Bluto
09-15-2010, 07:50 AM
Mexico celebrates its bicentennial & many greasers wonders what da hell is there to celebrate. Shit, one hundred years ago, Mexcrement strong man, Portfirio Diaz, had a massive centennial celebration o' Mexican't independence from Spain in Mexico City. Most greasers back then wondered what da hell was there to celebrate. Da Mexican Revolution began in November o' dat year.
Mexicans wonder what's to celebrate on bicentenary
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100914/capt.photo_1284506916666-1-0.jpg?x=400&y=269&q=85&sig=OZI0cYNhkE0.X6qfQOMQqw--
Greaser President waves to his Mexcrement citizens before da reenactment o' various greaser military disasters.
by Sophie Nicholson Sophie Nicholson – Tue Sep 14, 7:31 pm ET
MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Billed as Mexico's biggest party, fireworks and parades top off bicentenary festivities this week, as many wonder what they have to celebrate in 2010, and when rising drug violence might abate.
The festivities are billed as a revival of "the values and ideals that shaped our nation," but official and corporate efforts to present a polished view of the country's achievements contrast with a subdued public mood.
The government of Felipe Calderon has spent tens of millions of dollars on flashy projects, from road building to film making, while struggling to offer reassurances on concerns such as drug gang brutality and widespread corruption.
"The atmosphere of insecurity and violence which is closer and closer makes it complicated for many Mexicans to feel proud of the shape of the country at 200 years of independence," history professor Edgar Adrian Mora, from the Ibero-American University, told AFP.
A slow recovery from the economic crisis, which highlighted Mexico's dependency on the United States, and the wettest rainy season on record, which has affected up to one million people and is set to worsen, has increased scrutiny of government spending.
In a recent study published in Reforma newspaper, more than 70 percent of 600 people questioned said the bicentenary celebrations were too costly, and that, despite being more open to debate, the country was more insecure and corrupt than 100 years ago.
Since Calderon launched a military clampdown on the country's powerful drug gangs in 2006, violence has escalated, with more than 28,000 people killed in suspected drug attacks, according to official figures.
The government offensive, including a string of arrests and killings of top traffickers, has drawn some praise but also criticism for alleged military abuses and its failure to stem the violence.
Drug gangs are now accused in car bombs, massacres of young people and migrants and even a grenade attack on independence day celebrations in the central city of Morelia two years ago.
This year Morelia is one of several violence-plagued cities planning sober bicentennial ceremonies.
Despite political frustrations and security fears, millions are still expected to join nationwide fiestas to mark the 1810 uprising began by Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo, which led to the ousting of the Spanish by 1821.
They are combined with celebrations for the centennial of the 1910-1917 revolution, when heroes like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa overthrew the dictatorship of Porfiro Diaz.
The government allocated 40 million dollars alone for Wednesday's festivities in Mexico City, led by the organizers of past Olympic ceremonies, who said it will be the largest show of its kind in Mexico.
Foreign heads of state and military are due to attend a beefed-up annual parade on the city's main Reforma avenue and Zocalo square on Thursday, September 16.
Calderon's shouting of "El Grito" -- a reconstruction of Hidalgo's 1810 battle cry -- will be broadcast on giant screens in the capital, and worldwide.
Star-studded rock concerts, dances and colorful parades alluding to 200 years of history and the country's pre-Hispanic past are also planned, with the help of 7,000 volunteers, as well as a display using eight tonnes of fireworks, executive producer Ric Birch told AFP.
Mexico this year transferred the remains of some of its independence heroes, including Hidalgo, to prepare to move them to the prestigious National Palace.
Several other Latin American nations have carried out similar moves during celebrations for nine regional bicentenaries between 2009 and 2011.
Analysts suggest they look more to the future, however, including the challenges of rising violence, widespread poverty and unemployment, rather than focusing on the past.
Some Mexico City residents appeared to agree.
"People will celebrate because it's a public holiday and they don't have to work," said taxi driver Juan Carlos Martinez, as he sat in an extra-long traffic jam provoked by road closures for this week's preparations.
