With
the nation in turmoil, a dancerperforms at ceremonies for the
Mexican bicentenary, in Mexico
City, Sept.15.
La Jornada, Mexico
Mexico at 200: Partying Neoliberal Encroachment
"It's
a paradox that the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of our quest for
independence comes within the context of severely encraoched on national sovereignty. This manifests itself with particular clarity in the more than two
decades of submission to the neoliberal model dictated by Washington, the IMF
and the World Bank and in the subsequent signing of NAFTA."
The flawed, inconsistent,
frivolous and even contradictory way in which the 200th anniversary of the War
of Independence has been organized is a result of the crisis that the country
is experiencing. It is also due to the incapacity of the authorities to
comprehend and oversee such celebrations. To begin with, it's a paradox that
the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of our quest for independence comes within
the context of our extremely encroached upon national sovereignty.
This manifests with
particular clarity in the more than two-decade submission to the neoliberal model dictated
by Washington, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank; in the subsequent
signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); in the grave issue
of food dependency that affects Mexico; in its abandonment of the countryside,
industry and national manufacturing; in the deliberate degradation of the oil
industry and the handing over to international companies of strategic assets
like banking and electric power generation. This state-conducted “hollowing
out,” which was executed with such obvious corruption, the unbridled
privatization of the last four federal administrations, and the handing
off of federal legal authority to corporations and foreign governments, have
put the country in a position of lamentable dependence.
Much the same can be said
about the signing of agreements like the Security
and Prosperity Partnership of North America - also known as the
“militarized NAFTA” - and the Merida Initiative.
Such agreements on the part of Mexico represent inadmissible capitulations of
sovereignty and national security. Moreover, the ruling class' disdain for the
fundamental rights of Mexicans and citizens of other nations shows, both in and
out of the country, the Mexican State's incapacity to fulfill some of its essential
obligations.
Moreover, the situation
coincides with the assault by criminal
elements and the daily bloodbath gripping the country. The “war on narco-trafficking”
declared by the Calderon government nearly four years ago has not only cost an
unacceptable number of lives, but has meant a profound change in what
constitutes social and institutional normality in several regions. A reflection
of this is the cancellation of the ceremony of the Cry of Independence due to
lack of security in at least a dozen municipalities of Chihuahua and Tamaulipas.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
[Editor's Note: The Mexican
War of Independence (1810–1821) was an armed conflict between Mexico and
Spanish colonial authorities, which started on September 16, 1810. "El Grito de la
Independencia" (the Cry of Independence) was the battle cry of the Mexican
War of Independence in 1810. [watch below].
In another sense, after the
vagueness, opacity and waste that has characterized the official bicentennial
celebrations, the conservative ruling elite emits a perceptible ideological
discomfort over the memory of revolutionary processes from 100 and 200 years
ago. To top it all off, the government discourse has been contradictory: after
months of bombarding the population with media messages inviting people to join
in the patriotic festivities, now the authorities - federal and capital - recommend
that citizens stay home and watch the ceremony on television, making clear that
admission to Zócalo
[Mexico City's main square] will be limited to 50,000 people.
Several days ago, the chief
executive, President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, castigated those who've
criticized the official celebrations, accusing them of “always being prepared
to tear down the national spirit.” But in light of the considerations we've
pointed out, it has been the government itself that has narrowed the margins of
the celebration, transforming the prospect of a popular, national and jubilant
celebration that the occasion warrants into an anticlimactic, unsuccessful,
costly government ceremony bereft of meaning.
