January 1989
January is a raw month in the Valle de Chalco. High winds carry stench from Mexico City's largest garbage dump down every street and into every home of Chalco's many impoverished neighborhoods, known here as colonias. Oust devils stir dirt onto clean laundry hanging out to dry. The roar of traffic on the nearby Mexico City-Puebla highway drowns conversation. The Valle's only consolation, an unimpeded view of the snow-capped Iztaccihuatl volcano, is completely obscured this time of year by a thick veil of smog.
Through the garbage- littered, open-sewered, and mud-bogged streets of a colonia named Dario Martinez, Guadalupe Rosas carries on with her day. I catch sight of her returning from market, a stooped figure with a thick single braid down her back and a bucket straining from each arm. I call out and she turns to look my way. Her face brightens gradually and then smiles broadly. She invites me to walk home with her. When we arrive in the neatly swept dirt courtyard of her attractive cinder block house, she asks me in and begins to talk.
She talks mostly about herself, about what caused her to move here, and how she has adjusted to life on the frontier. Dario Martinez does truly lie in a political limbo land, beyond the Federal District but inside the defacto city limits, where building is unregulated, housing deeds are unrecognized, and all manner of public services are unsupplied. It is the typical kind of peri-urban frontier that millions of Mexicans call home.
Guadalupe lives on another kind of frontier however. By the personal example she sets in Dario Martinez- as an outspoken woman, concerned mother, and angry homeowner- Guadalupe is influencing the way her community has started to engage in grassroots activism and to unleash their own political power.
A new kind of citizen-activist has emerged from the ashes of one party government and economic boom times in Mexico. Fiercely independent and proudly defiant, these grassroots leaders in the making might well be the political force of tomorrow. So it would be wise to listen now to what Guadalupe has to say about things such as community activism, personal motivation, and public leadership.
GUADALUPE
I came here from Tlalpitzahuac. I had been living with my mother and I moved in with my husband's parents when I got married. My father-in-law had a big house and let us move in. But you know that when you're married, it's always better to live apart from the in-laws. There are always little problems. They had their children, I had my own children from before- and you know the saying, my daughter's son is my grandson, but my daughter-in-law's son is a nobody.
My children always had less than the others. I had problems with my mother-in law, and one day we started hitting each other. So I said I was leaving. My brother was living here in Dario, and he came to tell me my uncle was selling the land he'd bought next door. So I bought three lots from him, 'cause I have three children. That was about nine years ago.
But my husband didn't want to move here right away. He wanted to move to Guadalajara. So I came by myself with the three kids, 'cause I think you can raise children anywhere. I figured you had to think first about tomorrow, that's why I bought three lots, so each would get one. I made the payments myself, 35,000 pesos for each lot. And then my husband came after all.
I'd stayed in Tlalpitzahuac until that fight with my mother-in-law. She's a pretty tough woman, and since I was on the skinny side, I figured I'd better move out, 'cause I'd never win where I was. Even though the house there had everything you'd want, like a toilet and electricity, our room was in the back next to the pig sty, so we were always putting up with that stink.
First my husband said he'd build me a room at the back of my brother's house, but then I began to think. Why not build my own house? But there wouldn't be enough money 'til my son could get a job. And since my husband's truck was wrecked, he couldn't work either. So I started selling carpets. So we bought whatever materials we could and built two rooms. When my husband finally started working again, he only made three long hauls and before he got sick and had to quit.
Nothing but bare necessity motivates me to be the way I am and do the things do. How do I feel when I fight for something and win? Satisfied, nothing more . What drives me to fight in the first place? Our needs! In other colonias, they've already got the basics. So why don't we? There are plenty of risks doing what I do- physical threats too. And especially gossip, gossip from neighbors who say I'm just stirring up trouble. But it doesn't bother me.
I used to be afraid to speak up even to a primary school teacher. If one asked me to come talk about my children, I'd be really afraid, because teachers always act superior. Anyhow, after getting involved around here, first in the school and then in other things, I'm not afraid of anything anymore. Now I see the authorities just as corrupt no-goods, and in spite of the fact I still consider myself a humble person, when I'm in front of them, I feel superior.
I may not know much, but I do know how to demand things. And if I'm demanding, too bad. That's just the way it is. There's no excuse not to be honest about it. When people say, "now, now, don't complain about that teacher even if she's doing something wrong, because she's so nice", or, "that councilman is a nice guy because he gave us some free handouts", I don't let them get away with it.
Whatever the community needs most, that's where they screw us most. When they began selling land here, they knew a lot of people were desperate to buy. We came here because we just couldn't afford the rent in the city. There, even when you could pay, the landlord might say "get out!", and you had to go.
Even though it's pretty ugly here now, maybe later there'll be something for our children. We've got to be realists. Let's wake up and not act like sheep all our lives. We've got to start making demands, because we're paying taxes after all, and we shouldn't even have to do that if they don't give us something in return.
The Secretary of Finance asked state officials to give more information to tax payers, saying that improved service will result in more responsible payment of taxes and asking officials - to make significant and sweeping changes.
The Director of Public Security said the state assembly is considering increased penalties for extortion and abuse of authority for those who break the law and use their position for personal gain.
Uno Mas Uno, February 9
I'm most satisfied when I help others out with their problems. A lot of women come to me for advice. I help any way I can, and if I can't, I'll ask others. I'll say, "friends, know what? It's about such and such. What do you think? Can we or can't we?" For example, a woman might need tortilla coupons but doesn't have an ID card, and I'll help her get one.
What I stay out of are marital problems. It's not a good idea to get involved. Giving that kind of advice is wrong; when you butt into someone's married life for some small problem, bigger problems always follow.
Daniel is of wiry build, with designer eye glasses and a wisp of a moustache. In public he listens and speaks with intensity, but in private he talks to me in a very low voice, choosing his words with care. He is almost diffident, even when the tape recorder is off. I take this as reflecting a strong preference to remain in the background whenever outsiders are looking in.
Daniel acts necessarily like the consummate insider, for discrete meetings, careful planning, and selective alliances are vital to his work in Dario Martinez. As a leftwing organizer sent into the community to guide and encourage grassroots activism, Daniel walks a fine line between leading too much and relinquishing too much. But being male, much younger and better educated than the others, he inevitably stands above and somewhat apart from his mostly female comrades.
I never manage to visit Daniel in his home. It is still unfinished, totally unfurnished, and he never invites me to see. Instead we talk in the food co-op's back room, a less than ideal place for a private discussion. We are interrupted many times, but strangely I feel that Daniel prefers it this way. This way people know he has nothing to hide.
