Two weeks ago I went to Zihuateneo with my brother. Here we witnessed a tsunami, a result of the earthquake in Japan.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Campaign tactics
Do you want to win a local election in Mexico? You better have money. Not only for radio or television commercials, but also for buckets of paint and mattresses.
I was recently in Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico, located about an hour from Mexico City. In the town square I saw a rally with hundreds of people in red hats chatting and listening to music booming over the loudspeaker. As I walked closer to investigate, I also noticed a line of pick-up trucks along the square loaded with five-gallon buckets of paint.
These red hats belonged to supporters of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI, and the rally was to support the PRI candidates in the upcoming legislative and gubernatorial elections. The rally itself was really just for the tried and true supporters, but the paint was different; it was there to convince the swing voters. And soon it would be handed out or delivered to certain voters who signed a pledge to vote PRI.
This is not a unique story. I heard a similar one from a student who volunteered at the polls in Nezahualcoyotl, a suburb of Mexico City. She described various party officials giving away $200 peso gift certificates to a local grocery store, so long as the recipients signed an oath to vote for the official's party. In this poor suburb, $200 peso ($18 dollars) can feed a family for a number of days.
I was with a friend of mine when I witnessed this spectacle in Toluca. She recalled a similar story about when her father ran for the mayor of their town, also in the state of Mexico. According to her, his main opponent gave away mattresses to select swing voters, and with this tactic (and claiming that, if elected, her father would shut down the churches) his opponent won.
It's tempting to dismiss these stories as comical, but when honest democratic discourse is deterred such as in these examples, governments become less responsive to the needs of their citizens.
I was recently in Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico, located about an hour from Mexico City. In the town square I saw a rally with hundreds of people in red hats chatting and listening to music booming over the loudspeaker. As I walked closer to investigate, I also noticed a line of pick-up trucks along the square loaded with five-gallon buckets of paint.
These red hats belonged to supporters of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI, and the rally was to support the PRI candidates in the upcoming legislative and gubernatorial elections. The rally itself was really just for the tried and true supporters, but the paint was different; it was there to convince the swing voters. And soon it would be handed out or delivered to certain voters who signed a pledge to vote PRI.
This is not a unique story. I heard a similar one from a student who volunteered at the polls in Nezahualcoyotl, a suburb of Mexico City. She described various party officials giving away $200 peso gift certificates to a local grocery store, so long as the recipients signed an oath to vote for the official's party. In this poor suburb, $200 peso ($18 dollars) can feed a family for a number of days.
I was with a friend of mine when I witnessed this spectacle in Toluca. She recalled a similar story about when her father ran for the mayor of their town, also in the state of Mexico. According to her, his main opponent gave away mattresses to select swing voters, and with this tactic (and claiming that, if elected, her father would shut down the churches) his opponent won.
It's tempting to dismiss these stories as comical, but when honest democratic discourse is deterred such as in these examples, governments become less responsive to the needs of their citizens.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Troubling Incident
Mexico City has a number of very pleasant, upcoming neighborhoods. Many of these, such as Roma Norte; are still accessible to the middle class, contain a mix of colonial buildings and modern apartments, and have tree-lined streets free of trash (unlike others in the city). I can spend the better part of a weekend in these areas, drinking coffee at a cafe or shooting pool in one of their billiard halls. It is in these progressive parts of the city that one is given hope about the future of the country.
Every so often, however, even in these rebounding neighborhoods, I am reminded of how far the country still needs to go.
A few weeks ago, I was walking to the subway station after teaching English to the workers at the Hotel Reforma. I had just passed the Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin and was approaching a broad intersection. I heard a siren coming my way and so I waited for the advancing ambulance to pass before I crossed the street. As I stood waiting, however, it began to slow down as it approached the intersection, then it came to a stop in front of me. The ambulance driver stuck his head out of the window, and then asked me if I knew how to find the Hospital Londres.
