"A
QUICK VISIT TO MEXICO"
Steven
Jonas, MD, MPH
At
the end of 2005, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting
Mexico
for nine days. In this column I share with you some observations on the
history and politics of this fascinating country, along with some travel tips
for those who might be stimulated by these thoughts and other information as
well, to pay
Mexico
a visit. I make no pretense at being any kind of expert on
Mexico
. The facts, or what I believe to be facts, are based on information
gathered in a series of historical/anthropological museum visits and a bit of
reading. I think that I am stating things correctly here, but if I am not,
misstatements are not made with intention and I do apologize in advance for
them.
First
of all,
Mexico
is an historic country. There is evidence of civilization being
established there going back thousands of years. The only other area in
the
Western Hemisphere
where, to our present knowledge, civilization arose was in the South American
Andes, where the Incas created an apparently highly developed one. They,
however, did not have a written language. The most highly developed
Mexican one, the Mayan, centered in
Yucatan
and having at least two separate eras of civilized society, did. However,
the Spaniards who took over the country in the 16th century, Catholic
Church and Royal Armed forces working side-by-side, went out of their way to
destroy as much of the written legacy of the Mayans (apparently vast) as they
could, by burning every Mayan book they could lay their hands on. A few,
courtesy of a few Catholic monks who realized what their superiors were doing
and were horrified by it, survived, and so there is a bit of a written record
still left. But most of it is gone. Among the Mayan achievements
were an accurate calendar and the concept of zero, which their Western European
conquerors had learned only from the Arabs. It does not appear in Roman
numerology.
An
interesting historical conflict with the Christian world is that while Biblical
literalists date the Creation of the Earth to 6004 B.C.E., the Mayans, to the
best of our knowledge, dated it only to 3123 B.C.E. I wonder how we could
determine just which creation story has the correct date.
Travel
tip I. If you are flying to
Mexico
, making a connection in
Mexico City
before reaching your final destination, be careful with whom you fly. We
flew with Delta from
New York City
to
Mexico City
and then changed planes for a flight to
Oaxaca
. We booked through Aero México, but we had code shares internationally
with Delta and in Mexico with Mexicana Airlines. We missed our connection
in
Mexico City
. We were able to get onto an AeroMexico flight several hours later but
wanted to make sure that our luggage would make it also. Neither Aero México,
nor Mexicana, nor Delta, could give us any more precise information.
Fortunately, our bags got onto our flight into
Oaxaca
. Others were not so fortunate. My wife met an American couple who
had flown in on Delta, made a change in
Mexico City
and five days later still had not got their luggage. We heard from other
travelers that this was not a totally unusual occurrence. Next time we go
to
Mexico
, should we have to make a change in
Mexico City
; we will make sure that we fly on the same, Mexican, airline from
New York
to wherever in
Mexico
.
In
the history of
Mexico
, from the early civilizations onward, the society seems to have been made up of
two primary classes: the owner-rulers and everyone else, with a few variations
over time and place. Certainly the Aztec civilization that the first
Spanish explorers encountered was stratified in this way. There was a
ruling class that lived very well. Then there were the worker/farmers who
supported them and who, for example, were not allowed, on pain of death, to
acquire any marginal goods or property beyond what they needed to be productive
in their work. Certain skilled tradesmen and artisans drawn from this
serving class were permitted certain privileges, as were highly skilled
warriors. Beneath them all was a slave class, made up of people captured
in the perpetual wars with the Aztecs’ neighbors that seemed to characterize
the period. The Aztecs produced some marvelous artwork and some
magnificent buildings (most of which were destroyed by the Spanish, as they
destroyed the Mayans’ books). They also produced a remarkably violent
domestic culture, with human sacrifice, sometime in very large numbers,
apparently being a common occurrence. Supposedly done to “appease the
Gods,” it most likely also served a very useful purpose for the rulers for
keeping the working class, the slaves, and any captured enemies in their
respective places.
Travel
tip II.
Mexico City
is one of the largest in the world. Its present population is around 23
million. Its altitude is 7000 ft. and it is covered by a permanent layer
of smog. Nevertheless, it is a city that works, at least for the Mexicans
who have enough to live on and for tourists (for whom
Mexico
, unless you stay in a high-priced hotel, is a bargain). It has a fairly
comprehensive, and very low-priced (even for Mexicans) metro system, and I
strongly recommend using it to get around, especially at rush hour. There
is much to see in
Mexico City
. The main
Anthropological
Museum
in
Chapultepec
Park
, actually a combination historical, anthropological, archeological, art,
crafts, and cultural museum, is the best museum-qua-museum I have visited in the
world. (Te Papa, in
Wellington
,
New Zealand
, for me ranks second; it was first before I visited the one in
Mexico City
.) The exhibits are very imaginatively set forth, are very accessible,
have many illustrations of the settings in which the artifacts were found, have
extensive descriptions, some with English translations, very comfortable
lighting, and are set up to flow historically from the first arrivals of
settlers originally from Asia, perhaps as long ago as 30,000 years B.C.E.