DANIEL
My in-laws live in Ayotla, the nearest town, and that's how I got to know what was going on here- how people were speaking up about the food co-operative and the land tenure situation.
I first became active in the colonia through the co-op. The ladies came to where I was working and said they wanted to open one up. The idea was to get some public services for the colonia, and I'd help find a suitable site to open up the store and get government subsidies for it.
This work isn't sponsored by anyone on the outside. People just got together out of need- the same need that first drove them to ask for help from the authorities, with no luck. We're all in this together, just people that came to live here some time ago. Most of us have relatives in Ciudad Neza and came here before our houses were even ready to move into.
A lot of the folks here have the same way of doing things they l earned in Ciudad Neza. They came and didn't have any water or electricity- the exact same problems that they'd had before in Neza. Take the school for instance it' s the same fight they'd had in Neza a long time ago, pressuring the authorities to do something. But things here are even worse than they were there.
There're two kinds of people here. One kind needed help for so long, the whole time paying taxes and staying quiet, they couldn't keep up and had to sell out. The other kind came here to get what they wanted. They were activist before and they're activist now. And yes, women here bring a lot of experience that lets them see things as they really are. After all, they'd already been pushed out of the city.
I'll tell you how I really see things. What's happening is that everybody here has a lot of family problems and conflicts with neighbors, and so they' ve got to do something different to take their minds off themselves. So when the chance comes along to help run a food co-op for example, their own problems don't seem so important anymore. They begin to see the big picture of their neighborhood. It happens inside. Even though most don't realize it, they take on a new way of seeing things- not necessarily analytic or scientific, but different than before.
There aren't any written requirements for being an activist. What happens is that slowly you go about transforming yourself in community work. Your mind and ego both change. You always run into conceited people around here, but for some reason or another, as soon as they become activists, they take on a new attitude in their everyday life too.
It's almost frightening how much it changes someone, how it's possible for so many people to change so much. Naturally there are also some who move forward and then slip back, forward and back, up and then down. They're the kind who never really change.
The fact is that everyone in this colonia is potentially an activist, or at least a good 90% are. Some are more passive, they come and go, listen in now and then, speak their minds only once in a while. But when the moment comes, they're ready to act up, either for or against.
Catarino is short and compact. Seated behind a big metal desk in a one room office, he assumes an air of guarded officialdom whenever we meet. His weekend duty is to oversee his party's political activities in the colonia and administer funds and favors. Erratic office hours makes him difficult to find however. I am told the same by community residents who come repeatedly and unsuccessfully to seek his help.
Catarino's manner of speaking often verges on being a parody of self serving doub le-talk and second-hand speechmaking. What he says to me is never new or unexpected. He is but an easily replaceable cog in the gigantic wheel which is PRI, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party that has governed Mexico continuously and paternalistically since 1923. Catar in o' s nonetheless is the only human voice that Dario Martinez residents ever hear issue from the PRI machine.
CATARINO
I've lived here since 1981. When I first came I had my suspicions that there'd be some kind of land fraud out here. But now I've got my deed. I moved from Ciudad Neza because things were too tense and crowded there. I'd never done any public service there because I was too busy with my job. Here I've got a bit more time to contribute- whenever I'm free you'll find me here helping out.
I feel I'm a public servant even though I'm not paid anything officially. This is a voluntary job that comes through PRI. It's not a government office we're in. But it's the only office like it in the neighborhood, so people must come here first whenever they need something. Then I tell them where to go and who else to see. Sometimes it's enough just to talk with me. It depends on what they're after.
There aren't many people like me here. Most people are too busy looking after themselves to help others. You need special motivation to devote your time to other people's problems. I feel I'm part of a big movement, and that's what gives me my satisfaction.
Estela is dark and robust. She is prone to talk first and ask quest i ons later, a surprising and welcome change for an outsider used to explaining without cease his presence and purpose in the neighborhood. Her house is as poor and sad as one finds in Dario Martinez- one room hammered from scavenged boards over a dirt floor, sharing its back and side walls with neighbors. A curtained privy stands out front.
Estela makes conversation and friendships with ease, but just as easily she has her feuds and fallings out. A colorful character, a good talker, and an inveterate gossip, she is the only one of the four on speaking terms with the others.
ESTELA
I'm from Puebla. I was born there, and then my parents brought me to Mexico City. After my father d i ed, my mother took me to Ciudad Neza where he had left us a building lot and we lived there for 14 years. From there we went back to Puebla, bought some l and, and I got married and had my kids. After my husband left me stayed there a while, but since the s i tuation got harder for us, we came back here. I've got brothers and sisters nearby, and they helped me a lot when I returned four years ago.
I began to get more active here about two years ago. I went across the high way there to be on the dairy co-op board because I needed milk for my kids back when they were still small. That's how I met Guadalupe. But we really became friends when I moved into the neighborhood and she told me about the tortilla coupon program at the co-op here. And then the school started. That's when I really got involved.
I feel that more than anything else, I'm motivated from the inside to be an activist in the community. Never before in my life had I been in the situation I'm in today. Ever since I was little, I've always minded my own business, keeping to my own housework or going to my own parties. That's what I' d always thought life should be like.
And now, since taking up the struggle here, it just happened spontaneously. No one made me do it or promised me something if I did. I just threw myself in, on my own, fighting against the government that exploits us here every day draining us, lying to us in every sense of the word. If the government were our true partner, it would always be with us- not like a father from on high, but like a comrade lending a helping hand .
But not he re. Unfortunately they treat us like we're even lower than we really are. They just want to throw us down and walk all over us- and that' s what we want to defend our dignity against , because we're human beings too. We've got to pick ourselves out of the mud where the government has us now- because I'm a citizen of this country too!
If we're organized we'll get better schools and public services. No more extortion. Kick out corruption.
Fight for an education that serves the pub l i c. Demonstrate on March 28. Meet here.
-Painted Wall Signs
I don' t have connections in politics or in anything else. I just know how to work and eat and sleep. That's it. But seeing what's happening- the disorder in everything they do- that' s when we finally say, Okay, why is it so?
I got on the PTA in order to get the school off the ground, because until now there's been hardly any progress . Even though the teachers say they're democratic, they're not- they haven't helped us to anything. They only teach, they don' t help build the school at all . So that's what got me- started. I joined in September, at the start of the school year.
The school would not exist if not for the handful of parents who first formed a committee two years ago. Since then it has developed mare formally into a Parents-Teachers Association, with six elected positions, scheduled meetings , a building fund , and, most importantly, its own primary school to oversee. ·
Open PTA meetings are held on the school grounds before morning cl asses , Orderly discussions often break down and chaos reigns. PTA members, teachers, and parents talk at once. Those who most speak most tend to stand at the rear and must shout to be heard. Neither an agenda nor a chairperson controls the freewheeling discussion.
