WHY MEXICO CHAPTER 2

Why so many “Nacos” show contempt toward “Indians”? Why so many “Indians” deny being “Nacos”? What is the “Cosmic Race?

INVOLVEMENT OF NATIVE POST-CONQUEST SUBCULTURES IN MEXICAN CULTURE

   Mexicans who place themselves belonging to the upper class (not necessarily rich and white Mexicans) name as “Naco” an uneducated and nasty person, such adjective implies also that the so named has pre-Hispanic background, therefore the word becomes a double offence that no one accepts nicely.

   This weird sensitive issue is just an example of the polarization of racial values implemented by means of a tortuous and degrading process, decided and led by conquerors and their heir, beginning the XVI century.

   When the Natives were conquered they lost family, gods, belongings and sense of life. And many became drunks who wandered displaying a despicable presence. Such was the image the first Spanish settlers got of them.

   The newcomers, builders, carpenters, scribes, school teachers, bookkeepers, prostitutes and adventurers, concluded at once that the sinners, devil worshippers that the Natives were, deserved nothing more.

   The Natives who join the conquerors militia or served the Spaniards as peasants or servants, gave a contrasting image; they, struggle to survive doing their best to mingle, and so, a lot of them found it useful to look down on the other “Indians”.

   To label all natives as ignorant, not worthy of trust, deceivers, and despicable people, was easy for the ones who took advantage of free servants to work in the confiscated lands or to provide domestic and sexual services, in exchange of keeping them as faithful followers of the “true religion”.

   The Indians of poor communities far from big cities and villages, were labeled just the same, although the Spaniards did not find them worthy to be invaded nor subject to slavery. They just were forced to accept the presence of missioners, convert themselves to the new religion, and built churches or small chapels.

   Through time some of those settlements acquired importance, although most of them remained isolated and out of all government plans.

   After the Independence the subsequent governments have implemented numerous plans to better Natives life in order to pay “a historical debt”. Yet, no matter of the undoubted good faith inspiring such plans, the recurrent output have been that of making Native communities' poverty now depending of the world's economic crises.

   One of those ideas was that of sending native children to study in Europe. Replicating the lightness of the French queen Marie Antoinette, when she suggested to give pastries to the ones demanding bread. Though Mexican politicians do not have the excuse the French queen had, of being born in another country.

   The conclusion I saw while studying all this, is, the Native Post-Conquest sub-cultures do exist thanks to their resilience, and that most intents to integrate them to modern Mexico’s culture, have caused negative effects.

      

FUTURE OF NATIVE POST-CONQUEST SUBCULTURES

   Writing this section was really wearing, since I didn’t find any way of being optimistic.

   Up to now, the objectives of the plans to integrate Natives has not been clearly defined, and the usual output is encouraging the young to emigrate.

   Nowadays it looks like the Mexican government will try different approaches to benefit Natives communities. Though it remains the risk that the new attempts follow the old idea that the "Indians" need integration. When what they need is to recover their means of economic independence

   To integrate the Natives means to make them stop being what they are. That is indeed a major problem since it implies the extinction of their culture.

Integration puts on the table a moral dilemma.

   Is it fair to offer “integration” to the Indians who only fifty years ago hunted in their mountains, seeded their lands, fished in their rivers and lakes, and used to sell their products and handcrafts in big towns and cities?

   Unfortunately it seems to be no other options, since all Natives communities have lost their sustaining means because of government policies that have caused the displacement of their agriculture products and hands-crafts, by other countries merchandise.

   Baskets and furniture made of wicker now come from China made of bamboo, mud pottery come from Taiwan, and shawls come from Korea. Kiwis replaced Tunas (prickly pears), lichis to jinicuiles, and blue-berries to capulines. And lot of their craftsmanship’s supplies are now imported.

   On top of that, government plans drained their lakes, polluted their rivers, stole their water springs to serve big cities, and flooded their hunting grounds. Consequently, many endemic species extinguished, and lots of lands deforested.

   To give to the Prehispanic-native subcultures a better future, needs plans designed to serve them, and that the federal government does not take decisions that are of the Natives to take.  

   New plans must include as a prime goal, to return to Native communities what was theirs. Additionally, must provide highways, water, electricity, Internet access, and health services.

   It is very important to recover Mexican culture most important root, because Mexico needs it, not to "pay a historical debt".

    I mentioned before that my intent was not convincing anybody about anything. Yet, I realized that saying that Mexicans need to recover their cultural roots, commits me to elaborate in more detail, more over when most Mexicans do not even realize that they lost it.

   To begin with, cultural roots provide spirituality, and blood gives DNA. Meaning that anyone with the right attitude, if exposed long enough to Mexican culture, may well get pre-Hispanic cultural roots, no matter the DNA.

   Mexican’s spirituality has many sources. That fact grants the possibility of disregarding some. What you can not prevent is the lack of sense of appurtenance that suffer those who are not proud of all his nation's cultural roots.

   Mexican’s culture has Native, Spanish and African roots; Also those of the pre-historic Asian immigrants. Through yet not explained events, Inca, Olmeca and Mayan roots, manage to be present in most Mexicans’ DNA and spirituality. Africa contributed trough inscrutable yet transcendent ways, since it is the region where man have contemplated the stars the longest. Europeans' roots, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, are present in Mexican culture through the Spaniards.

   The existence of so many cultural roots, gave Jose Vasconcelos the idea of naming "Cosmic Race" the race Mexicans belong to.

   Pitifully, without the Native cultural roots the Cosmic Race does not exist, so, for Mexicans to have a solid spirituality, it is urgent to rescue the Native Indians-subcultures.