Rich Street Kids

The other night i met some high school kids who live in the street here. they come from educated and most likely, wealthy stock in mexico city. like many priveledged folks in america, they are unhappy with the injustices of their economic system and identify romanticly with the poor rather than their own background.


David, 18, has one more year left of high school in Mexico City. He sleeps in the streets of Oaxaca this summer and works for a local human rights charity, CIPO. A sweet and soft spoken boy, his shirt says "blow up yuppies." He listens to American electronic music on his MP3 player.

David and cristobal, my new street friends, are very bright and sweet people. cristobal has a tremendous command of english and is serving as my defacto translator. he has introduced me to members of a human rights group here that defends the rights of indigenous campesinos (poor farmers) called CIPO.


David, 18, has one more year left of high school in Mexico City. He sleeps in the streets of Oaxaca this summer and works for a local human rights charity, CIPO. His English is superb and he has been my defacto translator the last two days. His shirt says Stop War.

I think Mexico is like America would be if it didn't desimate its own indigenous people beyond an ability to fight. The indians here are in a perputal struggle with more western and wealthier interests. There are constant land battles. The police, wealthy landowners, and corrupt politicans seem to use violence and intimidation to increase their land holdings and of course their wealth.

There is a constant tension in the countryside between indigenous people and the wealthy bosses. There is also a socialist ideology here that runs deep in mexican political blood and popular culture. Che gueverra is a hero. Pirate radio stations are strewn across the country and have been for 50 years. It's a tradition as much as a movement.


Not exactly sure what it says yet but i sense its not pro capitalism.

There is deep resistance on the part of the indigenous people to join the global economy and ways of life. They rightly fear their culture will have to compete with American and European cultures and will not retain its purity. Similarly they do not desire to take advantage of the holes in the system they oppose. forming corporations out of their villages and hiring an army of jewish lawyers to aggresively pursue their land rights would be a start.


Leonor, 15, is from the indigenous village of San Isidro Aloapam. Her village suffered killings and intimidation from local strongmen during an ongoing land dispute. She creates videos documenting her town's plight with advanced computers at a nearby charity for human rights, CIPO.

the indians here are stuck with an unfortunate contradiction. their values oppose the idea of land ownership, yet it is only the pursuit of their ownership rights which can protect them from encroachers.

I was supposed to meet with the human rights group, CIPO, today to talk all of this out, but their offices were "invaded" by a group 40 strong, according to their representatives in Oaxaca City. They said the attackers removed 5 familes from the CIPO office in Jualtulco. The details and motivations are unclear at this time. i hope to find out more soon.


Getting your shoes shined is a popular past time in the Zocalo (central square) in Oaxaca City.