Despite being out of doors and on their feet, straining to hear and be heard over the drone of traffic, most parents follow the discussion closely. Lately they complain about teachers who lack commitment to building the school and about the PTA president's alleged financial mismanagement.
GUADALUPE
Really, everything here's going to pot. I don't like side deals being made- here they're all in a plot together, teachers and the PTA both. They're not acting for the benefit of the neighborhood anymore- instead they're just insulting us.
The PTA should say they're for all the parents. After all, it was organized by all of us to help the teachers. We all believed in the teachers. But for me, kids come before parents and teachers both- their needs are the most important. You think it's right for teachers to let kids roll dice in the school yard?
I told the principal, the PTA, and the teachers- it's not right to ask us to buy more building materials for the school if you're just going to throw them out. For them it doesn't matter because it's not their money being wasted, it's ours. Some of us have regular jobs but most of us don't. We're either garbage pickers or dayworkers. When a job boss needs somebody, you might earn 6,000 pesos that day- but with five or six kids, how can you manage?
It's easy for teachers to ask for contributions to buy something like cement for the schoolroom floors. But how much? Five thousand pesos a kid? Imagine how tough it is for parents to come up with that. And what for, if the cement mix gets thrown out or rained on? I just don't think it's right.
If you want to know the truth, my husband told me to quit the PTA and let the school go to the dogs. He said if I don't like what's happening, I should just accept it and let the others take over- let the teachers run things. have any interest anyway because I don't have school age kids anymore.
I resigned when I started seeing changes I didn't like. Unfortunately there were things I just couldn't let happen. I'd already tried to resign three or four times, but the other parents wouldn't let me, and so I had to stay. I tried to make them understand I just couldn't fix things by myself.
Never before had I been on a committee of any kind- I'd never liked getting involved. And I don't remember just when I decided to take part- I guess it was when people started agreeing with my ideas. I'd go to a meeting and say something, and people would listen.
But some people are jealous of the PTA- they try anything to get on it. When I was elected, I'd always attend meetings, but when I resigned and stopped going, I got blamed for the problems.
There are many dedicated people in the Valle de Chalco working for the common good. Their efforts to organize community residents are fraught with problems, however, because too often their work is met with official resistance rather than support.
Uno Mas Uno, September 4
DANIEL
I t's a problem an activist faces when neighbors think she's too much of a busybody, but nobody can resolve that except the individual. When we're meeting about the school , and one lady insults another, instead of talking back she should say, "Hey listen, we've got to get the school in mot i on, and we' ve got to do this, this, and that. So what do you say?" But when people appoint themselves to go it alone, then you know i t' s all over.
According to the circumstances, people will get together in small groups , they'll stimulate others and maybe act up themselves. And then maybe a leader steps forward. But most only listen and don't lead. They just bring up the rear. But in the same situation other people can overcome fear and head up the front lines.
Some things need more input and attention than they get- like planning a meeting. People say they can't go, not that they'll try to go. And so we get up in arms. That's what happened when Guadalupe was PTA president. Everyone said Guadalupe doesn' t do this, doesn't do that. And when she resigned , everyone quieted down.
GUADALUPE
Have you seen how the school is run now? Terrible! But the real problems were when we just got started and had to take over the lot and build something fast. We grabbed bricks and boards from wherever we could- empty lots, the side of the highway. Back then, no one ever told me not to help just because I didn't have kids in school. And back then I didn' t have a good reason to carry even a single brick!
And now they tell me to stay home so they can run things as they want. It's because I make everyone see what's really going on with the PTA and the teachers. And they don't like it, because when I'm around, people listen.
The fact is that all this happened since Estela got involved. She's acting as if she's the only one around. But everyone sees the truth. If you join a group, you've got to work from the inside alongside everyone else instead of doing things in your own interest.
Maybe that's why she does more, but she doesn't really work harder. The others· don't like the way she takes over either. We're all equal in this. Estela has her problems, the others have theirs too, just like I've got mine. We're all poor and abused.
ESTELA
Sure, among neighbors there're rumors and jealousy of the activists, and not just because we activists get to go to marches and protests. A lot of the others feel inferior because even though they got involved in the struggle first, they're still lagging behind. And then people like me came in much later and went straight ta the head of the movement.
I don't know, I can't analyze why, but I don't think it's jealousy exactly. It's more like egotism when you can't see your neighbor is working for the same cause you are. Instead of trying to bring her down, on the contrary, you should say, "listen comrade, I can't go on the march today. But you can, so go ahead". Don't say, "you're going just because you've got a big head- you think you're a real big shot". No, i t's better to use nice words like, "listen comrade, you can go but I can' t, so please go in my place".
PRI has a lot of egotism too, but theirs is the egotism of money. Poor people might be egotistical without having any money at all. Often we don't have a thing to eat, and then if just one centavo should fall into our hands- that ' s when we become egotistical- when we keep it and don't loosen our grip. On another level, egotism is the fault of the individual, because I can be egotistical just by saying, "no, that neighbor is cheating me and I can' t let her beat me."
There are a lot of different kinds of egotism, and we should recognize all of them. How you perceive your neighbor depends on spotting their egotism. You have to analyze the situation, know it well, be able to describe it to yourself- how is this, how is that. Because unfortunately, sometimes we don ' t know what kind of colleagues we're working with.
And at the last minute we realize they're the worst kind we could ever hope to have, and then we realize we've made a lot of mistakes, but by then, how can we put them right? It's too late, isn't it? Because the mistakes have already been planted and are beginning to grow. Then there's no turning back .
We've seen several problems like this already come up. When we realize we've got a problem, that our colleagues are causing trouble, we try to calm things down as soon as we can, talk to the person making the trouble apart from the others- just let them know we think what they're doing is wrong.
We might say, Listen friend, what's going on? Why the trouble? And by talk i ng it out from there, arguing sometimes, more or less you get a handle on what' s the matter and can manage the situation so it doesn't get out of hand. You've always got to talk first and act later, because by talking you can bring up other things and keep the organization intact .
GUADALUPE
Maybe I'm opposed to their ideas. They want to do things differently. When we first started out it was never like this, like meeting in Estela's house. They ought to meet in public, there's no reason to hide from others.
