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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-05-29, Page 5Is there any hope for Mexico? MEXICO CITY - To see the sadness in Mexico city one need only look into the eyes of the abandoned dogs who walk the streets, heads hung down, looking for a scrap of food to lick off the dirty pavement. Some were born with white fur coats, now grey -black from nights and days sleep- ing on the sidewalk. They often look at passersby in fear. Perhaps people in the same dire straits as the dogs have taken out their own grief on the mangy but inno- cent canines. The sadness is not only in the eyes of the abandoned animals. It is in the eyes of the poor: the starving or the overworked who inhabit this over -inhabited land. When 1 first came to Mexico 1 did the remarkably stupid thing of saying "Good morning," to a woman beg- ging on the street. As I gave her a peso, the frail old lady neither raised her head nor uttered a word. Good mom- ing? What could possibly be good for this weak and wea- ried woman, beaten down by poverty. A young girl washes her hair in a puddle on the street, her brother drinks from the same puddle. A father begs for money while one of his daughters look for lice in her sister's hair. Those who don't resort to begging, wash win- dows at intersections or sell chewing gum. Children in bare fect'do backflips and cartwheels and then ask for a peso. Other children dress like clowns, also hoping for a coin or tyro from a friendly motorist. Most drivers give nothing....they have lived in Mexico City for too long to he touched by the children's poverty. An infant boy sits alone on the narrow boulevard of a busy street as four lanes of traffic whiz by and his moth- er, ten or twenty metres away, asks for money. Men with guitars hop on buses to play music in the hope of earning a coin. People board buses and subways to sell gum, chocolate bars, oint- ments or crucifixes. If there's a way of making a peso, Guest • Column by Tim Cumming some Mexican has discov- ered it. Making a living in Mexico is a tough proposi- tion. There is no welfare sys- tem here, no unemployment insurance. For those who are not members of the privileged upper class, there is the need to work long days at several jobs. The poor need to eat...and sometimes have no choice but to beg. For those with money, there are lots of laughs and lots of diversions in this cosmopolitan urban centre. For the poor, taking a crowded bus ride to work early in the morning and a crowded bus ride home late at night, there are few smiles and fewer giggles. Sometimes, when you're working 12 or 14 hours a day, six or seven days a week, you're too tired to smile. It was not supposed to be this way. Under former Mexican president, Carlos Salinas, the people of Mexico bought First World dreams. With free trade and economic reforms, Mexicans looked forward to joining the elite developed nations. That ,was before the departure of Salinas in scandal, before the uprising by poor Indians in Chiapas and before the decline of the peso. Life might be almost unbearable for the poor in Mexico but life has -also become harder for the middle classes. Mexico City is a place where the people often drive big, expensive cars, wear dressy clothing and fre- quent cosmopolitan night. spots. But since the economic and political `crisis,' many middle or upper class Mexicans have had to give tip taking regular vacations, have had to pay off snow- balling debts using pesos which have crashed in value, and have had to hold down Bad weather stressed farmers BY JOHN GREIG SSP News Staff More cold and more rain this year have equalled more stress for farmers in Huron County. This year has been wetter' than any year• in recent memo- . ry said Godcrich-arca farmer Bill Jongcjan. Jongcjan farms about 500 acres and runs a hog farrow to finish operation as well as hcing the chairman of the,Crop insurance Commision of Ontario. He said, while no one is panicking. the repeated rain and the late arrival of spring have become a worry for fanners. At the Huron Research Station at Huron Park, there were 99.2 mm of rain during May. compared to a 16 -year average of 74.6 mm. May was also a poor month for _corn heat units with 147 units, compared to the 16 -year aver- age of 351. This year was looking promising for crop -growing farmers. "When we're looking at $6 corn, it increases the anxiety when there appears to be that pot of gold under the rain - how." Jongcjan said. The price of corn from last season reached $6.78 per hushcl on Monday. Corn hcing Nought on contract for the coming year was selling at $4.41 a bushel. Jongcjan is better off than most because he has all his corn planted. He's now wait- ing for the weather to improve so he can plant his soy bcan crop. North of Goderich, Ackim Stoecker, a cash crop farmer, had about 80 per cent of his corn planted last week. "In a way we're happy to have that much in," he said. :'But we're concerned that herbicides might he washed out." Most herbicides wash off of crops and into the ground if applied shortly before a rain- fall and before being absorbed, rendering them use- less. Most corn farmers hope to have corn in the ground before May 15. Jongejan said after May 15, experts say farmers will lose two to three bushels per acre and after May 20, four to five bushels per acre. Jongejan said the window of time in which wintcr whcat can be sprayed will close soon and that is causing concern among farmers. Some farmers have had to replant portions, or full fields of wintcr wheat due to kill over the winter. Winter wheat is planted in the fall. Some of those fields have been put into other crops, like corn. Farmers arc having to look at other hybrid corn seeds said Boh Humphries, agriculture representative at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs offices in Clinton. "The concern is if enough season is left to finish the planting," he said. Thc short