Aye, the poor Mexican working man. In the words of that old Mexican saying, "So far from God so near to the United States." The working man in Mexico has forever been exploited. During the days of the Haciendas he worked the land for slave wages which were paid every Sunday. Still to this day children ask their elders for their "Domingo" or weekly allowance.
When the haciendas were broken up, a portion of the hacienda land was given to the peons in 4 or 8 hectare plots depending on whether the plot had access to a well or not. These plots were adjacent to each other and formed an ejido. Not many people who worked ejido land were ever much better off than when they worked the haciendas.
These days it is possible for ejido land to be "privatized", then sold so the owners can move into the city to find work in one of the many factories springing up due to NAFTA, the European Free Trade Agreements, and Latin American Free Trade Agreements. These agreements as well as the privatization of ejido land are all part of a new direction which Mexico has embarked on over the last 10 years or so, culminating with the election of Vicente Fox as president.
Fox, as the nation's leading Panista, not only represents a changing of the guard but a change mandated by the voters. For the first time in Mexico's history the youth vote in the 2000 presidential elections outweighed the vote of the agrarian. This is a significant fact.
Mexico's youth have not always commanded such power or respect. At about the time that Kent State students were being fired on by the National Guard, a similar event took place in Mexico City where not four but hundreds were shot to death. Even though there are conflicting stories about what really took place on that fateful day and about how many died, in the years following that horrible event in Mexico City the entire country has been soul searching.
The road dictated by that reassessment has been littered with bodies: Newspaper reporters, presidential candidates, church officials, DEA investigators, powerful politicians, poor Indian farmers of Chiapas, and, of course, the rank and file of the drug trade. All have been victims of the shift from the absolute (but known) power of the ruling political party, to the unknown and frightening specter of the change favored by youth and the pro business, pro church stance represented by Fox.
It was no fluke that Fox ran on a platform, which had as its first plank an end to corruption. This idea was expressed by the word "ya" which can mean "enough already". To the youth of Mexico "ya" came to signify the hope of ending 71 years of perceived corruption.
Still, there is real fear in an older segment of the population that the PAN as represented by Mr. Fox will again enforce strict moral codes on the populace. The last time the PAN was in power the people rebelled against that strictness by keeping the PRI in power for seven decades. But it's interesting to note that the very moral vigor feared by older Mexicans is embodied by nearly every grandmother in the country.
In fact, it is this same strong moral fiber which has fueled the youth in their determination to bring an end to corruption. It is this same moral fiber which makes Mexicans of all ages respectful of youth and of new ideas. It is strange, in a way, that even the PRI has bowed to demands of youth to the point that the all powerful PRI has insisted on more "transparency" and even brought world wide scrutiny to the recent electoral process.
But the hero of this story is the working man. He has endured 71 years of corruption to finally make a better world for his grandchildren. He has educated them to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, and computer wizards. He has sent them to the United States to help pay for the education of their younger brothers and sisters. He has spent long years in the US himself without the comfort of his family so they could have a better life. He has learned how to live in that strange world and brought the best of it back with him to share with his family.
I only hope that as Mexico enters the 21st century that the youth of this country can remember what is was that empowered them to have the courage to make such a momentous change. Like any working man I have no option but to believe they will.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