We used to meet twice a week- on Wednesdays to make plans and on Fridays to tell everybody. Everyone was invited on Wednesday, but usually only the most active ones came. But now, besides these meetings, there are others on the side. Friends asked me if I knew meetings were held in Gloria's house on Saturdays , and I had to say no I didn't. So I asked Daniel what the problem was that they should meet there in secret. "No problem", he said. "We just came to talk to Gloria.
So I told him if I wasn't any use to them anymore , they should just tell me, because I didn't like what they were doing. It isn't right to scheme things up outside the regular meetings.
Take the other co-op Gloria ran. Some knew about it and some didn't . Now why was that? If we're an organization, we all ought to be in on everything. we only learned about it when Gloria resigned. Daniel accepted her resignation and so did Estela and all the others. But I said, "Wait a minute. Gloria might want to resign, but what about the co-op? It doesn't belong to her, it belongs to all of us."
I don't go to meetings much anymore so I don't know a lot about what's being said. But if I go and see something that's not right, I'll speak up. I don' t care even if it's against Daniel himself, I'll tell him so right to his face. But there are so many secret meetings now you don't even know when or where they're held. And since they don't invite others, I guess there are divisions now. The four of us that used to belong- me, Lucina, Zenobia, and Graciela have left, and they don't invite us anymore at all.
Starting with the economic crisis of 1982, and accelerating after the official mishandling of the 1985 earthquake relief, local PRI party bosses have increasingly seen their authority challenged by upstart grassroots activist groups. A coalition of such groups called the Emiliano Zapata Popular Union (UPREZ), also known simply as "the organization", is most active in the Valle de Chalco. Daniel works as UPREZ's official organizer in Dario Martinez and both Estela and Guadalupe are among its de facto leaders there, although Estela lately has been taking on a larger role.
ESTELA
We run things in UPREZ on three levels- militants, activists, and participants. Participants are the women who come to meetings and back us up. Activists are people like Juan Manuel and the woman next door - and Guadalupe, Graciela, and Carmen, just to give you some names. And militants are the ones who're willing to do any damn thing they have to for the organization.
We're in a small group. mess up the whole thing. It' s a political cell, so if one of us messes up , we I'll tell you who's in it: Jorge, Chucho, Daniel , Don Ramon, and me. And we're the only ones. We have meetings to keep on eye on all the organization's problems that start off small. But for us, they're big problems just the same.
We meet privately and don't want other people to join us. When we talk out in the open it's so people won't think decisions came already made from our group . We started holding the meetings all the time, but then somebody else said she wanted to come because she didn't trust what we were saying in those meetings . So Daniel said since there was a lot of gossiping about our meetings, we should just call them off.
But we've started them up again, and this time no one else knows- not because we don't want them to, but because people will take it wrong if they found out. They'd get the wrong idea, that we're insiders with special privileges. It 's not that so much. But in order to study things like we do- politics and things like that- we can't have too many other people in on it.
There isn't really any hierarchy around here but people would like there to be one, because some feel superior to others. I' m saying we all should learn how to speak up to the author i ti es. If one person's afraid, the rest of us will support her. It's not necessary for all of us to speak out. But I' ll always be there if needed .
No one elected me to speak my mind. I just stood up and confronted the naked truth that was here all along. Now I belong to UPREZ. We're a group of activists fighting to improve the Valle de Chalco. And because of UPREZ I' m not the same woman I used to be.
Before I was just in the fight for the school and the food co-op. But not any more. Now I'm focused on a bigger fight , for everything the whole neighborhood needs. Now I'm part of the organization, an active member . I consider myself a member of the proletariat. For me, UPREZ is focused on the big struggle, the demands of the entire neighborhood, struggling for people without anything. What I've seen of UPREZ so far is really good.
UPREZ sent some of us to Zacatecas to meet with a lot of other organizations. I can't name them all, but we met with women from all over Mexico who are fighting the same fight we are all over the Valle de Chalco.
That experience helped me because women from all over shared their stories. But when we went to Torreon, the police attacked us. That same day a call came through from Durango that other women there were on a hunger strike and the police broke that up too. So we all went to Durango to show our support for what they were doing.
CATARINO
From our point of view, UPREZ causes a lot of trouble because it leads people astray. It protests equally against both good and bad- it's always on the attack. This isn't to say all unofficial groups are bad. But for some, the only purpose is to recruit activists and carry out political goals. They're always demanding things for free and won't accept any improvement in public service if they have to pay for it.
So far we haven't had the chance to talk to UPREZ officially, and we don't see any reason to get in touch with them. As public servants, our first job is to talk to people- find out what they want and what their goals are. All UPREZ wants is to attack. And when someone attacks with their tongue, next thing you know they'll attack with their fists. So we won't give them the chance to confront us, it'll just lead to trouble. We hope won't happen. But we'll answer if they want to talk first.
We've only talked to them in a few meetings. They planned confrontations just like they did in Ciudad Neza. And we can't let this get out of hand, so whenever we're able, we put an end to it. The police come around very little here even though we've asked for more protection.
The state government offers a subsidized school breakfast program. Parent delegates pick up the breakfast packets at a central depository and sell them to neighborhood schoolchildren for a token fifty peso price. Estela has taken charge in Dario Martinez but people complain that she only sells to her friends' children and is too casual in collecting money. Some mothers even accuse Estela of skimming from the sales for her own benefit.
DANIEL
A permanent hierarchy in our community would turn people off. Take the school breakfasts. Estela is in charge, but others say she only sells them to her friends. And in meetings they'll say it should be Graciela's or Guadalupe's turn to take over the selling. But then Graciela and Guadalupe say they can't this week, why doesn't someone else? So people let it pass, but the problems go on.
It's a situation that rules out some things out but allows others. A system without hierarchy survives only if everyone participates- if everyone works and everyone takes responsibility. A structure slowly takes shape, for instance with the breakfasts and the school itself, and slowly we're seeing everyone pitch in.
Of course, a situation is more natural if each one analyzes for himself what's happening. I've seen that people don't fit into hierarchies because if there was one, somebody would say, I'm in charge of the breakfasts regardless of what others say, because I'm on top. I run things, I can sell them just to friends if I please. And then things get out of hand.
Experience is what matters most. And it matters who comes and who doesn't come to meetings. Estela first got us the breakfasts so she's in charge, but it shouldn't be just her alone. And the same for the school- that isn't just one person's achievement. No, it belongs to everybody. People finally see they aren't just spectators anymore, but participants, and by participating they really can get results.
Hierarchies fall apart as soon as people realize they don't work. Recently Estela and Guadalupe had a fight over the breakfasts, and everyone decided Estela shouldn't sell anymore. So now they've got to find someone else.
