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Roberto Madrazo: Savior of the Dinosaurs?
By John Barham (Mar 17, 2006)
Some Mexicans have taken to calling politicians associated with the PRI "los dinosaurios," or the dinosaurs, emphasizing a widely held view that the party that dominated Mexico from 1929 to 2000 is on the verge of extinction.
Roberto Madrazo, the PRI presidential candidate for 2006, has so far faced an uphill battle in his efforts to regain the presidency for the party. Opinion polls at the end of February showed Madrazo running a distant third behind Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the PRD and Felipe Calderon of the PAN.
The 53-year-old Madrazo first gained political prominence in 1994 when, in an election notable for numerous accusations of fraud and vote tampering, he won the governorship of Tabasco. Ironically, his chief rival in that election was none other than Lopez Obrador, the PRD candidate who is currently enjoying a narrow lead in public opinion polls ranking the candidates for the presidency.
After Vicente Fox's victory in 2000, the PRI was a party in disarray. Accustomed for 70 years to having presidents mediate interparty squabbles, the PRI was suddenly a party without a head. In Congress, the PRI at first floundered in assuming an unfamiliar role in opposition to the president.
After finishing his term as governor in Tabasco in 2000, Roberto Madrazo eventually emerged as the PRI party president and was initially hailed for restoring party stability. Under Madrazo's strong-armed leadership, Fox initiatives in Congress to deal with a faltering economy, energy concerns and labor issues were stymied. In the process, however, the dictatorial tactics of the party president precipitated division within the PRI.
Last fall, as Madrazo left the PRI's presidency in preparation for his run for the national presidency, he barred PRI secretary general Elba Esther Gordillo from stepping into the party's top leadership post. This deeply offended Gordillo, who is also the head of the politically powerful Mexican teacher's union, along with other important PRI functionaries. Thus, it is a distinct possibility that Gordillo and her supporters will not support the PRI in 2006. Also, there is some speculation that certain segments of the PRI may join the PRD.
Further impairing the Madrazo candidacy has been the candidate's inability to adequately account for considerable personal assets, including luxury properties in Miami and Mexico City. At the same time, ongoing sparring with labor leaders continues to estrange that key portion of the electorate.
Recently, revelations concerning Governor Mario Marin of Puebla, a Madrazo supporter, have been troubling. Taped telephone exchanges between Marin and textile manufacturer Kamel Nacif have shown a connection between Marin and Nacif in an effort to silence and jail journalist Lydia Cacho. Cacho's book, The Demons of Eden, asserts that Nacif has ties to Jean Thomas Succar Kuri, a rich Cancun hotelier, who is currently in Arizona fighting extradition to Mexico on child-sex and pornography charges.
The taped conversations, which were revealed by the newspaper La Jornada, have further tarnished the PRI image and have led Madrazo to attempt to distance himself from Mario Marin, his erstwhile political ally.
With four months to go before the election, prospects for the PRI in both presidential and congressional races do not appear promising. Nevertheless, while at this point a PRI return to power is not likely, it is not inconceivable. To beat the odds, Madrazo must demonstrate that the PRI has shed the dead hand of its past history and is capable of developing new solutions to confront the problems facing Mexico in the 21st century.
Recent efforts, such as the PRI pact with the small Green Party, may prove of little value in the long run; but, in the final months before July, the PRI will be spending liberally, and it will also be calling on all the dinosaurs to return the political favors built up over generations.
As a physical fitness enthusiast and an accomplished long-distance runner, Roberto Madrazo is noted for biding his time and finishing fast. It appears that he will need to marshal all of his political stamina if a fast finish is to be sufficient to rescue the dinosaurs and to drive his presidential campaign to victory in July.
John Barham, who has been visiting San Miguel de Allende for more than 18 years, has served as an associate professor of history, dean and provost in the State University of New York, the University of Texas at Brownsville, Jacksonville State University and King Saud University (Saudi Arabia).
A dozen reasons why women move to San Miguel
By Lucy Z. Martin (Mar 17, 2006)
It is a tourist pastime to ask expats why they moved here, both out of curiosity and, no doubt, in hopes of getting encouragement to do the same. As a snowbird for six years, I'm always asking the question, especially as the city grows and new people move here each year.
Since my profession involves working with women as they make changes in their lives, I specifically ask females why they relocate. While everyone has her own fascinating and unique story, I've found that the majority of answers fall into a dozen categories. The following is an encapsulation of what I've learned in my 2006 interviews.
Note that space prohibited me from going beyond the top 12. There are many other reasons women have come south-such as the gentleness of the Mexican people, the availability of lower-cost healthcare, resources for spiritual support, to join friends and/or family already here, love of Latin American history and culture, and so on. I'd love to hear your story, too.
