Mexican education

April 9, 2013

Mexico's constitution is long -- 136 articles -- and goes into great detail. Article 1 states  who and what are subject to the authority and protection of the constitution, shows respect for human rights and international treaties, and prohibits slavery. Article 2 recognizes the indivisible nature of the nation, its multiethnic nature, the rights of indigenous peoples' social, economic, political and cultural organization. Right on the heels comes Article 3, which states that the government will provide free and obligatory education that instills national and patriotic pride, democratic ideals, without association with any religion.

Being included in the nation's constitution makes education a federal government responsibility. This is very different from the U.S. where the constitution does not even mention education.  The original 1917 version of Mexico's constitution made education free and obligatory through sixth grade.  In the 1990's that was extended to ninth grade.  In the early 2000's a tenth grade was added at the beginning of a child's educational program -- preschool.

2013 brings its own constitutional change in education.  President Peña Nieto sent the Constitutional amendment to congress in December 2012. Known as the Educational Reform, the bill was approved by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.  Since it involved changes in Article 3 of the Constitution it was then sent to the state chambers of deputies for the required approval by two thirds of the state legislatures.  It was ratified as a constitutional amendment that went into effect on February 25, within the first hundred days of the new administration!

The rules that will be used to implement the new law have yet to be written.  Although the basic structure of the educational system will remain the same, the new guidelines require that public school teachers pass an evaluation by an autonomous institution that will be set up for that purpose.  Will those that do not pass be laid off?  Or will they be retrained?  That is yet to be determined.

The Educational Reform requires that a census of teachers employed by the federal government be carried out.  There are over a million teachers affiliated to the teacher's union -- the largest labor union in Latin America.  However, there is no accurate count of the teachers employed by the federal government nor is there a census of public schools or a rating of the quality of the buildings, supplies, and installations. It will no longer be the teachers' union that will evaluate the competence of public school teachers. Under the new rules principals are expected to have discretionary control over spending taking into account each school's needs. 

As with any change, the Educational Reform has generated discontent in sections of the teacher's union (SNTE), especially in the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca where teachers have been blocking traffic on major highways as a way of demonstrating opposition to the changes.

Although children's test scores do not compare well with their peers in other countries, the textbooks used in Mexican schools do receive kudos. All schools, be they public or private, are required to use the federally issued Libro de Texto Gratuito (Free Textbook) series in grades 1 through 6.  The whole country is moving through the textbook series at the same pace. The exceptions would be classes in bilingual classrooms for Indigenous children.  Lesson plans, tests, and examinations are all included in the free textbook series.  Teachers using the series are much like technicians following pre-designed instructions.  

In grades 7 through 9 -- known as first, second, and third years of "secundaria" --schools have some leeway in choosing their textbooks, however they must be chosen from among those approved by the Secretariat of Public Education.

In grades 10 through 12 -- first, second, and third years of "preparatoria" -- Mexican students start specializing.  They may choose a professional track leading to college or attend technical, vocational, nursing, or normal schools.  In English, the term "normal school" isn't used much any more, but in Mexico it is the designated term for teachers training schools.  Until the 1990's graduates of normal schools with a twelfth grade education entered the labor market with a teachers' certificate for grades 1 through 6.  Now they are required to also complete a three-year licenciatura (bachelor's degree) program concurrently with their first years of teaching.

Normal schools are scattered throughout the country.  Many are boarding schools located in rural areas where they constitute the only institution of higher learning for miles around.  Although they offer students full scholarships including room and board on campus they are on extremely restricted budgets.  Heartwarming stories emerge from them about students taking turns preparing meals for their classmates, stretching the food budget, dealing with bureaucratic and teachers' union red tape. 

The relative ease with which a teachers' certificate can be obtained, coupled with job security offered by Mexican labor law, the perks associate with federal government employment, and a teachers' union that has played a strong role in making placement assignments leads to an understandably strong opposition to Educational Reform among public school teachers.

It is going to be interesting to follow the Educational Reform.  It will be a major factor in determining Mexico's future.

