February 21, 2008

Last night there was a total eclipse of the moon. I watched it from La Buena Vida, a restaurant that just opened next door to Hostal Shalom (next to another restaurant called simply “Pasta & Burger,” which Marcel and I renamed the “Open When We Feel Like It” restaurant, or the “Slowest Restaurant in Puerto Escondido”). Work was just beginning on La Buena Vida the last time I was here, in mid-December. The décor and ambience are lovely, the food and the service are terrific, and the prices (for the time being, at least) are quite reasonable. On weekends the restaurant shows films. I wish Luis good luck in his endeavour and expect to see La Buena Vida thriving when I return.

Marcel left for Tapachula yesterday to prepare to cross the border into Guatemala, having overstayed his Mexican tourist visa by more than two months. He doesn’t anticipate a problem re-entering Mexico, but there’s always the possibility… So now I have the cabaña to myself, and at the same rate as when I shared it with him (80 pesos per night). I’ll stay a few more days to enjoy some much-desired quiet time on the beach, and then head for San Cristóbal de las Casas. After the constant high temperatures in Puerto Escondido, a change to a cooler climate will be pleasant. (The temperature “back home” in British Columbia hit 50 degrees F. today – a whopping 10 C.) I’ll stop in Juchitán, about half-way to San Cristóbal, and possibly stay a day or two. Not only is the 15-hour trip to San Cristóbal a little more than I care to do in one run; I’ve also heard that Juchitan is an interesting stop. I haven’t been able to find anything about hostels there, but in this case I’ll wing it.

Mexico can be a complete mystery to those who are acculturated to the ways of seeing and doing things on el otro lado. It helps to try to understand Mexico on its own terms. Its historical trajectory has differed in fundamental ways from those of Canada and the United States. Although its indigenous peoples share a large common ground with their norteamericano counterparts whose cultures were also brutally suppressed during el norte’s transformation into Gringolandia (as it’s sometimes called here in Mexico), there are huge differences. While the power of the Roman Catholic Church, along with that of religion in general, has waned in Canada (most dramatically in Quebec, as a result of the Quiet Revolution in the 60s that brought la Belle Province into the 20th century), it remains a potent force in the daily lives of Mexicans – to an even greater extent and in different ways than Fundamentalist Christianity in the US. Everyday reality in Mexico is suffused with symbolism, much of it religion-based, that unites las tres culturas (indigenous, Spanish and Mestizo) into a recognizable Mexican identity – or at least it’s supposed to. As in Canada and the US, the reality “on the ground” is very different from the ideal.

Despite the inclusion of las indigenas in the country’s vaunted cultural tapestry, indigenous peoples are still at the bottom of Mexico’s complex hierarchy. Most of my experience in Mexico has been in the South, which has the highest concentration of indigenous people and the highest rates of poverty. From all that I’ve observed and from what I’ve read, it appears that the Mexican Government, and particularly the State government of Oaxaca under Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO), consider the region’s indigenous people to be little more than cultural artefacts, useful mainly as tourist attractions. The South is short-changed in the allocation of Government resources. Public education in Oaxaca ranges from poor to abysmal. While fewer than 14% of Mexicans graduate from high school, in Oaxaca the situation is even worse. In Oaxaca, fewer than 56% even complete primary school. Many schools in rural areas lack water and electricity. Improvement of educational facilities is one of the demands of APPO's Section 22 teachers. URO is content with the situation. Federal allocations intended to improve the lives of the people have benefited him and his friends handsomely.

Mexico’s newspapers have fairly extensive coverage of events on el otro lado (including the current US “election” extravaganza); yet it’s difficult to find any coverage of events in Mexico in US or Canadian papers, unless the news concerns drug cartels, murders of tourists, political corruption or, not-so-alternatively, the latest high-level meeting between Felipe Calderón and George Bush concerning the problem of “illegal immigrants.” People in el norte are left with the impression that Mexico is a dirty, dangerous and extremely backward country whose people just want “a free ride” on the backs of American taxpayers. Most Americans are unaware (or perhaps wilfully ignorant) that they have been getting a free ride on the backs of the Mexican people for a long time. That's the kind of news that doesn't make it across the border.

I have not completed the brief history of Mexico (not so easy a task) that I’d planned to include in this dispatch. It’s in preparation. I’ll post it soon, once I reach my next major destination – San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas -- Maya country.

feral@renegaderesearch.org