August 1989
Heavy rains and rising tortilla prices bring unusual hardship to the people of Dario Martinez this month. The neighborhood's main topic of conversation however is of President Salinas's upcoming visit to the Valle de Chalco, scheduled for sometime in the coming weeks, in order to inaugurate the new electrical grid and distribute deeds to homeowners.
Nearly everyone expresses an opinion about what good the visit might bring to the community and what they would say to President Salinas when and if he does come. Guadalupe and Estela, always among the neighborhood's most outspoken activists, not surprisingly choose words that contrast sharply with those of Catarino, whose official position gives him a much different view of reality in Dario Martinez. ·
GUADALUPE
If the president comes, we'll bring him right here. Believe me, we'll make him walk all through this neighborhood, and I hope it's raining the day he comes so he'll see for himself the mud holes our children have to walk in just to get to school. And he'll hear just how many demands we're making. I'd be the first to tell him how it is and what a fool we've got for a mayor. And our councilman is even worse. I've never even seen the guy. How does that seem to you? There's no one to listen to us after we pay our taxes.
I'd ask him, "Why don't you look the whole neighborhood over, not just the few places our officials here aren't afraid to take you? Take. a good look at the corruption in our town hall. Why don't we have any garbage trucks, or gravel to fill up those mud holes, or help building our school? Send us people who give a damn and no more corrupt politicians?" I'd be glad to talk to him. We'll go look for him and bring him right over here. Let's even announce it on the radio.
You've got to fight for what you want and not just stand with your arms crossed, because the mayor appoints the councilmen, and Juan Martinez appoints the block captains. Once I asked who'd voted for them. I sure didn't- there hadn't even been any elections. I'll never accept them, because if we let them take a free hand, it'll just stay the same.
The ejidatarios still get paid for the land they sold a long time ago. They should be improving the lots they've already sold and made money from. They should put water and electricity in like the law requires, instead of just going on with their double dealing. Juan Martinez is the ringleader, and the mayor lets him keep right at it.
People say Juan Martinez wants to run for mayor in the next election, but very few people support him. He won't be any more open when he's campaigning than he is now. And if we don't want him here, no one anywhere else sure will take him. Some of the other parties are organizing campaigns, but we're independent here. We might accept their support, but we don't give any back.
Three million people live on lots without legal deeds in Mexico City. The legalization process is the cause of the urban periphery's lack of public services, and its effect is massive confusion over property rights. Another problem is the explosion in illegal property sales involving ejidatarios, their agents, and the colonos themselves.
La Jornada, July 31
CATARINO
Officials in the Valle de Chalco requested the presidential visit so he could see for himself what our needs are here. He's supposed to come, but it's not for sure yet. If he comes in person, he'll be able to help us. He's coming primarily to distribute housing titles to about 25,000 families in the Valle and to inaugurate the lights. The mayor invited the president to come to this particular neighborhood.
There are very few people with their deeds in order, maybe just ten percent of the total. It's so few because most people are afraid to complete the paper work. We try to convince them to go to the land commission, but they still won't. They know the procedures perfectly well, but they're suspicious. They expect to have public services immediately. They don't realize that services are provided only after they've settle their deeds. Maybe when another 20% get theirs done, the others will realize it and join in.
We don't know why, but we see that President Salinas is improving the system. The working class is most affected. People are in agreement because everyone benefits- at least that's my personal opinion. There's been a complete change from the past. Salinas realized what the problems were and decided to set things straight. He'd had a lot of time to study the situation when he was in government, and since everything is in his hands, he's acting.
Now that the President is making changes at the federal level, logically changes also happen here. We've seen it with our own eyes- never before has there been so much progress as this year. It's not changed totally yet, but at these changes from above are reaching the local level.
We're planning to fix up a few streets here ourselves- to take advantage of the president's visit to make some progress. We don't have the money to fix all of them, so we hope to make the president see what still has to be done here. If he's with the governor, for sure we'll get what we want.
The ideal thing for people here to do is just talk to us. That way they' ll realize why these changes are happening, and why they're happening now. They should see the new benefits everyone is enjoying this year.
We want the president o talk directly with the people. He'll come with a lot of politicians and he'll tell them what they should do for us. It would be good if he talked directly to the people, but if he only talks to those of us who know the situation here best, I think that would be enough. He'll be talking to the senators, the mayor, maybe the governor, and other functionaries. They're the ones who represent what needs to be done.
We'll have new local elections at the end of next year, but our candidates are already working hard. They don't just wait until the campaign. Nobody's announced yet, but they're all out there helping. But I don't think Juan Martinez is the right guy to elect mayor for the moment. And even though I don't know his intentions, the law forbids him to be reelected as chief town councilman. But it all depends on the people. If they still want him, he could resign now and then run again.
