing Post -coloniality and Feminism (Bloomington: In -diana University Press, 1989), p. 56.

4 James Clifford, “Partial Truths”, James Clif -ford and George E. Marcus, eds., op. cit., p. 15.

5 Ibid., p. 23.

6 Gray Cox, “Todos somos otros”, 1990, unpub-lished song.

65

66

Discrimination is an asymmetri-cal relationship of dominan ce,that is, a political relationship.

Any strategy for reducing discri mina -tory practices in Mexico must start offfrom that simple, often under estimat ed,fact. Therefore, any means of fightingagainst the different forms of discrimi-nation in Mexico must first complywith the obvious but essential prereq-uisite of recognizing that it exists, thatit is widespread and that it is part of

the most deeply rooted representationsamong the population.The fact that discrimination is prac -

ticed in those areas that scholars con-sider “private” or “non-public,” like thework place or the family, creates the illu -sion that its reduction should be soughtmainly through education or the trans -formation of value systems, without in -volving legal and political action by thestate. That illusion has solid reasonsfor existing. In contrast with forms ofbehavior that damage people’s physi-cal integrity, property or legitimate eco -nomic expectations, discriminatory actsseem to remain in the terrain of sym-

bolic relationships, subjective attitudesor even in the area of freedom of ex pres -sion and opinion. The central issue,then, is not whether discrimination isa fantasy, but whether in public life itfrequently becomes “in visible” given thelegal order de fined by liberal abstractuniversalism.This is particularly true in the Mex -

ican case, in which the Constitutionex pressly prohibits all differentiatedtreatment for citizens by public bodiesin the definition of their individual andcitizens’ rights.1 Nevertheless, with theexception of what Article 4 stipulates—that is, the multicultural nature of

Against DiscriminationJesús Rodríguez Zepeda*

* Philosopher. Member of the Citizens’Commission for Studies Against Dis -crimination.

Discrimination against the physically challenged is not explicitly prohibited in the Constitution.

Octavio Nava/

AVE

Society

67

the Mexican nation and the equality ofmen and women— other forms of dis-crimination, like those based on ethnicorigin, being physically challenged orsexual preference, are not explicitlyprohibited. For that reason, acts of dis-crimination seem to be above all prac-tices of civil society whose nature makesthem very difficult not only to prose-cute, but even to formulate as crimes.In Mexico, if the differences in treat-ment that implies disparaging vulnera-ble social groups are not prohibited inlegislation, discriminatory practiceswill only be seen as forms of culturalbackwardness or community inertia, butnot as serious deficiencies in the legal-political order.Even though including discrimina-

tion in the law is a demand for justice,the problems arising out of the broadgamut of discriminatory practices can-not be overcome if legal action againstthem is limited to the formulation of“negative” rights, that is, the right toprotection vis-à-vis the action of otherindividuals or the state. Together withthese “negative” protections, a strate-gy of affirmative action must be estab-lished by the state for the develop-ment of the basic capacities of socialgroups vulnerable to discrimination.For that reason, the fight against

discrimination must be taken on as avariation of what Amartya Sen hascon ceptualized as the struggle for free-dom. According to Sen, “Attention isthus paid particularly to the expansionof the ‘capabilities’ of persons to leadthe kind of lives they value —and havereason to value. These capabilities canbe enhanced by public policy, but also,on the other side, the direction of pub-lic policy can be influenced by theeffective use of participatory capabili-ties by the public.”2 Government pro-

motion of the abilities of vulnerablegroups makes it possible to protectthem against society’s undervaluingthem and also —and this is probablymore important— to equip them ascitizens with a sense of self-respect,able in time to demand the respect of

others for their rights. In this sense,affirmative action must lead to theempowerment of these groups. In thisway, discrimination must be made vis-ible in our legislation not only to pun-ish it, but also to compensate for thedamage suffered by groups subjectedto it and to prevent further discrimina-tory practices through both educationand the fear of legal penalty.An example that contrasts with the

Mexican case but is revealing in termsof the political nature of discrimina-tion is the civil rights struggle in theUnited States in the 1960s and part ofthe 1970s. There, explicitly citing dis-crimination in the law in some statesopened the way for the SupremeCourt to come to very concrete deci-

sions that led to a political process ofsocial, educational and employment in -tegration that had consequences thatare still felt and that opposed the prac-tices, traditions and values of some spe -cific communities.For that reason, even though it is

true that the different forms of dis-crimination are intertwined with his-torically established cultural practicesthat are difficult to change, they shouldbe seen above all as a series of politi-cal practices that can be fought throughlegislation, education and the social-ization of the values of reciprocity andmutual recognition. No single strategywill be effective for attacking discrim-inatory practices. But, since it is fun-damentally a political problem, it isnecessary to change the legal frame-work, not only so it can show up dis-crimination, but also to allow for thestate to protect vulnerable groups. Acts of discrimination are direct

violations of basic human rights. Ar -ticle 1 of the United Nations’ UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, signedin 1948, clearly stipulates the univer-sality of freedom, equality and humandignity.3 If we define discrimination asdifferentiated treatment that trampleshuman dignity even if hidden behindformal respect for freedoms and legalor political equality, we would have tosay that a society does not offer realprotection for an individual’s inalien-able rights as long as it permits discri m -inatory practices to occur.In practice, differentiated treatment

based on discrimination sooner or laterleads to limitations on fundamentalfreedoms and unequal political andlegal treatment, just as the absence ofcivil rights and legal and political equal -ity foments discrimination against themost vulnerable groups in society. Dis -

The problems arising

out of the broad

gamut of discriminatory

practices cannot be

overcome if legal action

against them is limited

to the formulation of

“negative” rights.


crimination is part of the spiral ofauthoritarian domination since it tendsto stigmatize social groups, specific prac -tices and world views and to lead tothe cancellation of their rights and civic,legal and political guarantees. The con -verse is equally true: the existence ofpolitically authoritarian societies is theideal breeding ground for discrimina-tory practices.The Universal Declaration of Hu -

man Rights has become an insuffi-cient basis upon which to defend thedemand for the respect for humandignity. As a model, it was based, ofcourse, on the triumvirate of rights(civil, political and social) that charac-terized the model of social and de -mocratic rule of law that reached itsnormative zenith in the 1980s. Never -theless, the demands by ethnic groups,women, the differently enabled andthose with non-conventional sexualorientations that they be recognizedhas made the fight against discrimina-tion a kind of contemporary version ofthe civil rights movement. That is howNicola Matteucci sees it, for example,when she says, “It is significant that,while the trend in our century and thelast [speaking of the nineteenth andtwentieth centuries] seems dominat-ed by the struggle for social rights, weare now seeing conversely an upsurgein the battle for civil rights.”4

This judgement is acceptable aslong as we remember that a great partof this new battle is for a new genera-tion of civil rights, such as the recog -nition of non-conventional sexual ori-entations or ecological rights.In that sense, any debate in Mex ico

on a constitutional amendment expre s s -ly prohibiting discriminatory acts shouldtake into account the fact that theUnited Nations is on the brink of for-

mulating its own declaration on dis -crimination. This is a good political op -portunity to make our le gal steps for-ward in this matter coincide with theexplicit, militant support of an in ter -national charter of the right to equaltreatment and redress for harm causedby discrimination. In Sep tember 2001,the World Con fe ren ce Against Racism,Racial Discri mina tion, Xenophobia andRelated Into lerance will be held inSouth Africa. The conference will pro -bably produce a universal declarationconceiving the protection against dis-crimination as a human right that re -quires protection and promotion byUnited Nations member states.The ideal scenario would be that

public debate in Mexico about consti-tutional protection against the differ-ent forms of discrimination es ta blishits priorities, local tasks and argumentsbased on our national experience andthat, therefore, its conclusions be de -fended in the UN conference. In thisway the oft-repeated experience of theMexican government accepting inter-

national conventions without the na -tion’s po litical forces really making theirtopics a priority could be avoided.A political discussion and even a

constitutional amendment prior to theinternational debate on discriminationwould reverse the usual order of eventswith regard to the treaties Mexico hassigned in the past. In the first place,that kind of prior discussion wouldestablish the political and legal condi-tions needed to ensure that the inter-national agreement would not just bea general declaration with no specificconsequences, preparing its applica-tion in the different laws it would haveto be included in. In the second place,it would make Mexico’s signing theconvention a demand based on do mes -tic policy and not, as is often the case,a kind of external imposition whoseonly actors seem to be the diplomatsfamiliar with it. And finally, makingdomestic and international law jibewould give greater normative strengthto the fight to end the different formsof discrimination in Mexico.

68

Iván León/Imagenlatina

Retirees demonstrating outside the Chamber of Deputies, September 12, 2000.

Society

69

Attempting to create a constitutio n -al amendment and different regulato-ry laws dealing with discrimination isa way of defending the idea that a justpolitical system must preserve the rightsof minorities from abuse by the major -ity. This idea was formulated almostsimultaneously by Alexis de Tocque -ville and John Stuart Mill in the mid-nineteenth century. Mill of fered up anargument that could be applied withalmost no modification to the currentMexican situation:

The notion that people have no need

to limit their power over themselves

might seem axiomatic, when popular

government was a thing only dreamed

about....In time, however, a democrat-

ic republic came to occupy a large por-

tion of the earth’s surface....The will of

the people, moreover, practically means

the will of the most numerous or the

most active part of the people, the ma -

jority....The people, consequently, may

desire to oppress a part of their num-

ber, and precautions are as much need-

ed against this as against any other

abuse of power.5

The achievement of a democraticregimen necessarily poses the prob-lem that the majority may try to use itsnow recognized strength to dominatethe minorities. The establishment ofconstitutional limits on the action of themajority and the corresponding spe-cial protections for minorities are theonly way of avoiding the risk of a “tyran -ny of the majority.” Even in a de mo c -racy, the problem does not lie so muchin the majorities’ trodding on the mi -norities’ rights beca use of inertia or tofurther vested interests, but in thedepth of passionate feelings like racialhatred, homophobia or sexism.6

Discrimination is fed by social pas-sions long nurtured in a nation’s polit-ical culture, passions like racism, sex-ism, the rejection of non-con ventionalsexual identities and a disproportion-ate sense of the majority groups’ self-worth. That is why educational and cul -tural efforts and all attempts to con vince

will be insufficient in re ducing discri m -ination if they are not regulated andguided by a profound legal and politi-cal reform capable of dealing with itfor what it is: a violation of fundamen-tal human rights.

NOTES

1 For example, Article 1 of the Constitutionguarantees protection for everyone withoutexception; Articles 6 and 7 guarantee freedomof expression and of the press; Article 24, reli-gious freedom and freedom of conscience;Articles 13 and those that follow, the rightsguaranteed under the rule of law; and Article35, citizens’ political rights, such as the rightto vote and be voted into office. Article 4 is aspecial case in that it explicitly states the spe-cial protection for the languages, customs,and forms of organization of indigenous peo-ples. Nevertheless, until now, this article hasnot been regulated in law to ensure its imple-mentation in specific circumstances and, ofcourse, to punish its not being respected.

2 Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (NewYork: Anchor Books, 1999), p. 18.

3 The article reads, “All human beings are bornfree and equal in dignity and rights. They areendowed with reason and conscience andshould act towards one another in a spirit ofbrotherhood.” Article 7 explicitly prohibits dis-crimination, saying, “All are equal before thelaw and are entitled without any discriminationto equal protection of the law. All are entitled toequal protection against any discrimination inviolation of this Declaration and against any in -citement to such discrimination.”

4 Nicola Matteucci, “Derechos del hombre,” N.Matteucci and N. Bobbio, eds., Diccio na rio depolítica, vol. 1 (Mexico City: Siglo XXI Edito res,1987), p. 516.

5 John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty,” On Liberty andOther Essays (Oxford: World’s Classics, OxfordUniversity Press, 1991), pp. 7-8.

6 This idea that the attacks by majorities onminorities are guided in many cases by pas-sions and not only by interests appears in JonElster, “Majority Rule and Individual Rights,”Stephen Shute and Susan Hurley, eds., OnHuman Rights, The Oxford Amnesty Lectures1993 (New York: Basic Books, 1993).

In a symbolic ceremony outside Mexico City’s Fine Arts Palace, gay and lesbian couples were “married,” February14, 2001.

Jesús Quintanar/Imagenlatina

71

The last two decades of the twen -tieth century saw thousandsof poblanos—people from the

state of Puebla— arrive in New York.Little by little, the Big Apple took inpeople born in Chinantla, Chia utla,Piax tla, Ahuehuetitla, Tul cingo del Valle,Chitela, Teco matlan, Tehuitzingo andmany, many more towns from Pueblaand surrounding states.I would like to reflect here about

this population flow. While it beganin the 1940s, its expansion changedlife in the places of origin and day-to-day existence in destinations like thestate of New York and several coun-ties in New Jersey and Connecticut.

The road from the Mixtec area ofPuebla to New York is long and dan-gerous. You have to cross most of Mex -ico, stay for a while in the border citywhere you have a contact (usually Ti -juana), pay a large sum of money indollars and take your chances, riskingyour life to cross the border, trying toavoid immigration officials, to illegallyenter the United States. And all this,in the hope of finding in New York thegood fortune so ardently desired bymany and so harshly won by so few.Oral history has it that a single fa m -

ily started out on this route in the late1930s, but it was almost 40 years laterwhen migration of poblanos to New Yorkbecame a clear social, demographic,economic and political trend. All ofthis has been dealt with by experts in

the question like Ro berto Smith ofCo lumbia University —whom I metin New York— who has been studyingthis migration for many years.U.S. census data shows how New

York has become a top priority des ti - na tion for Mexicans. The census, inad di tion to reporting the size of the pop -ula tion, its socio-demographic cha rac -ter istics and territorial distribution, alsohas political and economic functions,as Víctor Arriaga says, “determin ing thenumber of congres s-persons from eachstate, the number of votes in the Elec -toral College and the apportionmentof almost U.S.$38 billion [in 1990] infederal funding to the states and citiesfor education, health and housing.”1

An item in the census gives us the rateof inclusion of Mexicans when each

Late Twentieth Century MigrationPoblanos in New York

Luz María Valdés*

* Researcher at the UNAM HumanitiesCoordinating Department.

Mexico-U.S. Issues

Rodo

lfo B

ravo

person who identifies him- or herself asMexican is automatically inc lu ded inthe group designated as “Hispa nics,”where their origin is specified.The 1990census registered22,354,059

Hispanicsinthe United States, 13,495,938,or 60 percent, of whom were of Mex -ican origin.2 The 2000 census registered39.2 million Hispanics. If the propor-tion remains the same, this would meanthat today there are 22 million personsof Mex ican origin or descent in theUnited States, that is, the equivalentof all the Hispanics in 1990. If we thenadd in the undocumented migrants—not included in the census— andthe natural population increase in re -cent years, we would get a much highernumber, possibly close to 30 million.According to the 1970 census, New

York was not a favorite destination ofMexican migrants, who were concen-trated mainly in California (41 per-cent) and Texas (35 percent), and to alesser extent in Arizona (5 percent),Illinois (3.5 percent), New Mexico (2.6percent) Colorado (2.3 percent), Mi chi -gan (1.4 percent), Washington (0.7percent) and Florida (0.5 percent).However, between 1970 and 1980,

migration to New York increased, atrend which has continued until today.In 1980, there were 39,000 personsof Mexican origin in New York State,while ten years later, the 1990 censusregisters 93,244. This makes for an aver -age yearly in crease of 8.8 percent.Just as New York became a new desti -nation for Mexicans, in the 1980s therewas also an increase in states like Ore -gon, Nevada and Kansas. Only Ne va -da registered a higher rate of increasein that decade. In 1980, then, the Mex -ican population in the United Statesbegan to be redistributed due to achange in migratory flows.

Today, according to the 2000 cen-sus, New York has 2,867,583 Hispa -nics, or 15 percent of the state po p -ulation; in 1990, they representedonly 12 percent. New Jersey registered1,117,191 Hispanics in 2000, 13.3 per -cent of the population, whereas in 1990,they constituted only 9.5 percent. Ifthe proportion of Mexicans among theHispanic population re mains the sameas it was in 1990, this means that thereare now 114,703 Mexicans there, a fi g -ure that shows an important underes-timation of this group in that part ofthe country, which may be due to thefact that, to protect themselves, un doc -umented migrants tend to avoid beingcounted in the census.In 1992, I witnessed the return of

73 undocumented workers who weredeported to Tijuana by plane by im mi -gration officials. That was a Thursday;the following Monday, 69 of thesepeople reported for work in the U.S.