I was shocked. An ambulance on an emergency call was driving around asking pedestrians for directions to the hospital! Why didn't they have a dispatcher guiding them or, better yet, a GPS on-board?
An incident like this would not happen in US. Many Americans decry their government regulations, but it's because the Seattle government, for example, has strict guidelines for ambulance companies that my family feels confident in their emergency services. I don't know if Mexico City lacks sufficient regulation for emergency personnel or if the rules simply aren't enforced. But it's clear that, because this ambulance was unprepared, a patient was put at risk.
And, unfortunately, I couldn't help him. I didn't know where the hospital was.
Every so often, however, even in these rebounding neighborhoods, I am reminded of how far the country still needs to go.
A few weeks ago, I was walking to the subway station after teaching English to the workers at the Hotel Reforma. I had just passed the Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin and was approaching a broad intersection. I heard a siren coming my way and so I waited for the advancing ambulance to pass before I crossed the street. As I stood waiting, however, it began to slow down as it approached the intersection, then it came to a stop in front of me. The ambulance driver stuck his head out of the window, and then asked me if I knew how to find the Hospital Londres.
I was shocked. An ambulance on an emergency call was driving around asking pedestrians for directions to the hospital! Why didn't they have a dispatcher guiding them or, better yet, a GPS on-board?
An incident like this would not happen in US. Many Americans decry their government regulations, but it's because the Seattle government, for example, has strict guidelines for ambulance companies that my family feels confident in their emergency services. I don't know if Mexico City lacks sufficient regulation for emergency personnel or if the rules simply aren't enforced. But it's clear that, because this ambulance was unprepared, a patient was put at risk.
And, unfortunately, I couldn't help him. I didn't know where the hospital was.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Five-O in Mexico
The police have a bad reputation in Mexico. I've heard stories from residents about bribery during traffic stops and collusion with organized crime. In fact, I haven't met a single person with a positive thing to say about the Mexican police, whether it's the federal, state or local forces.
I do not question the seriousness of the problem. In my own experiences in Mexico City, however, I've found the police to be helpful. As a newcomer to the city, I am regularly walking around in search of my destination, whether that's a subway station, a museum or the national cinema. Police officers are a ubiquitous presence in nearly all neighborhoods and so I've found that they are also great guides.
The first few times I approached a police officer I was hesitant, not sure how they would react to my request for directions. But each instance, after asking, 'para el Metro, donde esta,' I've found them pleasant and willing to lend their knowledge to an adrift visitor.
I do not question the seriousness of the problem. In my own experiences in Mexico City, however, I've found the police to be helpful. As a newcomer to the city, I am regularly walking around in search of my destination, whether that's a subway station, a museum or the national cinema. Police officers are a ubiquitous presence in nearly all neighborhoods and so I've found that they are also great guides.
The first few times I approached a police officer I was hesitant, not sure how they would react to my request for directions. But each instance, after asking, 'para el Metro, donde esta,' I've found them pleasant and willing to lend their knowledge to an adrift visitor.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Blood Marijuana
This week was particularly bloody as organized criminal groups massacred people in Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Tepic. These are the same groups who import drugs into the US and, consequently, are funded by US drug consumers. Let me repeat that, they are funded by US drug consumers.
Currently, there is a debate over what percentage of drug trafficking revenue comes from marijuana. Some say it is as high as 60% others counter that it is closer to 25%. Both of those numbers, however, are significant.
For those that use marijuana, learn where it comes from. Better yet, get to know your grower. Buy local. Do what you can to make sure the herb you smoke does not come from across the border. If you don't, you are complicit in the atrocities committed by the narco-trafficking groups. Just like blood diamonds that come from West Africa, there is blood marijuana.
Cocaine, heroine, and methamphetamine account for the remainder of the drug revenue. Unfortunately, I don't believe an appeal to users of these drugs would do much good.
* On a related note I watched a video the other day of a discussion put on by the Council on Foreign Relations about Mexico's problem with organized crime. It's wonkish but also contains an informative and spirited debate. I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about proposed solutions to this problem.