Mexican ID

 We grow accustomed to all the red-tape paperwork while living in Mexico. But there is an interesting exception. Written into the Mexican Constitution, Article 11 tells us that all people have the right to enter the Republic, leave it, travel through its territory and change their domicile "without the need of a security card, passport, safe conduct pass, or any similar requirement."  The clause goes on to say that this rule is subordinate to rules that can be imposed by judicial, administrative, and health authorities on emigration, immigration, and pernicious foreigners residing in the country.  Yes, pernicious is the word used in the constitution. 

A Mexican's right not to carry an identification cards differs from most other Latin American countries where adult citizens are required to carry and produce on demand an identification card or in many cases a booklet identifying the citizen. 

I remember that while in high school in Colombia I carried a small, hardbound, many paged "cédula de extranjería" (foreigner's identification). My friends who were citizens carried a "cédula de identidad".  I've seen similar booklets in Guatemala with the identification information entered in elegant handwriting, authenticated by a national seal applied with a rubber stamp.

Because of Article 11, Mexican immigration authorities have had to come up with ways to differentiate between Mexican citizens and foreigners.  In most cases it's done by skin color, physical stereotypes, or by detecting regional accents. But that doesn't work with many Central Americans, especially Guatemalans.  Ethnically the state of Chiapas is virtually identical to Guatemala.  Until 1824 Chiapas was part of Guatemala. 

When in doubt immigration authorities resort to asking questions only Mexicans are able to answer. They’ll say "sing the national anthem."  Or use words that are particularly Mexican.  In a "good cop-bad cop" situation the good cop will offer the detainee a soft drink, along with a carefully structured question "would you like your coca with "popote" (Mexican word for straw)?" A Guatemalan, supposing popote is a seasoning, might reply "just a little" and fall right into the trap. 

Arriving one day in Tijuana on a flight from Mexico City, I passed through a line where a Mexican immigration officer was doing work for the U.S. Border Patrol. He was picking out undocumented Central Americans before they even got to the U.S. border.  When the man ahead of me was asked "where are you coming from?" he answered "Chiapas."  The officer came back with "what's the capital of Chiapas?"  I could see my fellow traveler stumbling over his answer and about to be caught, so I whispered "Tuxtla Gutierrez." He told the officer “Tuxtla Gutierrez” and was waved through. Phew!  It was interesting to see the officer respect the Constitution and let the man of dubious nationality proceed.  My 28-page FM-2 immigration booklet occupied his attention until the Guatemalan blended into the crowd.  I hope he made it.

Traveling without ID is one thing, but cashing a check is quite another.  Banks and other institutions need to verify a person’s identity.  In the United States a driver’s license has become the acceptable means of identification. My U.S. passport card was turned down as ID in a New York City pharmacy when buying cold medicine. Without an address printed on it there would be no way to track me down if I purchased too much Sudafed!  A drivers license is so ubiquitous in the US that state departments of motor vehicles also issue non-drivers identification -- and charge just as much for them as they do for a driver's license.

A driver's license is not accepted for bank transactions in Mexico.  Instead, a voter registration card has become the acceptable identification.  People from other countries may not even know where their voter's registration card is, but most Mexicans carry it with them in their wallet.  Known as their "IFE" (Federal Electoral Institute) card, it is a credit card-sized identifying document containing the citizen's full name, address, photo, gender, age, electoral code, polling booth number, thumb-print, and signature.  There’s also a magnetic strip on the back of the card with who-knows-what additional information.

In the 1980’s when the IFE first started issuing the current style card, acquisition was so simple it was scandalous.  To demonstrate the ease of requesting multiple fraudulent cards, a National University (UNAM) student wrote a term paper about procuring five different voter's registration cards delivered to her own address plus that of four friends.  Rather than being thanked for whistle-blowing, she was accused of a crime by the IFE.  Now the process is very secure. Banks will accept IFE cards dated as of 2012 as solid proof of both identity and address -- without requiring a recent utility bill a proof of address.    

As a bonus, since voting is both a right and responsibility, the IFE card is free.  The Constitution says there is no restriction on changing domicile, but for purposes of voting, one's address determines one's polling booth.  Fine print on the IFE card requires reporting an address change within thirty days. 

Using voters registration cards as identification is an unusual though subtle and effective way of complying with the Constitution.       

