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28 de Enero, 2008
Eufrosina for Mayor!
Categorized under Indígena , Oaxaca , Política México , Sexismo | Tags: indigenous, Mexicans, Mexico, Que Viva Las Mujeres, Zapotec
THOUGH IT IS TRICKY to judge other cultures by our own standards (especially when we have so far to go ourselves), I don't think there's any question that this is a pretty unacceptable situation for las mujeres. It reminds me of the perverse idea that makes the rounds in the USA, that women aren't as smart as men, while so many of them are the ones (by default) to handle the checkbooks and bank balance. When you trim off the, um, insanity from these types of hypocritical arguments, all that is left is a loathing of the feminine.
SANTA MARIA QUIEGOLANI, Mexico - Women in this Indian village high in the pine-clad mountains of Oaxaca rise each morning at 4 a.m. to gather firewood, grind corn, prepare the day’s food, care for the children and clean the house.But they aren’t allowed to vote in local elections, because — the men say — they don’t do enough work.
It was here, in a village that has struggled for centuries to preserve its Zapotec traditions, that Eufrosina Cruz, 27, decided to become the first woman to run for mayor — despite the fact that women aren’t allowed to attend town assemblies, much less run for office. [...]
As a woman, Eufrosina Cruz is not only barred from being mayor, but from participating in the “community labor” that qualifies male villagers as “citizens.” Those tasks include repairing roads, herding cattle, cleaning streets and raising crops.
“I’d like to see the men here make tortillas, just for one day, and then tell me that’s not work,” said Cruz, describing the hours-long process of cleaning, soaking, cooking and milling the corn, shaping the flour into flat disks, and collecting the firewood to heat the clay and brick hearths on which most women cook.
During all-important village festivals, women are expected to cook for all the male guests. But instead of joining them at the table, Cruz says, they are relegated to straw mats on the floor. Clothes are washed by hand, and while most homes have some form of running water, it’s often only a single spigot.
I remember my nanita making tortillas when I was younger. And only her. I remember her walking me through the market. And it was las mujeres there, grinding corn, too, selling tortillas. In my memory, always the women.
The all-male town board tore up ballots cast in [Eufrosina's] favor in the Nov. 4 election, arguing that as a woman, she wasn’t a “citizen” of the town. “That is the custom here, that only the citizens vote, not the women,” said Valeriano Lopez, the town’s deputy mayor.Rather than give up, Cruz has launched the first serious, national-level challenge to traditional Indian forms of government, known as “use and customs,” which were given full legal status in Mexico six years ago in response to Indian rights movements sweeping across Latin America.
“For me, it’s more like ‘abuse and customs,”’ Cruz said as she submitted her complaint in December to the National Human Rights Commission. “I am demanding that we, the women of the mountains, have the right to decide our lives, to vote and run for office, because the constitution says we have these rights.”
Eufrosina for mayor of Santa Maria Quiegolani! She's got my vote.
sombrero tip to vastleft
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Comentarios (5)
No One of Consequence dijo:
The good/evil dichotomy here is virtually cartoon-like. The only thing that perturbed this observation follows:
This, to me, is not much of dilemma. This always occurs. Do a quick google of misogyny and blacks and you'll get more than you ever wanted on the subject. Democracy is the natural impulse of democrats but it is a useful tool for any elite, regardless of whether or not the elite contains democrats. Thus, you're bound to get one-man-one-vote governments where someone is excluded. Put another way, democracy is employed because it's practically useful, not necessarially because it's right.
I hope she kicks some ass here. How do the Indians really expect to change their position when the relegate half their population to an artificial subsentient status?
Palabras por No One of Consequence spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 12:00 PM
William dijo:
That is the root of it
historically, until the advent of big-box religions(Christianity/Judaism/Islam), women pretty much did everything. All us boys did was hunt, and then sit around the campfire bragging about it ;)
Palabras por William spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 12:06 PM
El pinche güero dijo:
Outrageous? Yes! Reactionary -- absolutely! And perfectly legal, "thanks" in no small part to the Zapatistas and their foreign defenders. This is "usos y costumbres" ... the quirky idea that indigenous COMMUNITIES have rights that override those of the individual. While the Oaxaca state constitution has permitted "usos y costumbres" in state election laws for a long time (a nice way of controlling the electorate through intimidation by village leaders) the legitimazation of the denial of individual rights to members of indigenous communes rests on the "San Andreas Accords" -- the agreement worked out between the Fox Administration and the Zapatistas -- added to the Mexican Constitution -- and hailed as a victory by people who somehow are able to consider this a "progressive" act... you know, NarcoNews readers and Stalinists.
Palabras por El pinche güero spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 09:48 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez
dijo:
i appreciate your understanding of the situation and your passion. however, i would add that i don't know how "progressive" it is, either, to sweep each and every last reader of NarcoNews (of which I am one) under one blanket dismissal/insult.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez
spat forth on el 29 de Enero, 2008 at 04:30 AM
El pinche güero dijo:
I'm a reader too. I thought better of it, but must have had an itchy "post button" finger. I think I meant something like "those who take everything in Narco News as gospel..." I was specifically thinking of one of NN's more active contributors who has been making a fool out of herself trying to defend the indefensible in another forum.
K?
carefully re-read before posting :-)
Palabras por El pinche güero spat forth on el 29 de Enero, 2008 at 06:00 PM