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Era of Crises and Global Entanglements

• In the 1980s, Mexico faced acute challenges due to debt crisis and the 1985 earthquake
• Civil society emerged as a powerful force when the government failed to respond adequately after the earthquake
• Neighborhood associations, women's groups, and other popular organizations assisted in community rebuilding
• Emblematic of community organizing was Superbarrio, who dressed as a superhero to pressure the government, and invigorate local residents
• Political assassinations and corruption after the earthquake led to divisions within the PRI
• Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and leaders founded the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution)
• The Zapatista movement emerged in the 1990s to confront inequities in Chiapas and protest NAFTA
• Popular participation increased as PRI hegemony declined and the PRD took control in Mexico City
• Post PRI presidential loss, economic issues, drug wars, and dark forces created obstacles for Mexicans, who responded with resilience
• Mexico City, with 21.2 million inhabitants, had killings, kidnappings, corruption, and drug cartels
• Women played an impressive role in commerce, heading 80% of street vendor organizations
• They dominated the informal economic sector, producing nearly 25% of GDP
• Commercial associations sought government permissions to sell merchandise in street markets
• Wholesalers in Tepito and La Merced supplied the markets
• The largest street vendor organization is the Asociación Legítima Cívica Comercial, founded in 1982 and run by Alejandra Barrios

Social Issues and Inequality

• Street vendors face threats of corruption and crime, but have collective backing
• Mexico City's domestic workers face verbal, physical, and sexual abuse
• Many domestic workers have been accused of stealing or dismissed unfairly, lacking health benefits and minimum wage
• Attempts to unionize domestic workers face challenges
• Despite legislation mandating gender parity in electoral candidacies, gender inequality persists
• Women hold 31.7% of political posts, 43% of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 36.7% in the Senate
• Women exceeded parity in education
• Almost 50% of the population lives in poverty, earning less than $14 per day due to poor infrastructure, inefficient bureaucracy, and corruption
• Twelve million people work in the black market economy without social security or health benefits
• 25% percent of the adult population were underemployed, while another 10% percent were unemployed

Population and Urbanization

• In 2017, Mexico's population soared to 130 million, with 75% percent living in urban areas
• Mexico City's metropolitan area swelled to over 21 million by 2015, covering 779 square miles
• The capital became less uniquely Mexican and more like New York, Paris, or London
• Those who preferred colonialism suggested the capital's charm would be lost as each structure tore down

Pollution and Transportation

• Since the 1980s, Mexico City had acute traffic and smog problems
• In 2005, a rapid transit bus line was inaugurated on Avenida Insurgentes to relieve congestion
• Under Marcelo Ebrard, more Metrobus lines were added, reaching a total of five
• Subways and buses carried ~15 million people daily
• In 2010, Ebrard created a bike-sharing program called Ecobici
• By 2015, Ecobici expanded to include 440 bicycle stations, 6,000 bicycles, and 100,000 users
• Ecobici contributed to reducing pollution and offered exercise opportunities, with 5,000 trips a day in 35 square kilometers
• Mexico City has decreased its greenhouse gas emissions under PRD control, but pollution remains a problem
• In 2016, city officials declared ozone alerts and restricted automobile usage
• However, in 2017, over 3.5 million automobiles traveled the crowded streets daily
• Huge working-class housing projects in Mexico City brought many thousands together into closer proximity than imagined

Crime

• Mexico City robberies averaged 242 daily, with 13 murders daily in 1988
• Crime rates declined under PRD management
• By 2010, the murder rate decreased by 26%, amounting to 25% of Washington, DC's murder rate
• Homicide rates in Mexico City remain low, though kidnapping and extortion are still a problem
• Mexico's homicides with firearms escalated nationally, attributable primarily to organized crime in 2016
• Mexico City dominates the country, with 50 % of it's industries and over 70% of daily banking transactions

Regional Resentment and Pollution Concerns

• Provincial Mexicans resent centralism and perceived arrogance from Mexico City residents, coining the derogatory term "chilango"
• Provincial capitals experienced homogeneity due to technological influence
• Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Ciudad Juárez faced pollution issues
• León, Guanajuato residents worried when thousands of birds died after drinking contaminated water from a reservoir in 1995
• Tests revealed that human sewage had turned the reservoir into an incubator for botulism bacteria