Mexico's Third Constitution

Last weekend we enjoyed another long puente commemorating February 5th -- the anniversary of the signing of both the 1857 and 1917 Constitutions. I carry a copy of the Mexican Constitution with me in my car. It's a small book with almost illegibly tiny print but it’s a reminder of the promise the 1917 document brought to Mexico. The 1917 Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, as it is properly called, is Mexico’s third Constitution, after those of 1824 and 1857. The 1824 Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States was implemented after the overthrow of Emperor Augustín de Iturbide in 1823.

Yes, the first government after independence was yet another empire! The 1824 Constitution replaced a centrist government overseeing loosely defined provinces with a federal government of nineteen free and independent states. After it was implemented, dissent and constant conflict ensued among Federalists, Centrists, and a small but powerful minority seeking return to an empire. States surrounding Mexico City were federalist but the federal government had decreasing support farther from the capital. At the outer regions there was merely a loose confederacy.

In 1835 Centrists returned to power. Voiding the Constitution of 1824, they proclaimed seven constitutional laws and divided Mexico into departments with Mexico City as the administrative head of the nation. Political instability and open conflict between the former states and the central government ensued. There were armed rebellions, even secessions.

During that time the 1846-48 North American Invasion -- known in the U.S. as the Mexican-American War – led to the loss of 55% of Mexico’s territory to its northern neighbor. The 1857 Constitution, ratified by a Constituent Congress on Feb. 5, 1857, was shaped by the liberal, secular thinking of respected lawyer, judge, and legal scholar, Benito Juarez. An amazingly avantgarde document, it established freedoms of speech, conscience, press, and assembly. It guaranteed education free of religion and abolished slavery, debtor’s prisons, the death penalty, and cruel and unusual punishment. Juarez, a full-blooded Zapotec, had been instrumental in drafting and securing passage of the Ley Juárez (Juárez’s Law) of 1855, declaring all citizens equal before the law and severely restricting the privileges of the Catholic Church. Juarez was the first President under the 1857 Constitution.

Not surprisingly, the new government was in immediate direct conflict with the church and conservatives, culminating in the Reform War and the brief restoration of empire as Emperor Maximilian was brought from Europe to rule Mexico from 1864 until his overthrow in 1867. Benito Juarez claimed to be president during Maximilian’s tenure, though he did so from northern Mexico.

For the three-year period, Maximilian, with the support of the French army, controlled Mexico City and much of the national territory. Juarez did not recognize him as Emperor and referred to him as an invader and impostor, only addressing him with his European title of “Archduke”. For Maximilian the Constitution of 1857 was void. For Juarez it remained the law. The last half of the 1800’s was tumultuous for the federal government.

It suffered onslaughts not only from the church and royalists but, essentially, continued sedition from Santa Anna who immersed himself in conspiracies to overthrow whoever was in power. By the end of the century, the ground was ripe for the 30-year dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz and the decade-long Revolution that followed in the early 1900’s. Mexico lost one million of its citizens in that conflict.

As the Revolution wound down under President Carranza, a Constitutional Congress was convened -- spawned by the fervent hope that just law might immunize the nation from further violence. The resulting Constitution of 1917 is recognized as the first in the world to set out specific social rights, along with general concepts of liberty and limited government and the same basic rights of the 1857 Constitution. Like the U.S. Constitution, Mexico’s 1917 Constitution was written to provide a specific guide for responsibility of government. But unlike the U.S. Constitution, the 1917 Constitution is long and detailed in its description of the rights of the Mexican people to freedom from political and religious repression, foreign intervention and economic hardship. It provides for land redistribution, the nation’s ownership of all natural resources, free and obligatory education, strict separation of church and state, even labor reform and housing rights. It is highly regarded by the citizens of Mexico who are often otherwise quite jaded by politics.

There is debate going in the Senate over an amendment which would modify the way the Constitution relates to that issue that has been present throughout Mexico’s life as an independent nation -- the rights of churches. It will be interesting to follow. 

Wages and Elections

All 213 of Mexico's minimum wages went up 4.2% on January 1, 2012.  

Yes, Mexico has 71 different minimum wages in each of three geographic areas into which the country is divided!  The lowest general minimum wage is $59.08 pesos per day and the highest -- for daily newspaper reporters -- $186.73.  Wage-setting government officials seem to know who should be kept happy.  