planting season that is left will soon meet other seasons. "There could be a collision of corn planting, herbicide application and haylage." said Humphries. Some dairy farmers cut hay- lage to put in their silos in early lune. CONTINUED on page 15 several jobs. For many, Mak- ing do with much less is only part of this painful period in Mexican history....the Toss of hope hits much harder. Poverty is not the only image I have of Mexico. It is a modern city, with a clean and efficient subway system, beautiful parks, classy restau- rants, the most pleasant cli- mate in the world, elegant new movie theatres, some of the world's best museums and great malls. But it also a city with a ballooning popu- lations, massive environmen- tal problems and out -of -con- trol crime. The world let this metropol- itan area grow to 20 million people and it continues to grow. There is a public rela-` tions campaign to encourage young Mexicans to wait to have babies or to have small- er families. But it is too little, too late. For Canadians, seemingly far away from this developing country, the Mexican crisis may seem like somebody else's problem. But as long as the world lets the overwhelmed (and unin- spired) Mexican government operate in a vacuum, the Mexican problem threatens the world's environment, the safety of Canadian tourists, the supply of water in North America and the safety of anyone who lives near the U.S.-Mexico border., Many people in this south- eni country resent popular. misconceptions of Mexicans as a backward rural people, sitting under sombreros in the hot sun. Certainly Mexico City resembles Toronto or Hamilton more than it repre- sents those prejudicial images from the mass media. In fact, some of those quaint images have very little to do with 'this modem city. At its best, Mexico is contemporary and cosmopolitan, with all the services of a First World nation. At its worst, it is bur- dened with poverty, crime and an increasing population which poses a threat for this city's future. Is there hope for Mexico? Ironically, many people in Canada and the United States fear that Mexico will benefit from free trade, and use its low-wage' advantage at the expense of the other coun- tries. Mexicans are not so convinced that NAFTA has been to their advantage. In the eyes of Mexico, the U.S. idea of free trade has certain- ly not been fair trade. It is hard for the Mexican people to hope....the last time they hoped, their dreams were crushed. This is a wonderful, beauti- ful city. Canadians have gen- erally done very little to dis- cover their North American partner. This is a beautiful country with much to offer...but the challenges to Mexico City are great. Many Mexicans hold little hope for economic growth or political reform...but both are much needed in the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world. It is ironic that Canadians and Mexicans are both trade partners and strangers. Canadians can help make some of the much needed changes by taking an interest in this wonderful city and wonderful country. There is hope....but that hope must be tempered by sonic very real fears. Tim Cumming is a former Seaforth resident and past editor of The Huron Expositor. He is currently a visiting instructor of jour- nalism at the intercontinental University (Universidad Intercontinental) in Mexico City. Crime Stoppers The Zurich dental clinic was broken into on May 14. Among the items stolen were a Canon photocopier, Panasonic laser printer, Roland dot matrix printer, Sanyo portable telephone, Holmes space heater and a JVC tuner , tape and CD player. **** Sometime around May 6, a grey laptop computer' was stolen from Radio Shack in Exeter. The computer was a Zenith Z -Star EX 75 MHZ (model ZPJ-9845-K2)! This unit cannot be used as a portable unless it has a specialized battery pack with it. A residence on Conc. 5, Tuckersmith Twp., RR#2, Seaforth, was broken into sometime between Apr. 28 and May 2. Thc thief stole a quantity of jewellery, including 11 pairs of earrings, several lapel pins, gold. necklaces, a charm bracelet, pearl necklaces, three rings, a Chinese' gold chain and a Royal Dalton figurine. On May 5, a lot of the jewllery was found along the Bayfield River and in the ditch in the vicinity of the break-in. • TH2 HURON IXPO$$ITOR, May 29, 1929-5 Phone crooks return Goderich Police remind the public to beware of sending money for items they have not specifically ordered... ... particularly when it's an item they've supposedly 'won'. Goderich Police Acting Sgt. Peter Mason said a local resident was "called by someone claiming to represent a company called Nordic Alliance. The victim was told she had won a large prize, and was asked to send $600 to cover shipping costs. She was later phoned by someone who claimed to represent a company called Premium Choice, and told she would have to send a further $2,000 to a numbered company in Quebec. She became suspicious when she attempted to call Call Dave or Gregor with your news tips at 527-0240 the numbered company and received no answer. "We're actively investigating Nordic Alliance for fraud," says OPP Det. Staff -Sgt. Barry Elliott, who works with Project Phonebusters. "And we wouldn't recommend that anybody send these people 10 cents, based on the promise of a prize." So far, Project Phonebusters has received 61 complaints about Nordic Alliance, he said. The first was in March '96, and the latest was reported Monday (May 27). There have been 52 attempts and nine victims. Premium Choice appears to be newer, but Project Phonebusters is also aware of them, Elliott added. 11111911111111... McLaughlin Chev-Olds Ltd. 13 Main St. Seaforth. 527-1140 •Service 'Selection •Savings •Satisfaction •Leasing Complete BODY SHOP Service DENNIS FISCHER CONSTRUCTION •Custom Homes •Additions *Drywall •Renovations *Agricultural •Cement World *Aluminum Work *Roofing *Trim Call 519-348-9719 - Today! 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