RESEARCH ON THIS MIGRATORY FLOW

For more detailed information on themigratory flows, we have data from my1991 research project which was gath-ered from two sources: first, Mexico’sConsulate General office in New Yorkwhich gave me access to almost 2,000personal files of people who request-ed proof of nationality so they couldreturn to Mexico; and second, a month-long survey done among 340 individu-als in different parts of the city.

COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE

In the early 1990s, the presence ofMexicans in the whole city becamemore and more visible, prompting re -search into the ones entering NewYork illegally.During my research, I observed that

services are in the hands of Mex icans,


72

Jobs in Mexico and New York and Educational Levels

Mexico New York Junior High School Level or More

Managers 1 1 1Professionals 6 1 1Technicians 9 5 4Office clerks 3 5 4Semi-skilled services 15 138 80Agricultural jobs 8 16 17Commerce and artisans 37 26 12Non-skilled agricultural,commerce and service jobs 121 94 53Armed forces 6Students 99 4 —Housewives 21 21 —

Total 326 311 172

Source: Taken from the 1991 survey on employment done by the author.

Mexico-U.S. Issues

particularly domestic and gardeningservices. In a great many vegetable,fruit and flower shops, the sales per-sonnel are Mexican and the owners,Korean. Corner flower vendors who ex -hibited their wares in supermarket cartswere Mexican, as well as dry clean ers’employees and waiters in innumerablerestaurants, from the most up-scaleto the informal. There are even placeswith veritable reproductions of a Mex -ican neighborhood diner —completewith jukebox, folding metal tablesadvertising a Mex ican beer companyand plastic tablecloths— where youcan order Mex ican soft drinks like Ja -rritos or Orange Crush and Pepsi-Co -la bottled by Embotelladora La Nos -talgia, from Chicago, Illinois. You canalso meet barmen from the Metro po l -itan Opera House who offer to intro-duce you to Plácido Domingo and seeMexican street vendors offering chu -rros, tacos and chewing gum. Andaround Mex ican Independence Day,Mex ican flags abound.

METHODOLOGY

This whole spectrum of Mexican col-ors and aromas was basic for designingthe survey that aimed at determin -ing the place of origin and de mo grap h -ic, social and economic profile of theseMexicans. The survey was applied inmetropolitan New York at the Mex -ican consulate, where people who wantto return to Mexico go to get the papersthey need to do so, places where base -ball, basketball and soccer are played,Hispanic churches, Mexican restau-rants and vegetable shops.The documents in the Mexican con -

sulate indicated that 45 percent ofthose who requested proof of nation-

ality were from Puebla, 13 percent fromOaxaca, 12 percent from Mexico City’sFederal District, 7.5 percent from Gue -rrero, 4.9 percent from Morelos, 4.4percent from the State of Mexico, 3.1percent from Michoacán and 1.5 per-cent from Tlaxcala. Seventy percentof these migrants were between theages of 20 and 39, and 46 percentbetween the ages of 20 and 29. Ninety-two percent of the migrants were ofpeasant origin, mainly children of agri -cultural laborers, although they had awide variety of jobs in the UnitedStates: salesperson, accounting clerks,carpenters, welders, auto body me cha n -ics, primary school teachers, business -men, soldiers, artisans, painters, watch -makers and itinerant singers.Of those surveyed, 47 percent came

from Puebla; 15 percent, from Mex -ico City’s Federal District; 8 percentfrom Guerrero, 7 percent from Oaxa -ca; 6 percent from Morelos; 4 percentfrom the State of Mexico and 3.5 per-cent from Michoacán. Also, 63 percentwere between the ages of 20 and 29and 74 percent were men.The survey also indicated that 70

percent of the migrants entered theU.S. through Tijuana, while otherscame in through Nogales, Laredo,Agua Prieta or Mexicali. The averagecost was U.S.$867, which includedcrossing the border and the air farefrom Los Angeles or San Diego to NewYork. Only 8.1 percent arrived throughthe international airport in New York;that is, this is the number who hadtheir immigration papers in order. Sevenper cent traveled with their spouse orchil dren, while 43 percent traveledaloneA central factor feeding migration

are established social networks: whenasked why they had chosen New York,

63 percent of those canvased saidthey had relatives there and 17 per-cent responded that they had a job.However, 80 percent came lookingfor work. They also said that in NewYork, immigration officials treat Mex -icans better than elsewhere.In terms of housing, 5 percent paid

less than U.S.$500 a month rent;56 percent, between U.S.$500 andU.S.$999; and 7.5 percent, betweenU.S.$1,000 and U.S.$1,500. Becauserents are so high, apartments are oftenshared by more than two people so thatthe monthly rent per person rangesfrom U.S.$200 to U.S.$500. Groupsolidarity in matters of housing, seek-ing employment and leisure time isone of the characteristics of the Mex -ican population in New York.Educational levels were high: only

10.6 percent of those interviewed hadnot finished primary school, while 17percent had a complete primary schooleducation; 11.8 percent had not con-cluded junior high school, but 31.8percent had; 21.4 percent had fin-ished high school or had some college;and 3.2 percent had graduated fromcollege.People from the state of Puebla gen -

erally had a lower educational level,but more personal contacts and lessdifficulty in finding a job.

NOTES

1 Víctor Arriaga, “Demografía y participaciónpolítica en la sociedad estadounidense,”Censos y elecciones (Mexico City), October-December 1990.

2 United States Department of Commerce,Census Bureau Releases 1990. Census Countson Hispanic Population Groups (Washington,D.C.), 12 June 1991.

73

75

In Canada, the influence of neo-conservatism, a dominant trend intoday’s world, needs to be studied

carefully. Alberta and Ontario are twoprovinces where the neo-conservativeagenda dominates, promoted by theirrespective premiers, Ralph Klein andMike Harris. While Albertans are gen -

erally relatively accepting of the Kleingovernment’s right-wing policies, Onta - rians are not as welcoming of Harris’.Although they are the first two pro vin -ces to suffer major provincial cutbacksand both have been swept by ideolog-ical changes based on right-wing men -talities, different political cultures inthe two provinces and the leadershipstyles of their premiers account for dif -ferentiated public res ponses to policy.Ontario’s massive public opposition to

government cuts and restructuring isdue to a failure in Mike Harris’ lead-ership, and to a political culture thatsup ports organized interests, which canmobilize protests against the provin-cial government. Alberta’s comparativelack of opposition to the Klein govern -ment’s policies is attributable to hisphenomenal popular support and tothe province’s right-wing political cul-ture that abhors dissent and public cri -ticism of authority.

“Welcome to Ralph’s World”Neo-Conservatism Takes Hold in Canada

Kelly O’Donnell*

* Department of Po li tical Science,University of Alberta, Ed mon ton,Canada.

Canadian Issues

Ralph Klein Mike Harris

Shau

n Be

st/R

euters

STR/Re

uters


In this article, I will examine neo-conservatism in the Canadian context. Ishall discuss in the recent re-electionof Ralph Klein in Alberta and hisleadership, comparing it to Mike Harris’and then look at the implications forCanada as a whole.1

THE RECENT ALBERTA ELECTION

“We believe those that would vote Li -beral or NDP don’t deserve to live in Al -berta” read a sign in Winfield, Alber -ta. Such a sign might be considered

somewhat undemocratic in other Ca na -dian provinces. However, you must keepin mind that this is Alberta, known asthe Texas of Canada. Democracy andliberty are not primary concerns in aprovince where the premier was quot-ed saying, “I believe in free speech, aslong as you say the right thing.”

The Klein Conservatives just wona landslide majority in Alberta, garner -ing 74 of 83 seats in the provincial le -gislature “Welcome to Ralph’s World”is how Klein began his recent victoryspeech. The fact that they won theirthird term is not surprising consider-ing that Alberta has been a virtual one-party state for the last 30 years. (Dic -tatorships often conduct elections inorder to legitimize their regimes, dothey not?) What is surprising, howev-er, is that the rest of Canada seems tobe following in the Klein government’s

footsteps. Canada is experiencing adra matic shift in ideology at both theprovincial and federal levels, edgingfurther and further toward the right ofthe political spectrum. Alberta’s pre-mier, known to most Al bertans asRalph, is a highly adept po l itician. Hisre-election demonstrates the growingstrength of neo-conservatism inCanada. Alberta, under his govern-ment, was the revolutionary pro vincethat began this well-publicized fiscallyconservative crusade to eliminate gov - ernment de ficits and debt withoutrais ing taxes. Ontario, under the Harris

gov ernment, soon followed in the foot -steps of Klein’s “revolution” with its ownCommon Sense Revolution.

For the purposes of this article, theterms right-wing and neo-conservativeare understood as the same. Theyinclude, but are not limited to, a fiscallyconservative attitude that adopts the cor-porate agenda and social conservatism.Neo-conservatives seek less governmentintervention in society and less govern-ment in general and thus include trendslike privatization of gov ernment serviceson their agenda. Other authors callthis ap proach to government and eco-nomic policy neo-liberal, but I am usingthe term neo-conservative to describe thenew way of doing politics more compre-hensively. I refer to it as neo-conservativebecause it is a clear de parture from amore traditional Con ser vative (Tory)approach to po l itics in Canada.

According to the United Nations,Ca nada has one of highest standardsof living in the world, which many Ca - nadians equate with our social wel faresystem. However, Canada is now mov-ing away from its traditional welfarestate policies. Last year the Klein gov-ernment introduced Alberta’s HealthCare Protection Act, which allows forprivate medical clinics in the pro vince.The act is a perfect example of the movetoward privatization. Neo-conservativesseek to minimize the role of the wel-fare state in society. This is reflectedby policy that reduces welfare benefits,edu cation and health care bud gets andthe number of public sector employ-ees. When examining how the two pro -vinces reacted to their neo-conserva-tive governments, it is im por tant tocon sider how these re gimes came about.Leadership is a key factor in provincialpolitics —particularly in this equation.While Klein and Harris differ in someways, their similarities are quite remar -kable. Both have often been greatlyunderestimated. While they lack muchformal education, Klein and Harris havenot only risen to high political office,but have managed to instigate neo-conservative “revolutions” in their res -pective pro vin ces. Their leadershipstyles and po pu larity, or lack thereof,and the concept of populism will alsobe ad dressed in this article. In bothcases, the relation ship between leaderand electorate has had important ram-ifications for the suc cess of the neo-conservative agenda.

KLEIN

“Lauded by the Wall Street Journal, Ba r -ron’s, The New York Times, and the Globeand Mail, awarded by both the Fraser

76

Last year the Klein government introduced

Alberta’s Health Care Protection Act, which allows

for private medical clinics in the pro vince.

The act is a perfect example of the

move toward privatization.

Canadian Issues

Institute and the National Ci tizens’Coa lition, poster-boy for Satur day Nightand Maclean’s magazines, Ralph Klein—Canada’s ‘original’ Newt Gingrich—is big news.”2 The Premier of Alber -ta is well known in Canada and aroundthe world. His government’s reformsare seen as innovative and he is viewedas a revolutionary. His political successis quite remarkable considering his mo - dest beginnings.

Klein has not lived what one wouldconsider a normal politician’s life. Firstof all, he is not formally educated.He drop ped out of high school andheld a number of different jobs be -fore entering politics, including work-ing at a col lege, public relations andjournalism. As a journalist he workedon ra dio and then on television as areporter. Many people knew of Kleinthe journalist, and that position is oftencredited with allowing him to becomemayor of Cal gary, Alberta, Canada’sfastest grow ing city, for three consec-utive terms from 1980 to 1989. Hethen moved to provincial politics andhas since won three elections.

Klein’s unusual career path is justone of the elements that makes hima unique leader. He has achieved anamaz ing feat for a politician: “the pub-lic sees [him] as ‘nonpolitical’.”3 Thisfact is mostly due to Klein’s personal-ity, or more specifically, his publicper sona. He appears to be an ordina -ry guy. “The image of Ralph Klein as‘ordi nary’ is deeply embedded in theminds of Albertans as one of his great -est assets.”4

Klein is also very aware of the effectof the media; a natural entertainer, helikes attention and uses it to his advan -tage. As mayor of Calgary, Klein dis-played his media savvy in his “ability tomanipulate ... particularly front-line re -

porters and columnists, [which] stem medfrom his own experiences in TV jour-nalism.”5

Television is a useful tool in poli-tics; Klein’s use of this medium is partof what makes him such a successfulleader. “He practise[s] political lead-ership based largely on communica-tion.”6 His record demonstrates thathe doesn’t have a clear ideology. Hedetermines what ideology is important,what ideology will keep him in power.Today Klein is known as the premierwho fights debt and deficits. He iscredited as being the “poster boy” for

fiscal conservatism. This is despite thefact that as mayor, Klein left Calgarywith a $1.6 billion debt. It was onlyafter his move to provincial politicsthat he “became a born-again fiscal con -servative.”7 Television allows Klein toproject the image that he wants to, forhe is a convincing actor. Hence, his re -cord is often forgotten by Albertans. Te -levision is all about image, and Kleinis adept at controlling his.

One of Klein’s most useful leader-ship techniques is his annual televisedprovincial address. He makes his speechto Albertans across the (relatively) un -mediated airwaves. His talk is re - hears ed, and there are no political ad -versaries nearby to refute or questionhis statements. Klein uses a private te -levision station, despite the fact thatthe public-owned station has reported-ly offered him time, but the public sta-

tion would also have offered time to hisopponents.After watching an address,the electorate would find it difficultnot to believe that Klein is their friendwho is doing what is right for the peo-ple of Alberta. In his latest provincialaddress, Klein was “interviewed” by areporter. In fact, the reporter —if youcan call him that— asked Klein prede -termined questions and the premier readthe answers off a teleprompter. The re -por ter had obviously been given theques tions ahead of time. The addressis not usually in the form of an inter-view; this alternate format was perhaps

meant to lend it some credibility. How -ever, for anyone who paid close atten -tion to the broadcast, it was a farce.

Klein uses his televised addressesto simplify issues. He once used a“family” metaphor to discuss the pro v -ince’s economy. The province was tobe viewed as a family household. Al -berta was described as getting its “fi -nancial house in order.”8 In this way,Klein simplified complex issues intoeasy-to-understand more familiar ones.Furthermore, this metaphor allowedKlein to justify his government’s poli-cies: “Once Albertans had come toaccept these stories of the spend-thriftfamily, it was easy to convince themthat cutbacks to public services werenot just a necessary evil, but good me -dicine.”9 These addresses provided anunmediated avenue for Klein to tellAlbertans what he wanted them to be -

77

Klein has a unique style

of leadership, which includes his public persona,

his use of television to convey his

message, his populist airs, his corporatism,

and his scape-goating.


lieve. Klein’s pu blic status as ordinaryperson allowed him to tell Alber tansabout the difficult times ahead: “Onlyan ‘ordinary guy’ like Ralph Klein couldbrag about cutting people off welfare,and get away with it.”10 Tele vision isindeed one of Klein’s greatest leader-ship devices.

Many analysts believe that Kleindraws some of his strength from beingunderestimated.11 This underestima-tion may stem from his ordinary guyimage. Amazingly, “Faults that would

have destroyed almost every politician...are tolerated with Ralph.”12

Albertans generally tend to sepa-rate Klein from his government’s poli-cies. This is what most likely ac countsfor his continued popularity despite hisgovernment’s harsh cut-backs. Klein’s1993 victory was impressive, given theelectorate’s dissatisfaction with his pre -decessor, Don Getty. Since then, Klein’spopularity has remained very high andonly dipped during the debate sur-rounding Alberta’s Health Care Pro -tection Act. While there has been somepublic disapproval of certain policies,this was at no particular political costto Klein.13 “After two years of ‘revolu-tion’ in Alberta, opinion polls and thegeneral political climate in the pro v -ince show[ed] that the effective dis-course of the Klein government [had]

been extraordinarily convincing.”14

Klein remains very popular today.His “government resonates with theradical new conservatism”15 in Cana -da, and particularly in Alberta. It willhave eliminated the provincial debtbefore any other province. In doing so,it has set a template for other provin-cial governments, such as the Harrisregime in Ontario. Klein has a uniquestyle of leadership, which includes hispublic persona, his use of televisionto convey his message, his populist

airs, his corporatism, and his scape-goating. He has managed to maintainpower in Alberta through popular sup -port, despite his government’s harshcutbacks. Consequently, he is accu-rately described as “the most adeptpolitician in Canada today.”16

His “followers are personally anddevoutly loyal to him.”17 This is wherethe idea of populism comes into ques-tion. Many analysts debate whetheror not Klein is a populist. While his gov -ernment is certainly not a classical po p -ulist government, it does have somepopulist traits. Before discussing them,the term “populist” should be clarified.Populism is defined as: 1) a mass po -li tical movement 2) based on an ima -gined personal (i.e., unmediated) re la -tionship between leaders and followers3) mobilized around symbols and tra-

ditions congruent with the popular cul -ture 4) which expresses a group’s senseof threat 5) arising from powerful ex -ternal elements.18 It is widely accept-ed that populism played an im portantrole in Alberta’s political history. Thequestion is, however, is this still truetoday?

