Waiting for Marichuy

[bixaorellana]

"María de Jesús Patricio Martínez also known as Marichuy, is a Mexican Nahua indigenous person, a traditional medicine healer and a Human Rights activist. She was chosen as the representative indigenous spokeswomen by the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) for the Mexican general election, 2018, for which she will run as an independent candidate for the Presidency of Mexico. ...
Officially recognized by the National Electoral Institute (INE) on October 15, 2017, Marichuy and the Council have begun collecting the required 866,593 signatures, throughout 17 states, during the subsequent 120 days." source

Marichuy was in the state of Oaxaca last weekend collecting signatures and speaking.  She was slated to be in the city of Oaxaca's zócalo this past Monday, so I strolled down there with my dogs to see what I could see.

An information and signing table is being set up ~





Hi cutie!



Meanwhile, the bandstand is being readied as a stage for the candidate's speech ~



The giant alebrijes are eye-catchers ~





An enterprising young vendor offers gelatinas ~



Supporters are gathering ~



A look at some of the perennial protests in front of the governor's palace ~

[bixaorellana]

On the northern side of the area below the bandstand, a troupe of dancers were readying themselves.
It was getting pretty chilly and they'd probably have preferred to be putting on more clothes, rather than peeling them off ~











The ornamenting of the bandstand continues .....



..... watched over by some pint-sized supervisors ~







This arranger accidentally channeled a well-known Diego Rivera image ~

[bixaorellana]

The dancers moved to the opposite side of the bandstand and created a ritual space ~











It is now the time when Marichuy is supposed to arrive. There is much incense, drumming, conch blowing and some dancing ~









By this time it had gotten cold and windy, with dust devils kicking up in the zócalo.
My three little guys were very bored, so I decided to pack it in and not stay to the tail end, as it were ~



This news clip of Marichuy speaking that evening shows that she indeed arrived after dark, well after I was back home ~

[kerouac2]

Fascinating. Do you have any idea what sort of percentage of the vote such a candidate would receive?

[bixaorellana]

Kerouac, I am not qualified to answer that question adequately, but will say that I think an clean election might give her a real chance. I read that a recent poll found that 45% of the population would like to see a woman president, whereas only 33% prefer a man. That alone could be an edge. It is her background that might rally the voters.

The following is taken from this article: www.sapiensbox.com/quiubole-con-marichuy/

"According to the INE, [National Electoral Institute] in these elections about 12 million indigenous people could go to the polls. The challenge they have is twofold: on the one hand, overcome the abstention that exceeds more than 80% among their communities and, on the other, the political clientelism that is embedded in poverty and the tendency to vote for the official candidates.

Historically, indigenous communities have been used by local cacicazgos* to induce the vote in favor of their candidates, so that the few who vote do so for some gifts offered in the campaign.

But the presence of Marichuy modifies the equation: not only would she be the first indigenous candidate, but she also has a large social base that can make her competitive. In the past presidential elections, Enrique Peña Nieto won with 19 million votes, but in a context of vote fragmentation - as expected for the 2018 elections - the winner would become president with less than 12 million votes.

If on the day of the election, Marichuy received those 12 million votes from indigenous peoples, it would be enough to become the first indigenous president of Mexico."

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacique

[bjd]

What do you call "chilly" in Oaxaca? I see everything from ski jackets to t-shirts and shorts.

It would be good if the indigenous people became motivated to vote. Of course, the pressure on Marichuy to be taken seriously, as a woman and as an indigenous woman, would be tremendous and there would be many people ready to do everything to bring her down.

[bixaorellana]

It hadn't gotten very warm all that day (high of 72) and the temperature really dropped when the sun started going down (low of 53), plus it got very windy. I was wearing an overcoat and a muffler & felt very cold on the walk home. Some of the people in t-shirts maybe didn't anticipate how cool it got. Note that everyone with a coat or jacket is all bundled up. It gets really cold up in the mountains around here. Maybe those people tolerate cold better.

I am afraid you are right about her being at risk. Her caravan was attacked while in Michoacán, but it looks as though it may have been a "regular" crime rather than something political. www.culturalsurvival.org/news/armed-group-attacks-caravan-indigenous-presidential-candidate-michoacan-mexico

[cheerypeabrain]

Very interesting, I'm trying to think of an intelligent question to ask..but tbh I'm just blown away by the colour, excitement and attractive people...(except maybe in the pic fourth from bottom )

[Deleted]

Interesting thread Bixa.

I'm afraid BJD is correct. Indigenous and a woman, the odds are slim to none

But, at least it's a start.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Cheery! And yes, there is a certain amount of "hard to look at", as a friend of mine says, in that picture.

Feb 3, 2018 14:52:39 GMT casimira said:

Indigenous and a woman, the odds are slim to none

Um, Casimira, I'm afraid in my reply to Kerouac I let something misleading get by. I put the quote from this source through google translate and only corrected it for syntax. Thus, the important distinction between the Spanish "la primera presidenta indígena" (indígena is gender neutral) and the fact that the translation should have read "the first indigenous woman president" got lost.
Mexico's most famous president was Benito Juárez, a Zapotec from Oaxaca. The writer of the article would have been well aware of that fact, as would his/her readers. Should Marichuy gain the presidency, she would be the first woman president of Mexico, but not the first indigenous president.

Readers of Spanish might be interested in the publication in which the linked article appeared: www.sapiensbox.com

[tod2]

Love love love the bright colours and the design of the costumes! Especially the headdress that looked like an ornate Roman soldier's helmet!

[bixaorellana]

Sorry about the rudely late reply to your kind comments, Tod!

To be brutally honest about the dancers ~ they tend to practice in various small public squares around here & have always annoyed me. There is the loud drumming and the billowing incense smoke which, coupled with their self-absorbed solemnity, rubs my fur the wrong way. Ritual in general tends to affect me that way, so I'm not singling them out for my cynical irritation.

[tod2]

Get it - but for the tourist it must be entertaining to say the least. Imagine the scene: A dozen or so relatives and friends sitting squashed into a somewhat small lounge , eyes facing forward, host behind with slide show....."And this was when we visited Oaxaca - pronounced like Wahaca, where the natives danced and played their traditional instruments"....Oh my gord!

[lagatta]

Feb 3, 2018 16:48:43 GMT bixaorellana said:

Um, Casimira, I'm afraid in my reply to Kerouac I let something misleading get by. I put the quote from this source through google translate and only corrected it for syntax. Thus, the important distinction between the Spanish "la primera presidenta indígena" (indígena is gender neutral) and the fact that the translation should have read "the first indigenous woman president" got lost.
Mexico's most famous president was Benito Juárez, a Zapotec from Oaxaca. The writer of the article would have been well aware of that fact, as would his/her readers. Should Marichuy gain the presidency, she would be the first woman president of Mexico, but not the first indigenous president.

Readers of Spanish might be interested in the publication in which the linked article appeared: www.sapiensbox.com

I'm glad you cleared that up, as my inner history geek knew someone had forgotten Benito Juárez, a Zapotec from Oaxaca. And yes, I did know he was from Oaxaca.
Indigène is gender-neutral in French as well.