The street that we live on never sleeps, it seems. A variety of activities (and oh the noise!) fill the street beginning at around 9am in the morning till about 3am the next day. If it isn’t the Callejonada that makes its way several times up & down and around the block (see Christina and Bekah’s post), it would be some random organization like the organic chemistry association reunion from a local university or a beauty pageant or the big-bad-spankin’-new-muffler club that would find a reason to parade ever so loudly on this street. Avenida Hidalgo has been a stage of sorts… a platform where it’s ok to put on a show. Earlier this week, however, the parade was of a different kind. A huge group of protesters marched down the avenida to express their displeasure towards the current National and State administrations. Miners, teachers and concerned citizens alike united to become a megaphone of demand for change in light of the up-coming senatorial election. They were loud and did not hold anything back. Ever since Mexico’s long-time ruling political party, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), lost control of the lower legislative house in 1997 and the presidency in 2000, there has been chaos and instability in the government. As a consequence, there has been a void of sound leadership among the Mexican people. According to one of our participants, “the government has no credibility. It looks like a democracy, but it isn’t. People see the government as a show.”
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