The fact is that the Klein governmentowes its popular appeal largely to itsleader, as does Alberta’s Pro gressiveConservative Party. The pro vincial gov -ernment took to describing itself as

Ralph’s Team. The elections have large-ly been based around Klein himself.In one campaign, billboards all over theprovince read, “He Listens, He Cares”and featured a picture of Klein’s friend-ly face. In focusing on Klein’s so-calledlistening and caring attitude, the gov-ernment “incorporated the rhetoric oflistening and responsiveness into therestructuring program, arguing that itskey initiatives have been shaped by Al -bertans themselves.”19

It is debatable whether or not Alber -ta was in need of Klein’s heroism. Hisgovernment, it is argued, exaggeratedthe province’s financial situation in1993 in order to create a crisis that itcould use to justify its policies. “TheKlein government has worked hard torewrite history, portraying the [previ-ous] Getty government as extravagant

78

Canadian Issues

spenders who drove Alberta to the brinkof financial ruin... [due to] out-of-con -trol spending.”20 This was the claimat the center of the Klein government’sre gime.21 This populist tech nique cre-ated legitimacy for its policies. “Throughcareful maneuvering, the Klein govern-ment has achieved asto nishing po l it -ical success”22 for, at the end of 1996,“Albertans ha[d] been convinced thatthe cutbacks of Ralph Klein’s govern-ment were necessary to conquer run-away public spending.”23

In addition to blaming the previousadministration, Klein’s governmentbla med numerous other factors for theprovince’s financial “crisis,” includingspecial interest groups, such as publicunions. Avoiding res pon sibility forone’s actions by focusing the blameelsewhere, scape-goating, is oftenquite efficacious when it comes to pol-itics. Furthermore, Klein defines thosewho accept his reforms as “ordinaryAlbertans”; this is a politically loadedterm implying that there are Albertanswho are abnormal simply be cause theydo not support his government’s poli-cies. Klein uses terms like “commu-nists,” “whiners,” and “left-wing nuts”to describe those who oppose his poli-cies.24 By focusing the debate on an“us vs. them” mentality, the Klein gov -ernment has avoided a lot of criticism.

While the Klein administrationuses populist techniques, it is not agenuinely populist regime because “itscor poratist practices are at variancewith classic populism.”25 Cor poratismis “a system of organizing functionalinterests and influencing public policythat involves the incorporation intosociety of ‘members’ (in dividuals, fam-ilies, firms, or various groups) througha limited number of monopolistic, dif-ferentiated, hierarchical and involun-tary associations.”26 Klein’s govern-

ment is ac curately described as“right-wing and cor poratist, althoughcertainly not without ‘popular’ sup-port.”27 It has even been stated thatKlein “clearly ran a government inpartnership with business —govern-ment as a joint venture.”28

The Klein government is known forits attempts to quell its opposition inthe province. This is not a populist tac-tic. Furthermore, “a government whichclaims to listen to the people, hasinstead centralized power, curtailedcivil democracy and privatized publiclife.”29 Some analysts argue that, “Kleinand the people around him reinventedthe structure of public discussion”30 inAlberta. This was illus trated by thegovernment’s 1993 “round table” dis-cussion. In a seemingly populist move,the government sought public input

regarding policy decisions. However, theround table discussion was a facade tolegitimize the government’s actions. Afterall, it was the Klein government thatcontrolled both the agenda and whoparticipated in the talks.31 In addi -tion, the government turned the resultsfrom the education round tables “insideout.”32 “The report suggested little sup-port for cutting kindergarten funding inhalf or for creating charter schools.Half a year later, the government wentahead with both. They still claimed

their reforms were legitimate reflectionsof the opinions of Albertans as gath-ered in the round tables.”33 Thus, whilethe Klein govern ment seemed to bepracticing populism, it was a facade usedto justify its policies. Albertans general-ly tend to separate Klein from his gov-erment’s policies and this is what mostlikely accounts for his continued popu-larity despite his goverment’s harsh cutbacks.

Klein is described in a variety ofways. “To his supporters, he is the ebul -lient maverick of the Canadian north-west frontier, a cunning and savvy lonerwho is reestablishing the private val-ues and public mores of rural self-re -liance and urban entrepreneurship.”34

To his opponents, he is the leaderwho is ushering in a new form of gov-ernment that threatens the welfare

79


state that many Canadians value. Kleinis either “loved or hated [by Alber tans]...there is no middle ground.”35

HARRIS

Not unlike Klein, Ontario’s MikeHarris is described as a “down-homeyguy” who is “remarkably determi ned.”36

Cha racterized as “an outsider geo grap - hically, professionally and poli ti cal ly,”37

he dropped out of college and driftedbetween jobs for fifteen years. His

career path is quite unusual for a pre-mier of Ontario. He taught elemen-tary-school math and science; he wasa golf-pro; he served as a trustee on aschool board; and eventually he chairedthe board. “This background is partic-ularly interesting in light of Harris’later antipathy towards public educa-tion and government funding.”38

He has a “rigid commitment to theneo-conservative agenda”39 and “is oftenportrayed as a conservative-at-all-costsideologue whose overriding philosophyis to reduce the role of governmentwherever possible.”40 His ideology isoften contrasted to Klein’s: some ob -servers believe Mr. Harris is also a moregenuine conservative, in a philosoph-ical sense, than Ralph Klein. The lat-ter had no reputation for conservativebehavior be fore taking over as premier—indeed, quite the opposite: as Cal -

gary mayor, he oversaw huge spend-ing increases and was widely suspect-ed to have Liberal sympathies. MikeHarris, by contrast, is a lifelong small-government Tory who drafted his Com -mon Sense Revolution 18 monthsbefore the 1995 election that broughthim to power.41 Nonetheless, he hasfollowed Klein’s lead. Harris admitsthat “while [his] plan was tailored toOn tario’s needs, the province neededthe kind of leadership which RalphKlein had shown in Alberta,”42 andthat the “blueprint” for change is in

Alberta.43 There are numerous simila -rities be tween Harris and Klein.Harris’ public persona is that of anordinary guy, just like Klein’s. Criticssuggest that while “he work[s] hard atcreating an image as a populist... thereal Mike Harris [is] not quite as fo lk -sy as he appear[s].”44 Harris’ popu -lism is quite questionable, despite thefact that his government was recentlyreelected.

Harris is criticized by his opponentsfor not listening to his electorate andhis government is described as autho -ritarian, not populist. “The right-wingideologue and populist are evident inthe scripted moments, while the rigidauthoritarian with the petty streak ap -pears when the premier strays from hisgame plan.”45 Thus, “If people disagree...with his agenda, so be it. They [are]free to protest, and he [is] free to ig nore

them.”46 Moreover, “For Mike Harris,consultation seemed to mean speak-ing with those who agreed with hisviews.”47 That lack of communicationwith the electorate has been demon-strated often during the Harris yearsand is perhaps a motivating factor inthe electorate’s various responses tothe administration. It is difficult todefend the premier’s claim to populismwhen one considers the evidenceagainst it.

Harris is often described as a polit-ical outsider because of his middle-class origins and the fact that he comesfrom the political periphery of Nor th -ern On tario. Being an outsider to theparty elite is another similarity be tweenHarris and Klein. Despite this disad -van tage, however, both men ma nagedto seize the leadership of es tablished,mainstream party organizations withlong histories in government. Even moreremarkable is that they did so despiteconsiderable op po sition from their par -ty’s traditional eli tes. In a sense, Kleinand Harris hijacked their own par -ties, something they could do only be -cause their parties were temporarilyin trouble, out of power and out offavor with the voters.48 Unlike Klein,Harris is not widely regarded as hav-ing populist ten dencies despite theirsimilar outsider status. The Harris gov -ernment, unlike Klein’s, has faced alot of public criticism. Critics blamethe confron ta tion in Ontario on “thepremier’s abra sive personality and hisgovernment’s au tho ritarian manage-ment style.”49 At the heart of the pro -blem “is the premier himself”;50 thisis the opposite from Alberta. The Ha -rris regime seems to be plagued byconfrontation. Some critics blame thespeed with which the Harris govern-ment im plemented reforms, under-

80

Being an outsider to the party elite

is another similarity be tween Harris and Klein.

Despite this both men ma naged to seize

the leadership of established, mainstream

party organizations.

Canadian Issues

scored by Ontario’s “me ga week” oflegislative changes. During that weekit was claimed that: “Mike Harris[might] surpass Ralph Klein as Ca -nada’s most revolutionary premier.”51

While this claim has not been sub-stantiated, Harris’ speed of reform isnoteworthy.

“Harris has always maintained itwas the agenda of the ‘Common SenseRevolution,’ not his personality or hisgovernment’s style of managing pub-lic affairs, that produced four years ofconfrontation, violent protest and oc -casional riots in the streets of normal-ly sedate Ontario.”52 However, pollshave demonstrated that people arenot satisfied with Harris’ leadership;“the character of the man in charge...is directly responsible for the problemshis government has had in implement -ing its agenda.”53 Harris, say his critics,is not living up to the expectations thatOntario voters have of their politicalelites.54

Harris resembles Klein insofar ashe has loyal supporters. Klein, howev-er, has not experienced the same levelof personal attacks as Ontario’s pre-mier. Mike Harris has endured end-less assaults on his character. He waseven nicknamed “Chainsaw Mike” byBob Rae, the former premier of On -tario. The level of public outrage de -monstrated in Ontario is in part attri -butable to certain campaign promisesthat the Harris government broke: itstated that it would not touch healthcare and education, and once elected,proceeded to do so. Ironically, Harrisonce said, “I think it’s reasonable thatpoliticians who campaign in a directionor on a platform for things that arewithin their control, that they ought toresign or go back to the people if they infact are going to change their minds.”55

He has obviously changed his stanceon the issue. This is in direct contrastto Klein in Alberta who is so confi-dent in his recent record that he cam-paigns using the slogan, “He keeps hispromises.” Harris blames all opposi-tion to his agenda on special interestgroups. Just as Klein has done in Al -berta, Harris is attemp ting to createan “us vs. them” mentality in Ontario.This kind of leadership technique,however, does not seem to be workingas well as it did in Alberta; the eviden -ce is in the sheer number of Onta -

rians who have participated in theprotests. This can perhaps be explainedby Ontario’s political culture: Ontariohas a long tradition of group rightsand unions, and other organized inter-ests wich are much more powerful inOn tario than in union-wary Alberta.

By contrast, Alberta does not have ahistory of collective protest, making iteasier for Klein to successfully blameany opposition on special interestgroups. Thus, political culture accountsfor the success of Klein’s strategy inindividualistic Alberta, and for the rel-ative failure of that Harris leadershiptechnique.

While Harris has faced massiveprotests, the fact remains that he con -tinues to lead Ontario. His governmentwas reelected in 1999. He received 45percent of the vote. Most of his sup porterswere upper-middle class and urban.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANADA

“While Alberta is not alone in em -bracing ‘new right’ fiscal policies... it isnotable for the pace and intensity ofits approach, making it an illuminat-ing and timely case study in the Ca -nadian context.”56 The Klein govern-ment has “used its crusade against thedeficit... [to initiate] a government pro -gram of social engineering, the re-order-ing of societal institutions and priori-ties to fit a particular ideological mouldthat is virtually without precedent in

recent Canadian history.”57 While sixother Canadian pro vinces were pro-jecting balanced budgets for the1995-1996 year, these accomplish-ments were overshadowed by Alberta.58

Alberta is now regarded as a model forneo-conservatism in Canada and else-where around the world. The provinceis viewed as a trend setter. “It isn’t On -tario that is leading Canada down thispath to wards a market based morali-ty... It’s Ralph Klein’s Alberta.”59 Onta -rio is following in Alberta’s footsteps.

The evidence suggests that: “Alber -ta’s greatest export used to be its oil;now, as Ontario attests, it’s Klein’s modelof how to remake government.”60 More -over, “the unexpected 1995 election ofConservative Premier Mike Harris inOntario and the reelec tions of two otherbudget-balancing premiers, Tory GaryFilmon in Mani toba and Social Dem -

81

Harris is attemp ting to create an “us vs. them”

mentality in Ontario. This kind of leadership

technique is not working; the eviden ce is in

the sheer numbers of Onta rians

who have participated in the protests.


ocratic Roy Romanow in Saskat ch - e wan, indicate... that the sustained pop -ularity of Premier Klein’s tough, aus-tere government is more than just...quirky Alberta.”61 The success of theKlein revolution illustrates a shift inideology: “Until recently, only the lu -natic fringe of Canadian politics hasvoiced support for the extreme right-wing ideas that underlie the pathologyof American life... With the Klein gov-ernment, however, these ideas have atlast found a Trojan Horse for enteringinto Canadian public discourse and

policy, and thereby fundamentallychang ing the nature of Canada.”62 Ca n -ada’s current status as a welfare stateis in jeopardy, as is its sovereignty anddemocracy.

Both Alberta and Ontario have de -monstrated authoritarian tendenciesthat threaten democracy. These ten-dencies include hurrying bills throughthe legislature to avoid de bate, at -tempting to by-pass the legislature’sauthority by asking it to pre-approvecabinet decisions on blank sec tionsof legislation and discouraging publicinput by ignoring certain portions oftheir respective electo rates. Thesetrends are quite disconcerting andhave the potential to influence morethan just Alberta and Ontario as otherprovincial governments begin to fol-low the Klein government’s lead. Ca -nadian ideology is shifting away from

the center of the political spectrumand moving to the right. Neo-conser-vatism has the potential to profoundlyinfluence Ca nadian politics. It alreadydominates the agendas of the provin-cial governments in two of Canada’smost important provinces.

CONCLUSION

Despite the different reactions toneo-conservatism in Alberta and On -tario, an important fact remains: both

the Klein and Harris governmentswere reelected. The right-wing men-tality has most assuredly begun topermeate into the rest of Canada atboth the provincial and federal levels.The question is, therefore, not if neo-conservatism will influence Canadianpolitics more pervasively, but when itwill, and how the rest of the Ca na -dian public will react to it.

NOTES

1 Special thanks to Dr. Julián Castro Rea forhis input on this article.

2 Trevor Harrison and Gordon Laxer, “Intro -duction,” The Trojan Horse, Trevor Harrisonand Gordon Laxer, eds. (Montreal: BlackRose Books Ltd., 1995), p. 2.

3 Joanne Helmer, “Redefining Normal: Life inthe New Alberta,” The Trojan Horse, TrevorHarrison and Gordon Laxer, eds. (Montreal:Black Rose Books Ltd., 1995), p. 72.

4 Gillian Steward, “Klein the Chameleon,” inThe Trojan Horse, op. cit., p. 23.

5 Ibid., p. 28.

6 Marc Lisac, The Klein Revolution (Edmonton:NeWest Press, 1993), p. 78.

7 Steward, op. cit., p. 32.

8 Kevin Taft, Shredding the Public Interest:Ralph Klein and 25 Years of One-Party Gov -ernment (Edmonton: The University of Al -berta Press/The Parkland Institute, 1997),pp. 85-86.

9 Idem.

10 Steward, op. cit., p. 33.

11 Frank Dabbs, Ralph Klein: A Maverick Life(Vancouver: Greystone Books, 1995), p. 174.

12 Barry Cooper, The Klein Achievement (To -ronto: University of Toronto, Faculty of Ma n -agement, Center for Public Mana gement,1996), p. 46.

13 Claude Denis, “Government Can Do WhateverIt Wants,” Canadian Review of Sociology andAnthropology 32 (3), August 1995, p. 370.

