Great City Part 2

The Irish Pub was noisy, cigarette smoke poured out onto the sidewalk and the place was jammed with twenty-somethings. C and I hobbled off down the street into the obscurity of the night.

We ended up finding Bob and Maria having dinner with a Mexican friend from the DF, Lula. Lula is a potter and knows some of the archaeologists I know, including Angel Garcia Cook, who was a young fellow back in the 70s and sometimes came around to the German Foundation where I was working for Peter Schmidt. Ah, the good old days.

Lula filled us in on the national political scene (presidential elections will be held on July 2), including Sub-commandante Marcos whom Bob, Maria and I saw at the Plaza de Armas a couple of weeks ago. When a guy wears a mask, it is a little hard to be sure it is really him, but on the other hand he can be in more than one place at a time, a definite advantage. I really don't think he is trying to be Zorro, but you never know.

Assuming it really was Marcos, Lula asked what he said specifically, and we had to admit it was pretty vague and about what he calls the “other campaign” presumably in support of indigenous groups but with no real platform (besides the standard left wing anti establishment stuff) or candidate. The object seems to be to raise questions, not to answer them. Lula is convinced that Marcos is secretly part of the PRD (Partido Revolucionario Democratico) whose presidential candidate is referred to as AMLO (his initials) who is mayor of Mexico City, and who is currently the front runner. Stranger things have happened.

The old line PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) was in power for 70 years until Vicente Fox (PAN) beat them six years ago. Now Fox is accused of not getting anything done, the PRI is considered old fashioned and corrupt, and it looks like it is the PRD’s turn.

Considering that ineffective and seemingly powerless parties in the past have been removed by revolutions, I asked Lula if she thought that might happen again or whether has Mexico progressed to the point where things can be settled politically instead of militarily. She is convinced, and so am I really, that Mexico has matured and the public is much better educated and prepared to participate in a political process than it was back in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Even Marcos has been accepted by the public and the other parties as just another voice and point of view on the direction Mexico should take, despite the romance and rebelliousness of his ski mask. But it is going to be a little confusing around here for a while.

I think the major stumbling block on the road to democracy post PRI will be the narcotraficantes and all the money they have to throw around. This week a bill was introduced to stop such money from being laundered through the political parties, and it was supported by all the parties. I don’t think anyone (except the narcotraficantes) wants Mexico to become another Colombia.

This morning (March 18), we had thought of visiting El Pueblito and/or El Cerrito, two archaeological sites in the region; but the newspapers say that there will be a year’s worth of tourists at these sites this weekend because of the Spring equinox. Since we were here, the New Agers have taken over Teotihuacan and other sites. We will wait for a week or two.

So, we have decided to go to Coroneo, not far from Querétaro, where they make things out of miembre (straw and other plant material). We need some place mats to protect the glass on our dining table, and a wall hanging to deaden the echo and provide some color. I will photograph anything we come up with for your viewing pleasure.