Reflections on Mexico's journey through the struggles of the past and today, and thoughts on a future of hope as dictated by an anonymous citizen
As my mind wanders through the history of my nation’s past, I dare to fantasize and enter the minds of the illustrious revolutionaries who lived the many injustices in the country of their birth, or in the case of some, the country in which they chose to live out their destiny. I speak of the patriots Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, Jose Maria Morelos, Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, Manuel Bravo, Mina, Aldama…..who saw their society degraded with each passing day by the arbitrary rule of Spaniards who came to steal Mexico’s wealth.
Few of these overseers loved this land like its native insurgent sons and daughters.
Over time, the seeds of liberty, planted by injustice and arbitrary rule, began to germinate in gatherings that echoed the ideals of independence: freedom for all, social justice and the right of association. The rights and individual guarantees that are written in our Constitution (the Mexican Constitution).
Today’s generation has forgotten that these rights were paid for with the blood and sacrifice of those passionate insurgents, who managed to motivate an entire nation to take up arms and liberate Mexico from the conquerors. In 1810 the nation was willing to die, and many did die, for the just cause of peace and independence.
After independence came the stormy struggle to forge a nation.
A resurgence of the original insurgent’s vision came during the Presidency of Benito Juarez, who inherited a country totally bankrupt, disorganized, with weak laws, no social project. A nation lost and off its course. Juarez and those who shared his vision eagerly sought to anchor the roots of the country, to start building the foundations of a dream that would translate into a great nation. They knew the road ahead was long, the end of the journey beyond their lifetime.
The French saw the weak position of Mexico and took advantage of its very poor state to invade and occupy the country. This invasion almost came to destroy the will of the nation, until a man named Wincar and 30 men in the town of Villa Gigedo (better known as Villa Union) defeated 300 French soldiers.
With this action a flame was lit that would motivate the nation, with all its heart, to repulse the French occupiers under the slogan: Remember the Villa Gigedo, Remember how they won their victory! Nothing could stop the galloping of the nation as the French fell in battle after battle, ending with the death of Maximilian.
This is the story of another generation of Mexicans who died forging a nation.
However, the country was left in ruins, coffers completely empty, sunk in ignorance, without democracy, without a development plan. The despair of the nation called for drastic measures.
Enter General Porfirio Diaz, after the death of Don Benito Juarez, leaving a map that would eventually lead, with still more blood, to democracy. The seeds of concepts were planted that would guide the way to a nation of good men. Respect for the rights of others, among individuals as among nations, is peace.
Words that were written in granite, that gave meaning to the anguish, hardship, hunger, misery that had been experienced firsthand. Words that gave meaning to the struggle of so many Mexicans without names, with no headstones, no photographs, no bodies to mourn.
Times called for drastic measures and concrete actions were taken. Foreign investment arrived to move the country forward and give it direction, to mark the way forward on the map. All wrought by General Porfirio Diaz.
In doing so, better times would come, industrial revolutions and modernization for a country which the people had to forge, to build brick by brick. Much of the world’s capital found a home in Mexico and thus came a generation of foreigners who called Mexico their country.
They were times of plenty for some, but a dark secret was emerging, a secret that could not be buried. The secret came at a high price to society, revealing that a minority enjoyed the excesses of affluence, and the majority tasted only misery. Little by little the injustice touched more citizens, leaving a wake of dishonesty and corruption. Little by little the upper class turned its back to the poor with their tears of despair and teeth gnashing in frustration.
These were the times of stillness before the big storm, when the sins of injustice and indifference exploded and gave birth to the Mexican Revolution.
Paradoxically, it was the son of a multimillionaire that would bring about that watershed moment that marks the “before and after” of Mexican history. His name was Francisco I. Madero. His ideals enlightened the rude and wicked men, forged by the environment of their upbringing, that the dice throw of destiny chose for those times. Men like Francisco Villa, Rodolfo Fierro, Felipe Angeles, Emiliano Zapata and the constitutionalist Venustiano Carranza.
The human cost of the Revolution was high, about one million lives dedicated to “the cause”, or “La Bola” (the game) as the proletariats of the day called it.
The immediate achievement was the end of the hacienda and terrateniente (landlord) land use systems, but the largely rural citizenry was still completely overwhelmed by ignorance and the legacy of abuse at the hands of the deposed landlords.
It was not until Plutarco Elias Calles that we began to see a pseudo social order and a system of socio-political ideas that formed the basis of the political society that would last for over 70 years. These were times of peace and society as a whole advanced.
When the tightly woven bonds forged by the PRI political system began to fray and break, the cancer we suffer today began to emerge; violence, violation of individual rights and abuse of authority, which led to the emerging pattern of the drug cartels. Cartel violence emerged in an environment perfectly suitable for it, full of corruption and social disorganization.
In retrospect I can say that we have been hardened almost all of our time as a nation. We have been killed, abused, insulted, violated and exploited by personages who placed personal interests ahead of the interests of the nation.
I can not say that all is lost, of course. I remember the words that President Felipe Calderon said in a speech where he emphasized that we should understand that generations of Mexicans have enjoyed peace and generations of Mexicans have been destined to fight for peace.
If I have to embrace the idea of fighting in the trenches to leave my children a real and tangible peace, then I accept the challenge. It is through my participation in the activities of my society that I will contribute to a more just and equitable distribution of wealth among all the nation’s citizens.
It is only through these acts of contribution that our society will realize the goals of social welfare and peace and become a magnet for the global community to attract investment in Mexican territory.
This isn't news.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it news, but it's history my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this, it was a great piece!
Que Viva Pancho Villa, Merry X-Mas, Chorizo con Huevo, Virgen de Guadalupe!
