April 13, 2007, Speaking out, By Arte en Resistencia (Art in Resistance)

On March 22, the group Arte en Resistencia took to the streets in its first action—to cover public places with thousands of stickers with five distinct slogans expressing the sentiments of our group.

During this action, three of our members were arrested and jailed upon the pretext that they did not have the proper permission and were thus violating municipal regulations.

We ask: What if they tried to incarcerate everyone who uses public spaces to announce apartment rentals, events, yoga classes, soccer matches, etc.? Imagine if they did, the jails would not be able to hold all the offenders!

Over the past year, there have been repressive governmental policies applied in Oaxaca and Atenco, as well in the neighboring state of Querétaro. Is it possible that they’re trying to follow the same example in San Miguel?

It was surprising how quickly the authorities managed, in just a few hours, to remove the estimated 2000 stickers that were placed in the central zone of the city. Why were such repressive measures taken towards a non-aggressive act (and one which is practiced daily by common solicitors)? Why is there even a need to suppress ideas and concerns of fellow San Miguel citizens? Unusual and efficient efforts were made to expunge the stickers (including the employment of other prisoners to remove the stickers in exchange for free bail; our stickers, yes!) But, conspicuously, no other street solicitations were removed from the same posts. To prove this, we have submitted photos.

Thus many questions arise: Why the fear of conscious-raising in San Miguel? We'd like to see the same efficiency applied to the removal of the incredulous amount of political propaganda, real estate and general advertisements defacing innumerable public places in our colonial town which is, ostensibly, protected by heritage laws.

In response to the comments of Mr. Chris Stevens, which appeared in the May 30, Letters to the Editor, we totally disagree that the slogans are banal, frivolous and mediocre.

On the contrary, the point of the messages is to awaken community consciousness about important themes such as the neglect and denigration of our indigenous legacy and rich language. The stickers invite people to think about the direct consequences of the current economic trend taking place in San Miguel—such as the rapid growth and acceptance of commercial franchises (read: monopolies) whose impact on small and medium-sized businesses is devastating and neglectful. Small, local businesses cannot compete with chain stores which are supported by unbridled neo-liberalist policies imposed upon us by our local, as well as state and federal governments.

The messages of Arte en Resistencia also target the disproportionate growth of so-called “exclusive” housing developments that eliminate the possibility for more community spaces such as soccer fields, playgrounds and even libraries and modernized schools. Until recently, San Miguel de Allende had been characterized by a mix of social classes in its urban zones. The appearance of so many gated communities will only serve to further alienate and discriminate against those who are less-wealthy and under-served. Neglecting the needs, as well as culture, of the greater community will, in time, foster a devastating, and potentially dangerous, schism.

On another matter, we would like to take this opportunity to apologize to those whose private property was affected by our March 22 action. This was due to lack of discipline on the part of some of our volunteers. It is our policy not to deface private property and, overall, this policy was followed in at least 95 percent of the postings.

To conclude, we would like to thank all those of you who sent emails in support of us and we invite you to continue to send us your valued opinions. And, look out for our next actions. For comments or questions, contact arteenresistencia@inbox.com.

Seguiremos el sendero del huarache clandestino ¡Viva el atole de cáscara!

The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the authors’ and do not reflect those of Atención San Miguel or the publishers, the Biblioteca Pública.