14 Idem.

15 Dabbs, op. cit., p. 173.

16 Trevor Harrison, “Making the Trains Run onTime: Corporatism in Alberta,” The TrojanHorse, op.cit., p. 123.

17 Trevor Harrison, “The Changing Face ofPrairie Politics: Populism in Alberta,” PrairieForum no. 1 (spring 2000), p. 111.

18 Ibid., p. 108.

19 Karen D. Hughes et al., “Public AttitudesTowards Budget Cuts in Alberta: Biting theBullet or Feeling the Pain?,” Canadian PublicPolicy 22 (3), September 1996, p. 271.

20 Taft, op. cit., p. 25.

21 Idem.

22 Ibid., p. 1.

23 Idem.

24 Harrison, “The Changing Face of PrairiePolitics: Populism in Alberta,” p. 117.

25 Idem.

82

Both Alberta and Ontario have

demonstrated authoritarian tendencies.

Neo-conservatism has the potential to profoundly

influence Ca nadian politics. It already dominates

two of Canada’s most important provinces.

Canadian Issues

83

26 Ibid., p. 118.

27 Trevor Harrison, “Making the Trains Runon Time: Corporatism in Alberta,” op. cit.,p. 119.

28 Lisac, op. cit., p. 152.

29 Harrison and Laxer, op. cit., p. 3.

30 Lisac, op. cit., p. 143.

31 Ibid., p. 144.

32 Ibid., p. 145.

33 Idem.

34 Dabbs, op. cit., p. 173.

35 Idem.

36 Anthony Wilson-Smith, “The Mike HarrisSchool of Politics,” Maclean’s, vol. 110 (45)10 November 1997, p. 9.

37 Brooke Jeffrey, Hard Right Turn: The NewFace of Neo-Conservatism in Canada (Toron to:Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 1995), p. 152.

38 Ibid., p. 153.

39 Ibid., p. 157.

40 Wilson-Smith, op. cit., p. 9.

41 Colby Cosh, ”A Megaweek to remember:Mike Harris may surpass Ralph Klein asCanada’s most revolutionary premier,” Al -ber ta Report vol. 24 (8), 3 February 1997,p. 11.

42 Christina Blizzard, Right Turn: How theTories Took Ontario (Toronto, Dandurn PressLtd., 1995), p. 95.

43 Ibid., p. 96.

44 Jeffrey, op. cit., p. 156.

45 Ibid., pp. 156-157.

46 Ibid., p. 214.

47 Idem.

48 Ibid., p. 440.

49 Ibid., p. 152.

50 Idem.

51 Cosh, op. cit., p. 10.

52 Jeffrey, op. cit., p. 151.

53 Ibid., p. 149.

54 Ibid., p. 150.

55 Mr. Silly’s Friends, Quotations from Chain sawMike (Toronto: ECW Press, 1997), p. 62.

56 Hugues et al., op. cit., p. 270.

57 Idem.

58 Melville L. McMillan, Leading the way or miss-ing the mark? The Klein government fiscal plan(Edmonton: University of Alberta, WesternCenter for Economic Research, 1996), p. 2.

59 Harrison and Laxer, op. cit., p. 1.

60 Ibid, p. 2.

61 Dabbs, op. cit., p. ix.

62 Harrison and Laxter, op. cit., p. 4.

ADVERTISEBEYOND YOUR OWN BORDERS

Miguel Ángel de Quevedo 610, Col. Coyoacán. C.P. 04000, México, D.F. Tel. 5659-2349 and 5554-6573. E-mail: [email protected]

Guanajuato Down Through TimeAurora Jáuregui de Cervantes*


Union

Garden and San Diego Chu

rch.

A view

from

the Pípila M

onum

ent.


Any city that has made history has a sin-gular origin, and Guanajuato is no excep -tion: it was born by chance during the

Spaniards’ search for metal ore in the region theyknew as “The Great Chichimeca,” and it grewwhere they dug their mines. This and the agri-cultural and cattle ranching ha ciendas madethe area self-sufficient.Guanajuato took shape slowly. It took a few

streets, many alleyways, several plazas —likethe one called Cuesta del Marqués, today Plazade la Paz; the San Diego or San Pedro AlcántaraPlaza, now the Union Garden; and the San Ro -que Plaza— and many bridges over the river thatran through the bottom of the gorge borderingon the mining haciendas to make the begin-nings of an urban area. All this can be seen in thecity maps and the Indias and Rozuela Archives.The climate and beautiful scenery makes

the geographical area where Guanajuato lies

ideal. Its urban layout is irregular since it de -v eloped with no specific planning. Originally,the area was a woody glen inhabited at differenttimes by different pre-Hispanic tribes. Someof them settled in what is today the Pastita neigh -borhood: the Otomíes called it Mo-o-ti, or “placeof metals”; the Nahoas called it Paxtitlán, or“place of hay” or “ancient place”; and the Pu -répechas called it Quanashuato, or “mountain-ous place of frogs.”The primitive Real de Minas de Santa Fe

—as it was called— which included the Realesof Tepetapa, Marfil and Santa Ana, was elevat-ed to the category of alcaldía mayor, or town, in1574. In 1679, it was given the rank of villa andin 1741, that of city, by decree of King Felipe V.The cover sheet of the document of incorpora-tion as a city, deposited in the Alhón diga de Gra -naditas and the mayor’s office, has the city sealrepresenting faith and the words, “Title of Cityconferred by His Majesty Señor Don Felipe V—may God keep him— on the Villa de Santa

86

* Former chronicler of the city of Guanajuato.

Plaza de la Paz. The Alley of the Kiss, an obligatory stop for any visitor.

Unless otherwise

specified ph

otos by Daniel M

unguía

Guanajuato, land of legend,

perfect for combining

fantasy and reality.


Fe y Real de Minas de Gua najuato, for its mer-its and services.”The document then enumerates the quali-

ties taken into account to raise it to the catego-ry of a city:

Its situation and temperament... its good and co -

pious fruits... benign climate, purity of air and

water and other prerequisites stipulated in the

First Law, Title Five, Book Four of the Com -

pendium of the Indies, for the obtainment of the

title of City, in addition to the advantageous con-

veniences of its abundant silver and gold mines;

its area, population, buildings, haciendas, rooms

have increased considerably, and many visitors

pass through for its increased trade and com-

merce, attracted by its wealth and abundant rich-

es; and that it is at present one of the most useful

mining towns in New Spain, so much so that it is

singular and estimable, among all those discov-

ered and worthy of the most distinguished honors

for its copious contribution and the splendor of its

most important neighbors....This villa is situated

near one of the mines themselves, the main ones

of which are called Rayas, Mellado and Cata... be -

coming a City it will be to the benefit of my Royal

Treasury. Therefore, by my Royal Title, I wish and

it is my will that the said Villa will henceforth

and always be known perpetually as the city of

Santa Fe y Real de Minas de GUANAJUATO...

I, THE KING (signature)

The title of city was not actually bestowed onGuanajuato in the town itself until 1746 be -cause bureaucratic red tape had slowed downthe process. But the celebrations to commemo-rate the royal decree began on July 31 of thatyear, celebrations which lasted several days.1

At the time the city was incorporated, theMina de Rayas mine, worked by Don José Sar -daneta y Legaspi, was bringing in 17 millionpesos for the crown. When this mine passed tohis son and grandson (the first and second

87

The University of Guanajuato, a center for academic and cultural activity.The underground street, an impressive example of colonial engineering.

The underground street’s

winding pattern follows

the river on the banks of which

Guanajuato was founded.


Marquis de Rayas, respectively), they each paidthe same amount annually. The city’s goldenage spanned 100 years, from the end of theseven teenth century to the end of the eigh-teenth century. In the late eighteenth century, the La Va -

lenciana Mine was very productive: accordingto Alexander von Humboldt, it sometimes pro-duced as much as the entire kingdom of Peru.“If we contemplate the Guanajuato Mining Dis -trict, just two mines of the mother lode annual-ly produce the seventh and eighth part of all thesilver produced in the Amer icas.”2 The La Va -lenciana Mine made an annual profit of be -tween 400 million and 600 million pesos for 40years, which is why Humboldt classified it asthe richest mine in Mexico.Guanajuato has a glorious past as the hearth

where our nationality was forged. Here and inthe surrounding area, the mixing of the racestook place more rapidly than in other parts ofthe country. Notable civic buildings and thecity’s churches began to be erected in the man-nerist and baroque styles in the seventeenthcentury. This process continued in the eigh-teenth century, producing such buildings as theSaint Pedro Alcántara (San Diego) Monastery,the San Francisco Church (previously SaintJuan), the Parish Church (today the Basilica),the Belén Monastery, the Holy Conception,Company and Valenciana Colleges, etc.In 1786, Guanajuato became the seat of one

of Mexico’s 12 intendancies, created in that year.At that time, it had 80,000 inhabitants and wasat the height of its splendor. The central plazaalready held the mansions of the Counts of Ruland Pérez-Gálvez, of the Marquis of San Cle men -te; and in Pocitos, the mansion of the Mar quisde Rayas. In 1809, the Alhóndiga de Grana ditas,the great granary, was finished in the neoclassi-cal style. One year later, on September 28, thefirst battle of Mexico’s War of Independencetook place there, led by Don Miguel Hidalgo yCostilla. On March 25, 1824, after many yearsof struggle brought independence, Guanajuatobecame the capital of the state and, in 1858,

88

Plaza San Fernando, ideal for a rest or having a snack.

Plaza El Baratillo, where indigenous peasants used to sell their produce and grain.

The Basilica, where Our Lady of Guanajuato is worshipped.


under President Benito Juárez, the capital ofthe republic. In 1903, state Governor Joaquín Obregón

Gon zález invited President Porfirio Díaz to in -augurate several important public works builtin the late nineteenth century: the Juárez Theater,the Legislative Palace, the Esperanza Dam andtwo monuments (one dedicated to peace, builtin the old Central Plaza, which then changedits name to Peace Plaza; and the other dedicat-ed to Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in Las Aca -cias Park).Today the city has grown beyond the original

canyon and the population has increased. TheState College became the Autonomous Uni -versity of Guana juato, with a substantial cam-pus and a symphony orchestra. Under the cityare many tunnels and underground streets thatgive the area a mysterious, legendary air.In 1982, Guanajuato was declared a nation-

al monument, and in 1988, it was given the titleof Cervantes City by the mayor of Alcalá de He -nares, Spain, where Miguel de Cer van tes Saave -dra was born. Guanajuato has been the host ofthe International Cervantes Fes tival for 29 con-secutive years. This festival is one of the rea-sons cited by the director general of the UNESCOin 1988 when he declared Guanajuato and itsmines a World Heritage Treasure, given that itscommitment is not only to preserve the past,but to build a new future through fostering cul-ture, creativity and education. In short, this is acity that people fall in love with and is wellworth visiting.

NOTES

1 That particular day was picked because it was the day ofthe city’s patron saint, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Since1557, the city already had its own virgin, Our Lady ofGuanajuato, also honored during the celebrations, whichwere, therefore, religious, civic and community festivitiescombined.

2 Alejandro von Humboldt, Ensayo político sobre el reinode la Nueva España (Mexico City: Porrúa Editores,1973), p. 402.

89

The Juárez Theater, one of Mexico’s oldest and most beautiful stages.

Quijote Plaza, in honor of Cervantes.

La Valenciana Church’s gold-leaf altarpieces are a magnificent example of baroque art.

Guanajuato State Tourism

Office

Mexico is famous for the variety andextent of its cuisine. Each regiondelights the palate with dishes

from the finest and simplest to the most exot-ic and sophisticated, depending on their ingre-dients, preparation and presentation. Fish andseafood, different meats and fowl, vegetablesand all kinds of dishes made from corn, theindispensable ingredient in our cooking, pre-pared in a thousand and one ways, give Mex icancuisine unrivaled and unforgettable flavors andaromas. Desserts and sweets could do no less.

Traditional Mexican candy-making is thesum of the history and customs that go back topre-Hispanic times, with its taste of fruit, honeyand seeds like amaranth, passing through thecolonial period and the exquisite mestizaje that

adds milk and sugar. Then, with the centuries,other ingredients and recipes from each local-ity join in to develop a regional identity. Mo -dernity adds alien and often artificial flavors towhich Mexican confectionery adapts to andmust coexist with.

Many kinds of candy have become the sym-bol of certain festivities or are associated withcertain times of the year and are only madethen: the best known of these are the littlesugar (and now chocolate) skulls made for theDay of the Dead in many parts of the country.Others become veritable works of art andcompete in contests like Guanajuato’s famousalfeñiques. In these cases, sight replaces tasteas the main sense satisfied. Most have gonebeyond the realm of the family kitchen and are

91

The Delights of Guanajuato

Gua

naju

ato

Stat

e To

urism

Offi

ce


mass produced and sold in specialty shops,markets and streets where passersby can buythem to take home or as gifts.

Today’s traditional Mexican candies haveacquired local or regional passports and areknown as confections from Puebla, Morelia,Guadalajara or Guanajuato —just to mentionthe most famous.

Guanajuato’s candy is extremely varied, butis basically made of three ingredients: milk,sugar and every imaginable fruit. Custards; ca -jeta or milk-based caramel cream; jamonci llo,a milk and sugar paste, filled with nuts, dates,dried plums, pine nuts, almonds or figs; co co -nut bars made with milk, with or without wine,with nuts and raisins; coconut bars made with-out milk and with fruit like pineapple or figs;palanqueta, or nut brittle, made of peanuts, pine

nuts, almonds or walnuts; dried, candied fruit(candied strawberries are typical of Irapuato,dubbed the world’s strawberry capital); pre-serves; jam; ate, or fruit paste. The list is unending.

Don Ignacio Agreda, who has been makingcandy in Guanajuato since 1953, says that themost important thing is to maintain the tradi-tion of good candy, made without adding anypreservatives or chemical ingredients, and whichstays fresh for several months thanks to theknowledge and experience used in its ma nu fac -ture. The procedures are simple, most basedon boiling the ingredients. The art is in the ren -dering, in knowing when the mixture is cookedjust right. Don Ignacio says that it is easiest tosee when jamoncillo paste is done, but thatfruit takes longer and need more care becauseit absorbs the syrup more slowly. Today, with theadvent of thermometers, it is no longer neces-sary for confectioners to put their fingers inthe pot to see if the mixture is ready —but thegood ones still know how to if the need arises.

Candy also changes with the times andconfectioners have to know how to adapt tomodernity. In Guanajuato, classic candy-mak-ing exists side-by-side with modern methodsand one or two derivatives of the two. For exam -ple, the charamuscas, a candy that dates backto the early twentieth century, was a favorite of

92

Confectioners make many different figures out of alfeñique paste. The La Catrina shop carries more than 200 products from all overMexico.

Jamoncillo covered with walnuts, a delight to the palate.

Take

n fro

m A

rtesa

nías

de

Gua

naju

ato,

Gua

naju

ato

Stat

e G

ov.,

1995

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía


Guanajuato families, originally made with pi -loncillo (unrefined, brown sugar blocks) andcitric acid, made in the shape of a bar or repre -senting the town’s famous tourist attractions,the mummies. This is also the case with thetrompadas, made with the same ingredients,but filled with coconut, walnuts or almonds.Around the 1960s, these were still the bestknown candies, but they lost the battle with theadvent of the jamoncillos and other milk-basedcandies. Today they are only a few among hun-dreds of varieties that one can buy in Gua na -juato’s candy stores, and some day soon theymay well be forgotten. Celaya’s famous cajetasor Irapuato’s candied fruits seem to have morestaying power.

Don Ignacio also explains that candy-mak-ing is also a seasonal affair. During summer va -cations, when thousands of Mexican and for-eign tourists visit the city, shop shelves fill withjamoncillos and coconut candies, just like dur-ing the International Cervantes Festival heldyearly in October. For the celebration of AllSaints’ Day, sweet-potato candy and candiedfruit come on the scene. And they lead to ex -periments: Don Ignacio introduced a sweet-potato and guava paste that was used to deco-rate the intricate offerings made to the dead onthe Day of the Dead. It was so successful that

it is now becoming a tradition. At the end of theyear, dried fruit is a much appreciated dessertat Christmas tables. It is also used to make fruitcake (not a Mexican tradition). Caramel fig-ures are another custom, as is co la ción, a mix ofsugar-coated almonds and peanuts and multi-co lored sugar candies, until a few years agoabsolutely indispensable for the traditionalpre-Christmas fiestas or posadas.