Making changes like that is possible only because everyone is in charge- we're all making the decisions together, not just one person. For example, I'd rather have Estela keep doing the selling. I said that in three or four meetings, but the others didn't want her any more, so she has to stop.
After a month and a half vacation, more than 2.5 million children in 6,792 schools will return to class. This year the winter school calendar was changed in order to protect the health of children, teachers, and staff when studies showed that thermal inversions would push pollution levels into the danger zone between December and January.
Uno Mas Uno, January 30
Students returning to their classes yesterday caused a notable increase in air pollution, which worsened again after several days of tolerable air quality.
Uno Mas Uno, February 2
Ozone pollution continued affecting southeastern Mexico City yesterday with a reading of 188, only 12 points below the level considered a Stage One emergency.
Uno Mas Uno, February 9
ESTELA
It's not that I consider myself especially gifted or anything, but I think I know more about things now than others do. I've got a position inside the organization, and I've learned how to negotiate with the authorities. I can go before any one of them without being afraid. I just feel like I'm better prepared than the others. There are a lot of colleagues that still can't do things- in meetings they always keep their mouths shut.
Whenever we meet, we focus on who can do what. We try to figure out who will participate and who won't. That's why we keep some meetings completely closed. No one but us know about our decisions. First we talk things over, then we call an open meeting and say, "Look, we've got a proposal here- it's such and such". That's how we finally show our cards.
For instance, I might propose something or other. If the others think it seems any good, they'll think it over. If not, someone else will propose something different, and maybe then a third i ea will come up. That way we've got a lot to talk over and choose from. My proposal isn't necessarily the one we take. Instead we get a consensus. That's what we always do. I don't run the meetings all by myself even though I could if I wanted to. And what I propose doesn't always get voted on.
So you can't say we're all leaders. We're just a bunch of activists fighting for the sake of the neighborhood. For us, a leader is like a cacique, someone who dominates others and just tells people what to do. For us, the word leader is the worst one in the dictionary. When outsiders show up and ask who's leading us, we all say, "Nobody!" So who's really leading us? No one, we don't want a leader!
DANIEL
No one says he's a ''leader" around here. A leader is someone who's sold out. Everyone here knows leaders only show up to insult and cheat people. People have learned from experience, so now when you say "leader", it means someone's just come to rob you.
Even the real popular leaders get bought off. I don't know how it is in other colonias, but here there's a lot of selfish interests created by some people who at first are real community leaders, but then eventually got bought off by PR! and the other parties.
So we've taken up another idea, one that's more closely ti ed to our situation here. We all have to work together . Let's everybody go on the march and talk to the authorities. We're learning that in our case, i t's not just a few, i t's everyone that makes a difference.
CATARINO
Here we don' t make any attempt to recruit new PR! members. I don ' t know i f the other parties are trying either. When PR! does something here, our purpose is not just to recruit people. The people who accept us freely on their own, those we'll take. Maybe ten percent are members, and that's not many.
There's more alienated people here, people who won't have anything to do with politics. Even though I'm a PRIista, I think our good governor realizes i t' s a tough situation. But it's only through our own efforts that we'll be able to resolve it. I'm serving because of our needs here- if we don't participate directly, it'll be impossible to get any services at all . But our needs have to be funneled through our councilmen, and from them up to town hall.
The ejido lands were reclaimed by the government in 1983 and they distributed building lots out to people in 1985. There were originally about 100 ejidatarios. The man this colonia was named far died a while back. I don't know much about him, but his son Juan Martinez is our chief council man, and he keeps working hard for Dario Martinez in spite of all the attacks that groups like UPREZ and their people from the outside make on h i m.
The neighborhood is dark and dangerous at night. Friends suggest I leave by sunset. One morning I pass the gutted chassis of a volkswagon microbus which the previous evening it had been someone's brand new pride and joy. The streets are illuminated only by low wattage bulbs wired to illegal transformer boxes. Most people contribute to their block's transformer fund, but some "electricity bosses'' make money off the system.
Officially, the government regards neighborhood electrification as a low priority improvement scheme, simply as an individual's matter of convenience. But for people here it is a question of law and order, perhaps even of life and death one night. As for Juan Martinez however, electricity is merely another public service subject to his private taxation.
GUADALUPE
Juan Martinez isn't an embarrassment for PRI , because PRI is what made him what he is. PRI is shameless, and Juan Martinez even more so. It's not just dirty business, it's disgusting business! That man is living off the poor.
When he brought those transformers in here- even after we told him we wouldn' t put up with any more of his money making schemes!- he told people to talk to me about them, that he had put me in charge of collecting the money! So I made it clear that I didn't have anything to do with that thief.
I guess Juan Martinez tries to get people to fall into the same traps. He thinks anyone can be bought, because money corrupts- and he can corrupt anybody. But we're not going to run with his type if it means screwing the community. We're all equal in our needs.
And I've never spoken to him in pr iv ate. Never! Everything has been out in the open, in front of the others. When there've been confrontations, everyone's been there. Not once have I spoken to him one to one.
You've got to see things for what they are. If some politician offers to give you hand outs, it's just so he can make you attend his propaganda meeting, to win your confidence. We've already been fooled about the electricity and everybody's more suspicious now.
For that they came around asking each person for 150,000 pesos, and 300,000 if you were on the corner lot. They said they'd put in the electricity right to the house if they got 60% of the installation costs in advance. Well, we've paid 80%, and where's our lights?
We paid our money to Juan Martinez. We paid in the town hall, not at the electric company. We got some receipts that say "Paid to the electric company" and others that say "Donation". If it's really a donation, it ought to be whatever people can afford to give. So it's not really a donation it's theft.
The company now says they're not responsible, that they don't even know what's going on, but I doubt they could be in the dark about all this. Where did the transformers come from then? I think the fraud is between the company and town hall . And it's high level fraud, because it's not just this neighborhood where it's going on, but all over the Valle de Chalco.
DANIEL
The government finally realized what might happen here. In five years they might really have a political explosion. That's why they're investing a lot of money in schools, electricity, water, roads. They've learned from what happened in Ciudad Neza, Arragon, and Ecatepec- places that have already exploded once.
They've realized what the deal here is because it's obvious from all the noise we're making- especially before the elections. And everyone they wanted to control d i dn' t vote for them. They all voted for Cardenas instead . And so the authorities got worried.
President Cardenas- elected by the majority. Don't let them fool you. Our delegate promised everyone four coupons. It's a lie! Jesus and the Fat One are corrupt.