1. CLIMATE
Sunny skies nearly every day are hard to beat. No snow, little cold, rare freezes, cleansing rain, and only a short wet season. Dry winters, little summer humidity. Sure there are seasonal changes, but where else can you find a nearly year-round temperate climate?
"After the eighteenth snowstorm in one winter, I moved to San Miguel," says jewelry designer and New Yorker Sondra Zell, who visited often before she permanently relocated. Alice McCartor and her husband Hal have lived here for five years, moving from Portland, Oregon "to permanently escape the grayness of the Pacific Northwest."
2. Slower-paced life
To what degree American women can actually slow down has long been debated, but they say they want to, and they come to Mexico to try. And the local lifestyle supports the slower beat.
Alexandra Norton put in 10-hour days as a psychotherapist in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. "Now I have time to do less! I accomplish fewer things and I do them slower. And I'm more contemplative about my choices."
A visitor for 30 years, art teacher Chris Weathers and her husband moved here six months ago after retirement. "It always felt so good to get back on Mexican time, to really take the time to enjoy and experience life. I love the sounds of the birds and the church bells. Going back to the fast-paced US is always such a jolt," she says.
3. Business opportunities
It would take pages to list all the successful women business owners in San Miguel. They range from long-time entrepreneurs Dianne Kushner of Casa Luna/Casa Quebrada B&Bs and Patsy DuBois of Patsy's Place Catering, to 22-year-old Amber Nieto who came from Tucson, Arizona via Puebla eight months ago and opened the Elite Beauty Lounge for nails and facials.
Enterprising women have started cottage industries from making home décor and clothing items, to internet and translation services, interior and garden design, art production, real estate sales, public relations consulting, child and elder care and tutoring. The list is long and varied, and as more English speaking people come and want more American-type services, the opportunities will only increase.
4. Sidewalk society
Chalk it up to walking most everywhere you go and seeing friends face-to-face multiple times a day. A trip through the Jardín becomes half a dozen conversations and exchanges of information about resources ranging from ironmongers to prescription medications.
Join us for comida? Go see the new Teatro Angela Peralta renovation! Got a ticket to Saturday's benefit? News and information travel fast. A stranger on your walking route becomes a friendly face by day three. And then you see her in your Spanish or yoga class, and soon you are fast friends.
5. Opportunities to contribute
On my first snowbird visit, I met an expat couple who said they'd chosen San Miguel specifically because of the opportunities to volunteer: "to make a difference in a local community where the needs were great," I remember them saying. Nearly all of the women I've meet here since share their view.
Gringos talk of the ease of volunteering in well-established charitable organizations, and if they find an unmet need, they start their own, such as the new 501(c)(3) for the Angeles de Santa Julia.
Some give money and raise funds among their friends with auctions and benefits. Others donate hours of their time to help support soup kitchens, access to healthcare, elderly services, housing, school activities, start-up seed money and clothing and food drives.
The list is as endless as the energy and generosity of the women who volunteer. Most women I interviewed are mothers themselves, and they especially gravitate to the myriad deserving organizations that help Mexican women and their families.
One tireless volunteer, former Canadian Sally Reid, describes a situation repeated by many. Her second day here she visited Casa Hogar Don Bosco, the orphanage for abused or poor teen-aged girls.
First she helped the nuns provide the basics of blankets and hot water. Two years later, the endless tours she's given to interested donors have afforded the orphanage internet service and funding for Suzuki violin and cello lessons. The needs are great, and so are the rewards.
6. Receptivity to North Americans
San Miguel has its own weekly English newspaper. It is home to the second-largest English library in Latin America. Purified water is available in most restaurants. The Sunday House & Garden Tour gives house-seekers a peek at local high-side living. Three times a week walking tours orient newcomers to the history and architecture.
Paula Barber has an email network and weekly Wednesday luncheon. The Ladies Nite Out group welcomes newcomers and meets on Tuesdays. New mega-grocery stores are coming with American brands. All make it easy for women to meet and greet and find resources, such as how to buy a car or complete their FM-3s.
7. Arts community
San Miguel's historic reputation as an artists' colony persists, as does the quality of light and artistic energy that artists love. Immigration only increases the number of new painters, sculptors, ceramicists, jewelry designers, paper makers and other artists relocating and ferreting out studio space.
"With all the publicity in Condé Nast Traveller and the New York Times more and more artists are drawn here, first perhaps to a workshop, then to relocate," observes former Massachusetts resident and local painter Mary Breneman.
