Mexican history

After the rainy season-like weather, this week it has been sunny, hot and dry again. However, the rains we did have brought some green to the mountains. But now we are again waiting for the rain to start in earnest and more continuously.

We are going to change the day we get the girls from Love in Action from Sunday to Saturday. Today, however, when we went, the girls were all sleeping. We were going to come back to take the girls out later, but Elvia, who is recovering from an operation, hinted that maybe we could bring ice cream for all the kids in that dormatory. That was a good idea. We got ice cream and cones; the kids all sat in a row as they got their cones. It became very much quieter than usual as the kids were preoccupied with their ice cream cones.

I have been reading another history of Mexico--700 pages. That is not quite as impressive as it sounds. It is a textbook for a university survey course; thus, it has lots of pictures and big margins. Nevertheless, it is fascinating. From 1810 when the war for independence started until almost 1940, there were numerous revolutions and civil wars and at least 2 major foreign invasions--one American and one French. There was a 25 year period of relative peace from 1885 - 1910 during the dictatorship of Diaz. It was a time of remarkable economic development, but all the wealth went to foreigners and a very small number of very rich Mexican families. Common lands that the Indians had had since before the Spanish conquest were stolen and accumulated by land companies and private families. One guy got about 7 million acres; others had 400,000-500,000. Wages during the period remained virtually unchanged, but the prices of corn and other necessities more than doubled. Thus, the lot of the vast majority got much worse (kind of like in the US in the last 25 years! [sorry, a bit of political commentary]). The rural population were frequently in debt bondage on the huge haciendas. In the mines and factories, workers were required to work at least 12 hour days, 7 days a week.

This was the background for the revolution that began in 1910. It lasted until 1920 and was really a series of civil wars as sides kept changing. During that time, it is estimated that 1.5 - 2 million people (almost 1 in 8 in the population) died as attrocities were committed by people on all sides. Even then, there were revolts and assassinations until well into the 1930s. The problem has been intense disagreements about the kind of political system and distribution of power. Frequently, they could join together against something or someone (Spanish domination or a dictator), but as soon as they were successful, their differences led them to begin fighting each other. Reading Mexican history helps one to appreciate our own history. Differences have not been sufficiently great that the sides have felt it necessary to resort to violence. I still have to read the section from 1940 to the present. Fortunately, in that period, violence was much less. Also, since the 1990s, power has changed hands via the ballot box, not via revolution and alternate political parties have had a real chance of being successful.

Human Rights in Mexico

May has been more moderate than I remember from last year. We have had 3 rains; 3 nights ago it amounted to about 1 inch and altogether between 1.5 and 2 inches so far. We are beginning to see some green spots on the mountains. The temperatures have been more moderate as the highs in the afternoons are only about 30 C or so. We have not even put the fan on at nights for several nights. Most afternoons, it clouds up between 4 and 5 p.m. We are hoping that that presages a good rainy season and raising the level of the lake even higher towards its maximum.

Tomorrow night we are going to Monte Coxala (the lovely spa in San Juan Cosala) with our new neighbours from Toronto. They bought and have been renovating the house next door. We have been interested and have followed their changes. They plan to split their time between their farm in Ontario in the summers and here during the winters.

Today we attended the first of a planned 6 weeks of lectures on human rights in Mexico, especially as they apply to ex-pats. The 3 men who are presenting the lectures are Mexicans who belong to a recently established human rights association. This is a good example of the enormous progress made in Mexico in the last 20 years or less. The press has become very free (especially as compared to previously) and the last 3 elections have been widely regarded as open and above board. Mexico has had a far-reaching statement of human rights in its constitution since the mid-19th C, but practice was often far removed from the ideal set out in the constitution. Now, there seem to be large strides to making the ideals more of a reality.

This human rights association had a big success last year. The governor of the state of Jalisco, where we live, was being very free with public funds without authorization of the state congress. One of his big donations was to the Catholic Church to build a monument and shrine to the ‘martyrs’ of the 1930s. The Mexican constitution from the 19th C had decreed an absolute separation of church and state. However, in the 1920s in the wake of the revolution and civil war 1910-20, a Catholic political party was formed and participated in politics. Later, other political parties decided that this violated the separation of church and state and outlawed religious political parties. The supporters of the religious party revolted and in the suppression of this revolt many people were killed; these were the ‘martyrs’. The main center for this revolt was in the state of Jalisco and the influence of the Catholic Church is still greater in Jalisco than most other states in Mexico; the opposition to abortion, sex education, etc. is greater here than many other states. The governor argued in defense of his donation of public money that the proposed monument and shrine would be a tourist attraction and therefore be a public benefit. However, the human rights association launched a suit and publicity campaign arguing that this contravened the separation of church and state and was unconstitutional. In the storm of protest, the Church returned the money (or most of it). This is representative of the changes and the demands for greater accountability of officials that is taking place in Mexico.