Without getting into the issue of whether even that highest minimum wage is a living wage, it is an amount that affects our lives in Mexico regardless of where we are in the social scale.  

As a result of the high inflation of the 1980's, most government fees and fines are set as multiples of the federally mandated minimum wage.  When you see the unpronounceable acronym SMGDVDF it is referring to the applicable daily minimum wage in the Federal District:  $62.33 pesos.  You'll find it in the strangest of places.  Look in the glove compartment of your car to find it on your insurance policy -- it covers the equivalent of a certain number of days of minimum wage.  Traffic fines are set the same way, as are many other government fees.  

Even the amount of money spent in Mexico's federal elections is determined by that diminutive wage.

This year the United States and Mexico will be holding full federal elections; they coincide only every twelve years.  Recent changes in electoral law in both countries make it particularly interesting to compare and contrast these 2012 elections as both countries deal with the legacy of severely challenged recent elections and ever expanding, and penetrating, electoral advertising.  

In the United States electoral advertising is almost entirely paid for by private contributions.  In Mexico equitable and free access to radio and television advertising is controlled by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), effectively eliminating one of the biggest expenses in traditional elections.  Furthermore, private funding cannot be used to obtain greater access.  The IFE essentially requisitions each radio and television station to provide forty-eight minutes a day for political advertisements.  Additionally, a new electoral reform prohibits slander, denigration of the candidates, parties, or government institutions in all campaign advertising. 

Though federal elections in Mexico are barely six months away -- July 1, 2012 -- no campaigning is permitted until April 1st. What we are experiencing right now is the selection of candidates within each party.  Limiting the length of campaigns may be one of the most important cost-controlling features of Mexico’s electoral laws -- 87 days for presidential elections, 57 days for midterm elections (campaigning is not permitted the three days before an election). 

In the United States re-election to federal office is allowed (something Mexican law prohibits).  Elected officials in the U.S. estimate they spend at least half their working hours raising money to “amass a war chest” for re-election.  The combined result of lengthy campaigns and no campaign finance limit has led to consolidation of power by the wealthy.  They alone can afford to buy essential media time.

This inequity has been compounded by the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.  Corporations were deemed to have the free speech rights of citizens, leading to a previously unseen huge infusion of cash into political action committees able to freely attack opponents without the appearance of the candidate paying for negative ads. 

In Mexico, the IFE oversees federal elections providing a uniform electoral process for the nation.  It finances recognized political parties' campaigns and distributes radio and television time. 

To perform these functions the IFE has a seemingly large purse. The annual amount given to the parties is determined by multiplying the number of registered voters -- of which there are over eighty million -- by 65% of the minimum daily wage in D.F.  In a federal election year that amount increases by 50%.  Thirty percent of this budget is distributed equally among all parties regardless of size; 70% is determined by the votes each received in the previous federal election.  Radio and television advertising time is distributed the same way.  Under this arrangement even the tiniest of parties receives enough money to be an active participant in the campaign.  Parties must receive 2% of the vote share to remain an official party and continue to receive funding.

A recent amendment to the Mexican Constitution states public funding prevails over private funding sources of electoral campaigns.  Although parties and candidates can, and do, solicit campaign contributions, their total income per year cannot exceed double the amount given to them by the IFE, placing a strict maximum on campaign expenses. 

If all political parties receive the full amount of campaign contributions permitted by law, their combined "war chests" are equivalent to less than two days worth of SMGDVDF, per registered voter!  The IFE's budget provides $60.77 pesos; campaign contributions could add $60.76, for a total of all political parties' expenses for the year of $121.53 pesos per registered voter.  It seems like a bargain to me -- less than the cost of a driver's license. 

Though there is frequent talk of U.S. campaign finance reform it is ultimately rejected as unfeasible.  Might the United States look to its southern neighbor for a model of true campaign finance reform?

The history behind the holidays

In 2006 federal law changed the dates of three of five fiestas patrias to allow for holiday celebrations to be on Mondays so as to enjoy long weekends.  The Anniversary of the Revolution, November 20th, was one of those changed by the new law and is now celebrated on the third Monday in November -- hence yesterday's puente.  I wonder if many of those weekending in Acapulco knew, or cared, why they had this extra holiday.  

