Well, I'm back in Canada, so I'm going to stop posting about my travel experiences. But before I wrap up the blog, I thought I'd add a few final reflections on Mexico.
We've visited Mexico 3 times prior to this trip. The first time was 17 years ago, on our way to and from a longer trip in Central America. The second time was about 10 years ago, when we spent Christmas with family at an all inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. The last time was 4 years ago, on a 2 week trip to Morelia where we stayed with a family and studied Spanish before traveling through the state of Michoacan by bus.
Our experience of Mexico was quite different on each trip. I think that this was partly because we were travelling in such different ways each time: your experience of travelling on the cheap is not going to be the same as when you're flying into a resort. But despite my relative unfamiliarity with Mexico, I think that part of the differences are due to changes over time.
Some things remain the same. Horses and burros are commonly used in rural areas for drawing carts and hauling goods. We even saw an ox cart in the countryside near Oaxaca City on this trip. There is a vibrant cultural life ranging from traditional indigenous crafts and music to avante-garde art, photography, and dance. There is a lot of obvious poverty but also a lot of obvious wealth, not only in the form of big beautiful houses, but also fancy SUVs, despite the fact that both cars and gas are purchased at world prices and are therefore relatively much more expensive in Mexico than they are at home.
But Mexico is a North American country. Twenty years ago that meant the occasional McDonald's or Burger King. Today it means Walmart, ubiquitous OXXO stores (think 7-11), as well as Bodega Aurrera, Chedurai, and other Mexican big box stores. There's even a chain called "Suburbia" and another called (in English) "The Italian Coffee Company" to mimic Starbucks. Middle class Mexicans want to live the North American dream.
I wonder what effect that this change is having, and will have on the many Mexicans who live rural lives or just close to the edge financially. How can you make your living selling goods in a weekly market when your prices for clothes pins or pots can be undersold by a Walmart in a nearby city or even neighbourhood?
And I also wonder about the country's future. Despite alarmist reporting in the Canadian media, Mexico is not one huge drug war shootout in progress. We even drove through Cuidad Juarez without incident. But the talkative Mexican owner of the hostel where we stayed for more than a week summed up the problem very succinctly. Oil and gas revenues are an important part of the Mexican economy and bring in 25-30 billion US dollars each year. Drugs generate $40 billion. Mexico faces a huge challenge.