State of Mexico Governor Beteta calls on party loyalists in municipal committees to stay united and fight together, saying problems aren't within the party but rather on the outside. He stressed the need to maintain power, reassure voters, and build Mexico's future, adding that his party is most responsible because it accepts its obligations.
La Prensa, July 28
Huge rally by Priistas in the state of Mexico. Governor Beteta says Mexicans are committed party loyalists who can't be fooled by opponents who use PRI's little errors and big shortcomings to attack the system.
La Prensa, July 30
ESTELA
They told us they're fixing the avenue because the president is coming to turn on the lights. But no one knows which president they're talking about. We don't know who arid we don't know when.
But they're finally putting up the electric wires. There's been so much talk about those so-called donations, finally the light company had to accept all the receipts from town hall. I haven't paid my share yet- I'm thinking maybe next week. I have to pay 20,000 pesos, and that's just part of all I owe.
The mayor's office said they've sent a lot of sand and rock trucks here to fix all the streets, but they're just as bad as ever Only the avenue is getting fixed, so the president won't get stuck in the mud. Now in the rainy season you can't even walk down the street because of all the water. But when it's dry, you can't see where you're going because of the dust in the air.
But these guys are so big that they'd never come down to where we are. Some say Salinas is easy going, but we've got to see if he is or not, or maybe he's just a despot like all the others in the town hall. The mayor came last week and got his pickup truck stuck in the mud. Everyone chased him out on foot.
But we had to push his truck out later. So you think Salinas is going to wade through the lagoons in the middle of our streets? He should come in a boat, not a car. What would I tell President Salinas if he ever does come? Well, talking to the President is a remote possibility. Even if he comes to the Valle de Chalco, he won't come to this neighborhood, he'll be taken somewhere else. As close as he'll ever get is to the bridge. They say he's coming here but there're plenty of other stories too, that he'll turn on the lights at the bridge and not come into any neighborhoods at all.
But if he really comes and I get the chance to talk to him personally, I'd say that what he sees now, with town hall and the light company suddenly acting real busy, isn't what he'd normally see here. He should still see our real problems, that town hall charges us for things they never deliver. We moved here because we had to. We've been suffering here so much, going without so much. I'd like him to come into the neighborhood and walk down some of our streets to see for himself what it's like.
I'd like him to come in person and not just send one of his delegates, because that's more likely. If I get his ear, I'd ask him to clear things up for the· school and quit all the double talk.
The latest dispute between authorities and the community concerns the PTA's decision to fence off the side street used as the school playground. The recreation period is disrupted whenever a water truck rumbles through. On one occasion, a truck ran into an open ditch and overturned, nearly crushing several children. Guadalupe's spirited encounter with policemen over the fence has given her the same standing among neighbors that Estela had gained previously by spending three days in jail.
GUADALUPE
We put up the fence in order to block off the street for the school, to make the playground bigger. But the authorities told us they were laying new water pipes and so we'd have to open it up again. But some town councilmen told us they'd take the fence down and put it back as soon as the pipes were in.
They ended up taking it down, but a few months went by and still no water pipes. So we decided to rebuild it because we didn't want any more big trucks driving through. We gathered signatures of support and then put it back up.
So one Saturday somebody told me they'd come back to tear it down again. I said, "Take it easy, let's get people together and see just what's going on." I went over to the school to tell the teachers and they agreed to help us fight it. Well, nothing happened that Saturday, but on Monday six guys from town hall drove up in a police car, and some of the block captains arrived too. We got together about eight parents. One lady wanted to ask what they planned to do, but I said to be quiet and watch.
Finally the block captains left but the policemen stayed on. We kept watching and then most of us left too, but then a kid came up and told us the block captains had just gone around the corner and were coming back on the other street. That's when I realized they were planning to take the wall down after we'd all gone home. I told Lucina not to worry, that we'd fight them, but she should go back to get the others. So I was there by myself.
I was plenty afraid but I told myself not to let on to them. That's when I told them, "Don't you dare touch one brick, because if you do, you won't be worth your mother's spit. So just listen up! Whoever puts a hand on that fence is going to pay."
One of the cops grabbed his rifle and I told him, "You can't scare me. You and your rifle don't mean anything to me. I don't feel superior to you, so don't try to scare me. If you make me eat dirt, we'll all eat dirt, because I know . my people will kill you if you even touch me."
They shut up after hearing that. But one guy said, "No, senora. We don't want any trouble with you." And another said they hadn't come to damage the school, just to post a notice that the fence had to come down. So I said, "I'm not afraid. I just want you to know we'd like to talk it over and reach an agreement. Put up that notice if you want, but while you're at it, take a good look at what pitiful shape our school is in. That fence is our work, not town hall's. The mayor has never given us even one grain of sand. Everything's been built by the parents.