Yesterday's observance brought the centennial year of the Revolution to an end. Fought throughout Mexico, La Revolución lasted ten long, bloody years.  One in ten Mexicans died in what was one of the great social upheavals of the 20^th century.  Though it began as a revolt against the 30-year dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, it fragmented into a multi-sided civil war of socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, union, and agrarian movements -- each with separate goals and ideals.  The shared objective was the overthrow of the Diaz regime. 

Several events are widely believed to have provided sparks that eventually lit the Revolution.  In 1906 the army, under orders of Diaz, brutally repressed a miners strike in Sonora.  The massacre of Cananea led to labor unrest throughout the nation.  The Porfiriato brought industrialization and wide use of the railroad.  Large sugar cane haciendas modernized.  To increase profits they demanded increased land and water.   They usurped both from indigenous populations, leading to an increasing number of landless peasants who were soon serfs on their own ancestral lands.  The 1910 election of Emiliano Zapata as leader of his village council almost immediately gave voice to the campesino demand for the return of land.  Zapata became, for many, the heart of the Revolution.  

Another spark was a 1908 Porfirio Diaz interview with a U.S. journalist.  Diaz said “Mexico is ready for democracy and free elections” and that he would step down to allow other candidates to run in 1910.  Young, wealthy, and idealistic Francisco Madero took Diaz at his word and spent the bulk of 1908 writing a book about the upcoming 1910 election.  He formed a political party devoted to “anti-reelection” and announced his own candidacy for the presidency.   Madero traveled across Mexico and was received by huge, enthusiastic crowds.

Angered, humiliated, or both by Madero’s popularity, Diaz again ran for the presidency. In June 1910, prior to the election, Madero was arrested and held in a San Luis Potosi prison. Despite wide support for Madero and the Anti-Reelection party, the Diaz machine assured the dictator’s victory. 

In Mexico City in September 1910, oblivious to the increasing ire of his countrymen, Porfirio Diaz prepared a lavish, ostentatious celebration of his 30 years in power and the 100^th anniversary of Independence.  It would be the last straw as Mexico hurtled to the precipice of revolution.

The next month, October 1910, Madero escaped to San Antonio, Texas, and issued The Plan of San Luis Potosi.  Though Madero had been a pacifist, The Plan proclaimed the recent election null and void and called for armed revolution to begin at 6 pm on November 20, 1910. He said that once the revolution began he would declare himself provisional President of Mexico and asked the people to no longer acknowledge the Diaz government.  Madero also called for restitution of land to villages and indigenous communities as well as freedom for political prisoners. 

It was a grand plan that fizzled in its execution.  On November 20 Madero arrived at the border planning to meet up with his uncle and 400 men recruited to the cause.  His uncle showed up late and with only ten men; Madero “postponed” the revolution and retreated to New Orleans. 

An immediate effect of the November 20 date was the discovery by the Diaz regime that Aguiles Serdan of Puebla was a supporter of Madero.  On November 18 he was attacked in his home and killed. Serdan is considered the first martyr of the Revolution.

The Diaz presidency did not survive long.  In early 1911 Madero was defeated in his attack on Casas Grandes but on May 10, 2011, Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa successfully captured Ciudad Juarez. On May 21 Madero and Porfirio Diaz signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juarez requiring the immediate resignation and exile of Diaz. Madero would be the new president.  Madero insisted on another election and in November won overwhelmingly.  

This might have been the end but it was only the beginning of a bloody decade.  Madero was soon betrayed, overthrown and assassinated.  Of the presidents elected or otherwise that followed in that troubled decade, few would die in their beds.

Appropriately the next Fiesta Patria is the Anniversary of the Constitution, commemorating the February 5, 1917 signing of the new constitution.  Like the Day of the Revolution, law has changed the date of this holiday from February 5 to the first Monday in February.  In 2012 it will be February 6.  You could book now for Acapulco or, better yet, make a date with yourself to visit the wonderful National History Museum in Chapultepec Castle and learn more about the fascinating and tumultuous years framed by these two holidays.

A new face of Mexico's Palace

There are still a few more days left of a special treat in the National Palace.  The Salones Presidenciales, surrounding the Patio de Honor, on the second floor of the southwesternmost part of the Palace will be open to visitors until the end of this month.   