Two of the men giving the presentation are lawyers; I don’t know what the other does besides this involvement as a volunteer in the human rights association. One of the men who spent part of his early life growing up in the US said that a main reason for mounting these lectures at the Lake Chapala Society is because he has heard so many ex-pats declaring that they don’t have any rights in Mexico. He says that that is untrue; any one living here has the same rights as Mexican citizens. Of course, legal procedures and even many principles do differ from what exist in Canada and the US. That came out in questions that members of the audience raised. Also, I think that the gap between the ideals of the constitution and actual practice may still be fairly wide at times. However, I think that the lectures are going to be very interesting and illuminating. These men are at the forefront of the efforts to stabilize the rule of law and to put into general practice respect for human rights. Such movements are usually seen as evidence of a strong, middle class which demands public accountability and due process in public affairs. It also disproves the stupid statement by the Bush Administration drug czar that Mexico is in danger of becoming a ‘failed state’ dominated by drug gangs.

Yuliana

We had been having a rain tease. As I mentioned, on May 8th we had a short rain with thunder storm. Then, on Monday, the 11th, it clouded in the afternoon and about 7 p.m. there was a very little rain, only enough to wet the surface. We were just finishing dinner under the gazebo; unlike last year, we did not have to grab everything and run into the house. On Tuesday, it was mostly overcast so that it did not heat up very far. However, today we got the real ‘llovia’, again, as sunny day clouding over around 4. Barb had walked into Ajijic. This time we got a good shower with heavy rain for about 15 minutes and gradually tapering off. It was enough to bring water cascading down Paseo de la Pesca. I drove in to pick up Barb. There was one good sized leak, although I was not quick enough in closing the windows and had to mop up a bit under a couple of windows also. It is lovely, fresh and cool after the rain.

Last Saturday, there was the godparents’ monthly picnic. We took our 3 niños, but it did not work very well. The pool was great for the older kids, but even the shallow end was over the heads of our little ones. They were frightened by all the splashing of the other kids. All 3 ended up crying. I think that we’ll pass in future until they get a bit older and can cope with the deeper pool. On Sunday, there was the birthday party for Yuliana, the Princess; you can see that she merits the title on her first birthday. She is being sponsored by our friends, Dawn and Gordon Whitehead. This is also a good picture of Elvia. Sunday was also Mother’s Day in Mexico; the little red button on Elvia'a blouse is for Mother’s Day and says in Spanish, “I am loved.” It was quiet in our neighbourhood, but I understand that one tradition is to hire singers and musicians to serenade your mother in the street in the middle of the night.

As we have just passed the first aniversary of our arrival in Ajijic, we have been assessing our decision and move. We have learned a lot and are much more comfortable in going about our day to day living. A year ago, we knew practically nothing and still had questions in the back of our minds about whether or not we would discover that we had made a big error in our hasty decision. Such questions are no longer a concern. We love the climate, the culture and our involvement with Love in Action. The adventure has not palled.

First rain & birthdays galore

We had our first rain of the season early this morning. Yesterday afternoon about 5 or so, there were some clouds (although we still had sun here) and we could hear thunder some distance away. However, it wasn’t until almost 2 a.m. before a thunderstorm began. There was a fair amount of lightning and thunder over the next hour or so. It did rain, although it was not heavy. This morning we did find a few places in the street where the water had been flowing. I looked up this blog for last year and discovered that the first rain last year was on May 12th, only 4 days after we moved into our house here. I had forgotten that it was that early. It was cooler today, but more humid (according to our little humidity indicator, it was around 50% today). That may seem low compared to up north, but it has been hovering 25-35%, more or less, for months. Anyway, the heavier rains did not really come until June and July last year.

We are having a busy time these days. Today was Fatima’s third birthday; we got a big cake and bucket of ice cream. They dressed Fatima in a lovely dress and fixed her hair. Here she is with her proud godparents. We had asked Elvia what she thought Fatima needed. She said, “Dress shoes” but with accents, Barbara thought she heard, “Red shoes.” Barb spent 4 hours running around yesterday and then again today--nada decent red shoes. We did get some sandals, but they barely fit. Thus, late this afternoon we went back to the shoe store (called “Canada") and got some dress shoes.

Then we found out today, that tomorrow afternoon is the monthly picnic for godparents and children; somehow we got left off the list for the notice. Elizabeth and Elvia were wondering when we had said nothing about attending; with so many snowbird godparents away, they really want all who live here to go. We have agreed to pick up our three and possibly a teenage girl in our car. It’s the same venue as the March picnic, about 8 miles or so east of Chapala. They have a big pool.