That's when they began taking pictures of me and the fence, so I said, "Would you rather have me over there where you can get my whole body in the photograph? I'm not afraid to have my picture taken. Come any time and ask anyone where Dona Guadalupe lives. I'm not afraid. We're here to get a job done and we'll stay here until you back off. We're here to help the school. You can write in your newspapers that it was built by the government, but let me tell you, there might be a lot of schools in Mexico, but damn few are thanks to the government's help. It's thanks to parents who want their kids to get ahead. We had to build our own school. Now you do what you have to."
They said, "No ma'am. If you need any books or school supplies or anything from -town hall, just let us know. We'll get a truck and bring you whatever you need." I said no thanks and goodbye, and that's how we left it.
But the problems with the school always come up. Always the street. I don't see it as such a big problem. We should be able to close it for our school's sake. Is that the first street ever closed for the public's benefit? No way! How many streets were blocked off for the market. And the market is less a public service than the school is. Each vendor over there makes her own profit. Not here. Here the only profit is helping the kids get ahead.
The unauthorized closing of the side street has led the government to deny financial support to the school unless it moves to a new location, a standoff that frustrates parents and teachers alike. Guadalupe's confrontation to the police squad led subsequently to power struggle between the school principal Inocente and a new teacher named Josefina over whether to accept the government's terms.
This struggle widened a long standing division between the teachers, who by and large agree to the relocation, and the parents, who insist that the school remain where it is. Daniel meanwhile saw this as an opportunity for UPREZ to enter school politics, a realm it had previously avoided, as a way of extending its influence in the community.
GUADALUPE
That teacher Josefina just wants power, and she's managed to get some parents behind her. Josefina doesn't want UPREZ working with the school, but we went on anyway. And she had her eye on becoming school principal. A lot of parents were saying that. She was trying to get the authorities to recognize the school on her own so she then could take over.
I think eventually we can get Josefina to calm down. Even though she's got a big mouth, she'll listen and accept our point of view. She's already accepted UPREZ's input and sees eye to eye with them on some things. She knows that what UPREZ fights for, it wins. She's seen that happen. But there's still too much rumor mongering. I told them I was surprised they could be so well educated and still be influenced by people who just want to poison our work. That's not right! But now I think Josefina is changing a bit.
I told Inocente he's got to be more energetic. He can give the teachers certain liberties, but he shouldn't let them be libertines! He's got to be strong because he's the only principal we've got. It's good that he's easy to talk to, but he's got to be more firm. He's got to impose authority over the teachers just like he does over the kids and their parents. Even if he's a good guy, he shouldn't let himself be duped.
We had a real problem with Inocente when he wanted to move to the other site without even talking it over with us. The PTA told me he was ready to sign the relocation agreement. He didn't build the school by himself, and neither did the PTA. The parents elected them both, and they can't start playing with us now. The school belongs to the community. After I talked back to Inocente in a meeting I finally started getting through to him. He said he hadn't thought of telling us, and I asked him how that could be. He's one guy who deserves the name his parents gave him.
A principal can't be too passive or too autocratic. The community has to decide. We'll talk it over together and not accept anything that the principal or the PTA or UPREZ just happens to say. UPREZ should just orient us, and not impose things. The same goes for Inocente and the PTA.
Residents of Colonia Emiliano Zapata in the valle de Chalco rallied to demand an end to abuse from the courts and the police. A spokesman for the colonia said that police had taken the community hostage by jailing, beating, and extorting bribes. The Governor's assistant said the rally demonstrated the state's respect for the rights of its citizens to protest.
Uno Mas Uno, July 29
ESTELA
We went to the State Urban Development office to get approval for the school where it is now. But it's always the same and always will be. The street, the street, always that same street, they say. They say we can't close it off, even though the government closes streets wherever they want. When officials are new in their jobs, they don't know what's gone on before, and we have to start from the beginning with them. That's what they always tell us to do, and the result is always the same- a big run around. Whenever we go to a government office, they always say the same thing. No. No.
There are two possible solutions. They're telling us to reopen the street, but if we do that there won't be enough room for the school and we'll have to find another site. So then they say they'll buy us a bigger lot somewhere else.
Tomorrow we've got to go to Toluca to talk to the architect from the Schools Department. If he agrees to talk to Urban Development on our behalf, maybe we'd make some progress.
It takes several hours to get to Toluca from here. We have to take the bus to the San Lazaro metro, then go by train to the Observatorio stop, then take another bus to Toluca. And if we don't get an answer, it's a whole day wasted. We've already wasted two years doing this. And if we lase this fight after everything we've done... But I doubt they'll ever build the school like we want.