Neighborhood Graffiti
CATARINO
They have no idea how to obtain public services because they don't know how to work together. It's that way all over our neighborhood. I have plenty of problems working as a public servant- really, I consider myself their servant but more than anything, I'm a neighbor with the same needs as everyone else. But our own neighbors become obstacles, they put themselves in the way for a hundred and one reasons.
Take electrification for example- it's a big issue right now around here. Since 1986 we've been asking the electric company to come in, and the long delay is due entirely to our neighbors. There're a few things I don't understand. Our neighbors protest they're not getting some service or another right away, but they refuse to cooperate even a little.
We want total electrification. No more transformer fraud. We want household meters. No more robbery. No to transformer fraud. No more corrupt electricity bosses.
Neighborhood Graffiti
We made our first payments to the electric company three years ago, each house had to pay 22,500 pesos. Afterwards it went up to 37,500 pesos. All the public servants at town hall intervened with the company for it to charge reasonable prices. And all the payments went directly to the company.
Three groups have to speak up and do their part in order to get public services- the neighborhood, the state government, and then the federal government. But people say 150,000 pesos is too much to pay for electrical hook-ups to their homes. The hook-ups we've got now are illegal. We're stealing from the company- plus we have to pay some electricity boss every time we have to repair our own transformer.
The 150,000 pesos the company's charging is based on a study they did. And they're giving us the chance to pay in installments. I don't know if the activists will accept that deal, but already about 60% of the others have said yes. There's also a chance that they'll have to charge us more if everyone doesn't contribute their share. That's why we're asking people to pay- and these are official payments, mind you!
Those payments are considered donations to demonstrate the community's good faith- not to put something over on them. Donations mean they don't go directly into the treasury, instead they get passed through an intermediary on to the electric company. That's why they're called donations, because right now they're still unofficial. Afterwards we'll recognize all these payments. We'll ask people to bring in their receipts that say donations and exchange them for official receipts.
There are four legal transformers that the company put in, but they don't work because everybody opposed that system. They think the company charges for more than they use. Everybody wants household meters, but the company can't afford to put one in each house- so they want to charge everybody an average price. But people here don't understand how the system will work. They've refused every idea except complete hook-ups to each house.
That's what's got everyone all up in arms with the company. The company just wants to talk to someone who represents the community. And since we are the community's public servants, we ought to have that role. No one else.
Relations between Guadalupe and Estela have their regular ups and downs. They dispute who gives more time and effort to community affairs, they vie for the loyalty and confidence of their neighbors, and they complain of each misquoting the other on matters large and small. The two - women compete for social standing within the neighborhood as much as for political influence within UPREZ.
Neither one is above using personal innuendo to sting the other's reputation. As a single mother and outspoken feminist, Estela is particularly vulnerable to gossip about her many late night meetings away from home. Guadalupe meanwhile often delivers not entirely credible sermons about the virtue of being an obedient wife whose only role is to serve her husband.
But regardless of all the small time rivalries, a strong bond between them was forged in the aftermath of the authorities' long anticipated response to the community's expropriation of the two empty lots where the school was built.
GUADALUPE
I had another problem with Estela about a month ago. She moved into a house that Dona Paz had sold to someone else. UPREZ was behind her in this. And when the new owners told her they'd go to the authorities if she didn't leave, Estela told them to get lost. A big scene started- UPREZ caused the whole problem for no good reason, and then they had to round a lot of people up real fast who would support her.
I wasn't home that day, but when I got back, Estela sent a lady to come tell me about the trouble. I got pretty mad because nobody had told me this was going on in the first place. She should've said she needed help from the beginning if she was planning to seize a house. Everyone should be told what's going to happen. If it's a friend, sure we'll help. But we weren't told anything.
We have a saying here, It's only when you're wounded that you run for help. And I told Estela, "It's only when you got into trouble that you came to me. Don't you realize your neighbors came to help without even knowing what problems you'd cause them?" You know the authorities here are bastards. They might grab us all, and we've got children and husbands. Who knows what trouble this'll cause with our husbands.
I told her, "You should've told us what was going on.” We could've told our husbands first and maybe figured something out. And if they took us away, at least they'd know where we were. If they grab us, my husband's going to ask himself what this is all about. You've got to think this all through first. Not just do things under the table, it's not right. "What do you think you're doing?", I asked her.
And she said, "No, Dona Guadalupe, the authorities can't come here." I said, "They can't come in here? Listen, when they're as rotten as they are, they'17 not only come in, they'll commit all kinds of crimes too. The devil knows his own work. I know this and you don't."
"Yes, Dona Guadalupe", she told me. She got a little mad but not too much . But she's still walking around without realizing you can't do everything by yourself. It's a lie if you think you can do something first and later ask for help. How can one person seize property? You know what's needed? Solidarity!
ESTELA
If we can make it happen, we should- in spite of me being a woman and them telling me to stay home and not to call for meetings or tell people how to act up in front of the authorities- because as women, we can do all these things too. Unfortunately, in this country a woman is considered inferior, like a nothing. But I feel that, if we're all together, we can fight to get benefits for the entire neighborhood. And that's what we're doing.
A lot of them say just because I don't have a husband, I can come and go as please. But that's not why. I like to learn new things- just look at my bookshelf! I have books by Lenin, law books- all kinds! My kids see the fight I'm fighting. I talk to them about it, about our situation, and give them a proper introduction to things. My kids all know what kind of focus they should have.
The desire to learn and to show what one has learned is born in the hearts of man.
Benito Juarez
GUADALUPE
There are at least twenty other activists in the neighborhood, and those twenty are fighting for the same things as Estela, and maybe even harder than she is. But they also have responsibilities at home that she doesn't. Estela might say, "I'm going ta a meeting", and she just goes. But she doesn't have a husband who says tells her not to go or cares what time she comes back .
Since didn't like working on the PTA anyway, I figured it's better to let other people do it. Whenever I still can, I see what's going on. But when can't, it's because I've got a husband and a house to take care of. If my husband tells me not to go out, I don't. In Mexico, there's a lot of machismo, and it's here ta stay. When your husband says you can't go out, you'd better go along. That's what girls learn from their parents.
There's an old saying, When Gad created the earth, he first made Man, not Woman. If my husband tells me not to do something and I do it, I don' t know what will happen next. You can cause a lot of trouble by bothering a man. You bring problems upon yourself, and when you've got a family, just to do that out of rebellion is stupid. You're going to hurt yourself and your kids both. There are lots of things you should think about before ever doing.
Estela finally realized that when she went ta jail. She really learned a lot that time. And thank God I never had to go, and I pray to God I'll never have to. I prize my freedom. I don't have any idea how I'd feel in there, I'm sure I'd be bitter when I got out, knowing I'd been in there just to support others.
