I'm from Mexico City and lived in the U.S. for a total of more than 24 years. Now I'm back in Mexico. I realized I was seeing my country through the eyes of a native stranger. This is an attempt to process the differences, to explain Mexico to the U.S. and the U.S. to Mexico. With digressions along the way.

lunes, enero 10, 2005

Budget Blues

So...the battle for the budget between the president and the "Cámara de Diputados" (the equivalent of the House of Representatives) continues. There was a hilarious skit on El Privilegio de Mandar where Fox (who in the show is not the president but the head of the "Colonia el Relaxo (con equis)") and the "diputados" do a little musical number to fight over the budget. Kind of like a Mexican version of rapping, I guess...it's music from Guadalajara, and they sing in "décimas," a type of verse, taking turns to take down the opponent.
What's really bizarre, something I don't think you'd ever see in the U.S., is that the Cámara de Diputados has put out magazine and TV ads attacking Fox's revisions to the budget (President Fox doesn't want such and such roads to be built in such and such states, he wants to take money away from such and such, etc.). It's the type of thing you see in the U.S. come election time between parties...but here it's happening between different branches of the federal government!

2 Comments:

Blogger Transeúnte said...

Well..... its Mexico.. everything is possible Here...

you forgot to say, that Mexican Society has been really Hard with critics versus Mexican goverment... they say.."In FOX goverment NOTHINGS HAPPENS" this means That Fox was a Lazy President and weak... But The presidential State use this "sloggan" in TV announcements to say "You can say whatever you want, this is FREE, the press liberty Exists, you can express yourself and make several critics versus the goverment" and all those thins is Because in Mexico Everyyear the presidentes in front of la camara de diputados and Senadores Gives and Anual Inform that calls "informe de Gobierno" He read a long documents and its supose he have to say all the good stuffs that his goverments made in the past year... Well last year in the Informe de Gobierno Fox was booed for All the people, he was shut up like 70 times by the opositors congressman... well that was really shame, never in the story in Mexico this was happend. people say because the other polit force who was in the power for 75 years (PRI) handle the power and the political situation and when something didnt like for the interest of theyselves. they send to Kill every people who they consider political treathens for example in the year of 1968 there were a manifestation of the students of University there was a BIG movements so the Goverment of Lopez Portillo sent to Kill over 10.000 students... they just desapear... nobody knows nothings but 10 years laters they start to apears in Rivers the dead bodys, actually a comission for the camara de diputados is making a research about all those cases and the files are opens right now..

well...... i think this is Boring, sorry this is Something of "Black" history of my Mexico Lindo y Querido...

Greetings Nayeli, i like this Blog TOO much! and sorry for my English I learned watching TV and listen Music. jejeje..

Bye

3:31 p.m.

 
Blogger Nayeli said...

Oh yeah...pleeeenty of darkness in Mexico's history. It's true that you can speak out more against the government now, but it's nowhere near the claims Fox makes in the commercials you mention, where he says there is complete transparency and freedom of speech. I think it's becoming more like the U.S.--invisible control.
No te escuses por tu inglés, está muy bien, ¡especialmente para haberlo aprendido en la tele! La verdad es que mi intención era escribir todo en los dos idiomas, pero me falta el tiempo. Algunas cosas que menciono creo que serían interesantes aún para mexicanos....

3:58 p.m.

 

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