We've got to talk things over before school starts again in September, because we've got some problems with the teachers. There's a new teacher this year named Josefina who's trying to provoke problems between various parents, and unfortunately she's been successful. This teacher is always stirring things up. I think she wants to get the principal's job. She says she just wants a better school, but we don't know if that's all. So now she's threatening to leave and take two other teachers with her.
The situation is critical. Parents feel angry and deceived, but the PTA won't let any teacher quit until the school's problems are all solved. As soon as that happens, everyone is free to go. But we won't let the teachers walk away now because they're the ones who started the mess and they're the ones who have to fix it.
We won't let them make fools of us too. The authorities already make fools of us, and now if the teachers start...we just won't let it happen. That's when you've got to get involved. We told the teachers, "Now you've got to do what we say, not just what you say."
Parents are very upset with each other about these teachers. They've divided us by starting rumors and getting us to talk behind each others backs. The teachers say they're going to straighten things out, but in fact they haven't done anything, and it's reached a point where we're so mad, a lot of us are saying we won't sign our kids up at this school again. So the principal is signing them up himself, without help from the teachers.
Josefina started it all by saying we should move the school. She says the fight isn't worth it, that we'll just cause more fights and more delays by staying. But that would be tough because we've already done so much work where it is now. It's working well as it is, we've made progress. And no one can make us move just by ordering us. Juan Martinez tried but he couldn't get us to leave. We're an educational institution, and you can't destroy it just like that. We're not going to listen to Josefina when she says to take over another lot.
Josefina said time is on our side since Urban Development hasn't given us a deadline to move the school. So we've got time to think it over and do whatever is in our best interests. And those plans that Urban Development drew up are from last March, so there's already been quite a delay. But we won't let them wear us down anymore or make us seize more land.
Josefina said she'd never taken over property before. I told her, "Maybe not you, but we have. We know what it's like. First you have to get building materials wherever you can, and buy cement and carry water. Kids have to haul bricks. You have to seal it off good."
But we won't do it again. We can't ask mothers to do it again if they've already done it once. We can't tell them to do it all over. What would they say? We should definitely keep what we've got, or else everyone will just go to another school. That's true. That's why I don't want to move it.
We don't know what Josefina's goals are. But as long as I'm still president of the PTA, I won't let either Josefina or UPREZ bring down the school we've fought so hard for. We started this work and we won't let others destroy it. Even though I don't have the free time I did before, I'll see to it that our school survives.
If we move, we'll lose everything we've put there. If we leave now, it all would fall into the hands of the authorities at town hall, and what would we have gained? Nothing! And what would the politicians do with the classrooms? Put bars and pulquerias there, because that way they'd earn something. The lot might be too small for a school, but it's the best place we've got.
DANIEL
There's been some progress with the school, but not much. At least people are all squared off against town hall, because they see clearly now they'er behind the problem. But the teachers can't get the parents to accept the proposal to move the school, so now there's a fight between teachers and parents.
Personally, I won't get involved in the fight. People already see what must be done. They're not asking me to do anything, so I can save my time for other things. The parents are handling themselves well in this. They made some mistakes at first, but now they see what they have to do. But I'm still here to orient them.
CATARINO
We can say there's still a conflict over the school. The Urban Development officials want them to leave their present site because they've built on private property, and they can't settle the matter with the rightful owners. And still there's another problem- you can't just close off a street as they've done. As soon as the owners sign over their deeds to the school, then we might stand behind the parents. But they still can't invade that street.
They've got a reasonable alternative. Get the signatures from the present property owners, and reopen the street so we can lay down the water pipes and put up the light posts. Urban Development demands that the school be moved to their designated site, but no one wants to. In the official location there's also room for a secondary school to be built later on.
We don't know exactly how you can take over private property for a public service. I realize that people have needs here, but that's no excuse to invade private property. There are already designated service zones in the neighborhood. They don't need any more.
But their idea is to keep it near their homes. Most kids walk twenty five minutes to school, but these parents won't let their kids walk even five. We think their objection is just an excuse not to cooperate. Kids come to that school from other neighborhoods. We can't educate everyone's kids in the state of Mexico! They belong to other towns. For the local kids, it's just a five minute walk wherever the school is built, no matter what they say. I'm not the one to say which town provides better services, and I can't say their school is better or worse than the others.
We've talked to the mayor about these complaints. We can't offer public services by ourselves to satisfy them all, and we can't do any planning until they reopen the street. I don't have any idea if Urban Development can fix the situation- but we can't accept it until they do. If the parents get permission, that's another thing.
Primary school drop-out rate at 17%. The first signs of dropping out are absenteeism, inattention in class, loss of interest, incomplete homework assignments, feigning illness, use of aggression to justify lack of knowledge, and lifestyle alternatives. The greatest weakness in the National Study Plan is its lack of moral values that instill a sense of responsibility, self-worth, justice, family, democracy, liberty, solidarity, and national pride.