Ecological Disasters and Water Issues

• Loggers killed 22 million migrating monarch butterflies in Michoacán in an ecological disaster
• They reasoned that without butterflies, the protected forest would be repurposed
• Since the 1990s, Mexico has seen the growth of environmental reform groups
• The movement is strongest in Mexico City and the border area
• Cuatro Ciénegas in northern Mexico, is under threat from stock breeders and tourists
• 10% percent of the border population lacked potable water in 2009, and ~ 33% had no access to wastewater treatment
• Air, water, and soils are heavily contaminated by pollution, pesticides, and raw sewage
• Mexico City faces water issues; it is always short of water and continues to drill wells
• The volume of water pumped from aquifers causes sinking at an average of 7 cm. per year
• Climate change exacerbates the problem, producing evaporation and mounting demand for water
• The dilemma is whether to tap distant reservoirs at high costs or further drain underground aquifers
• Leakage and pilfering cause the loss of ~ 40% of its water

Water Inequity and Canals

• Water is most acutely felt in slums outside the city
• Some people get tap water only once a week and must have it brought in on trucks, who pay more than middle class consumers
• The effects of pumping water are visible at Xochimilco
• Farmers grow crops on dwindling chinampa wetlands, tourists picnic on trajineras, and in 2017 a large hole opened in the canal bed
• Sewage divers dredge all manner of waste from sewers that block, collecting thirteen thousand metric tons of garbage
• Mexico City's grand canal (completed in the late 19th century) is now inadequate

Education and Literacy

• One had to travel to a smaller village to escape city noises
• The great majority of rural children were in school, but many schools had fewer than six grades and only one teacher
• These schools lacked the basic elements to function
• Rural schools still lack quality math and science education, resulting in high dropout rates
• Mexico's overall adult literacy had grown to 95% by 2015, but indigenous literacy lagged behind
• About 6.7 million Mexicans still speak their native tongues

Leisure and Transformation

• Significant governing changes for Mexico City are visible in massive construction projects, rebranding the city in pink, and tourist facilities multiplying. "
• The New York Times named Mexico City the number one tourist destination of 2016
• Open-top buses ferry tourists to museums, public plazas, and other attractions
• Lucha libre has added a night at the Arena de México
• Festivals celebrate religious and civic themes including saints' days, Día de los Muertos, and patriotic holidays
• Día de Muertos's procession travelled toward the Zócalo after the Spectre film, mixing cultural traditions
• While much Mexican rock started unashamedly derivative it eventually developed distinctive expression, crossing multiple musical traditions

Cultural and Artistic Identity

• Popular singers like Thalía, Luis Miguel, Paulina Rubio, Gloria Trevi and Julieta Venegas are known outside of Mexico, in part because of network exposure
• Lila Downs, an award-winning singer/songwriter, incorporates indigenous Mexican influences into her music
• Musica norteña is prized across borders, popularized by Tucanes de Tijuana and Los Tigres del Norte
• 2012 marked the death of Mexican music legend Chavela Vargas
• Juan Gabriel, whose popular music was genre crossing, died in 2016 was known as JuanGa,
• Mexico is known the world over for its filmmakers and actors, even if big screen film production in Mexico itself has somewhat subsided
• The 1990s saw a resurgence in Mexican film, known internationally as the new wave
• The Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE) provided support for movies
• Known as the "Tres Amigos", directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu helped with production

Cinema, Film and Satire

• After success in Mexico, Cuarón and Iñárritu directed films in international contexts such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Cuarón returned in 2017 with a family drama, Roma
• A particular favorite was the 2013 Nosotros los Nobles which features a family forced to live without riches
• Netflix are growing in Mexico, and Televisa launched BLIM in 2016 for the Latin American market
• Angélica Rivera got her start as an actor in telenovelas
• Televisa dominated Mexican television for decades, but finally got a rival when TV Azteca was privatized in 1993
• The Internet has been eagerly embraced in Mexico which reached approx 60mil Users in 2016 Video games are popular, many preferring to pay out half their leisure time