Stripping in fury in Mexico City: Farmers again employ Full Monty as pressure tactic
It’s spring, which alway means that… a peasant’s thoughts turned to protesting naked in downtown Mexico City. Aagghhhh…my eyes….
Yep, just like death and taxes, these naked protesters arrive in spring and fall, to the collective dismay of those forced to gaze upon the “glory” of their manhood. These folks seem to have this process encoded in their DNA (like swallows returning to Capistrano), for they arrive consistently, year in and year out, unbidden but unburdened by convention or cotton. I can almost hear the plaintive cries of the populace: “For God’s sake, give them what they want…give them ANYTHING that will get them to put their shorts back on, willya??? Dios mio!!”
Of course, when you’re poor and lacking anything resembling political power, I suppose this is the sort of thing that can happen. After all, how else is a poor peasant supposed to attract any attention? Besides, it sure saves on the dry cleaning, eh?
MEXICO CITY - Ah, springtime in Mexico’s crowded, chaotic and captivating capital.
Blooming jacaranda trees cloak the city in a regal purple. Steady breezes send kites aloft. Sunny afternoons and balmy evenings pull people to sidewalk cafes.
Hundreds of naked peasants parade in protest along the boulevards.
Well, I suppose this does make more sense than doing the same thing in Chicago in January.
As much as anything, the fanny-flashing farmers, their wives and children have come to signal impending summer. They arrive like clockwork each year just before the planting and again in the fall, once the harvest is in.
Members of a movement from the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz called the 400 Villages, the protesters strip with regularity, their nakedness stressing demands that the government resolve a long-running land dispute.
“We are asking for justice,” said Alfonsina Sandoval, 54, a leader of the women who disrobe. “Undressing ourselves is an act of desperation and helplessness. We don’t know what else to do to get their attention.”
It takes a lot to stand out among angry Mexican masses.
Hundreds of demonstrations snare Mexico City’s traffic each year. And unresolved land disputes are as common as cactus in the countryside, running into the many thousands.
Given the sorry state of Mexican politics and the economy, more and more poeple are finding it more and more difficult to attract attention for their particular cause. It almost seems as if everyone has a gripe about something, so attracting attention becomes an exercise in becoming increasingly outrageous. And it’s sure a helluva lot more entertaining than Texas politics, eh? Not that any of us would really want to see Carole Keeton Strayhorn (or Kinky Friedman) naked. Ewww….