"But what's so great about not working when the country is in such a bad state?"
Mexican't Bicentennial (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100914/wl_afp/mexicobicentenarypoliticscrimedrugs_20100914233142 )
Mexicans wonder what's to celebrate on bicentenary
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100914/capt.photo_1284506916666-1-0.jpg?x=400&y=269&q=85&sig=OZI0cYNhkE0.X6qfQOMQqw--
Greaser President waves to his Mexcrement citizens before da reenactment o' various greaser military disasters.
by Sophie Nicholson Sophie Nicholson – Tue Sep 14, 7:31 pm ET
MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Billed as Mexico's biggest party, fireworks and parades top off bicentenary festivities this week, as many wonder what they have to celebrate in 2010, and when rising drug violence might abate.
The festivities are billed as a revival of "the values and ideals that shaped our nation," but official and corporate efforts to present a polished view of the country's achievements contrast with a subdued public mood.
The government of Felipe Calderon has spent tens of millions of dollars on flashy projects, from road building to film making, while struggling to offer reassurances on concerns such as drug gang brutality and widespread corruption.
"The atmosphere of insecurity and violence which is closer and closer makes it complicated for many Mexicans to feel proud of the shape of the country at 200 years of independence," history professor Edgar Adrian Mora, from the Ibero-American University, told AFP.
A slow recovery from the economic crisis, which highlighted Mexico's dependency on the United States, and the wettest rainy season on record, which has affected up to one million people and is set to worsen, has increased scrutiny of government spending.
In a recent study published in Reforma newspaper, more than 70 percent of 600 people questioned said the bicentenary celebrations were too costly, and that, despite being more open to debate, the country was more insecure and corrupt than 100 years ago.
Since Calderon launched a military clampdown on the country's powerful drug gangs in 2006, violence has escalated, with more than 28,000 people killed in suspected drug attacks, according to official figures.
The government offensive, including a string of arrests and killings of top traffickers, has drawn some praise but also criticism for alleged military abuses and its failure to stem the violence.
Drug gangs are now accused in car bombs, massacres of young people and migrants and even a grenade attack on independence day celebrations in the central city of Morelia two years ago.
This year Morelia is one of several violence-plagued cities planning sober bicentennial ceremonies.
Despite political frustrations and security fears, millions are still expected to join nationwide fiestas to mark the 1810 uprising began by Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo, which led to the ousting of the Spanish by 1821.
They are combined with celebrations for the centennial of the 1910-1917 revolution, when heroes like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa overthrew the dictatorship of Porfiro Diaz.
The government allocated 40 million dollars alone for Wednesday's festivities in Mexico City, led by the organizers of past Olympic ceremonies, who said it will be the largest show of its kind in Mexico.
Foreign heads of state and military are due to attend a beefed-up annual parade on the city's main Reforma avenue and Zocalo square on Thursday, September 16.
Calderon's shouting of "El Grito" -- a reconstruction of Hidalgo's 1810 battle cry -- will be broadcast on giant screens in the capital, and worldwide.
Star-studded rock concerts, dances and colorful parades alluding to 200 years of history and the country's pre-Hispanic past are also planned, with the help of 7,000 volunteers, as well as a display using eight tonnes of fireworks, executive producer Ric Birch told AFP.
Mexico this year transferred the remains of some of its independence heroes, including Hidalgo, to prepare to move them to the prestigious National Palace.
Several other Latin American nations have carried out similar moves during celebrations for nine regional bicentenaries between 2009 and 2011.
Analysts suggest they look more to the future, however, including the challenges of rising violence, widespread poverty and unemployment, rather than focusing on the past.
Some Mexico City residents appeared to agree.
"People will celebrate because it's a public holiday and they don't have to work," said taxi driver Juan Carlos Martinez, as he sat in an extra-long traffic jam provoked by road closures for this week's preparations.
"But what's so great about not working when the country is in such a bad state?"
Mexican't Bicentennial (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100914/wl_afp/mexicobicentenarypoliticscrimedrugs_20100914233142 )