Yucatan Diary- Day 4
January 6, 2005
Merida, Yucatan
by Ben White
posted 01/11/05
Today is both three kings day and the 463rd anniversary of Merida´s founding, so the main square is gearing up for a major shindig. Kids are walking around with cheap glittery paper crowns and costumes to represent the three 'bad' kings that, I am told, skedaddled when Jesus was born. (Somehow we missed that part of the Christmas story when I was growing up.) A sound stage is up and they are testing big fuzzy bass notes at the moment, sort of like having one of those boombox cars go by the size of a church, or hearing the Maurice Ewing ramping up.
Speaking of my looming nemeisis, rumors abound. The press has caught fire with the subject now and apparently they just can´t get enough. Front page story of the Yucatan papers sold at one of the innumerable corner stands features a long story and picture of the Maurice Ewing (peaking out from all of the rows of bags of chips and lottery tickets). The article in the Por Esto from a couple of days ago has four pages in the middle on what the scientists say, what the government says, what our side says. Even carried the complete lists of dozens of international groups that have signed onto our statement opposing this seismic blasting of the Yucatan coast. Today they carried a picture of one of our Alerta fliers (designed and rushed by Bryn Barnard) tacked to a telephone pole. Mexican activists have long accused the press of being bought, and indeed there was a time when reporters routinely collected checks from politicians and labor union leaders for favorable treatment. But I find the Mexican press ten times more interested in environmental struggles than the North American press. (You don´t refer to the 'United States' down here because this is the United States of Mexico).
Some heavy hitters weighed in on our side in today´s Tribuna de Yucatan. (You know, the side of the earth, of life, of the good red road, the side of the greatest superpower on earth- the people not aligned with Bush). First was the Director of Fish for the Government of the State of Yucatan saying that the fishing activity for the entire fleet could be affected by the activities of the Ewing. Then, believe it or not, they asked Archbishop Emilio Carlos Berlie Balunzaran what he thought of the big tussle over the Ewing. He said that the position of the church was that all is well forever when we don´t cause harm to the natural eternal. He ended with 'Great is the importance of preserving the animals, and all that has life.' Couldn´t have said it better on behalf of the Church of the Earth.
So the effect that all of this press attention is having is to make those opposing the test speak up while those who have had the unfortunate position of approving it within both the US and Mexican governments appear to be scurrying for cover. The idea that we are all being asked to swallow by these really smart geophysicists and officials is that even though this is admittedly a huge amount of sound being pumped out for a long time into a living system, it will cause no damage. Just today, I got through to a friend of mine who works for Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Columbia University research arm that owns and operates the Ewing. She said that the difference in my position and theirs is that I think that there could very likely be severe damage and they don´t. So I asked if they think that there will even be light damage? They will not answer this one because they must keep the consistent line that it is harmless.
Today I went shopping- an activity I usually despise, connecting the thought of it with the dreaded mall. The back narrow market streets of Merida are like an ancient grimy open air run down mall with ten times more people, color, passion and real life: orange slice in plastic bags covered with chili sauce with a lime to squeeze over, carts full of dulces- flat pralines, rainbow colored blocks of coconut, and fruits made of marzipan. Oh, I guess I am just mentioning the food. There was also the lady with the beautifully (and expensively) embroidered huipil dress- flowers across the yoke against pure white cotton who also has a baseball size goiter growing from her eyebrow that has closed one eye. She hit me up when I first got here and I gave her 10 pesos. Now I see she is quite successful with gringos, going up to them and leaning in real close with a kindly grandmother´s smile. People can´t dig money out of their pockets fast enough. Then there is the skinny scruffy guy who appears to be either enlightened or totally nuts. He sports a pair of crimson sunglasses, a huge grin, and a double-A battery protruding from each hairy ear.
I went shopping for a big picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe made of wood that might hold up for a little while in the water. Took me about four blocks to find it. I am going to make sure with my Mexican colleagues that I am unlikely to offend folks by using her picture as my own shield and protection when I jump into the water in front of the Ewing. As the Mexican equivalent of Saint Francis or Quan Yin- the protector of all sentient life- it would seem appropriate. The power of the image in arousing powerful emotions of allegiance among those I am trying to reach is also not lost on me.
Usually when I travel, I try to cram my reading with stuff on the history of the country I am visiting. Right now I am reading two very opposite books. One is the History of the Alluxes, the mischievous gnomes of the Mayan who apparently loved to cause havoc among the Spanish in the seventeenth century here in Merida and across the Yucatan. They are all male, little guys made of mud, and really clever. You need to put crosses into your windows made of wood and huano - (the palm fronds the old houses are thatched with) and blessed with holy water to keep the little devils away when your town gets infested. Keep that in mind.
The other book is called Distant Neighbors and was published way back in 1986 about the government, economics, and social structure in Mexico. Early in the book, describing the national character of Mexican people author Alan Riding has the following description:
'Mexico´s mestizaje (racial mixture) began with the mating of Spanish men and Indian women, thus immediately injecting into the male-female relationship the concepts of betrayal by women and conquest, domination, force and even rape by men. Just as the conqueror could never fully trust the conquered, today´s macho must therefore brace himself against betrayal. Combining the Spaniard´s obsession with honor and the Indian´s humiliation at seeing his woman taken by force, Mexico´s peculiarly perverse form of machismo thus emerges: the Spaniard´s defense of honor becomes the Mexican´s defense of his fragile masculinity.
In practice, this takes the form of worship of the female ideal, exemplified by the image of the long-suffering, abnegated and 'pure' Virgin of Guadalupe and personified by each Mexican´s own mother, who is seen as the giver of life and therefore incapable of betrayal.'
Now when I first read this, I thought that the writer must be awfully negatively prejudiced toward the Mexican people in general and I almost put the book aside. But the rest of it is so balanced and apparently compassionate to Mexicans it makes me wonder if his theory is correct.
OK, here are the latest rumors:
- the expected start of the blasting appears to be pushed back at least two more days, from this Sunday the ninth to Tuesday the 11th. (Fine with me. If we get two days delay for each day that passes, we will be in great shape)
- the ship is stuck in Panama waiting for either permits or crew
-Several more documents must be completed with the government before the blasting can begin. (With the favorable press growing so does the number of documents they need. When was the last time you felt served by bureaucracy?)
- all authorities quoted are saying that apparently they do not have the resources (Or, I believe, the will) to stop this human shield (escudo humano) guy. One article about Semarnat- the Mexican office of Environmental stewardship- is entitled Lava Sus Manos which means Wash Their Hands: that in the conflict between the Yanqui boat and the Yanqui human shield, they were just washing their hands of it and not getting involved.
- It may be that just the presence of the boat and a dive flag- without someone actually in the water, will keep the Maurice Ewing from turning on their airguns. Maybe, but it will certainly take an initial dive to get their attention. I was also told that the Lamont Doherty are well aware of what I have in mind and will turn off their noisemaker if I get anywhere close.
So we are still hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I am feeling increasingly convinced that, through the resonance of our arguments with the Yucatecan people, we are going to beat this sucker, one way or another.
Goodbye all. Hasta mañana.
Now Merida beckons. Think I will get a cab like a bigshot across town and have a bowl of avocado soup at the Habichuela Restaurant. Hmmmm. Hope everyone sleeps well tonight knowing that the bad kings have split.
Love and Revolution,
Ben
Yucatan Diary Day 5 - Merida, Yucatan-by Ben White
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