Then, we have another birthday party on Sunday for Yuliana, the baby sister of Fatima; she will be 1 year old on Monday, but Elvia wants it on Sunday. I think that Sunday afternoons are slow; there is no school and there is not the schedule of things going on that takes place during the week. Elizabeth and Elvia always look a bit worn out when we take the girls back around 6. Elvia has had Yuliana since she was less than a month old. She says, “She’s 'my' baby.” Elizabeth teases Elvia and calls Yuliana, “The Princess”. I had thought that Elvia might say to combine the birthdays in one celebration when they are so close together as the housemothers have extra work--however, not for Elvia’s princess! To be honest, Yuliana is just about the best baby I have ever seen. She always smiles and never cries; she never ‘acts strange’, even with strangers who pick her up.

We won’t have other birthdays for a while. Elizabeth’s son, Leo, is next in July. The twins’ birthday is not until September. One little boy, José, who was brought to the center a little over a month ago and is being sponsored by Barb's sister Wendy, was found in a cave. No one knows exactly how old he is or when his birthday is. If they are not successful in getting more information, some date will have to be selected arbitrarily to give him a celebration. There is a problem because children who do not have a birth certificate are not allowed to go to school. Anabel and her assistant, Dina, have become very proficient at tracking down this kind of info and documents, but José is a real challenge.

Flu, flu, flu

We got a new computer. However, as I feared, the ‘migrate’ program, which allows one to move everything from an old computer to a new one, doesn’t work from an iPod. Thus, I had to transfer all the programs and data files in a number of steps. I called Apple and one of their techs helped to walk me through it. He congratulated me on having the presence of mind to use the iPod to back up the old computer before it konked out. The only difficulty for Barb is that the keyboard labels are for Spanish and there are a few extra keys. We can still select the normal English (Qwerty) keyboard, but the labels on the keys are not all the same. I type by touch and have memorized the keyboard, but Barb has always been hunt and peck. The letter keys are almost all the same; it is the other keys that are different. However, she is managing and the new computer is so much faster and better. It also has the latest version of iPhoto, which is the program she uses for all her photos (beween 7 & 8,000).

Of course, the last week has been all about the so called ‘swine flu’ pandemic (or not). Someone at Open Circle today said that the first case had been found in Guadalajara. I don’t know if that is just a rumour, but it is likely to happen sooner or later. However, to this point, everyone in Nova Scotia has been a lot closer to this flu than we have been!

I have a strong feeling that this is going to be another fiasco like the last ‘swine flu’ pandemic in 1976. In that event, swine flu was discovered in one US army base. The media and the politicians went into orbit; both Canada and the US governments ordered millions of doses of vaccine. In the end, about 200 soldiers on that base got the flu (not severe in almost all cases) and one died. However, as the vaccines were being administered, some people got an unusual illness that may have been a side effect of the vaccine. In any case, hundreds got ill and a number died. The vaccination program was cancelled (about a year later all those millions of doses were simply disposed of and the US government paid over $100 million in compensation). Most of the media (and many politicians) forget about the context and proportions. Every year about 37,000 Americans (and about 10,000 Mexicans; I don’t know Canadian statistics) die from whatever flu viruses are going around at the time. So far, there is no evidence that this flu, despite being given a different name, is any worse than most other flu viruses; in fact, most evidence is that it is mild. Nevertheless, the voice of Chicken Little is heard in the land. Of course, the other thing is that in the media, especially in the US, anything negative about Mexico is played up big. Fox Network, which in an amazing masterpiece of gall and effrontery calls itself a “News Service”, is especially notorious. The right wing is very exercised by all the Mexican illegals in the US. It is similar to the line about the 6,000 murders in the drug war in Mexico last year--how horrible! They don’t mention that over 17,000 Americans are killed with guns every year. That is just normal in the US and not even worth mentioning!

We are hearing long, piercing whistles these days and nights. Here, the old timers tell the newbies that it is the ‘rain bird’ which starts these whistles about 4 weeks or so before the rainy season starts. Supposedly, the newbies then go out looking for the ‘birds’. Actually, the whistle is made by an insect that emerges at this time of year; it is probably part of mating. There seem to be a lot of them here in La Floresta; we may be in a hotbed of ‘rain bird’ sexual activity! This is the hottest time of year here and it does get hot (well into the 30s every day). The house seems to get up to about 28 or so. We start the night with the fan going, but by about 2 a.m. it is cool enough to turn off the fan and even pull up the light blanket. It is amazing how uniform the weather is day after day--sunny, hot and dry. For about 3 weeks I have had a cough which I am pretty sure stems from the dryness; it is not uncommon here for Gringos. I am using my CPAP machine all night; it has a humidifier. That seems to help, but I may have the cough until the rainy season starts--less than a month if last year is an indication.