Septiembre, Mes de la Patria
I heard this slogan hundreds of times while I was growing up… “Septiembre, mes de la patria” (september, month of the homeland). TV and radio spots would highlight the fact that the Mexican Independence Day was coming up (September 16th). Everywhere you went, you’d see booths where flags and other Mexican memorabilia would be sold.
My parents live about 30 minutes away from Guanajuato, where the Mexican Independence’s biggest battle was fought. While the Independence was declared late at night on September 15th and in Dolores Hidalgo (about an hour by car from Guanajuato), most accounts focus on the battles taking place in the city of Guanajuato.
I grew up immersed in this patriotism, and was always excited because my birthday was so close to the Mexican Independence Day. Interestingly enough, I have felt for a long while now that this sense of nationalism has been fading. Mexican culture is rather complex and I can’t say that I’m an expert, but I’ve been feeling this sense of a massive exodus since a few years now.
Immigration, and transnational migration are topics that I’m interested in and that affect me, but they’re not at the core of what my research and writing interests are. However, given that I’ve spent a few weeks in Mexico now, I can speak to the sense I have that many, many Mexicans want to leave their country. And that’s a bit sad, in my view, as it seems like a sign of fading nationalism.
Another reason for this apparent fading nationalism is a sense of disempowerment and lack of trust in the Mexican government. I was reading some statistics from a poll by the nation-wide newspaper Reforma, whereby the rate of approval of President Calderon went down 2 points in the past year (reaching 62%) and the credibility of his messages went down from 54% in September 2007 to 44% in September 2008 (Periódico Reforma, p. 10, Encuesta Reforma: Séptima Evaluación del Presidente Felipe Calderón). I have been feeling a sense of desperation in Mexican society that may be leading to a massive exodus.
However, there are many people that are hopeful and that just keep going and working really hard IN Mexico. I was talking to a cleaning shoe man last night, and he said that while business had gone down, he was really happy that he was still finding work. He mentioned that he noticed how for many people, making enough money to put food on the table was more important than having their shoes cleaned. Yet, he still was hopeful and working hard at it.
There are many wonderful things about Mexico, and I’m very happy to be here now, and I’ll be happy to be back in Canada too. I can navigate both worlds and feel at home in both countries. And although I’ll be away from Mexico on Independence Day, I plan to celebrate in Vancouver. If I were in Mexico on July 1st, you can bet I’d be celebrating too! 
And I am also sure I’ll find ways to help Mexican society from wherever I am.
Related posts:
Hi, Raul,
Re: “Another reason for this apparent fading nationalism is a sense of disempowerment and lack of trust in the Mexican government. I was reading some statistics from a poll by the nation-wide newspaper Reforma, whereby the rate of approval of President Calderon went down 2 points in the past year (reaching 62%) and the credibility of his messages went down from 54% in September 2007 to 44% in September 2008 (Periódico Reforma, p. 10, Encuesta Reforma: Séptima Evaluación del Presidente Felipe Calderón).”
You’re young. I’m old. (I know, people hate to be told that, but it speaks to my perspective on today’s issues.)
I was surprised by the high approval rating. In my years in Mexico, ending in the late 1970s, there was an almost universal cynicism about any public official, from the President on down. And I was seeing that from close up; I spoke with two of the presidents of my time, toured with a president’s wife, (one day only), knew the members of my state legislature personally. No-one trusted them, so far as I knew.
I was there during the student uprising in the late 60s, when there were tanks on our street, protecting the American embassy. I have seen the marchers on San Juan de Letran, sidewalk to sidewalk, blocks long. I have been part of the crowd that hijacked buses to take us home from UNAM. We were not happy campers then, either.
Sure, people talked about going somewhere else, anywhere else, anywhere the living would be easier. But somehow, it was never possible, and most people hunker down, attend to their families, and wait it out.
I remember the ‘68 Olympics, when a Mexican (Yaqui?) won the marathon. I still hold the image of him doggedly plowing on, up to the finish line. He epitomizes the Mexican people for me. Incredible staying power.
I’m reading this late (almost declared Google Reader bankruptcy!), but wanted to get your opinion on what I’ve heard regarding Mexican history. You are obviously more of an expert than me. Could part of the apathy towards the independence celebrations be that this is just a portion of your history? I have seen it stressed numerous times that while the Canada and the US are largely populated by immigrants and the history to most is largely that which occurred since that immigration, especially since until then their was not a unifying culture/government and so any native history tends to be regionalized. However, for Mexico the history is very rich, stretching back to cultures that unified large portions of Mexico before the Europeans arrived and including since then rule by several different cultures and nations; making the most recent independence fight not something that caused the nation to be created, but rather just another item in the long, rich history of the country?
I’ve seen this expressed better, but I hope you get my meaning. Do you think that could be a contributing factor?
@ Susannah – True, maybe before people didn’t think it would be so easy to get out. Not sure what else it is. But right now I can even *feel* it. It’s so prevalent. I am back in Vancouver after a few weeks in Mexico and I hear lots of Mexicans speaking about how they want to stay here (I commute by bus, so that’s why I hear all these conversations). Not sure what to make of it.
@ Gregg – It may also be a factor, the fact that Independence is only a minimal part of hour history. I have actually heard that people reference more the Mexican revolution than the Independence. It’s certainly something to consider.