Uno Mas Uno, August 2
GUADALUPE
The mayor said we shouldn't accept kids from other neighborhoods, but what's his problem? The school is ours, not his. And anyway, is he a racist or something? Education is open to everyone. I once asked Juan Martinez why he didn't come to a school meeting so he'd see for himself how crowded it was, and so he could explain to all the parents why he's against leaving the school where it is. He doesn't do anything around here. He's afraid even to show his face any more.
The last time he showed up he said he wanted the school closed as soon as possible. Some of my friends were afraid he'd do it, but I said, "No way. He always says one thing and does another. But if they ever come to tear it down and you don't get involved, it'll be your own fault if you lose it. You need it as much as we all do."
That's been our biggest problem so far. I'm against moving the school and I'll fight that until the end. But if they do insist, we should make them get a new site that suits us all. We've already looked at another lot that's closer than the one they want to give us, but the inspector said no, it didn't have to be so close.
So I told him to try walking that distance himself. And he told me that kids walk much farther in the country, but I said this isn't the country, and you can't jam so many kids into just one school anyway. We've already got 400 kids here. We're full, and we need help now. They should help us finish building it. It's been open for two years already and new kids keep coming every year.
They said it was Estela's idea to put the fence across the street, because of when the truck turned over right in the school yard. Everyone claimed Estela said she'd put it up herself. And people were saying she tried to take all the credit. But Estela never said that, and she got mad at all the rumor mongering that makes me so mad too.
It hurts me that this gossip about Estela continued. And it hurts our meetings. We should be talking about the school, and not about other people. It's not just a few who built the school- we all did! It was terrible when Josefina made personal accusations against her in public. I don't like it because Josefina's not just hurting us- she's hurting the school too. She knows the school's got problems. And if town hall gets wind of all this gossip, they'll have good reason to close it.
Estela works hard as an activist. She's my closest comrade, my number one. She went to Zacatecas, Durango, to all the meetings to share our experiences with others. But so people got jealous because she got out in front of the crowd. That's always how problems start here. And some women got mad at her.
Maybe I'm not as hard working as some of the others, but I still don't like their rumor mongering. If we're all comrades fighting for the same neighborhood, let's forget the gossip and fight together. Gossip has nothing to do with our problems. It's just personal politics.
ESTELA
Last week in a PTA meeting some woman came up and said I was claiming all the credit for building the fence. I said, "You bring m the person who heard me say that, and we'll put a stop to these rumors right now." If someone does something for the benefit of the school, that's wrong. And if you never do anything, that's wrong too. So you can't win.
I spoke with Guadalupe and said I wasn't going to be on the PTA anymore. She said I had to be, because if I left, they'd move the school for sure. But I said, "No, I can't leave the house much anymore, and secondly, I don't like all the rumors about me." Whenever I miss a meeting, I'm all they talk about.
You can avoid the rumors only if you're always there, so they can't talk behind your back. If so and so is saying things while you're there, you can stop it right away. But if you miss meetings for a week or a month, they'll be sure to talk. Guadalupe told me to keep it to myself that the PTA's got problems- a lot of them- there's a real division between former comrades.
So I've put some distance between me and UPREZ. I pulled back because I had to go to work. My kids kept me from staying in touch, and now with this new baby on the way...I'd like to resign from the PTA next month because by then for sure I won't be able to go to any meetings.
I've also got a man in the house now who's cut my wings. I cut them myself really- he doesn't say no to anything I do. I'm the one who decided to stay home more. I met him through some friends, but he's not an activist himself.. He said I could go on doing whatever I want, but only don't go looking for trouble. But you can't avoid trouble if you're an activist.
And I don't go to many meetings any more, not because I don't like to go out, but I've got to stay home more now. You can't be in meetings until eight o'clock at night. How can I come home so late with my man waiting for me and the kids without dinner? What's he going to say? "Is that right? Sure, you've got my permission, but look what time it is!" That's what happened to make me grow apart from it all. I'm still with them, but don't ask me to participate the same way I used to. I'll help as I can, but let me stay home.
Neighborhood disunity is further reflected in the way different factions reacted to the two outsiders Daniel had asked to help him with UPREZ affairs in Dario Martinez. Hapy and Nico first worked as his assistants, but relations soured when they began publically to question Daniel's management of the food co-op.
Residents were confused and angered by the leadership struggle waged by outsiders in their own community. Daniel's real intentions were questioned for the first time, but eventually he was able to reassert himself by forcing Hapy and Nico to leave the neighborhood. Public support for Daniel however was damaged. Although Guadalupe continued to support him, his increasingly hostile comments about Estela gave her cause for bother.
