Despite all the excited news stories Mexico remains much as always. It is more militarized. In my last months traveling around the country I have been through a wide variety of roadblocks, military, police, special police, drug enforcement and my favorite, fruit and vegetable inspections. To a one I was treated with respect, even courtesy as they would look through the van. The funniest one occured in Oaxaca. An ice cream hand cart was just leaving the military shelter as I entered. All the armed troops had their automatic weapons in one hand and ice cream cones in the other. They of course waved me through rather than put down their ice cream cones. As I drove through they were all smiling and laughing amongst themselves and I realized they were children. Teenagers who were still anticipating first dates and pleasures that a teen anywhere dreams of.
The country is under the thumbs of the military but most people I met were going about life as always.
I was in one of those great old barber shops having a shave when I saw a picture of Andres Obrador on the wall. This was the second time I heard that he was the real winner of the last election. He is a socialist and many Mexicans I met believe that he won the election and the gringoes put in Calderon as they would do anything to keep a Chavez like government out of Mexico. This story was repeated many times. Obrador will run again in 2012.
All in all I was treated with the warmth and generosity I have always encountered in Mexico.
Last Mexican history lesson
Malinche: Malinche was Cortez' native concubine. She is considered a great traitor in Mexico. She also began a curious assimilation between Spanish and native Mexicans. The Spanish bred freely with the natives. One result of this was that an estimated population of 25 million Native Mexicans at the time of conquest was reduced to 1 million 2 years later. Mostly through disease.
Lastly, Mexico prevails.
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