Currently, there is a debate over what percentage of drug trafficking revenue comes from marijuana. Some say it is as high as 60% others counter that it is closer to 25%. Both of those numbers, however, are significant.
For those that use marijuana, learn where it comes from. Better yet, get to know your grower. Buy local. Do what you can to make sure the herb you smoke does not come from across the border. If you don't, you are complicit in the atrocities committed by the narco-trafficking groups. Just like blood diamonds that come from West Africa, there is blood marijuana.
Cocaine, heroine, and methamphetamine account for the remainder of the drug revenue. Unfortunately, I don't believe an appeal to users of these drugs would do much good.
* On a related note I watched a video the other day of a discussion put on by the Council on Foreign Relations about Mexico's problem with organized crime. It's wonkish but also contains an informative and spirited debate. I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about proposed solutions to this problem.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Mexican Leaders in Denial
Mexico's Secretary of Treasury, Ernesto Cordero, said this week corruption in Mexico does not affect foreign investment. I was astonished to read this but it reinforces my perception that most of Mexico's top leaders are in willful denial.
Now, it's difficult to say how many dollars, euros, or yuan would flow to Mexico if corruption was not on the rise but it is clear that corruption raises the cost of doing business and, perhaps more importantly, creates uncertainty about costs. Any wise business owner is going to take this into account when deciding where to put their money. Between two similar opportunities, investors will take the one with the fewest unknowns.
Mr Cordero's announcement comes on the heels of a similarly obtuse statement he made three weeks ago. He said violence from organized crime hasn't had an affect on economic growth.
So the disastrous drop in tourism has no connection to the reports of violence that potential travelers are watching on the news, huh?
Mexico faces many challenges including organized crime, a stark divide between rich and poor, and system of government that structurally resists change. To effectively confront these problems, the first thing Mexican leaders need to be is forthright. Otherwise the high-levels of cynicism amongst the public will continue and nothing will improve.
Now, it's difficult to say how many dollars, euros, or yuan would flow to Mexico if corruption was not on the rise but it is clear that corruption raises the cost of doing business and, perhaps more importantly, creates uncertainty about costs. Any wise business owner is going to take this into account when deciding where to put their money. Between two similar opportunities, investors will take the one with the fewest unknowns.
Mr Cordero's announcement comes on the heels of a similarly obtuse statement he made three weeks ago. He said violence from organized crime hasn't had an affect on economic growth.
So the disastrous drop in tourism has no connection to the reports of violence that potential travelers are watching on the news, huh?
Mexico faces many challenges including organized crime, a stark divide between rich and poor, and system of government that structurally resists change. To effectively confront these problems, the first thing Mexican leaders need to be is forthright. Otherwise the high-levels of cynicism amongst the public will continue and nothing will improve.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Back in Mexico!
I'll be updating this blog again with my thoughts about anything in Mexico from economy to sports to simple particularities and eccentricities of the people. To kick things off, I'll start with a quick perception about food vendors on the street.
It's hard to find a better lunch deal than tacos for 3 pesos(25 cents) or sopes for 6 pesos and, for me, finding a cheap and hearty meal is akin to Warren Buffett finding his next million dollar investment.
But here's the interesting part. Every taco vendor I've encountered has been a guy while every sope vendor was a woman. I can't see any inherent reason for this other than it being cultural. Tacos and sopes are not that different. Nevertheless, it's an incredibly stark contrast.
I'll post more if I gain any insight into this.
It's hard to find a better lunch deal than tacos for 3 pesos(25 cents) or sopes for 6 pesos and, for me, finding a cheap and hearty meal is akin to Warren Buffett finding his next million dollar investment.
But here's the interesting part. Every taco vendor I've encountered has been a guy while every sope vendor was a woman. I can't see any inherent reason for this other than it being cultural. Tacos and sopes are not that different. Nevertheless, it's an incredibly stark contrast.
I'll post more if I gain any insight into this.
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