GUADALUPE
Hapy and Nico were new and had other ways of doing things. And as Daniel said, we're the pioneers here, we began the work. They brought in another way of doing things and that's when the problems began. They came from the outside, but it was Daniel who brought them with him. They tried to run things and run us too in their own way. That's when all the disunity began, but thank God we won. We realized they ere playing with us, and we fought back and fought hard. Thank God our group stayed together.
They first tried to manipulate one of our comrades. We had always made our decisions as a group, each one of us had the chance to talk up and then vote. Everyone's opinion was heard- there was real exchange, and then we'd accept the best idea. No one ever sa i d, "You've got to do this". It was always open. It was "we've got a problem, so what are we going to do?"
But those two guys wanted us to do other things . The problems with them started right away, but they were gone in two months. One of the leaders of UPREZ came and wanted to know what the problem was. He was worried our group would fall apart here. Luckily we finally agreed, and they had to leave and since then never came back. We almost made a big mistake.
We told Daniel it was his fault for bringing them in the first place. And he realized it and finally stood up and did something about it, so we got back to doing things the old way. Those two guys just wanted to divide the group and take over the co-op. They wouldn't accept that Daniel was in cha rge. They just pointed out how messed up it was. What hurt most was to see some people almost take us over. We weren't beginners at this after all. Outsiders have no rights here. We'll let them help us but not destroy us.
ESTELA
It all started when Hapy and Nico tried to join the organization. I hadn't been around much then- I was glad to be away from the problems- so they didn't come looking for me. So when Hapy and Nico came, they met with Lucina, Guadalupe, and Don Ramon- and they came to tell me they wanted to reorganize UPREZ, because they were unhappy with Daniel.
They said Daniel was trying to get rich off the co-op, that he was running it badly. It was always broke but Daniel always seemed to have money for his other projects. Whenever it ran too big a deficit, Daniel would bail it out. Where did he get the cash to do that? That's something we never knew. But he always had plenty of capital.
I said, why get involved? It was Daniel's affair. Then Daniel asked me to attend a public meeting. That's when he asked me what was going on behind his back. He'd heard they were talking about changing UPREZ and said they were crazy to even try.
I couldn't go to the meeting, but afterwards and said they'd spoken against Daniel because of all the co-op's financial irregularities. They'd gotten signatures against him, including even Guadalupe's. I told them that the UPREZ bosses couldn't do anything against Daniel because he was so slippery. If they came to a meeting here, Daniel would just get his friends together and put an end to the whole thing.
So one of the big UPREZ people did come to a meeting. I wasn't there because wanted to steer clear, but later they told me that just personal accusations were made, that Nico had deserted his family and wasn't fit to be a leader, that so and so was doing such and such- just a lot of personal gossip. Later I went to a meeting to help organize a march to Toluca, but I went for the PTA and not for UPREZ. Some people criticized me because I hadn't supported UPREZ in this.
Daniel got mad and started a rumor about me, that I'd stolen my house from UPREZ and now I'd have to give back the stove and the beds since I'd turned against them. They said I'd only been with them in the first place so I could get something personal out of it.
And I answered, "First, UPREZ didn't give me this house or what's in it. I took it myself. And I'd never gotten anything from Daniel. He'd done nothing for me. So that's why I'm leaving UPREZ, because of the rumors."
And then the new person Maria who Daniel had brought in with him started complaining about how I'd managed the school breakfasts. She just wanted to take over herself. In one of our meetings she said I'd hit her and caused her to miscarry her baby. I wasn't at that meeting so I couldn't defend myself, but I wasn't even at home the day she said I'd hit it.
People asked me why I wasn't at the meeting, as if they thought I was afraid to be there. I was busy that day but no one believed me, because Maria had already told them. That was the first I'd heard of the story. I've got witnesses I wasn't even home that day. But Daniel backed Maria up all the way.
What does Daniel want by starting these rumors? I don't talk badly about people. I never talk about anyone like that, so what does Daniel want? What's he up to? I really can't answer. I just don' t know.
GUADALUPE
And now about this thing with Estela, that they're going to take her stove and things from her home- I'm completely against that. We're all screwed here, so how can we manage to get her a new stove? Maybe a pot or a pan, but we can't buy her a stove and gas tank.
I told Estela that if they come to take her things, that she should let us know right away and I'd get people together. Daniel knows if I say I'll organize people, then I intend to. He said he couldn't help her anymore, that they were coming and he couldn't stop them. But all those guys are his friends.
Sure he could talk them out of it. But if they do try to take anything, I'll call them thieves to their faces. Daniel's trying to scare Estela, but I don't think it's just a threat. I think he'll let them go through with it.
DANIEL
We've helped Estela, but she's taken things that belong to another comrade. When we wanted to take back what we'd given her, she said we were robbing her, and that's when the trouble started. She won't admit we'd been helping her.
We even helped her get her house. I gave her a blank deed that she used to get her house legalized. She's had it a year and now I've got to take it back so I can pay taxes on my other house. She's mad. She thinks I'm hurting her, not helping.