Visitors can find sweets from faraway partsof Mexico, or that have originated there butare now produced in Guanajuato, as well as tra-ditional local varieties. But in any case, they areall delights worth taking home so as to bring alittle taste of Guanajuato.

Elsie MontielEditor

93

Charamuscas and trompadas, the most typical local candies.

Dried, sugared strawberries and milk- and sugar-based cajetas.

El cubilete, manufacturers of local candies for almost 50 years.

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

95

Earth, water, air and fire. These are theelements with which the potter, the por - celain maker, the ceramicist, the master

craftsman (or woman) —artists all— give inertmaterials the permanent form of vessels and allkinds of objects, from the most humble pot, jaror griddle, to the most elaborate, ma jestic urns,large china jars, platters or intricate sculptures.They are all part of folk or fine art, pieces res -pected for their technical and aesthetic attrib-utes as well as their sociocultural significance.Guanajuato’s pottery emerged in the Chu -

pícuaro culture and developed for more than 25

centuries in unparalleled beauty and perfec-tion. Shortly before the arrival of the Spaniardsto the Americas, under Purépecha influence, itbegan taking on amusing shapes and multi-col-ored hues. With the conquest, the indigenous andHispanic elements melded in the austere or rich-ly decorated vitreous clay, while the smooth orburnished china maintained its pre-Hispanic cha r -acteristics. Fine majolica ware, a legacy from theArabs and the Spaniards, was the crowning glory;according to popular tradition, it was in tro ducedby Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the father ofMexico’s independence, in the town of Dolores.

Guanajuato’s Ceramics1

Majolica ware by Gorky González.

Majolica ware by Capelo.

Daniel M

unguía

Daniel M

unguía


96

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

To produce anything made of ceramics, inorgan-ic raw materials are used, basically clays (madeup in turn of silica and aluminum, the mostcommon elements in the earth’s crust) of differ-ent kinds, textures and colors. It is common tocombine different clays to make a ceramic object.When mixed with water, the clay becomes somalleable that other non-clay materials must beadded. The skeleton of anything ceramic is madeup of minuscule fragments of rocks and miner-als, sand or tiny mollusks.The way ceramics are made differs according

to the organization of the makers. Some timesmen are in charge of the entire process; some-times women take on a large part of the work;and it is common for children and old people tohelp at different stages when production is doneby families. Today there are still family work-shops as well as factories with highly skilledworkers. In either case, the craftsman/womanmust have a great deal of experience based ontrial and error, as well as great dexterity and aperfect knowledge of the materials’ properties.The oldest techniques are based on molding

with the hands or creating strips or rolls of pastethat are superimposed on top of each other, or asingle strip that is worked as a spiral, pinchingthe places where it is joined. Stone, wooden, ce -ramic or plaster molds are also used, producingobjects of a relatively homogeneous size. The

conquest brought to Mexico an instrument un -known to indigenous cultures: the potter’s wheel.Built with wheels or spinning plates and a sys-tem of pulleys and gears powered by the foot ora motor, the wheel moves while the artisan moldsthe piece with his/her hands. The next step isdecoration and firing.

VARIETIES OF MESTIZO CERAMICS

IN GUANAJUATO

Vitreous Pottery. Vitreous pottery, seldom fired atover 900 degrees Celsius, is made with red orbrown porous clay and has a smooth, shiny, water -proof surface. This kind of pottery is used tomake everything from pots, water jugs, otherkinds of jugs, plates, platters and flat bowls forserving and reheating all kinds of food on anopen flame, to ornamental pieces like flower potsand items like glazed tubs and chamber pots.Vitreous pottery is appropriate for making minia-tures and was even sometimes used for con-struction materials like flagstones, gargoyles anddrainage pipes common until the early twenti-eth century in many Mexican cities.It is produced in many parts of the state of

Guanajuato, such as San Felipe Torres Mo chas,Dolores Hidalgo, Coroneo, Acámbaro and thehamlet of Las Flores, near San Miguel deAllende.

Majolica. From the technical, ornamental andaesthetic point of view, majolica ware was the

Chupícuaro ceramics in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas Museum.

Pulque barril. Mestizo pottery.

Vessel in the shape of a duck.Mestizo pottery.

Photos by:1 Daniel Munguía

2 , 3 Guanajuato State Cultural Institute

2

3

1


97

best porcelain produced in New Spain and newlyindependent Mexico. In Guanajuato, many spe-cific refinements were added, and a regional tra-dition arose that is still carried on by some ceram-icists today. Majolica ware uses tin enamel thatmay have been created in pre-Islamic Egypt andwas used extensively in ninth-century Baghdad.It was an attempt to achieve a white porcelainsimilar to the kind made in China, covering thepaste —a reddish or yellowish white clay mix -ture— with a white color made from the tin.Because of its quality, this kind of ceramic

was used especially to make sets of dishes, largejars and flower pots. During the viceregal period,many kinds of containers were made for pre-serves, vinegars, brine and cacao beans. It wasalso common to see majolica ware jars in drugstores holding all kinds of medicines, resins andaromatic oils. It was also used to make can -d le holders and candelabra, boxes, chests, waterbasins and jugs and elegant chamber pots calledcondes (counts).The particular Spanish style called Talavera is

a variety of majolica ware painted blue on awhite background with designs that include ani-mals, human figures and floral patterns, allmotifs still used in contemporary majolica warefrom Puebla and Guanajuato. Today, however,the colors are not limited to blue but also in -clude green and orange.Today, imitation majolica ware is made with a

white glaze made with china clay or kaolin applied

to the still wet piece, decorated with incisions.In Guanajuato, this is often painted green andbrown, sobering somewhat the profusion of itsgraffito designs.

Industrial pottery. Dolores Hidalgo’s potteryand ceramic production occupies one of theforemost places in Mexico. It is said that DonMiguel Hidalgo y Costilla fostered many indus-tries and trades among both the indigenous andmestizo people. In the 1930s, the manufactureof tiles began or reappeared; the demand wassuch that eventually the old family workshopscould not satisfy it without modernizing andadapting to new forms of production. Today, thereare almost 10 factories and many workshops thatproduce tiles in considerable quantities at rea-sonable prices.The old procedures have been streamlined:

the clays are ground in electric mills; industrial-ly produced substances to cause opacity havebeen substituted for the tin. Sand from sand pitsaround Dolores, however, is still added to createthe “Talavera” or creamy “Mexican” white. Inany case, the traditional mix of black and redclays from the area around Dolores or the SantaRosa Mountains is still combined with yellowclay from the mountains.Stencils are used to produce panels with in -

tricate decorations or series of tiles for coveringwalls with flower-covered branches and otherdesigns influenced by Puebla, Spanish and Ita l -ian patterns. The enamel colors are applied with

Vitreous pottery. GuanajuatoState Cultural Institute’s FolkArt Collection.

Tiles by Alfredo Carrillo. Dolores Hidalgo.


Photos by:4 , 5 Guanajuato State Cultural Institute6 Daniel Munguía

5

4

6

machinery and the traditional oak- or pingüica-wood-fueled kilns were replaced first by electricovens and then by industrial gas kilns.In addition to the tile factories, plates, plat-

ters, large jars and other pieces are made in Do -lores Hidalgo, emulating majolica ware from Pue -bla or Guanajuato. The designs are extre melyvaried: sunflowers, calla lilies, fruit, fish, birds,the Sun with a friendly, human face, Gua na jua -to scenery, simple still lifes. That is, everythingimaginable.

High Temperature Ceramics. Stoneware is aceramic made with very hard, completely vitri-fied paste that sometimes contains kaolin andother clays. It is very resistent and when struck,makes a metallic sound. It is also known ashigh-temperature ceramics since it is fired at atemperature of at least 1,200 degrees Celsius.The color of the paste varies from grays, yellow-ish white and brown to reds, depending on theircomponents. In different parts of Mex ico, indi -genous and mestizo communities as well assome artisans and independent artists producethis kind of ceramics, making with it vases, boxes,decorative plates and ashtrays. This kind of ce -ramics is made in places like La Soledad neigh-borhood in Acámbaro.

Paste Ceramics. To make this kind of whiteporcelain, different industrially prepared pastesare mixed with other industrial componentsand water. The final mixture is poured into plas-ter molds where it is left to dry and then pol-ished. Later the pieces are fired and coveredwith a vitreous glaze made of lead, borax oranother transparent enamel that is sometimescolored with ceramic pigments. The designsvary; sometimes even decals are used. Gold andblack are very common colors, as are typical

scenes of Guanajuato. These objects haveflooded the market, creating jobs for many peo-ple in Dolores Hidalgo and Gua najuato, partic-ularly in Mineral de Cata.

Tar-covered China and Miniatures. In the1960s, very simple procedures were developedto make ceramic figurines: one example is theso-called tar-covered china mass produced inthe San Luisito neighborhood of Guanajuato.This china is worked on a lathe, sanded, firedand finally covered with tar dissolved in diesel

fuel or gasoline. This technique is used to makeperforated lamp bases incrusted with marbles,tea or coffee services, candle holders and ash-trays that were popular until a few years ago.In the same neighborhood, other family-based

workshops produce small pieces made on lathesto be used as toys or candy dishes. Since one ofthe kinds of candy they hold is tamarind-fruitcandy, they are called tama rin deras.The San Luisito potters use red and black clay

from the Santa Rosa mountains and grind it man-ually or with machines, letting it settle in troughs.The pieces they make and fire may not be veryartistic, but they can be very useful and curious tolook at. They are made with techniques that usedto be utilized to make vitreous porcelain.Regardless of the name applied to the ce ra -

mics —a craft, minor art or even fine art— itwill always be a product of human beings andsociety that we can see everywhere —despite thenefarious advent of the plastic age— and thatcontinues to be useful and beautiful.

NOTES1 Summarized version of La cerámica de Guanajuato (Gua na -juato, 1995), non-published research by Car los Castañeda,Patricia Fournier and Lourdes Mondragón, GuanajuatoState Cultural Institute.


98


Daniel M

unguía

Daniel M

unguía

1 , 3 and 4 Chupícuaro ceramics at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas Museum. 2 Tar-covered piggy banks and 5 miniatures from San Luisito neighborhood.

1 2 3 4 5

99

More than 40 years ago, ceramicistGorky González —whose workshopis in Guanajuato’s Pastita neighbor-hood— decided to try to recover thetradition of majolica ware ceramicsmade with viceregal techniques.His love of clay and form has alwaysbeen the raison d’être of the activi-ty that has given him both satisfaction and local, nation-al and worldwide recognition. Two years in Japan, wherehe studied with master ceramicists considered “nationaltreasures,” added the courage and simplicity of the Asianspirit to his abilities.

Visiting Gorky’s workshop is a revelation, uncoveringthe unexpected at the different moments of the process.The porcelain balls tumbling in the grinders where thecraftsmen mix and prepare their own colors and enam-els. The careful preparation of the clay —giving the word“plasticity” meaning— which requires care since greaterplasticity makes for greater ease of handling but also formore shrinkage as the piece dries before firing. Piecesmade in molds do not have this difficulty, but Gorky’sworkshop is known precisely for making all the round-

ed pieces by hand in the tradition-al manner.

A high point is seeing the piecesshaped by the potter, who usesthe wheel as an extension of him-self, watching him add handmadeforms and figures to make, forexam ple, a frog out of what had

been a container. The darkroom is key since the grad-ual drying process, out of the way of drafts and directsunlight, diminishes breakage and cracks. The piecesare fired for the first time; then the enamel is applied;and then the artist-craftsman paints colored figures ontothe piece. Each artist has his own paintbrushes made ofhorsehair and squirrel tail because, with use, they areshaped to the intensity of his individual brush stroke.Then comes the second firing and the piece takes on apersonality of its own. It is ready to take its place onshelves or in display cases, dining rooms or the cornerof the house reserved for our most treasured objects.

Elsie MontielEditor

Gorky González’ Workshop

Photos by Daniel M

unguía

100

Two Art MuseumsJuan Manuel Ramírez Palomares*

Gua

naju

ato

Stat

e To

urism

Offi

ce

Main entrance to the People’s Museum.

101

PEOPLE’S MUSEUM OF GUANAJUATO

The Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato (Peo ple’sMuseum of Guanajuato) is housed in what wasthe seventeenth-century home of the Marquisde Rayas, the oldest noble mansion in the city. The Marquises de Rayas were great promot-

ers of change in this mining town, contributing

to its economic development, giving part oftheir fortune to build important works like thecurtain of the La Olla Dam.The second Marquis de Rayas, Don Maria -

no de Sardaneta y Llorente, was a supporter ofindependence and a personal friend of found-ing father Don José María Morelos y Pavón. Hesupported the insurgent army financially and,after the War of Independence, was one of thesigners of the document formalizing the creationof the new country.

The city of Guanajuato is renowned

as the birthplace and scene of important events in Mexico’s history,

for its particular urban layout and architecture, for its mineral wealth and for its

contributions to art and culture.

This small city, home to university teachers and students,

is both traditional and cosmopolitan, with many little corners

just right for contemplation and enjoyment.

Its museums are outstanding. Here we feature two of them.

* Coordinator of Literature, Theater and ReadingPromotion, Guanajuato State Cultural Institute.

Museums

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Facade of the Baroque Chapel, People’s Museum.D

anie

l Mun

guía

José Chávez Morado mural, Baroque Chapel interior.


102

The People’s Museum of Guanajuato wasopened as a cultural center in 1979 on the ini-tiative of painters José Chávez Morado and OlgaCosta, who donated their eighteenth- and nine -teenth-century art collections to make up partof the museum’s permanent collection. Amongthe institution’s objectives are exhibiting art fromboth the past and the present and fostering plu -rality of thought.Today the museum has three floors of exhi-

bition halls. One is dedicated to the permanentcollection, including eighteenth- and nineteenth-century religious and civic art, with works bysuch renowned artists as Miguel Cabrera (eigh -teenth century), Hermenegildo Bustos, JuanNepomuceno Herrera and José María Estrada(nineteenth century), as well as a small pre-His -panic and folk art collection.The building still contains the family chapel

with its original baroque facade with pilastersin the form of inverted pyramids. Inside is a mu -

ral by José Chávez Morado painted as a trip-tych that depicts the story of one stage in thehistory of Mexico.Other spaces in the museum are used to

show the very diverse themes, idioms and tech -niques of the work of well known contemporaryartists, including José Chávez Mo rado, Masa -haru Shimada, Juan Manuel de la Rosa, PedroAsencio, Jesús Gallardo, Juan So riano and Ma -nuel Álvarez Bravo.The State Institute of Culture supports the

museum’s activities, which in addition devel-ops programs for schools and social institu-tions and extension services to all the munici-palities in the state.

Museo del Pueblo de GuanajuatoPocitos # 7Downtown

Tel. (743) 229-90Open Tuesday to Sunday

9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Facade, Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado Museum.

Colonial art from the People’s Museum permanent collection.

The People’s Museum

of Guanajuato was opened in 1979 on

the initiative of painters José Chávez

Morado and Olga Costa.

Museums

OLGA COSTA-JOSÉ CHÁVEZ MORADO

ART MUSEUM

The history of the building that houses theMuseo de Arte Olga Costa-José Chávez Mo ra -do (Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado Art Mu -seum) could be told like a legend. Two beingsbathed in light, overwhelmed by form and co l -or, took up residence around the well of thePeñafiel mine on a mining hacienda, located inthe Paxtitlán (“place of pastures”) neighborhood,one of the roads most traveled by Purépechasand Chichimecas.Two artists lived there: Olga Costa grew her

garden and José Chávez Morado contemplat-ed the history of his people. They did part oftheir visual work here. Olga, full of color, pas-sionately interpreted Mexican features; José,an example of the dignity of giving oneself overto life’s just causes, is the edifier of a difficultsimplicity.

The Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado ArtMuseum is, then, a love story, like the inscrip-tion of their two names on a tree trunk.After living in the house for 46 years, they

donated it to the public. It opened its doors inApril 1993, and Olga died two months later. Herashes are deposited in a large urn in the patio inwhich a beautiful siempreviva has been planted.The site retains its original structure and func -

tions: visitors can view the furniture and objectscollected by its previous owners throughout theworld and over time: ceramics, embroidery, goldwork, tin devotional folk paintings and altar-pieces. Marvels.The museum also has temporary exhibits of

work by contemporary artists.