Interestingly the Gate of Honor is not the central gate, it is the southern entrance facing the Zocalo.   That southern end of the Palace is the presidential portion of the building, built on the location of Emperor Moctezuma's Palace.

Television cameras have given us glimpses of the Salones Presidenciales when special ceremonies are held but rarely have the rooms been open to the public.  The furnishings and decoration are truly palatial and maintained in tiptop condition.  On one of my recent visits I watched a staff person dusting, using a fine-arts paintbrush.  The chandeliers are resplendent and the carpeting, upholstry, wall coverings, mirrors, paintings all in excellent condition. 

As an interesting architectural design, the presidential reception room's northernmost window is also the access to the presidential balcony over the central, main doorway to the Palace.  This is the balcony from which the president gives the shout of Independence on the night of the 15th of September recalling Father Hidalgo's Grito de la Independencia in 1810, and where the president reviews the military parade the following morning; famously the balcony from which Rigoberta Menchú greeted the crowd shortly after being notified she had been awarded the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize.   

The plaza overlooked from the presidential balcony is officially designated Plaza de la Constitución though universally known as the Zocalo -- a strange name for a plaza.   In proper Spanish zocalo refers to a pedestal for a statue.  One explanation for the use of the word to refer to a plaza is that a viceroy ordered a statue of the King of Spain erected in the plaza (or a president ordered a column erected honoring independence from Spain) and only the pedestal was built.  The statue or column was lost in transit.  People started using the pedestal as a point of reference.  "I'll meet you at the pedestal", or "my house is four blocks north of the pedestal."  Soon the whole plaza was referred to as the pedestal; resulting in plazas all over Mexico being called pedestals.  There is another explanation for the word zocalo, and the one I prefer.  Mexico’s great author, Carlos Fuentes, has a hobby of documenting words used in Spanish which are of Arabic origin.  He maintains that 25% of Spanish vocabulary comes from Arabic and theorizes that the Arabic word zuc, market, is the root of zocalo.  Fuentes points out that Mexico City's market was located in the southwestern quadrant of the plaza, and that there was a title awarded to the person in charge of the market:  Señor del Zuc.

The Constitution of 1917, which rules Mexico today, guarantees the right of the people to demonstrate in a public place without the need for any type of permit -- making the Zocalo is a frequent location for a Mexican innovation in demonstrations:  the plantón.  A round-the-clock demonstration which may go on for weeks or months, usually in front of a government building.  In the case of the Zocalo, if the tents, banners, and demonstrators face the National Palace, their demands are addressed to the federal government.  If facing south, to the Federal District (Mexico City) government.  

I had often wondered if demonstrators' demands could be heard inside the Palace, and their banners noticed.  From outside, looking up through the second floor windows where only ceilings are visible, the Palace seems worlds away.  From the inside, however, despite the beauty of the rooms and furnishings, the windows attract the insider like a magnet and leave no way to ignore what is going on in the Zocalo.  This feeling can only be experienced by actually being in those rooms. 

Through the centuries many powerful, important, and famous people have walked through the Presidential Reception Room.  One of the captions describing the room speaks of the ceiling beams and says they date back to the viceroyalty period of Mexico's history.  Though there was serious damage to the Palace in 1692, I like to think that looking up at the polished beams gives me the same view that Juana Ramírez de Asbaje (1648-1695) enjoyed when as a young woman she glanced up while serving on the staff of the vicereine as a lady-in-waiting.  Little did she know that many of us visiting the room today would carry her portrait in our pockets, on the 200 peso bill.  

As a dessert to this wonderful visual banquet, upon exiting the Palace, you'll walk through the botanical garden.  

Enjoy.      

-----------

Access to the National Palace is along the north side of the building.  There are two strict security checks.  Lockers are available for rent.  The Salones Presidenciales are the last part of an extensive exhibit.  If you don't have time for the whole exhibit, tell the security guard at the bottom of the main stairway -- just after entering the National Palace, that you want to go directly to the Diego Rivera murals.  Follow the murals up the stairway and along the hallways.  When you get to the last one keep on walking straight ahead -- that will take you into the Salones Presidenciales.  Be sure to be there before 4:00 p.m. -- start the entrance process by 3:30.