She only sees things from her point of view, as if she's the only one. But there are other comrades who also need help, and they're as active in our affairs as she is. So if she's not with us anymore, we'll just have to help the others who are. It reflects everyone's economic problems. We've all got to eat, but she thinks that UPREZ is obligated to help just her. She's been helped, now she's got to help herself.
GUADALUPE
Now all we hear is that Estela is talking about somebody, and that somebody is talking about someone else, who's saying such and such, and on and on. what's the point of all this? We're too old to be gossiping like this. Daniel should stop all this talk. He should say that gossiping about Estela is the same as gossiping about himself. You shouldn't pass on rumors. Just keep them to yourself. Don't stir things up even more.
It's just about Estela, and that bothers me. I told Daniel I'm surprised everyone says Estela bad talks him, because I've never heard her say a word about him. I said that was the last meeting I'll ever go to. Are we fighting to improve the neighborhood, or just to hear more gossip? There's a place for rumors, but not here. We should put up a public notice, "Talk about politics, not about people! Keep your gossip to yourself!" I'd like to post that.
ESTELA
We'll keep fighting for the school, but for UPREZ? I won't keep on with them. For the school, yes, because that's what matters to me. UPREZ worked well in the beginning, it was well organized, but Daniel was the only one in charge. He wouldn't let others lead. He was the only one who was right all the time, the only one who could represent the others, to talk at meetings, to do everything. The only one.
That day we went to the mayor's office, he was the only one who spoke. He wouldn't let others say a word. Just him. He talked about every neighborhood in the Valle de Chalco, and didn't let their own representatives say anything. He won't let anyone else express themselves in public. He's always trying to remove the other comrades. And that'll never work. The others must speak up too. He won't live here forever, and he hasn't even moved in to his house yet. He says it's not ready yet, but it looks like he doesn't want to move in at all. His sister's stuff is in his house. Maybe his sister is coming , not him.
I think a lot of time we need someone from outside to help direct our ideas , just to direct our thinking or to tell us we ought to go here or there to meet and hold protests. To organize us. They could say, "I'm not from here, so you folks have to act on your own alongside your neighbors. Go do it, and if I'm not here, do it by yourselves."
But if Daniel doesn't come, he won't let anyone else to anything. If you call yourself the boss from the very beginning and claim to have the only bra i ns , that won't work here. He was working on the co-op when we started our school. He just cared about the co-op, and we cared more about the school. Now that he sees he can get involved in the school, he's trying to influence some of the parents.
I can't say if Daniel is making money off the co-op or not. But he did take money from the school breakfasts to pay for marches and flyers. If he needed more money, he'd borrow it from the co-op. But he shouldn't be paying for everything UPREZ does here. People are beginning to ask where the money is? I'm not in on it, so I don't know. I was active with UPREZ with the other people, but not with the money. I never got involved with the co-op. Others say he's trying to get rich, to manipulate people just to take advantage. That's one reason I quit.
Guadalupe's interpretation of Nico's and Hapy's attempt to snatch away UPREZ leadership shifted abruptly after Daniel called a meeting in order to redraw the UPREZ membership list. After crossing off Guadalupe's name with a dramatic flourish, he added the names of newcomers who never before had been active in community affairs. This public insult triggered Guadalupe's change of mind about Daniel's value to the neighborhood.
GUADALUPE
Hapy and Nico opened our eyes. They said we should know what our co-op's accounts really are, and if we've got profits or losses. But no one ever tells us. They always say we've got losses, never profits. But that's just what they say. And they're asking us to pay an extra 500 pesos every month now to build a workshop behind the co-op so people can work there. But I don't want to. If they buy machines, who will own them? Who's going to manage the profits? I'm pretty disillusioned about the organization now. I'm thinking of just dropping out. I'll always fight for the school, but UPREZ, no more.
When Hapy and Nico were thrown out, we stayed on anyway. Their plan was to restructure UPREZ. The school was completely stalled when they came in. They wanted to renew the fight, and after getting what we wanted in the school, then fight the next battle for our electricity, and after that, then fight for our drinking water.
Daniel decided to throw them out. He and his crowd did it on their own, but we stood with the other two. We agreed to fight hard for one thing at a time, and then move on after we'd won- not spread thin and never accomplish anything. Daniel wants to do everything at the same time. Whenever we go to Toluca, he writes up all our demands on the same paper, and everything gets mixed up. That's what the other two said, that we couldn't win anything that way.
They wanted to open up the co-op's books and let us all see. We'd never known what they were before. But Carmen stood with Daniel. She realized things were wrong, but she couldn't admit we were the ones who had fought hardest to get the co-op. She thought it was just thanks to Daniel. But it's a public cooperative, and we should know how it works and what the profits are used for. I'm beginning to see things differently now. Since we've lost confidence, a lot are backing away from UPREZ. We've got to stay together and first help each other.
