“Students surrender 29 buses seized in West Mexico protest”
That was the headline in a mid-March edition of The International Herald-Tribune.
For some reason, it reminded me of my niece being kicked off of her school bus the first day of kindergarten for telling the bus driver how to drive. It must be a family thing.
But it was not a story of disgruntled grade schoolers. These students were from the Vasco de Quiroga Rural Teachers College in Michoacan. They got ticked off (more on that in a bit) and took matters into their own hands in a truly Mexican style.
If you read viva veracruz or blah...blah...blah... ginger!, you are familiar with one tactic of demonstrators in Mexico. You let the public know of your political pain by sharing it with them. Often by blocking traffic.
And that is exactly what the students did. After taking over their school, they hijacked a large water truck to block the entrance of their school. They then hijacked 29 buses (along with their drivers). And to gild their leftist credentials, they also seized four automobiles owned by multinational corporations.
How, you ask, do students get their hands on all of these vehicles? Simple. They placed barricades on the Morelia-Patzcuaro state highway. When the vehicles stopped, they seized them. The very scenario that scares the “let’s visit Mexico” thoughts out of tourists.
The situation was so bad, the bus lines stopped sending any buses into the area. For obvious reasons. And lots of car travelers simply decided to avoid the convenience of being stopped and asked for “donations.”
And what was it that the students wanted? What was it that drove them to their Pancho Villa impressions?
They had two demands: 1) They wanted the government to guarantee they would have jobs in the state educational system automatically upon finishing their studies; and 2), to grant scholarships for study at the college.
Assuming there is an argument for debasing teaching positions from a profession to a sinecure, and whether these students should be at of that system at all, it appears the students are captives of their history when choosing political tactics.
Michoacan has a revolutionary past. It is the home of a former Revolution-leading president who won the Stalin Peace Prize. It has also witnessed its share of narco-sponsored car and bus burnings.
But, if the students were truly interested in catching the sympathetic eye of the public, they should have learned some lessons from protesting Italian pharmacists.
In an attempt to modernize and liberalize Italian society, the Italian prime minister has proposed lowering the entry barriers for several professions -- including pharmacists. Those who have climbed the greasy pole are not happy about that.
And the pharmacists know how to manipulate Italian men of power. If the liberalizations are not withdrawn, the pharmacists intend to stop selling Viagra. Lysistrata updated.*
Why steal a bus when withholding a little blue pill is far more effective?
* -- I thank my brother for this press-stopping news from Rome.
That was the headline in a mid-March edition of The International Herald-Tribune.
For some reason, it reminded me of my niece being kicked off of her school bus the first day of kindergarten for telling the bus driver how to drive. It must be a family thing.
But it was not a story of disgruntled grade schoolers. These students were from the Vasco de Quiroga Rural Teachers College in Michoacan. They got ticked off (more on that in a bit) and took matters into their own hands in a truly Mexican style.
If you read viva veracruz or blah...blah...blah... ginger!, you are familiar with one tactic of demonstrators in Mexico. You let the public know of your political pain by sharing it with them. Often by blocking traffic.
And that is exactly what the students did. After taking over their school, they hijacked a large water truck to block the entrance of their school. They then hijacked 29 buses (along with their drivers). And to gild their leftist credentials, they also seized four automobiles owned by multinational corporations.
How, you ask, do students get their hands on all of these vehicles? Simple. They placed barricades on the Morelia-Patzcuaro state highway. When the vehicles stopped, they seized them. The very scenario that scares the “let’s visit Mexico” thoughts out of tourists.
The situation was so bad, the bus lines stopped sending any buses into the area. For obvious reasons. And lots of car travelers simply decided to avoid the convenience of being stopped and asked for “donations.”
And what was it that the students wanted? What was it that drove them to their Pancho Villa impressions?
They had two demands: 1) They wanted the government to guarantee they would have jobs in the state educational system automatically upon finishing their studies; and 2), to grant scholarships for study at the college.
Assuming there is an argument for debasing teaching positions from a profession to a sinecure, and whether these students should be at of that system at all, it appears the students are captives of their history when choosing political tactics.
Michoacan has a revolutionary past. It is the home of a former Revolution-leading president who won the Stalin Peace Prize. It has also witnessed its share of narco-sponsored car and bus burnings.
But, if the students were truly interested in catching the sympathetic eye of the public, they should have learned some lessons from protesting Italian pharmacists.
In an attempt to modernize and liberalize Italian society, the Italian prime minister has proposed lowering the entry barriers for several professions -- including pharmacists. Those who have climbed the greasy pole are not happy about that.
And the pharmacists know how to manipulate Italian men of power. If the liberalizations are not withdrawn, the pharmacists intend to stop selling Viagra. Lysistrata updated.*
Why steal a bus when withholding a little blue pill is far more effective?
* -- I thank my brother for this press-stopping news from Rome.
These students should all be shot.
ReplyDeleteI knew that Felipe would have the correct response to this situation. Sadly, at some point the "guaranteed job" will happen as more and more "collective" ideas become fashionable.
ReplyDeleteDo note that I did not say shot fatally. A good knee-capping, or something along that line, would be appropriate. And put a smile on my face.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking along the lines of suggesting they find new careers. The state of primary and secondary education is not going to be improved with teachers of this ilk.
ReplyDeleteThe myth of guaranteed outcomes always falls prey to the law of unintended consequences. Which is just another way of saying that talent does not excel where there is incentive to excel.
ReplyDeleteI would smile with an education system that equipped students to deal with realistic life and a republic that works.
ReplyDeleteI, of course, think it was pretty darn clever and creative of them to do what they did! They certainly got a lot of press and attention. Just as the pharmacists in Italy - boy I bet there are a lot of unhappy wives.....
ReplyDeleteThose Italians certainly are stand up and take notice people.
ReplyDeleteI say the locals should get together and seize their school. With the demand that none of them should ever be allowed to teach in any school whatsoever. The right to protest is important. A fundamental right of a democracy. Like any other 'right', abusing it just devalues it.
ReplyDeleteRoad blockades are not just a Mexican thing, I was on my way to visit Copan once when I ran into a protest over new electric lines(the protesters wanted more money to let the line go through their area), I was held up most of a 95 degree day. The military was out in full battle gear but did little more that look for shade.
ReplyDeleteBring back the days of rock salt, worked before...
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget Bolivia where even the Socialist government has been challenged by road blocks. That is the source of the photograph.
ReplyDeleteThat would be an interesting popular movement.
ReplyDeleteRemind me not to raise a placard in your neighborhood.
ReplyDelete