Mexico City and Beyond

View from Mexico City: One Foot in the First World, One in the Developing World

       Soon I will have lived four years in Mexico City. I love it: it’s a great city, very worthy to be the capital of a country with population close to 129 million. The architecture of numerous of its buildings—not just those by “name” architects—is more interesting, more imaginative than that in any US city I am familiar with. The cityscape also benefits greatly from the fact that wherever you look it is green. There is no corner of the place that isn’t graced by trees, many very large in height and bushiness. And there is probably no place from which one does not see, in all directions, green hedges, just about always groomed.  Many, maybe most, of the small trees and bushes, everywhere, have undergone the treatment of the topiary art, with a considerable fraction of them made to assume humorous shapes, mostly of animals. I speculate that there are more gardeners in Mexico City than in any city on the globe. All this is true of the areas of the city I know. They stretch quite far, but certainly do not include the poorest parts of a very big expanse.

   What you also see quite often, as you walk or drive around the city, are works of sculpture, many of them quite large. Some are really interesting, some less so. In any case it is a distinction that these sculptures are so ubiquitous. To be sure, all of the above applies to the parts of the city that I have visited, and there are quite a few of those. However, I have not been to the poorer sections of the city or to whatever slums there may be in a city covering a very large area.

   What you also see most any time is a huge amount of automobile traffic that at certain times of the day (which is known by alert inhabitants) excruciatingly reduces the pace at which you move toward where you are going. But when you drive—which I don’t do myself, but I am a frequent passenger—you almost always find yourself on well-maintained roads. That is not so when you walk. Many sidewalks–indeed, most of them—go from uneven and full of hills and valleys to being impassable by any but very athletic people.

   I will not even try to give an account of what you might call the city’s “content” and just select a couple of categories by way of sample. “Mexico City is the city with the most museums in the whole world. According to the National Council for Culture . . . . In Mexico City . . . there are 141 buildings registered by Conaculta, where you can learn about its cultural, social, political and economic heritage.”¹  I’ve sampled a few that are devoted to the visual arts and can attest to the interestingness of the permanent collections of some and to the adventurousness of others in mounting changing exhibits. A week of strenuous trudging from one museum to another might get you to all those devoted to the visual arts. 

   I might interject here that that a week devoted to visiting one establishment after another is much facilitated by the numerousness of taxis that will get you around town swiftly, traffic permitting, and quite inexpensively.

   Another place to which you might want to take a taxi is to one of the zillion restaurants in Mexico City, restaurants with every kind of food and in all classes, from simple to really posh. I might note parenthetically that in just about all of them you will find the service to be from good to excellent. Almost wherever you are, if you are hungry and don’t want to wait, stand still or walk a few steps, look around and you will surely find yourself in the presence of at least two three restaurants, since there are lots of them all over the place.

   There is much to do and see here; I’m not producing a guidebook; plenty are available and the internet is very generous with information. But one final point not always noted: the city benefits from the dual fact that it is quite a bit South of the US—which would suggest that it is quite hot; but it is also 7200ft (2200meter) above sea level, making it 1500ft (457m) higher than Denver. That location modifies the climate to almost always “pleasant.” It rains, but even in the rainy season, never for very long. The city is a great place to live—and to visit.

   And yet, it does not quite escape the taint of  Developing Worldishness. There is widespread talk of corruption about which, as an arrivist, I don’t myself have information and the city’s institutions seem to be cumbersomely bureaucratic. But what I do not know is whether those two traits, much mentioned by the inhabitants, are peculiar to Developing World countries or whether some of the First World (not to mention the Second) suffers from the same infirmities, if perhaps not to the same degree.

   There is one fact about the city that puts one of its feet squarely into the Developing World category. The water that comes out of the tap in one’s house is not potable. There is therefore a huge industry that supplies all households that can afford it with mega-bottles of drinkable water. That public transportation is not what it should be does not distinguish the city from many in the First World, but the inadequate water supply does so most surely. While the city really should get its act together and clean up its water, I’m not holding my breath. The Drinkable Bottled Water industry will use its political influence, probably including bribes, to see to it that things remain as they are.

     I will now plunge into major institution that requires me to classify the country (not just the city) as being of the Developing World. Mexico’s mail system is atrocious and if I could find a stronger disparaging word I would use it. The locals, I have been told, will never send a check by mail, addressed to whomever; that lack of confidence it the mails is well-nigh universal.

   My own experience is terrible. Things that were sent to me, mostly but not only books, never arrived, permanently made to disappear by the postal bureaucrats between there (wherever) and our house.

   The Mexican mail service has cost me quite a bit of money, in toto a couple of hundred dollars I estimate.  It would be a feather in the cap of any president who would prod the Mexican mail service into the 21^st century. But I don’t think that will happen because the people—ordinarily people—fail to have enough clout to improve an institution that affects them. I’m 89 and an outsider and I don’t expect to live see a real improvement.

   One final point. There may be dubious aspects to Mexican governments at all levels, but that does not prevent non-governmental institutions from thriving. Two examples, both within walking distance from our house. One is a department store, Liverpool, that would be welcome in any US city. Stocked with merchandise on the several floors of the building, varied and well displayed, with excellent service to match. The second is a City Market, a model food store, quite compact but with an amazing variety in every category from cereals to ice creams, to cheeses to different breads and cakes and much more, again all cared for by excellent personnel, obviously well trained. City Market would do well on Madison Avenue, but given New York ordinances, it would have to leave behind its splendid selection of liquor and wine.

   All these remarks are based on my quite superficial acquaintance with Mexico City and very little experience with the regions beyond it. Still, these observations will give you an idea of the place.

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¹tp://www.visitmexico.com/en/museums-in-mexico)