In that meeting, Daniel rewrote the UPREZ membership list. He said he'd quit if there weren't enough people behind him. Maybe it would be better if he did quit. We know how to fight for ourselves now. Estela and I know how to mobilize people. But Daniel only has Carmen and a few others on his side.
Before we were all working together, every single one of us. Before, I worked with Estela even though I wasn't too close to her, but since then we've become better friends. I see her now as a hard working comrade. I'm not going to lose her over a few rumors. On the contrary, I'd give her all my support. She's not just a sympathizer. She's a true militant!
But we're not the same any more. When we go to meetings now, it's just rumor mongering. People ignore what's true. Hapy and Nico wanted us to know the facts. Now that they're gone, we should still fight for facts. And demand a change in the co-op . Get a new manager, and reform the committee. Now it' s just Daniel and Carmen. As soon as Estela has her baby, we should fight for a new committee that we elect ourselves.
DANIEL
I can't really say what UPREZ's grand plan is for the Valle de Chalco. There's a lot of suspicion about what we do.., There are high level meetings, we talk about legal problems, land tenure, the food co-ops, government corruption, things like that. There's no chance we'll enter party politics. Any member is free to do it on their own, but not as an organization. We're very decentralized in that respect.
People come and go in UPREZ. They get involved and then drop out, depending on what issue they're fighting for. For the drinking water system for instance. everyone is with us now, but three months ago everyone was opposed. Now if we call a meeting, everyone will be there. There's a strong nucleus of activists.
Our comrades made some problems bigger than they really are. They see I'm responsible for various things and they figure that since I'm in charge, I must be taking money and using others for myself. But Estela has everything wrong. A while back she wanted to take over Carmen's job at the co-op, but I said to wait until we started up another project and we'd put her in charge of that. But that's what started it off.
We've got to help the co-op, keep it solvent so we can restock supplies. Everyone thinks I'm running it badly; in fact I keep bailing it out. But since we're starting up the sewing workshop I can't keep it afloat anymore, and it did run a few deficits. Now we're thinking of other projects. In addition to the sewing shop, maybe a garbage service or a bus drivers co-op. It's only in the planning stage. I'm already running three food co-ops in other neighborhoods besides this one, so I'm giving jobs to at least three other people.
We're fighting people who, even if they're not corrupt themselves, come here to corrupt others. You've got to be aware of that. Because besides being corrupted, everything else changes. There's never the same confidence. That 's one of the most important things I've got to keep in mind in my job.
Hapy and Nico were trying to change our course of action. They wouldn't adapt to our way of doing things. They wanted to impose themselves. They brought their experience from other neighborhoods and tried to use it here. They convinced some people here with lies, and even when we talked to them about what they were doing, they continued to spread misinformation about us. So we told them they couldn't work with us. A delegation from UPREZ came and saw what was happening, that what they had been saying about us wasn't true. They wanted to manage the co-op so they could manipulate it themselves. And we didn't permit it.
CATARINO
I wouldn't mind if UPREZ had more power, as long as they had better goals. They've taken the name of one of our revolutionary heroes, Emiliano Zapata, so they've accepted a lot of responsibility. They make a lot of demands on everyone else, but they should be trying to help the people here, not hurt them. They're against everything we've already accomplished and everything we might accomplish in the future. That's not helpful, and now the people themselves are rejecting them.
They're an outside influence here. That 's not to say we don't approve of what they're trying to do, but they should change their strategy and unite with us. Sure, respect what the community has done, help them get public services, and watch out for their interests. But that's not what they're doing. Up to now I haven't seen any results from their work here. If they'd be willing to refocus their work, they're welcome to join with us.
But we won't let them pull our work down with them. They've gone to the mayor and talked to him, but they just shout and aggravate the situation. They don't talk with us anymore, and that's no way to get results. I have no idea what political agenda they've got or who leads them- they're the only ones who know that. We've never talked to them about these things. We just know where they stand from their graffiti on the walls here.
Mario Ramon Beteta announced today his resignation as Governor of the State of Mexico. Beteta read his statement in a grey Oxford suit with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket. While he spoke calmly and with ease, his supporters seemed preoccupied and nervous. Having entered the room at his side, they all left quickly and avoided interviews with the press.
El Excelsior, September 8, 1989
The new Governor Ignacio Picardo said the country needed an ethics law for public officials that prohibited abuse of power and illegal financial gain. Promising to govern with austerity and public openness, and without privilege and ostentation, he denied that his new agenda intended to criticize the previous administration. He promised first to visit the Valle de Chalco where immediate government action to provide public services was required.
El Excelsior, September 12, 1989