Museo de Arte Olga Costa-José Chávez MoradoPastita # 158 Barrio de Pastita

Tel. (473) 109-77Open Tuesday to Sunday

9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

103

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Dan

iel M

ungu

ía

Traditional majolica ware. Olga Costa-José Chávez MoradoMuseum.

The ground floor of the Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado Museum holds the artists’ personal belongings.

The Olga Costa-José Chávez Morado

Museum retains its

original structure and

func tions.

Although not very well knownfor its wild areas, the state ofGuanajuato has beautiful, eco -

logically and economically importantnatural scenery. The Santa Rosa Forestis one example,1 crossed by Father Hi -dalgo and his followers on their marchfrom the town of Dolores to the city

of Guanajuato where the first battle ofthe 1810 independence movement, thehistoric battle for the granary and pow-der warehouse known as the Alhón di -ga de Gra naditas, would take place.Guanajuato is situated in Central

Mex ico in a transition zone between thetemperate climes of the North andthe tro pics of the South. The Santa Ro -sa Mountains, in the central part of thestate, are part of the Gua na jua to Moun -

tain range, on the central high land. Itis one of the 151 areas nation wide setaside by the Na tional Com mission forthe Research and Use of Biodiversity(Conabio) as a priority for conservation.The forest is made up mainly of holm

oak (Quercus spp.) that share the eco -system with other trees like two speciesof silk-tassel trees (Arbutus glandulosaand Arbutus xalapensis) and the pin güi -ca (Arctos taphyllus pungens).

104

The Santa Rosa Forest In Guanajuato

Gerardo Vázquez Marrufo*

* Researcher at the National Polytech ni cal In -stitute’s Center for Research and Ad vanc edStudies (Cinvestav), Irapuato campus.

Guanajuato State Tourism Office

The state of Guanajuato has beautiful,

eco logically and economically important natural scenery.

The Santa Rosa Forest is one example. It is one of

the 151 areas nation wide set aside as a priority for conservation.

SOME HISTORY

Not much is known of the peoples whoinhabited or crossed what is now themunicipality of Guanajuato, particu-larly the Santa Rosa Forest, in ancienttimes. The indigenous peoples of theregion have been given the genericname of Chichimecs, which seems to

be the name for a rather heterogeneousgroup of nomadic or semi-nomadic tri besthat inhabited the arid reaches of pre-Hispanic Central and Northern Mex -ico. Some authors say that the Pa me chi - chimecs and Gua mares inhabited whatis now the state of Gua na jua to.2 Do -cumentation about these groups’ know -ledge and use of the forest is scant giventhat they left very limited traces.3

Santa Rosa is an important forestna tionally and regionally from the his-torical-scientific point of view. The Aus - trian Alexander von Humboldt arriv edin Guanajuato in 1803 and wrote upseveral observations and technical des -criptions during his stay, including amap of the city and its environs. Si tuat -ed at a still unidentified point, von Hum -

boldt calculated the forest to be 2,815meters above sea level. Interestingly, hiscalculation is not far off what modernmaps state about the different peaks ofthe moun tain range, that go from 2,350to 2,800 meters above sea level. In theforest, he discovered, described andnamed the “carnivorous” plant Pingüi co -la grandifolia, which can still be observed

during the rainy season from June toSeptember. Today, the specimen col-lected by von Humboldt is in the Na -tural History Museum of Paris. He alsodescribed the Cucheria so cia lis, “a larvathat inhabits the silk-tassel trees andproduces the indigenous silk,”4 but whoseexistence in the forest has not beendocumented scientifically.It was the French doctor, Alfred

Au guste Delsescautz Dugés, who madethe first lists of flora and fauna in thestate of Guanajuato. Dugés arrived inMexico in May 1853, and from 1861until his death in 1910, he made hishome in the city of Gua najuato.5 Inaddition to holding several differentpublic posts, the doctor taught zoolo-gy and botany at the State College,

today the University of Guanajuato.He formed his natural history collec-tion with specimens from the regionand others sent from different partsof the country and abroad by friendsand naturalists with whom he main-tained contact. In addition to his twobooks Fauna del Estado de Guana jua -to (Fauna of the State of Guana jua to)6

and Flora i Fauna del Estado de Gua -najuato [sic] (Flora and Fauna of theState of Guanajuato),7 he wrote a num -ber of articles about the region’s species.A hundred years later, Dr. Du gés’ des -cription is still the most complete com -pendium of the state’s flora and fauna.Although he was particularly inter-

ested in herpetology, Dugés also didbotanical work about the flora of Gua -najuato. In 1879 for example, he des -cribed the new genera of plants fromthe Ramnaceas family based on hisstudy of specimens collected at theMellado Mine in the municipality ofGuanajuato.8 Probably many of thespecies Dugés included on his list wereobserved and collected in the moun-tains; however, the natural his tory col-

105

Ecology



106

lection he left us requires a new eval-uation to see if these species still existin the forest.

BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE

Given their extension and location, theSanta Rosa Mountains have an impor-

tant influence on the climate, actingas a regulator of temperature in near-by areas, including the state capital.They also have high summer rainfall,which contributes to replenishing watersup plies in a wide region that in cludessome agricultural areas of the very pro -ductive Bajío region. How ever, the im -portance and breadth of that climat icregulation has yet to be evaluated.The Santa Rosa Forest is an impor-

tant center of biological diversity. Thewhite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgini-anus) still lives here, but its status isunknown and very probably it is sub-ject to capture and clandestine hunt-ing. A great many kinds of birds live inthe forest, some of which are mi gra toryand others endemic to Mexico. One is

the golden eagle (Aquila chry saetos),considered an endangered species.9

Our working group has found morethan 50 species of wild mushrooms inthe Santa Rosa Forest, some of whichare used for food by local rural commu -nities during the rainy season. For exam -ple, several species are in the form ofcoral from the Ra maria genus, others

from the Amanita and the Lyco perdongenera. The species Amanita caesareaand Amanita muscaria, found by ourworking group in collaboration withJoa quín Cifuentes’ UNAM team, are in - clud ed on the list of protected species,the former as deserving special pro-tection and the latter as an end an -gered species.10

Forestry activity and mining —bothintense activities for 400 years— arethe most important factors in anthro-pogenic environmental changes onthe borders and inside the Santa RosaForest. Wood was the first input need-ed both by mines and residents in themining towns around the forest, amongthem the city of Guana juato and thetown of La Luz. Today, logging cen-

ters on the large species of holm oakused for firewood and making char-coal, although the silk-tassel trees andthe pingüica are also logged. The exten -sive cattle ranching and rain-fed cul-tivation practiced in the mountains aremainly for subsistence or local mar-kets. The growth of cities, the con-struction of the Guanajuato-Dolores

Hidalgo highway, tourism and recre-ational activities are the most recentanthropogenic factors in environmen-tal change whose effect on the eco -system and local species have still notbeen determined.The diversity of wild animal, plant

and microorganic species in the San -ta Rosa Forest, together with the ge -netic stock that each one represents,are part of the flows of matter andenergy in this ecosystem and are apotential source of new resources, pro -ducts and processes for local commu-nities’ socio economic development.Unfor tunately, the scant number ofecological studies has slowed the sus-tainable use of this biological wealththat would allow for the conservation


Ecology

107

of the ecosystem and its species inthe long term.The knowledge that the inhabi -

tants of these communities have aboutmany of the plant, mushroom and ani -mal species is in itself a cultural re -source that must be preserved. It is indanger of being lost due to the con-stant mi gration of local inhabitants to

urban areas and the changes in life -styles be cause of regional development.Santa Rosa is also important as a

natural laboratory for the study of theevolutionary processes and ecologicaldynamics of temperate holm oak fo r -

ests. In addition, this forest has longbeen an area for rest and recreationfor inhabitants of nearby cities.

RECENT STUDIES

Today, knowledge about the animal,vegetable and microorganic species that

inhabit the Santa Rosa Forest has begunto increase thanks to studies by differ -ent ecological groups and research ersworking in the area. The group from theCenter for Research and AdvancedStudies, Irapuato campus, to which I

belong, has been document ing the spe -cies of wild mushrooms for the lastfive years in collaboration with research -ers from the UNAM. We also study someof the effects that logging for firewoodand for making charcoal has on the trees’physiology and the physical-chemicalcharacteristics and mi crobe composi-tion of the soil. We hope that all these

studies, together with those of otherworking groups, will make it possible todevelop strategies for using, conservingand regenerating the Santa Rosa Moun - tains so this forest may be admired andenjoyed by future generations.

Photos on this page by Gerardo Vázquez-Marrufo

1 A large part of the information in this articlewas taken from the National Commission forResearch and Use of Biodiversity’s web site:http://www.conabio.gob.mx, concretely from thesection “2000. Regiones terrestres prioritarias deMéxico,” compiled by L. Arriaga, J.M. Espi no za,C. Aguilar, E. Martínez, L. Gómez and E. Loa.

2 A. J. J. Dávila, ¡Chichimecatl! Origen, cultura,lucha y extinción de los gallardos bárbaros delNorte (Mexico City: Universidad de Coa hui -la/El Ateneo Fuente, 1967).

3 Research about Santa Rosa is recent and thereare practically no scientific articles about the

area. Therefore, most of our working group’sresearch results (the author does ecologicalre search on the anthropogenic impact on thestructure and function of the Santa Rosa Forest)and that of other researchers have been col-lected in undergraduate and graduate theses.

4 C. Minguet, Alejandro de Humboldt. Histo -riador y geógrafo de la América española (1799-1804), vol. I, Jorge Padín Vela, trans. (MexicoCity: UNAM, 1985), pp. 212-215.

5 E. Beltrán, A. C. Jáuregui and A. R. Cruz,Alfredo Dugés (Guanajuato: Gobierno del Es -tado de Guanajuato, 1990).

6 Beltrán et al., op. cit. 7 Alfred Dugés, Flora i Fauna del Estado deGua najuato (Guanajuato: Impresos de la Di -rec ción General de Educación Pública,Gobierno del Estado de Guanajuato, 1924).

8 Alfred Dugés, “Descripción de un nuevo gé -nero de la familia Ramnáceas,” Elías Tra -bulse, Historia de la ciencia en México. SigloXIX (Mex ico City: Conacyt/Fondo de CulturaEconó mica, 1985), pp. 58-61.

9 The golden eagle was declared endangered byMexican Official Norm NOM-ECOL-059-94.

10 Mexican Official Norm NOM-ECOL-059-94.

NOTES

111

AN ATOMIZED CITY

Contemporary Mexican narrators seem to rec-ognize that Mexico City is in reality many citiesand have therefore opted to tell the story of day-to-day urban life in very specific milieus.

Each writer offers his or her own testimonyof our way of life and death in Mexico City inthe last years of the millennium. Each of themtakes as his or her own one of the many cities

that make up the conglomerate that we callMexico City: Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl (EmilianoPérez Cruz), the historic downtown area (Gui -llermo Samperio), the Condesa neigh borhood(Luis Miguel Aguilar), the Roma neighbor hood(Ignacio Trejo Fuentes), the Peralvillo neigh bor -hood (Pepe Martínez de la Vega), the Obreraneighborhood (Paco Ignacio Taibo II) and Uni -versity City (Guillermo Sheridan).

In the paradigmatic story “Oh, That Woman!”by Guillermo Samperio, we find the portrait ofone of the most typical characters found in gov-ernment offices in Mexico City’s historical down -town area (although probably the traits des cribed

Humor and Irony in the ContemporaryMexican Urban Short Story

Part II

Lauro Zavala*

* Critic and literary editor and researcher in theAutonomous Metropolitan University, Xochimil -co campus. [email protected]

The City in Writing

Literature


112

here would be just as famil -iar to the inhabitants of any other city):

With all due respect and without any hidden mean -

ing or double entendre, the woman who sticks in

our mind could be called Big Mama. She’s a Big

Mama in good faith and by the grace of her caste.

In good faith because she goes decidedly out to

meet the Mexican compliment par excellence, “Hey

there, Big Mama!” said frankly and energetically.

She loves it when they shout it out to her from any

distance and they aim it at her ass....

During any talk with her, her lips will produce

sensual pouts, childish smiles, accidental bites

and highfalutin adjectives. Her hands will touch

the excited man she is talking to on the shoulder

by way of an intimate confession, on the arm after

something funny, on the thighs while relaying sex-

ual gossip, until she naturally ends up taking mi -

croscopic specks off his jacket and concentrates

on perfecting the knot of his tie.1

Guillermo Samperio’s narrative universe ispeopled with almost archetypical charactersof the urban geography, like the Man of the Keys,the Simple Woman of Noon and the Man of the

Shadows. They are vignettes that make it possi-ble to recover the human dimension in the office-reality of big cities.

Paco Ignacio Taibo II has created a more polit -ical urban mythology. The adventures of TheSpider, a proletarian hero of union struggles inMexico City’s poor neighborhoods, in additionto having endings that are both surprising andentertaining, are also narrated in a strangely ro -mantic ambiance amidst the debates and march -es of the working class. So, for example, in theshort story “Loves,” marginalized spaces are ero -ticized, immediately giving rise to a reflectionabout the act of writing:

What could be more romantic on the face of the

asphalt than the sunsets red with foundry smoke

that sparkled in miniature in her eyes? Where

was there more tenderness than in the corner,

cold, clinging to each other waiting for the com-

plaining old bus? What embraces more sultry than

those in the back seat of the collective taxi on the

way to La Villa, knowing all the while that you

just had to avoid the neon light every 15 seconds

and with 14 seconds to explore each other’s skin?

How could you compare other loves with the

love-with-fear conveyed by a sweaty hand when

the horizon became blue with mounted police,

sabers in hand?

They were love stories of movies that would

never be made. Loves without the subtitles on the

bottom of the TV screen; socialist realist novels

that nobody would write because back then the

little fat man had not been possessed by the fever

of beginning to play with our past in the name of

the sacred testimony.2

On another part of the social spectrum, LuisMiguel Aguilar and Rafael Pérez Gay present uswith an ingenious and complex portrait of theeducated middle class, particularly those livingin areas like Coyoacán, Condesa and Copilco(the three C’s of Mexico City’s urban intellec-tual map).

These exercises of emotional confession con -tain enough material for parody. Let us see the

Dra

win

gs b

y H

écto

r Pon

ce d

e Le

ón

Literature

113

obvious allusion to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting forGodot in a brief dialogue between the narrator anda couple of phone company workers, from “God - zilón y Clavería, telefonistas beckettianos” (Godzi -lón and Clavería, Becke ttian Phone Workers):

The set consists of a sidewalk, a lamp post and a

Telephone Company truck. Godzilón and Clavería

are on stage. Enter You.

You: Give me a hand, won’t you? I’ve been with-

out a phone for three months. It’s right nearby. I’ll

pay you. I promise.

Clavería: We can’t go.

You: I’m begging you. I’ve already reported it

15,000 times and nobody comes.

Clavería: We can’t go. (To Godzilón) We can’t go,

can we?

Godzilón: (Looking away) We can’t go.


You: Please. I’ll pay you.

Clavería: (Moving his head as he looks at the

ground) No, we can’t go.

You: So, you can’t go?

Godzilón: No, we can’t.


You: Well, thanks.

Clavería: Thanks for what? We can’t go.3

This dialogue of the absurd —a faithful ren-dition of many dialogues a la Mexicana— is partof a New Mexican Types series, which alsoincludes “El Barrendero a la Hitchcock” (TheStreet Sweeper in the Hitchcock Style); “ElTaxista Heraclíteo” (The Heraclitusian TaxiDriver); “Toñito, el Velador Impasible” (Toñito,the Ugly Night Watchman); “El Marchante delDuino” (The Merchant of Duino) and “‘No PusNo’: El Carpintero Buonarrottiano” (“No, Er,No”: The Buona rrottian Carp enter). These paro-dies appeal to readers’ familiarity with U.S.and European U.S. movies, poetry, sculp-ture, novels and theater. Using this strategy,an examination of one’s navel acquires the di men - sions of erudite cosmopolitanism and chroniclesof day-to-day urban life reach the heights of anunparalleled feat.

DOMUS AND POLISFROM THE STREET TO THE HOME

In the period covered by this essay (1975 to2000), the number of studies about urban cul-tural identity has multiplied. Almost all of thempoint to transformations in the symbolic organi-zation of urban areas, and in particular of thefunctions assigned to the distinction betweendomestic and public spaces, between the homeand the street.