Art isn't limited to those with brushes and easels. The writers' community is ever-growing, as the enthusiasm over the recent San Miguel Writers' Conference demonstrated. In its first venture, 150 people attended the conference.
Workshop participant and well-known novelist Beverly Donofrio was pleased to find that the crowd "didn't come to learn how to sell, but how to write." A transplant from Los Angeles in 1999, Beverly finds San Miguel "the perfect place to write because life slows down here. The town is expansive, generous, and safe for the imagination to run wild."
Retirees, in particular, note that they finally have the time and interest to develop their artistic side, and San Miguel is nirvana. Local classes, workshops and visiting experts offer an unending array of helpful choices.
8. Social activity
"You can't get any work done here," one woman after another wails, enjoying every minute of their complaining. There's too much to do that's too fun to turn down. There are clubs for bridge, mah jongg and knitting, classes for yoga and Pilates and Curves gym, movies at the Jacaranda, lectures at the Biblioteca Pública, art openings, plays and salsa lessons.
Look at the number of "Que Pasa" and "Around Town"" pages in Atención each week.
"This town can be a beehive of social activity," says Cynthia Mason, who, with husband Gene, divides her time between San Miguel and Little Rock, Arkansas. "When I first came here I maintained a full calendar. What I've learned is that if I can't keep it in my head, I'm doing too much. Now I want 'to be' rather than 'to do,'" she emphasizes.
"San Miguel is growing with such style," notes former Californian Jean Jacobson. With her friends and husband, Rick, she likes to try out the new. "More galleries have opened. There are new restaurants to try. New experts to hear at the lectures. It's like the proverbial peeling onion. There are so many layers to discover."
9. Bright minds, ever-learning
San Miguel isn't a typical vacation community of northerners looking for sun and cheap living. There's more depth. Social conscience. Serious concern for the environment, politics and the arts. Really bright people move here who have had exceptional careers and bring a level of serious thinking to their lives.
"The Gringo community is not only caring, accepting and nonjudgmental; it is filled with people who are remarkably intelligent, curious and multitalented." So says Paula Moran, a North Carolinan who came here 18 months ago after a web search for a silversmith school in a warm climate.
"After one party of fascinating conversations, I knew I wanted to move here and get to know these people," says Annie Reutinger, who with her husband, Jay Clark, relocated three years ago. "There were more interesting discussions about more interesting subjects in one room than I'd heard in a year in Oakland."
10. Affordable living
While everyone acknowledges that San Miguel is getting more expensive, it is still seen as a bargain compared to living in many parts of the United States. Housing and food are the most frequent examples cited for higher prices, and high-end real estate seems to have no upper boundary.
Those who want luxurious housing can find it easily. One home rental company owner reported that her applicants are now asking about the thread count of the sheets and high-speed internet access as housing requirements.
On the other hand, the website www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com
shows how two retirees on Social Security, Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair, continue to live quite nicely. Their site offers a bevy of tips for others who want to live here on a fixed income.
Many retirees report feeling the pinch, yet they acknowledge that San Miguel is still a value when compared to US and Canadian costs. And many are getting more inventive in what to bring back when they go north, finding bargains at the Tuesday market and learning how to utilize internet shopping.
"You get what you can't live without when you go to the States, and find local substitutes for other things that were staples in your former life, like Tom's of Maine toothpaste," laughs transplanted Californian Patrice Wynne.
11. Technology upgrades
Computers, high-speed internet connection, fax, Office Depot. Americans are dependent on their technology and access to replacement parts. Increasingly, the services have become more sophisticated, accessible and dependable in San Miguel. One long-time resident jokes she now has almost as many internet cafes as tiendas in her neighborhood.
"Internet access is nearly as important as water if you're working internationally. And it's now possible to have a reliable, high-speed connection here," reports Heather Drake, a Spanish translator originally from Canada, who also lived in Mexico City for nearly 30 years. "I'm delighted to be back here, to enjoy small-town life and have access to state-of-the-art technology."
12. Geographic access
With flights out of León, Mexico City and now Querétaro, and speedy toll roads to the US, expats can get to and from San Miguel with a minimum of hassle. For many women who live here and do work in the States, this access is critical. Austin transplant Robin Loving Rowland can meet with her stateside clients in one short flight. Artist Dawn Gaskill had a show at the Dallas Art Museum in December and then flew her work on to Florida for another show.
Lucy Martin will be presenting her popular personal growth workshop, "Now Is MY Time," for the first time to local women March 21-23 from 9am to 1pm daily in San Miguel. For details and to register call 154-8911 or email
lucyz@nowismytime.com or visit the
website www.nowismytime.com
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