Great museuming is not confined to this particular museum, however. We
found it in the cultural museum in the small city of
Oaxaca
and in other small museums in
Mexico City
as well.
My
impression is that the general two-class system, with variations, has continued
throughout Mexican history. It was obviously a feature of the Spanish
dominion which lasted until the War of Independence, 1810-1820. It was
quickly re-established by a home-grown ruling class, which had developed under
the Spanish, leading to a revolt following the disastrous (for
Mexico
) Mexican-American War of 1846-48 (in which they lost more than half of their
territory). A fledgling democracy with some land-reform followed, with a
strange interlude in the 1860s of a French “Emperor” backed by French
troops. When they were thrown out, a democracy again was established but
quickly turned into another home-grown dictatorship (of President Porfirio
Diaz). “Porfirism” did bring in major foreign investment and the
beginnings of industrialization but with much repression of the mass of the
population by the Mexican ruling class. The modern revolution of 1910-1920 (Pancho
Villa, Emiliano Zapata, et al) threw out the Porfiristas, democracy was
re-established, and major advances in education, health care, and social
services were made. But one party, the PRI, remained in power for
approximately 70 years from that time to the last election, in 2000, of the
rightist current President Vicente Fox. The two-class system has been
somewhat modified, of course (but see the last paragraph). However,
Mexico
still has one of the widest income/wealth gaps in the world for a
semi-developed country. This has widened under NAFTA which, among other
things, made it very easy for Mexican owners to send their profits abroad
instead of having to re-invest them in their own country.
Travel
Tip III. If you can manage it, the winter is a good time to go. The
weather is mild and dry. There are not too many tourists about. Be
prepared for some world-class museuming, some magnificent Spanish colonial era
baroque churches, lots and lots of people in Mexico City, friendliness, enough
people who speak at least some English (we both speak some tourist Spanish and
that does help), lots and lots of history, and of course the profusion of the
great mural art of Rivera, Orozco and Siquieros, as well as others in public
buildings, especially in Mexico City. You can even see, in the Palacio
des Belles Artes in
Mexico City
, a recreation of the mural that Rivera painted on commission at
Rockefeller
Center
in
New York City
that John D. had destroyed because, among other things, it had a portrait of
Lenin in it. (It also features Marx, Engels and Darwin, but old J.D.
apparently was particularly incensed about Lenin being there). And oh yes,
there is the Trotsky House where he was murdered by an agent of Stalin, and
much, much of the art and life of Frida Kahlo, the two-time wife of Diego
Rivera, an inamorata of Trotsky as well as others, and a fine artist in her
right.
I
could not finish this column without a thought or two on the illegal immigration
problem. In an article written by a senior Mexican economist with a Ph.D.
from the London School of Economics, Dr. Ricardo Pasco (The [
Miami
] Herald
Mexico
, 12/28/05) I was surprised to learn that only a minority of illegal immigrants
from
Mexico
are unemployed farmers. The majority are people who have jobs and at
least some education but simply cannot make enough to support their families as
the NAFTA-driven ever-widening income gap continues on its un-merry way.
As Dr. Pascoe says: “The problem is that wages are very low in
Mexico
.” Building a wall is one way, theoretically, to solve the problem for
the
U.S.
(Yes, it does seem as if the Republican Right and the Israeli Right have
the same set of advisors, doesn’t it?) But criminalizing illegal
immigration would likely not act as a deterrent (since the vast majority of
illegal immigrants don’t get caught and likely wouldn’t even with a wall)
and accomplish nothing more than expanding the United States’ already vast
prison system, at taxpayer expense. (The Georgites would likely privatize
it, to provide more profits for their prison-operator campaign contributors.)
Penalizing US employers of illegal immigrants would likely be effective to some
extent, except that among some the Republicans’ biggest campaign contributors
are those employers who use and exploit illegal immigrant labor. (Just
imagine what would happen to their profits if they had to pay US workers a
living wage.) The best long-term solution for both countries? Repeal
NAFTA so that manufacturing jobs would stay here and profits that the Mexican
ruling class makes could not so easily be exported and they might have to
re-invest in income- and job-producing enterprises at home. Just a
thought. And with it, I end this quick visit to
Mexico
.
________________
Dr. Steven Jonas is a contributing author for The Political Junkies
(www.thepoliticaljunkies.net).