ESTELA
That was a good experience for me. I learned a lot from it, because I'll tell you something- I was a well-behaved lady before I went to jail. I'd never say anything to anybody. And when I got out of jail, I told our lawyer- pardon my vulgarity- “Now I'm a son-of-a-bitch, so from now on, every landlord around here will have to deal with me.” Someone moves here and they get poorer, not richer. For revolutionaries, dying for the cause doesn't matter if that 's what's necessary to win the battle.
It' s been a year since the arrests. When we first started the school , we took over some empty lots. We did it because we needed to, but one of the owners- and none of them even live in the neighborhood!- is a friend of the lady who lives there next to the school. And so that lady told the owner what we'd done.
And they went to town hall and complained that three people took over her building lot to live on. They said the three were Guadalupe, her brother Macedonio, and Daniel. And then one day when we were all in front of the co op, the police came to arrest Macedonio. The two cops said they had a warrant, but they woul dn' t give us the pap er. They wouldn't even show it to us.
So we said we wouldn't let them take anybody just like that. They'd have to take no one or all of us. There were about a hundred of us there. So they backed off a little to see if we'd change our minds. So we all decided to go to the police station, and that's when they demanded that Guadalupe, Daniel , and Macedonio identify themselves.
We all said no, and went outside to talk it over between ourselves. And we decided that instead of the three they wanted, we'd get three others to go in their place. That's when the idea came up that I'd go in Guadalupe's place and Alfredo would go in Macedonio's place. But we wouldn' t let anyone go in Daniel's place because he wasn't there.
We all went back in but the sargeant said only three could enter because only three were under arrest. We started to explain the situation to the prosecutor, but he was the kind of person who just won't listen. We said we'd taken the lots because our children needed a school, but he told us, "You've committed a crime. Don't you see that you've invaded private property?" And we said, "No!, the lots are for a school, not for us."
Then they grabbed us and said it's not worth arguing anymore. They were going to take us before the judge to make a statement, but first they put me and Alfredo into cells out in the back and threw the rest out of the building.
Since it was the first time I'd ever been in jail, I really didn't realize what was going on. And so I asked the guy who had put us in there what time they'd· let us out, and he said, "I don't know lady." And I said, "that's alright", because I didn't think it would be very long.
They put Alfredo into a cell with a lot of other men and me in a cell by myself. All our friends were outside making a lot of noise, which made the police mad. They took us out after about an hour and put us into a police car without letting us say anything to our friends. We asked them where they were taking us and they said to the judge in Chalco, but in fact they took us to the jail there. That all happened on Saturday.
On Sunday our friends came, Carmen and her husband, and Inocente the school principal. The truth is that I was feeling pretty bad that day. I'd never been in jail before, and Y kids were alone at home. What's worse, they all had chickenpox. And the judge was nowhere to be found- the whole time we were in jail we didn't see him once. But our friends told us not to worry because Daniel had hired a lawyer.
On Monday the lawyer came to talk to us before they called us into court to give our statement, and that's when he told us to give our real names and not be afraid, because we'd be getting out soon. You see, until then they all thought I was Guadalupe and Alfredo was Macedonio.
So Carmen had to go to my sister's house to get my ID cards, because that's where I keep them. But my family didn't know I was in jail- in fact they didn't know I was involved in any of this. A lot of time they don't agree with what I do, so I just don't tell them.
The new constitution of February 5, 1917 was revolutionary because it totally changed what had gone before. Example: Afticle 3) Education will be free of charge, obligatory, secular, and democratic.
Wall poster in the new school
To keep the school open, I'd go back to jail in a minute. I'll do anything for a good cause. I'm against people who buy land and leave their lots empty. They're just speculators, or they put up cheap construction that's ready to fall down as soon as it's built. It's dangerous for our kids.
So everything’s been quiet since then, but we'll see what happens when we take over that side street and close it off to make the play ground. Juan Martinez is dead set against it. He said he'd rather change his name than let the school stay there.
When he was a ejidatario he sold those lots, that was his first fraud. And the thing now is, he still thinks he owns everything here. A big shot! And since he's the chief councilman he thinks he's got the right to do whatever he wants.
A lot of people are on his side because they think it will benefit them. He promises people their own building lots if they do what he wants. But he knows us, because we're the one who always make a lot of noise. We don't let him rob us like he does others. But he knows every step we take, and he won't let us win. He wants to keep us all down, but he can't. Things are different now .
He doesn't have anything to do with our neighborhood anymore. He's not logical, trying to get involved in the school like he is. But last time when he came to check things out, he talked to that lady about the side street, and he told her not to worry. He said he wouldn't let us close it off. And that's why she's under his influence.
CATARINO
I think we've got enough schools for the number of school children we've got here. We only need to build a few more classrooms in the schools we've already got. The problem is that kids from other neighborhoods come to our school. We'll support whatever services the community needs, but only in a rational way. And we won't support land invasions by the landless.
We support land expropriations for new schools only if it's done with the owner's permission. Then we help get compensation from the government. But since we don't need any more schools, we're against these expropriations. If we don't act legally, we'll always end up fighting. Isn't it so?
A lot of the families living here are from the countryside, so they're used to walking for an hour or two to go somewhere anyway. Our kids only have to walk ten minutes to get to school. The other kids who come from outside the neighborhood- let them walk!
Don't forget, your neighborhood school isn't far and enrollment for next year begins in February.
Television Advertisement
"The school dropout problem has become a troubling social reality caused by the last several PR! administrations'', sa i d a spokesman for the Popular Socialist Party.
Uno Mas Uno, February 6
Municipal government should look after its people. We don't deny this, and neither do we accept living conditions as they are now. And we particularly won't deny our children, because it's not their fault. But we only ask that people from other neighborhoods fight for their own services where they live.
Our school is registered with the state education department, which means they accept our diplomas and pay our teachers, but it's still not officially recognized. For that, we have to show them documents to prove its land has been legally transferred from the original owners, and so far we haven't been able. It still depends on the owners, and that's why we're keeping out of it. Right now it's strictly up to the parents to convince the former owners to sign it over.
The food co-op is subsidized by a federal program. They're supposed to charge reasonable prices, but that's not the case here. They're buying stocks from private suppliers that charge high wholesale prices. The ca-op is run far political ends by people opposed to us. And the federal inspectors don ' t come here ta check up, so that's why it's in such trouble. Far us it's not much help. There're no price controls here, and since we're not authorized to do it, no one does.
