Tlaxcala, the smallest state in Mexico
is a state characterized by farming, corn, rural poverty, and more corn. I was
living in Hueyotlipan a town of 10,000 in the northern part of Tlaxcala. Where
to begin? For one, after a 16 hour van ride through Mexico, passing into a
variety of different temperature climates; cold, foggy, rainy in Chiapas,
humid, hot, tropical in Veracruz, and then dry + cactus filled Tlaxcala, we
were greeted by six families, all apart of CNUC. CNUC stands for campesino nacional urbano consejo and is
an organization that we would be working with for the three weeks in
Hueyotlipan. CNUC has been around since ’94 and is aligned with La Otra Compaña, the Zapatista movement
launched in 2006 that connects Mexican social movements, emphasizing organizing
from below and to the left, autonomy, and solidarity. CNUC has done some
powerful stuff organizing different communities around access to clean water,
building community centers, and leading strikes. Their current campaign is all
about compost because it is a farming community. Without getting into the
details behind the history of land rights in Mexico (used to be communal ejidos), farming reforms, NAFTA, and
government corruption, farmers in Mexico can’t make a livable wage. Fertilizer is very expensive and full of
chemicals, so CNUC chapters are learning how to make their own compost and all
that jazz.
I was
living with a really sweet family for these past three weeks. They were new
CNUC members, and although not famers, they still worked hard to maintain their
basic human rights. They have a three year old and a two year old, and their
only source of income comes from the money the father makes selling juice on
the highway each morning. Every day, at 6 am they both would cut oranges and
juice carrots, and then he would be gone until noon or so. We drove past him
one day, and seeing him in his place of work was something I will not forget. I
see him each day as a loving father, kind husband, doing yard work, fixing his
car, playing with the kids, but to see him, on the highway (literally the
HIGHWAY) made me so angry and sad. To be forced into a job that is dangerous
and dehumanizing isn’t fair. But, he is resisting in his own way, being part of
CNUC and finding ways to make money without having to migrate to the US.
Because
Tlaxcala is a state focused heavily on agriculture (lots of corn, lots of
barley, wheat, oats) and there is no money in agriculture anymore, many people
have migrated to the US, both documented and undocumented. Hueyotlipan
specifically had lots of folks go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and at least two
people from each CNUC family had been in the United States for an extended
period of time. Being an undocumented Mexican worker in the US is hard, fucked
up, not an easy choice to make, and having grown up in a place fueled by
Mexican labor (TIBURON, CA y’all), being in the place where many of those folks
are from was a big learning experience and something that has caused real
points of reflection.
I am trying
to keep this short, but summarizing three incredibly busy and powerful weeks
into a few paragraphs isn’t easy. But here is list of wonderful things I
experienced to keep it all short and sweet.
1.
Meeting with the Braceros. Who are the Braceros?
They were part of a migrant labor program introduced by the
US and Mexico from 1942-1964 that brought over 2 million Mexican laborers to
the US. A lot of them came to CA, and I literally had never heard about the
program until last week when I met with them to talk about what their
experiences were like and why they are still fighting to get not only
government recognition, but also paid for their labor more than 50 years ago. Look
up their struggle…its incredibly interesting and starting to fade.
2.
UPADI meeting (250 people organization of
farmer’s market merchants.) While at their meeting, they received word that two
of the members had been arrested for washing cars in the street, but then were
released a few hours later. We got to see a whole organization work to free
some of their own.
3.
Walking to class each morning with three
volcanoes in the distance (sometimes blowing smoke)
4.
Walking home from class next to cows, sheep, and
horses.
5.
Eating and making so much food related to corn;
atole (corn drink), tortillas, corn on the cob, corn off the cob…you get the
idea
6.
Meeting with CNUC members in three different
towns, each affected by deforestation, sand mining, contaminated rivers, and
the new Mexican labor law reform.
7.
Walking a two year old and three year old to
preschool in the mornings with their lovely mother.
8.
Having strangers ask me why I was in Hueyotlipan
and if I had ever heard of Jackson Hole.
9.
Learning about GMO corn, drinking carrot juice
each morning, and buying bread from a hatchback playing “Rollin in the Deep” each
night.
10. Realizing
I suck at washing my clothes by hand, and how wasteful my use of water is in
the US. Showering a few times a week, no washing machine, no dishwasher, no
running water in the house is PERFECTLY OK. Except I need to learn how to hand
wash. For real.
11. The days I didn’t have diarrhea were few and
far between, as well as close to my heart.
This post doesn’t do Hueyotlipan justice. But I am trying my
best. As of right now I am in Mexico City, and will be for the next month. Stay
tuned for more!
Love
Violeta aka La Muchacha (according to my 3 year old host
brother)
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| Jolett and Raul...Why so cute? |
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| "White girl holding Mexican child!" |
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| UPADI meeting--two men standing are the ones who were released from jail that evening. |
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| CNUC member from Zitaltepec who keeps bees and fights against sand mining |
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| Campesino style cookin |
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| CUTE BABY AND CORN |
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| GMO corn fuckin up Hueyo. |