He is a
Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and
author/co-author of over twenty books. Dr. Jonas is one of
America
's most perceptive Democratic political analysts.
In his book The New Americanism, Dr. Jonas presents his case that the
Democratic Party has come adrift from its founding principles. He urges
the Party to turn to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to
find the new vision and mission that it, and our country, so desperately need.
"The
New Americanism: How the Democratic Party Can Win the Presidency is available from
Amazon.com (go to "Books;" enter the title) and BarnesandNoble.com
(same).
He is also the author of The
15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism, 2001-2022,
originally published in 1996 under the pseudonym “Jonathan Westminster,” and
republished with a New Introduction in 2004, under the same author's name.
The 2004 edition is available at www.barnesandnoble.com
(search with the title) and www.xlibris.com (click
on “Bookstore,” then “Search” with title).
Both versions are available at www.amazon.com
(go
to "Books;" search with title).
Dr. Jonas is also a Contributing Editor for the Weblog http://planetmove.blogspot.com/,
produced by The Planetary Movement Ltd. UK (http://www.planetarymovement.org/), TPJ's
own Michael Carmichael, Founder and President, and a Contributing Columnist for
the Project for the Old American Century, POAC, http://www.oldamericancentury.org/.
By invitation Dr. J's TPJ columns are posted weekly on the website of AirAmericaRadio's
new morning man (9-12 Eastern), the redoubtable Jerry Springer (yes, it is that
Jerry Springer, a true progressive it turns out), at http://www.springerontheradio.com/,
and on Thomas Paine's Corner ( http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/).
2006
Jan 5, 2006 "Why
The Patriot Act, Redux: Fascism In The Here And Now, Cont."
Dec 22, 2005
"Why
The Patriot Act, Redux: Fascism In The Here And Now"
Dec 15, 2005 "An
Iraq Exit Proposal"
Dec 10, 2005 “Exiting
Iraq, The Georgite Way"
Dec 1, 2005 "The
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Nov
25, 2005 “The
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Nov 17, 2005 "The
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Nov 10, 2005 “The
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Nov 3, 2005
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Oct
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Bush, Bennett, Miers, and the DLC.”
Oct 20, 2005 “The
Future Of The Democratic Party, III:
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Oct 13, 2005 “The
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Oct 6, 2005
“The
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Sept
29, 2005 "The
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Sept 22, 2005 "On
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Sept 15, 2005 "On
The Great New Orleans Bush Flood Of 2005, I"
Sept 8, 2005 "Let's
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Sept 1, 2005 "An
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Aug
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Aug 18, 2005 "Why
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June 8,2005
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June 2, 2005
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May 12, 2005 “Possible
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May 5, 2005
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April 24, 2005
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Implications"
April 14, 2005
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Of Powers"
April 7, 2005
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31, 2005 “John
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March 22, 2005
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March 17, 2005
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March 10, 2005
"We
Won't Have To Worry Any More"
March 3, 2005
"Iranian
Nukes"
February
24, 2005 "Going
Nuclear In Iran"
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February 10, 2005 “The
Georgite Version of ‘Freedom and Democracy’ ”
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Feb 3, 2005
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Discovered --- In Washington”
Jan
27, 2005
“Comparing
George W. Bush And Adolf Hitler”
Jan 18, 2005 “The
Bush Second Inaugural: A Preview” “The Coming 2nd Civil War
(Unless),” No. 5
Jan 13, 2005 “The
Georgite Concept of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law”
Jan 6, 2005
“The
‘Unless’ Of The ‘Coming Second Civil War’ Series; Part II”
Dec
30, 2004
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‘Unless’ of the ‘Coming Second Civil War’ Series, Part I”
Dec 23, 2004
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Real Meaning Of The ‘Faith-Based Presidency;’ Part II”
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The Patriot Act?”
Oct. 21, 2004
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Oct 14, 2004
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Bush’s America”
Oct 7, 2004
“The
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Sept
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Sept 23, 2004
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Sept 16, 2004
"Lessons
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Sept 9, 2004
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On the Third Anniversary of the Tragedy of 9/11/2001"
Sept 2, 2004
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August 5,2004
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July 1, 2004
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Part I”
May
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May 20, 2004
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John Ashcroft -- And Jefferson Davis”
May 13, 2004
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Rove’s Personal Political Notebook”
May 6, 2004
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April
29, 2004
“On
George Bush and Religion, Part 2”
April 22, 2004
“What
Condi Rice Might Have Said”
April 8, 2004
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April 1, 2004
“Some
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March
25, 2004
“Brief
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March 16, 2004
“You
Know Me Al: The Iraq War --- So What Was It About, Anyway?
March 11, 2004
“A
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March 4, 2004
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February
27, 2004 “On
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