Prior to the community's mobilization to build its own school, the first stirring of grassroots activism was over the creation of a food co operative. Through a co-op, people could buy subsidized tortilla coupons, called “tortibonos”. The nearest co-op issuing coupons was in another neighborhood and did not accept outside members. Guadalupe then spearheaded the move to open a co-op in Dario Martinez.
The state food supply program, CONASUPO, requires neighborhood co-ops to operate under strict guidelines. Minimum purchases of full-priced goods are required in order to qualify for subsidized goods like tortillas. The petition process to reopen this co-op was complicated by its earlier problems even though the previous co-op manager were no longer involved.
Guadalupe was elected to the new co-op's management committee. Daniel served as its president and a woman named Carmen was its day manager. Lately, disputes over the co-op's weak financial standing have divided the community. Conflicting accounts about a power struggle for the management committee's top positions have begun to circulate.
GUADALUPE
There were a lat of underhanded things done in the food co-op, but not by Carmen, because she's got everybody's support. Everyone knows she's the most capable person we've got. Sure, there were a few little problems when the co-op first got started, but the whole community got involved, and we voted for the people to run it.
But later some guys named Alfredo and Pancho tried to get in on it. I can't say for sure that Juan Martinez were behind them, but he did make a scene with us, and a few days later Carmen got hassled on the way home from work. Same guys waiting on the corner started to threaten her. So Carmen came and told me, and I made an announcement at our next meeting.
Carmen works alone in the co-op now. Before she always had a helper, but when it started to go downhill we knew something was wrong, so we decided to leave Carmen alone in there. Alfredo and Pancho disagreed but they didn't say anything in the meeting. Their idea was to get rid of Carmen and put themselves in charge. Basically they wanted to take over.
Well, the store really started having problems when Alfredo and Pancho stepped in. There wasn't anything on the shelves. But they said it was Carmen's fault and she should get out. They wanted us to think the store was broke.
But CONASUPO said everything was alright. And in fact it was CONASUPO's fault for taking so long to resupply us. Carmen had to buy stock from private suppliers just so we'd have something to sell. But by then Alfredo was in charge of the funds, and he and Carmen couldn't agree on how much was spent.
That's when I spoke up and asked Alfredo how he'd been able to take over the funds without being voted in as treasurer. And he said he'd stepped in to fix the shortfall he'd discovered. None of us was accusing Daniel or Carmen of anything dishonest, so there was no reason for Daniel to ask Alfredo to step in behind our backs.
We knew something wasn't right. And so from then on I was against Alfredo staying on, and it bothered me even more that Carmen was getting blamed for everything. So in the meeting I said Carmen had been elected by the community, and when the day came she was kicked out, then they'd have to kick me out too.
We should speak up about our demands and protest, not stay quiet. When Carmen told me what they did to her, I collected signatures. At the next meeting I said, "We've got names, but it's not just names we need to support her- we need people, people willing to show up and protest what they did to her. Anybody can write their name, but we want people ." That's how I brought everyone out to protest about the co-op. We all wanted it to go back the way it was before, with just Daniel and Carmen in charge.
We aren't going to start over, because putting in new people would be like starting over. Now we see the co-op as community property, not something that belongs to just one person. If we don't fight for it, we'll all be lost. The thing is to fight.
ESTELA
Why do I think the co-op committee changed? Since it first opened, its funds have been embezzled twice. The first time it happened I don't know how much was missing. didn't ever spend any time there- I'd just get my coupons and chat a bit with Carmen, then leave.
At the end of last year there was another shortfall of about 400,000 pesos, in addition to what was still owed the CONASUPO supplier. Then CONASUPO did an audit. There weren't any merchandise in the store, it was completely empty not even a pin left- and it was broke to the last peso.
Then Daniel went to the CONASUPO office to straighten things out and start over again. So we reopened the same store with a new registration number, but to do that we had to reform the co-op committee. We had to get a new manager, because they didn't want Carmen to be both treasurer and manager like she was before.
I guess the shortfall happened because of bad management , but no one real l y knows for sure. At least now it's a bit better, Daniel is supervising it more . So we had a good reason to change the committee.
No one was looking to stir things up. There was just the problem with the missing money . First CONASUPO wanted to close the store down permanently like they did before. But Daniel got them to change their mind. The changes we made aren't meant to accuse anyone, we just want to set things right. So our new manager is Alfredo. Daniel is still president, Carmen is treasurer, and Guadalupe... I don't know what she does exactly.
Guadalupe has lately taken on a new fight, but one she is almost sure to lose. She is unhappy about the new school's teachers, feeling they do not conduct classes properly and lack respect for both children and parents. Teachers meanwhile complain that parents, led by Guadalupe, meddle too much in school affairs. Most have even stopped coming to PTA meetings.
Guadalupe is most angry that, instead of volunteering their labor to improve the school's physical condition, the teachers instead ask parents for more "cooperative fees" as a supplement to their salaries. In the eighteen months since the school was created, the spirit of solidarity and joint sacrifice has given way to economic self-interest. Parents and teachers are in a tense standoff not likely to be resolved to any part y's satisfaction.
GUADALUPE
Now I'm collecting signatures to complain about the teachers, even though one of them said that even if I got the name of every single person in Dario Martinez, the government still couldn't fire any teachers. Well, that's a lie, because I know that with enough names, and everyone's support, you can get ri d of not just one teacher, but all of them, and then hire new ones.
I'm not gathering names just for the hell of it. What good is that? We want changes because a lot of parents are against the way these teachers do the i r lessons and the way they run their classes.
A lot of parents say they'll take their kids out of this school next year because here it costs them too much. We're constantly asked to give more money to the building fund and the teachers fund. Better to go to another school where at least the fees are fixed for the whole year. Here its not like that. We've got to pay money plus give our labor.
Parents always complain about the teachers at PTA meetings. If we could only talk to the teachers and coordinate things with them. Instead, they talk and we don't understand. For instance, they'll tell you white is black, and you know darn well white is white. Now why would they try to tell you otherwise? That's what I'd like to know.
Sometimes people just accept what gets decided for them at higher level s, even if they know it's wrong. If they complain about a teacher, they're afraid of reprisals against their ki d. That's why they keep their mouths shut . That's why Mexicans are the way we are, because we don't have the guts to stand up and tell it like it is. That's what I always tell the teachers they should teach our kids, but look at us!
A person really has to be tough around here. When I ask myself, Guadalupe, do you want to be the boss?, the answer is No! I just want to carry out the responsibility that I accepted from my neighbors to improve the school. If we parents have two or three kids, it's a responsibility we' ve got to fight for. We all love our kids- what parent doesn't?- so we've got to work hard for them.
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