From a synchronic perspective, this distinc-tion makes it possible to understand a newassignation of gender roles. Today, segregationof urban space in terms of its belonging to onegender or another is no longer as absolute asbefore; while more and more women are in thework place, men are now relatively more se -cluded in the domestic space when they turntheir own homes into offices, using electroniccommunications.

The diachronic perspective has also direct-ed attention to momentary changes, pointingto how consumption and cultural recreationhave moved from the street into the home. Inthe 1960s, the spaces for casual and some-times ritual encounters with others were parks,plazas, stadiums, bars or dance halls. But in the1990s, homes were outfitted with televisions,computers, telephones, radios and newspapers,


114

which seemed sufficient to in form and enter-tain urban residents.

These transformations have been dealt within different ways in contemporary short sto-ries. In the stories in the collection Mi vidaprivada es del dominio público (My Private LifeIs a Matter of Public Domain), Bernarda Solíslinks both aspects of the urban experience (theprivate and the public) in paradoxes. The pro-tagonists’ personal conflicts are narrated withconsiderable critical distance given the in ti misttradition typical of the first half of the century. Itbecomes clear here that the conflicts are causedby the conventions of a city in which womenhave been relegated to a secondary role.

Few writers have explored women’s internalworld as solidly and with as much of a sense ofhumor as Elena Poniatowska. In her “De nochevienes” (You Come By Night), we see the dis-trict attorney interrogate a woman who hasbeen mar ried to five different men for sevenyears without any of them suspecting that theothers existed. The apparent ironic indifferenceof the interrogator is clear from the beginning ofthe story:

“But, aren’t you unhappy?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Sometimes, a little, when my shoes are too

tight...”

“I mean aren’t you unhappy because of your

situation, ma’am.” He emphasized “ma’am”,

letting it sink to the bottom of Hell “Ma’am.”

“And every thing that comes out of it.

Doesn’t it make you unhappy?”

“No.”

“Were you examined by the doctor on

duty?”

“No. Why?” protested García. “This isn’t

a rape case.”

“Oh, yes. Right. They’re the ones who

should be examined,” laughed the question -

er, making vulgar motions with his hands.4

Urban narrative also shows signs of blackhumor. This is the case of Francisco Hinojosa,who uses it even in his very popular stories forchildren, like La señora más fea del mundo (TheUgliest Woman in the World). In “Nunca endomingo” (Never on Sunday) —part of a genrethe author himself created that consists of writ-ing a story in the form of a novel with 100 verybrief chapters— we en counter a tone more ofparody than journalism, as part of the urban tra-dition of the crime genre. They are all crimesrelated somehow to the tedium and routine ofurban life, told with the cynicism of an indolentnarrator. The crime story tradition is already partof our urban identity, as the symptom of hiddenviolence, always on the point of surfacing. Ironyfreezes our smile into a rictus of skepticism, si -milar to the one so familiar to us when we meetup with our neighbors.

THE TRADITION OF URBAN BESTIARIES

Some sub-genres of the short story are tradi-tionally urban, like the police story and sciencefiction. Anthologies also cover urban bestiaries,social fiction and political prophesies.

Let us look at three examples of fantasy nar-rative and contemporary science fiction, eachof them an allegory of our urban condition.

Literature

115

Guillermo Sheridan’s El dedo de oro (TheGolden Finger) is a political science fiction novelabout the presidential succession in Mexico. Thechapter called “Depende” (It Depends) can beread as an independent story. The following isa fragment that gives an indication of theKafka-esque labyrinths of the Mexican bu re au -cracy and the everyday climate of influencebrokery:

“Yes?”

“We want a passport.”

“You want or you wanted?”

“We wanted.”

“Did you want an inside track or did you want to

get it yourselves?”

“What’s better?”

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“On who you are.”

In a quick glance, Baldy and Sofía ex changed the

fear of being someone.

“We’re not anybody,” said Sofía, smiling humbly.

“Well, then, what ya need is to take out some

influence.”

“And how do you do that?” asked Baldy.

“Go to window 322 and ask for an application

form.”

Sofía dropped her eyes and Baldy pressed her

hand.

“Where’s that window?”

“Depends.”

“Depends? Depends on what?”

“On whether y’r goin’ to the Ped offices or the

Sumo offices...”

“Which is better?”

“They’re both just as bad.”

“And what’s next?”

“Well, you fill out the application form for some

influence.”

“And are they gonna give it to me?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“That there’s any available.”

“Hmmm...” Baldy looked at the ceiling.

“Next!” yelled the half face behind the window.5

Guadalupe Loaeza, in her “La rosa púrpurade San Lázaro” (The Purple Rose of San Lá za -ro), proposes a parody of Woody Allen in whichthe narrator is watching the minister of the in -terior on television as he answers oppositioncriticisms in the Chamber of Deputies:

“Inflation dropped from 150 percent to 60 per-

cent, an important difference and, undoubtedly,

an achievement of our policy,” he said to the PSUM

deputy.

“Yes, but what was the cost?” I exclaimed suddenly.

At that very moment, the minister raised his head

and looked straight at me.

“What did you say?” he asked me.

“Me?” I asked incredulously, surprised.

“Yes, yes, you.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, you’ve been sitting in front of your television

for hours.”


116

I couldn’t believe it. The same thing was hap-

pening to me that had happened to Cecilia (Mia

Farrow) in Woody Allen’s last movie, The Purple

Rose of Cairo. And just like Tom Baxter decides

to come down off the screen, I watched Jesús Silva-

Herzog come out of the television.

“Why did you say that?” he asked, standing in

front of me.

We quickly got into my Volkswagen and headed

downtown. Since the traffic was holding us up,

we decided to take the subway. The minister

couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Why are there so many people?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s always this full, Mr. Minister. This is

Mexico City.”6

Science fiction is also creating a tradition of itsown. It has become mature enough to enjoy theluxury of parodying the genre’s conventions, adapt - ed to the Mexican context. Héctor Cha varría nar -rates the reactions of Mexico City residents whenthey hear a nuclear alert. In “Lo último de nues-tras vidas” (The Last Thing in Our Lives), eachof the inhabitants of Mexico City decides to dowhatever he or she had never dared do undernormal conditions, like “the TV commentator whoends up doing a strip tease on the freeway tothe delight of passersby.”7 In the end, it all turnsout to be a computer hacker’s joke, although thelives of those who did not commit suicide changedradically and, sometimes, ridiculously.

These forms of pessimism about the coun-try’s future seem to fit into the paranoid, hope-less climate also shared by a surprisingly grow-ing number of cyber-punk writers who adoptthe perspective of what some have called apost-apocalyptic narrative.

AFTER THE END

Each form of humor contributes to the collec-tive portrait of a common space, preciselybecause of each writer’s vocation to show a par-ticular vision of the apocalypse and give voice tothe city’s many characters.

Humor is a narrative strategy and can also bea life style, a vehicle for social criticism, a symp-tom of a break with convention, an explorationof what is different, a voyage toward the otherand, perhaps, at the end of the day, the begin-ning of a more satisfactory dialogue with reality.

Humor can also be a symptom of the col-lective aspiration to a climate of discussion andcriticism that would make the city a democra-tic space for living together in a civilized fash-ion. After all, the city is many cities, and theliterary city is just as complex and diverse asthe political city.

In all these cases, it is always the reader whohas the last word.

NOTES

1 Guillermo Samperio, Gente de la ciudad (Mexico City:Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1981), pp. 33-37.

2 Paco Ignacio Taibo II, El regreso de la verdadera araña(Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz, 1988), p. 109.

3 Luis Miguel Aguilar, Nadie puede escribir un libro (MexicoCity: Cal y Arena, 1997), p. 56.

4 Elena Poniatowska, De noche vienes (Mexico City: Era,1979), pp. 149 and 151.

5 Guillermo Sheridan, El dedo de oro (Mexico City:Alfaguara, 1996), pp. 223-228.

6 Guadalupe Loaeza, Las niñas bien (Mexico City: Cal yArena, 1988), pp. 136-138.

7 Héctor Chavarría, “Lo último de nuestras vidas,” GerardoHoracio Porcayo, comp., Los mapas del caos (Mexico City:Ramón Llaca, 1997), p. 8.

117

He guards the cars at a parking lot nextto the house, but, after 7 p.m. andfor a not-so-symbolic fee, he also keeps

an eye on the cars in the neighborhood, in -cluding ours. His Spanish is as strange as theway he tells us something has happened.

“Some unrestless young fellas took awayyour car’s radio antenna.”

“How was it they did that, Toñito?”“Well, they were unrestless. In love with

trouble. They’re from the junior high schoolnext door. They twisted the antenna until itbroke and then they took it with them. Butthey’re only doing it for fun because, whatgood is it to them?”

“But you saw them. Why didn’t you stopthem?”

“No. They were just kids. I have my gunhere.”

“But, Toñito, you saw them. Why didn’t yousay anything to them?”

“No. Nobody steals cars here. I have thegun. The other day some crooks came aroundand were shooting. Didn’t you hear the shots?They broke that window. They were after myboss. I don’t know what he owes them. But Ididn’t go out. He wasn’t here. There was noneed to go out. Nobody steals cars around here.”

“No. I didn’t hear anything. But now I don’thave an antenna. Why didn’t you stop them?”

“Yes, they were the friends of trouble. Theantenna is no use to them. It was just fun.”

“Well, it’s not the first time, Toño. The othernight a friend who came to visit parked his carhere, and they stole his stereo.”

“No. I have the gun. Don’t be afraid. Nobodysteals cars here.”

“And the other day I came out and the alarmon my car had a clothes hanger sticking out of it.Somebody tried to force the alarm and couldn’t.And you didn’t even notice.”

“No, if they want to steal the car I have thegun. Nobody steals cars around here.”

“But they steal antennas and radios and theyforce alarms. And look at the dent the car hashere. I’ve been wanting to ask you about thatdent. I didn’t make it.”

“No. The ones who took the antenna werejust some unrestless young guys. I have the gun.”

“I’m not asking you to shoot at them. I justwant you to tell them to go away if you seethem at it.”

“No. I watch them from here. I have the gun.”“So you’ve left me without an antenna.”“No. It was the unrestless kids.”“You should at least have told me about it so

that I could say something to them. It was 8:30at night.”

“No. Nobody steals cars around here. I havethe gun.”

“Good night, Toño.”“Right. Good night.”

Toñito, The Ugly Night Watchman1

Luis Miguel Aguilar*

* Mexican writer.

118

You get into his taxi and tell him theaddress you’re going to. He says thatyou should tell him the way. So, you say,

“From here on, straight ahead and we’re there.”He says, “You don’t say? There was no way

we’d get there if we went backwards.”Instead of insulting him, you say, “I mean that

this street takes us directly to Mazatlán Avenue,which is where I’m going.”

“You don’t say? I thought you were going inthe cab. Ha, ha.”

Instead of smashing his head against thewindshield, you sit in fuming silence. That is,useless silence.

“Oh, I’ve figured out where we are,” says thecab driver suddenly. “It’s here.”

“No. It’s not here. This is Tamaulipas. I saidthat straight ahead we would get to Mazatlán.”

“Well, we’ll fix that right away. What’s theproblem? All these streets have islands in the mid -dle. The island that goes that way comes backthe other way. In the end, all streets meet.”

“You don’t say?” you say, given the minimalop portunity of pre-Socratic vengeance. “That isto say, if you’re going down one street, you’llcome to another?”

“So, it got your goat. It got your goat, youngman. But you see that anybody who gets burned,dies from it. There’s nobody here who won’t geta head of steam in a fire.”2

At the next corner he makes a U-turn.“You see? Without even asking directions

we got there. Nobody’s lost forever.”“Let me out over there by that grey car. The

grey car. You passed it.”“That’s what I tell my old lady. Give me

three yards in reverse and I’ll open up a road toheaven. Don’t you think? Sometimes we onlymove forward by going backwards. If every-thing in life were only like losing your way. Yousee? Mazatlán and Tamaulipas are not two dif-ferent streets like you said; in the end, they’rethe same street. Everything returns. Everythingis together. We’ve arrived, haven’t we?”

The Heraclitusian Taxi Driver

NOTES

1 The title of the short story on page 117 alludes to the Graham Greene novel, The Ugly American, which was translatedinto Spanish as El americano impasible, or “The Unfeeling American”. Therefore, the original title of this short story inSpanish would be literally translated “The Unfeeling Night Watchman.” [Translator’s Note.]

2 In Spanish, “getting burned” includes doing something silly, and the original text has the person dying from the burns,“el ardor”, which also means ardor.

Both stories are fragments of Luis Miguel Aguilar’s short story “Nuevos tipos mexicanos,” in Nadie puede escribir un libro(Mexico City: Cal y Arena, 1997).

Published by permission of Editorial Cal y Arena.

119

Dr. Román Piña Chan (born, 1920) died last April10. But, who was he and why do we say his aca -demic career was exemplary? Dr. Piña was one of

Mexico’s most prolific archeological researchers. He wroteinnumerable books and articles describing his field workand effected studies on almost all of Mexico’s cultural re -gions, but, above all, he contributed enormously to our know -ledge about pre-Hispanic cultures. He was the last of a seriesof great Mexican archaeologists that began with ManuelGamio in the 1920s and continued with Alfonso Caso andothers like Eduardo Noguera in the following decades.His contributions can be divided by regions and topics,

but a common thread runs through all of them; they allcomplement each other and are connected to a broader,

more general idea. In the excavations he did in some partsof the Mexico Basin, among them Tlatilco and Tlapacoya,Piña Chan defined a cultural stage characterized by theadoption of forms of village life, settlements that may havebeen rudimentary technologically speaking, but with verybroad social development that even allowed them to estab-lish relations with other cultures, among them the Olmecs.He called this stage the preclassical horizon (1955), nowalso known as the formative period.The preclassical cultures, like the Gulf cultures and the

Olmecs, are topics that he wrote several works on. But hiscontributions do not stop there. He also did studies at siteslike Chalcatzingo and Xochicalco in Morelos, and Jaina,Bonampak, Chichen Itzá, Uxmal and Palenque, among oth-ers in the Maya region. His exploration of the Teotenangosite in the State of Mexico from 1970 to 1975 constituted oneof the most important interdisciplinary studies in Mexicanarchaeology.He also studied the cultures that settled in the West, the

Huasteca area, Central Mexico and, of course, the Mayaregion. His knowledge of practically the entire Me so a mer -ican horizon allowed him to build what he called in one ofhis works “a vision of pre-Hispanic Mexico” (1967).No less important than his excavations were his works

as an ethno-historian. For Piña Chan, research was unfin-ished and had no value if the scientists did not compare itsresults with documentary sources: archaeology with a his-toric tradition. His hypotheses in this field were polemical.For example, he created a controversy when he posited theMaya culture’s influence on the Toltecs (1972), a hypothe-sis that contradicts the idea that the highland cultures weredisseminated throughout the Southeast during the post-classical period.Another of his proposals fixed the origin of Tamoanchán

(a mythical paradise, the birthplace of the gods). In a 1997 lec -ture, he said, “So many years after having developed this

Román Piña ChanAn Exemplary Archaeologist

Joel Santos Ramírez*

* Archaeologist. Researcher at the National Institute of Anthro -pology and History (INAH).

Photo reprod

uced

cou

rtesy of the

UNAM

Institu

te fo

r Anthrop

olog

ical Res

earch

In Memoriam


hypothesis, today I would only change the title to ‘Xochical -co, a Historical Tamoanchán.’ I would also correct the place inwhich the cult of Quetzalcóatl originated to ‘the place wherea special form of the cult of Quetzalcóatl developed.’ I believethe rest is still valid.”An unfortunate accident in 1984 while excavating in Be -

cán, Campeche, left him without the use of his legs. It halt-ed his field work, but did not stop him from continuing hisresearch and making brilliant contributions. Although he nolonger went to the sites himself, until a few months ago hedid direct a research project in Oaxaca through one of hisstudents. He continued to be a prolific writer: a little over ayear ago he published a new book about the Cacaxtla paint-ings, and at the time of his death, he was preparing otherworks that will now remain unfinished.Despite his health, Piña Chan never stopped teaching.