ReplyDeletemexico is a failed state , dependent on the USA for money, security, and as a scapegoat for all it's problems
ReplyDelete"A nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it." - Winston Churchill
ReplyDeleteAs a struggling nation,under the constant glare of the barrel of a gun, we are bound by the history's records to remember it. If we do not look back to our past, we will never realize we have come to a full circle as a society in our way of acting. This applies to all nations in the world. We have to come to terms, we must come together as a race,viewing things as isolated events will only deepen our past sins. Either we come together as one or we succumb to cancers as the very costly Drug on Wars. We have no other choice but to conciliate. We are all one, we have to get rid of the cancer where ever it may disperse.
I'm sorry but isn't globalization killing nations around the world? I would rather have Mexico build itself from the ground up and establish themselves without the aid of foreign investment, which no doubt will look only to their profits and how well they can exploit this weak country. This is what happened to the U.S. and now look at it now; a country that was once strong and is now runned by foreign bankers where nothing is manufactured here anymore, and one in which many of our resources belong to foreign investors. What you are asking for is for the New World Order to go in there and finish Mexico for good with complete enslavement of the people. My country, the U.S. is on its knees, our economy is getting worse and worse, we have a massive illegal immigration problem that has bankrupt our medical and educational systems, we have troops fighting an illegal war that only drains tax-payer money, our right to grow our own food and drink clean water is being challenged by our government, our children are continuously being attacked by poisonous vaccines, we have a predatory-like prison system and a health-care bill passed by an illegal alien president that will only benefit the insurance companies, and now people are talking about going into Mexico for another war?!? Our constitution prohibits the president from engaging in foreign wars unless the country is being threatened directly, which it has never. Our president and congress are bought by foreign bankers whose vested interests are not the same as ours, the working people. I say kick out foreign investors from your country and work hard at establishing a real economy free of leeches. Didn't the people learn their lesson when the Spanish took all of the gold and silver back to their home country? I only wish that when you yell Viva Mexico! tonight, that it is with the hopes and dreams of becoming an independent nation, with real independence, even from the U.S. We are in the same battle. Kick out all communists, socialists, globalists, environmentalists, eugenicists, foreign elitists, and see how quick your country gets back on its feet and how amiable we become as neighbors. What time does the military parade start, I want to check it out? Central Time.
ReplyDeleteGood summary of Mexican history. Now Mexico is under a new form of siege,drugs. Let me paraphrase "Mexican society is now degraded with each passing day by the arbitrary rule of the cartels".
ReplyDeleteMexico's people must regain that which they lost many years ago. True justice is not able to be bought. True justice is justice that is blind. Friends, bribes and winks should not get preference before judges or governors. Justice is doing that which is right before God and the law. Mexico's people have lost their integrity. That has been many years ago. Fifty percent of the people are liars and thieves. They have lost their souls and don't even recognize it. I love many of the Mexican folks and it is sad to me to see them afraid to leave their homes at night. They work hard to buy homes and vehicles. Then, someone comes up and demands the keys to their pickups and SUVs and they give their keys up for fear of death. They can't call the police because they are probably the ones that carknapped their vehicle. It just makes me want to cry. Should the common people celebrate being under siege by cartels, zetas, police and solders who rape their women, take their money and vehicles and extort money for protection against fire and murder. Mexico needs National repentance and a return to true law and justice. Where is Mexico's real heroes who will defend and save the common people who are prey for the wolves to devour. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
ReplyDeleteI just found out Mexico will hold the mexican military parade tomarrow at 10am. Tradicionally, the parade consists of purely military personnele. This will be the first time that not only will federal police march but around 15 other contingent groups of various foreign militaries as a way of expressing 'solidarity'. I believe something like this is being done purely as a way of conditioning the Mexican people to get used to the idea of having foreign troops on their land.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine Russian and Chinese troops marching at the Fourth of July parade in Washington D.C.? Yes I can. Our country trains foreign troops at our military bases to take on the American people in case something 'happens'. FDR once said that nothing just happens, everything happens according to plan.
The same people who sent the soldiers to 'protect' the Mexican people are the same people who started this drug-war in the first place. We're expected to believe that the cartel leaders are at the top of the rungs?...with their not exactly mansions, their couple of trucks, their couple of weapons, and their small amounts of cash when they get caught? The drug trade reaps billions of dollars every year. These cartel leaders are just patsies used by money investors to handle the drugs and the weaponry, and are expected to take the fall if necessary.
You see martial-law in the streets and you applaud, it makes you feel good, they're even making commercials giving thanks to the soldiers for their valiant efforts. Trust me I'm sure I'm not the only one that's felt fuzzy about their bravity once in a while but you must understand that that's the not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is for ultimate control of the population. Problem, Reaction, Solution.
Create the Problem, force the people to React emotionally, and provide a Solution for them. You will thank god for having a soldier on every street corner, you will run up to a soldier and give him or her a kiss on the cheek, you will kiss their boots as they search you everytime you go out of your house, you will get all tingly for having to show your identification, allthewhile believing you are being patriotic as they take away all your freedom and privacy. This too is the way America is heading.
One big difference, the American people are well equipped to handle any foreign invader pretending to 'aid in a time of need'. But don't let that fool you. When the Chinese military escorted the Olympian torch bearers throughout our country nobody stopped them. They simply allowed these Chinese soldiers to march right through and yell orders at the people to step aside as they came to our towns and cities. The Mexican people need to feel ashamed at how they've allowed these foreign invaders to take over their country, from creating the drugwar to holding foreign miitary parades right in their own capital steps, all without so much as a finger lifted against them. They need to open their eyes. A lot of us are seeing what's happening across and know that the same things will be attempted here in the U.S.