For many, his classes were determinant in their training, andhe acted as thesis advisor to many students. From its begin-nings almost six years ago, he encouraged the publication

Actualidades Arqueológicas (Current Archaeology), a maga-zine published by archaeology students all over the country.He was its honorary president. Every year, a group of stu-dents organize a symposium in his honor; this year will be thesixth, the first he will miss. His presentation was to be aboutthe Tingambato, Michoacán, archaeological site, one that heexcavated.Piña Chan was an experienced excavator and an out-

standing theoretician; many of his proposals continue tobe valid today, while others continue to cause debate. Hedid not write only for academia, however; he also pub-lished ma terials for the general public, museum guides,pamphlets and guides to archaeological sites. But, his mostoutstanding characteristic, one that made him an exem-plary teacher, was his modesty: the cordiality with whichhe and his wife welcomed students into their home, thepatience he displayed when a topic was not understood,his passion for teach ing and his immeasurable love for hisprofession, archaeology.

120

El Colegio de MéxicoNOVEDADES

EDITORIALES

EMPRESARIAS Y EJECUTIVAS.

Mujeres con poder

Dalia Barrera Bassols

Primera edición, 2001ISBN 968-12-0977-X

209 páginasClave:PI/041

Precio: $ 150.00

FAMILIA Y SOCIEDADEN ZACATECAS. La vida deun microcosmos mineronovohispano, 1750-1830

Francisco García González

Coeditado con la Universidad de Zacatecas

Primera edición, 2000ISBN 968-12-0883-8234 páginasClave: H/168Precio $ 120.00

FAMILIASIBEROAMERICANAS.

HISTORIA, IDENTDAD

Y CONFLICTOS

Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru(coordinadora)

Primera edición, 2001ISBN 968-12-0998-2

328 páginasClave: H/170

Precio $ 220.00

LA CUESTIÓN ÉTNICA

Rodolfo Stavenhagen

Primera edición, 2001ISBN 968-12-1000-X279 páginasClave: S/058Precio $ 240.00

LUDUS DE ANTICHRISTO.Drama del Anticristo

Edición bilingüe de Luis Astey V.

Prólogo de Mauricio Beuchot

Primera edición, 2001ISBN 968-12-1003-4

79 páginasClave: L/126

Precio $ 90.00

DE COLONIA A NACIÓN.Impuestos y política en México, 1750-1860

Carlos Marichaly Daniela Marino(compiladores)

Primera edición, 2001ISBN 968-12-0989-3279 páginasClave: H/171Precio: $ 130.00

Informes: El Colegio de México, Dirección de Publicaciones, Camino al Ajusco 20, Pedregal de Santa Teresa,10740 México, D. F.Tel.: 5449 3000, exts. 3090, 3138 y 3295. Fax: 5449 3083. Correo electrónico: [email protected]; [email protected]

La verdadera historia del chocolate(The True History of Chocolate)Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. CoeFondo de Cultura EconómicaMexico City, 1999, 396 pp.

The ancient Maya drank it hot, mixed with differentflavorings like chili peppers and vanilla; the much-coveted foam was produced by pouring the liquid fromone recipient to another. With the Mexicas, the flavors ofchocolate diversified. Sahagún tells us of chocolate fla-vored with chili peppers, vanilla flowers, huitztecolli flow-ers; there was brilliant red chocolate, white chocolate andblack chocolate, all tinted with flowers. It could also beprepared with black zapote seeds or with corn. It was usu-ally drunk cold. After their arrival in Mexico, the Spaniards

—especially the women— became fervent addicts. Englishtraveler Thomas Gage, who was in San Cristóbal de lasCasas around 1629, relates how the most important ladiesof the town could barely sit through mass and the sermonat the cathedral and that, to help them through the longservice, they would send for foamy little cups of chocolateand plates of sweets. When the bishop threatened to ex -communicate them if they continued to eat and drink inthe house of God, the feisty criollas went to hear mass atother churches and the cathedral stood empty. A short timelater the over-conscientious bishop became ill and died;he had drunk chocolate laced with a slow poison (the strongflavor of the chocolate masked the flavor of the poison).The most extraordinary excesses of chocolate came about,however, in the Old World, when the novel drink took holdof the European courts and elites. The notorious Marquisde Sade, protagonist of so many other excesses, had to liveup to his reputation when it came to chocolate. Gossipmongers say that during a party in Marseilles, the marquismixed chocolate and Spanish-fly in a dessert. When it tookeffect, the entire evening became a fantastic orgy; the mostupright found themselves prisoners of “the most amorousfrenzy,” and the most res pectable women were “incapableof resisting the uterine furor.” The marquis himself, whospent more than 30 years of his life in different prisons, wasa great chocolate addict and repeatedly asked for tablets,wafers and cakes “as black from chocolate as the Devil’sass is from smoke.”These are only some of the most famous episodes of La

verdadera historia del chocolate (a title which alludes toBernal Díaz del Castillo’s Historia verdadera de la conquistade la Nueva España [The True History of the Conquest ofNew Spain]). The book, begun by Sophie D. Coe, who didmost of the research, was finished after her death by Mi ch -ael D. Coe, the renowned Mayanist. Perhaps Michael’spart in the book explains some of the generalizations, attimes superficial, that tend to present the Europeans in anunfavorable light vis-à-vis the indigenous peoples: the booktalks of Felipe II’s fanaticism; the “silliness” of Western me -dicine, particularly the theories of humors; and Oviedo’s

121

Reviews


contempt for the indigenous. But these slips do not over-shadow the book’s merits. It is a history of chocolate crossed by several parallel his -

tories: the conquest of Mexico by the Europeans, but alsothe conquest of Mexico by Europe, particularly through itsplants and fruit; the economic relations among four conti-nents (Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa) manifest inthe exchange of slaves, spices and raw materials; Euro -pean medicine, with its myths, beliefs and confusions; thesocial, cultural and political meaning of fashions in food;the links between the culture of the elite and the cultureof the masses. Chocolate is always the protagonist of thebook and the story is told through its captivating adven-tures. The result is an enjoyable, seductive read, that at thesame time opens up roads for future exploration.The story starts in Mexico and Central America, where

the cacao tree originated. Even the scientific name of the ca -cao tree, Theobroma cacao (thus named by Lineus in theeighteenth century), implies its destiny as the representa-tive of the meeting of two worlds. The first part of the name,theobroma, is from the Greek, meaning “food of the gods.”The second part, cacao, seems to be the Maya word, kakaw.After this etymological digression —of which there areseveral in the book— Sophie and Michael introduce thedifferent varieties of cacao trees. There are external and na - tive cacao trees: the former are more resistent and accountfor 80 percent of today’s international cacao crop. Thecrio lla variety produces a superior flavor and aroma and isstill used to make the best, deluxe chocolates. The criollavariety was the one used mainly among the Maya and theMexica, or rather, among their elites: chocolate was a lux-ury. Therefore, among the Mexica, only the members ofthe royal household, warriors and the upper merchant classenjoyed it. To this high social value corresponded a highmonetary value: cacao beans were used as currency and, ac -cording to Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, Moc tezuma’sroyal treasury held more than 40,000 measures, or 960million cacao beans. During the colonial period, cacao con -tinued to be used as currency and some cases of counter-feiting were even registered.After its arrival in Europe, chocolate continued for a long

time to be a luxury beverage destined only for the upperclass. But, before it became more popularly consumed, itwent through a period in which it was rejected and adapt-ed; it had to overcome three major barriers: the barrier oftaste and ecclesiastic and medical objections. The first

European tales about chocolate describe it as a repugnantdrink that brought to mind the human sacrifices so abom-inable to the conquistadors. Oviedo watched in horror asthe natives drank chocolate flavored with achio te, a pastemade of different chili peppers, that stained the lips andmouth red as though they had drunk blood. Soon, with themingling of the two cultures (and above all the assimilationby the Spanish women of the indigenous women’s customs),chocolate, like so many other native products, won the accep -tance of the Europeans. At the same time, the use of spicesfamiliar to the European pa late like cinnamon, anise andblack pepper in making chocolate contributed to its cross-ing the taste barrier.To overcome the medical barrier, chocolate had to open

up a favorable space for itself in the theory of the humorsthat, with certain variations, ruled Western medicine fromthe time of Hippocrates until the eighteenth century. Ac -cording to the theory of the humors, food (as well as humanbeings or places) were classified in four categories (warm,cold, humid and dry, which had little to do with today’sconcepts of hot or cold). Health was due to the equilibri-um of the four humors in the body (black bile, blood,phlegm and yellow bile) and illness came about when oneof the humors prevailed over the others. In that case, therebellious humor had to be countered with its opposite: ahot disease was attacked with cold foods. In this reperto-ry, cacao was cold and humid, even if, when prepared aschocolate with the addition of spices, the final result washot. Among the main medicinal uses of chocolate was forthe relief of constipation (the Spaniards, great consumersof meat, were in serious need of laxatives) and its supposedaphrodisiac properties. Therefore, initially, cho colate crossedthe Atlantic as a medicine.By the seventeenth century, the non-medical consump-

tion of chocolate had spread so much in the religious com-munity that it was the subject of serious theological de -bates. The dispute, in which much ink was spilled, couldbe reduced to whether chocolate broke the ecclesiastic fastor not. The Jesuits, devotees and traders in chocolate, insist -ed that it did not break the fast; the Dominicans, alwaysmore abstemious, argued that it did. A story from the Flo r -entine Giovanni Batista Gudenfredi offers an ingenioustruce for the debate in 1680: during her arduous penitence,when she was at the point of physical collapse, Saint Rosaof Lima (the first saint of the Americas and a Dominican!)was visited by a benevolent angel who invited her to a frothy

122

Reviews

Through the Rearview Mirror. An EthnographicalNovel of Mexican Taxis/Por el espejo retrovisor.Una novela etnográfica de taxis mexicanos Kathy TaylorGraphic Type de MéxicoMexico City, 1999, 248 pp.

Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges’ words, “cada en -cuentro una cita” (“every encounter is a date”), seem

to etch travelling paths into larger patterns of unknownmeaning. Such crisscrossing of destinies is acknowledgedin Kathy Taylor’s Through the Rearview Mirror. An Ethno -graphical Novel of Mexican Taxis/Por el espejo retrovisor. Unanovela etnográfica de taxis mexicanos by translating notesfrom an ethnographic project into the realm of fiction. Indoing so, she not only maps unchartered paths in fiction-as-ethnography-as-fiction but also creates a unique space forunheard voices to participate in a complex intercultural andbilingual mirroring of otherness in motion.In this novel Kathy Taylor uses ethnographic field notes

collected during myriad taxi rides in Mexico (mostly withina small town that appears under the pseudonym of Tope -tlán) and translates them into narrative devices such as theliteral insertion of a lined notebook page scribbled with fieldnotes and newspaper clippings. She also structures the entirenovel using mostly single-page vignettes that give an identi-

123

cup of chocolate. Rosa recovered her strength and wentback to her devotions.Once all objections had been overcome, chocolate met

with little resistance and, one by one, conquered the courtsof Europe. During the baroque period, it became extreme-ly sophisticated: more and more elaborate recipes were in -vented; special serving dishes were developed (mancerinasand chocolatières), as well as rituals for drinking it. Its cul-tural and political space with regard to other stimulantslike coffee and tea was also beginning to develop. Choco -late was associated with Catholic, absolutist regimes, whiletea and coffee began to represent the Protestant culture.It was not until the nineteenth century that new manufac -turing processes democratized chocolate. Parallel to this,solid chocolate began to be popular. This is the time of thebenevolent chocolate dictators, like the famous AmericanMilton S. Hershey, the Henry Ford of chocolate manufac-

turers. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hersheycreated a model town —surprisingly enough, namedHershey— near Philadelphia. A utopia dedicated to cho -colate production, the town was organized around a centralfactory, “the heartbeat of the community,” crisscrossed bytwo main avenues, Chocolate and Cacao, with five chur ch -es, a Hershey zoo, Hershey bank and Hershey hotel. Thetown is still visited by thousands every year, and otherlarge chocolate producers have followed this Disneyland-like inspiration by opening their own theme parks. Thesecaptivating manifestations of a new chocolate cult may makea bag of Hershey’s Kisses seem sickly sweet. And then again,they may not. Meanwhile, a no lesser delight is this bookby Sophie and Michael D. Coe.

Miruna AchimWriter


124

ty to each anecdote and episode, thereby creating a frag-mented whole that reminds the reader of the hair-thin bor-derline between storytelling and experience, fact and fic-tion, between who observes and who is observed.The narrating voice shifts its narrative focus continually,

emulating the movement of the taxis weaving routes throughthe town, moving from one taxi-driver’s perspective to anoth-er, from them to other taxi riders and to the central charac-ter, the señora güera (none other than the ethnographer-writer’s alter-ego). Narrated dialogues be tween a taxi-driverand a taxi-rider mirror both taxi occupants as they observeeach other: “He sees her watching him again as they talk.Surely she sees him seeing her too. Neither says anything.”(p. 22) The crisscrossing paths bring several separate des-tinies together so that part of a larger warp is made visible.The surprise ending becomes merely one more of destiny’sunforeseen paths, where otherness becomes itself and othersimultaneously and cruises the city’s streets in a never-end-ing story/journey.The taxi drivers portrayed in this book are itinerant

ethnographers, perhaps even underemployed and underrat-ed cultural analysts, observers of current political and socialrealities in Mexico, of varying visions of Mexico and of theU.S. They are protagonists in daily realities of poverty, ill-ness, asaltos or hold-ups, death; into the habit of undauntedoptimism and unswerving faith in the presence of Zapata asboth myth and reality. Above all, they are storytelling agentsthat bring collectivity and orality to a fictional framework.Kathy Taylor’s book not only highlights their unique

social role but also translates them into a very different kindof informant by enabling their storytelling gifts to becomemore than mere ethnographic anecdotes, to be come intrin-sic parts of a creative whole, inserting them as allies in theprocess of creating narrative fiction and in problematizingthe complex politics of otherness. What is perhaps most outstanding about Through the

Rear view Mirror/Por el espejo retrovisor is its linguistic and cul-tural interplay. Kathy Taylor’s initial notes in Spanish for theethnographic project grew into a novel written entirely inSpanish, in which she is completely fluent even though it isnot her native tongue. She then translated it into English toshare it with fellow English-language speakers. Yet, dueto the fiction-ethnography interplay, the process becameeven more fascinating when, during the revision of the textin English, the author-turned-translator began to re-write it,altering the original Spanish version accordingly, in a mir-

roring effect that encouraged further fictional creativity,within a rare linguistic and cultural dialogue, after which thefinal version in Spanish was revised by her (with the coop-eration of Irlanda Villegas from the UNAM). Thus, two versionsof the novel were created, each contemplating the ideal read-er of each culture and language. In this sense the mirror ofthe title Through the Rearview Mirror/Por el espejo retrovisorbecame more than a metaphor. It was a creative impetussince, as Kathy Taylor has said, each text “revealed new thingsabout both cultures as I tried to think about the different per -s pectives that each language would offer to each audience.”In this mirroring dialogue, writer, ethnographer and trans -

lator were one and the same, yet they had a different sayin the novel. In this sense, these three carried on a dialoguenot only amongst themselves but with the real-life infor-mants, the taxi-driver characters and the fictional protago-nist, la señora güera, in an interesting and unique inter playof the politics of presences. As if each obtained the right toa role within a democratic game facilitated by fiction. One of the immediate challenges of a bilingual venture

such as this would be the translational task of remainingfaithful to the cultural as well as the linguistic tone of theoriginal Spanish text in the English version. Kathy Taylordoes this by inserting certain “clue” words in Spanish thatcreate a specific illusion reminding the reader that the con -versation, for instance, is actually taking place in Spanish.This apparently simple device is of vital importance to theeffect of the narrative as a whole and is achieved only thoughacute observation of linguistic and cultural profiles.The fact that both Spanish and English versions of this

novel share the exact bilingual cover —underscoring dual-ity/unity by having a dark-skinned Zapata (on the left) andthe señora güera (on the right) merge into a single head-portrait— although each version is printed separately indi-cates the need to target different readerships and culturesby means of a “bridge-cover”. This also reminds the read-er that mediatiation between cultures/languages is bestmap ped where several kinds of borders cross, in spacescreated as uni que interstices for the creation of new ex -changes and new meanings.

(Versions of this book in English and in Spanish are available

from [email protected] or [email protected])

Claire JoysmithResearcher at CISAN

Olga Costa

voices of mexico issue 56

Documents