Jail time for kissing in public? For using slang in the street?
Sound like Dubai?
Try Guanajuato, a city in central Mexico, the world’s PDA capital.
Eduardo Romero Hicks, the city’s mayor, recently passed an anti-obscenity law that bans kissing in public, “obscene” speech (including the classic Mexican slang word, “guey”), buying anything from street vendors, begging, and obstructing public space without a permit.
Ironically, Guanajuato is famous for El Callejón del Beso (Kissing Alley), a narrow alleyway where, as legend has it, couples who kiss will have seven years of good luck. Couples who pass by without kissing will have seven years of bad luck. The street is one of the city’s predominant tourist attractions.
The mayor, who belongs to the conservative right-ring National Action Party (PAN), justified the law by stating that kissing in public embarrasses children. To which I respond: Since when are laws made according to what embarrasses four year-olds?
I’m not the only one who finds the law ridiculous: university students took to the streets in Guanajuato to protest, UNAM law students wrote up a petition and sent it to the mayor, and activist and ex-PRI member Gerardo Fernandez Noroña organized a “collective kiss” (which, before anyone gets any salacious ideas, occurred mostly between family members—Noroña kissed his young niece) in Mexico City to protest.
Meanwhile, senators from the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) and the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) spoke out against the law as retrograde, barbaric, and medieval. The latter party pledged to begin an investigation to see if the law violates the Mexican constitution and impedes on individual human rights.
Many have speculated here in Mexico that the law is an attempt by the PAN to distract attention from the growing violence between drug cartels, the contested 2006 election, and widespread government corruption. PAN rule has seen a terrifying wave of violence sweep Mexico, with daily executions and assassinations of police chiefs and judges.
The mayor’s “freezing” of the law mere days after passing it tends to support this view. Supposedly, the law is merely being put on hold while the government begins a campaign to educate citizens about it. I wonder: Educate citizens? Are there going to be how-to-not-kiss-in-the-street and how-to-not-block-the-sidewalk classes for Guanajuato’s citizens?
The new law points to an alarming trend in Mexico: the creeping influence of the church, and particularly the Vatican, in state affairs. Just as the Bush administration mixed right-wing politics with conservative religious values in its law-making, the Calderón administration is taking controversial steps closer to the Catholic Church, despite public outcry about the disintegration of the laic state.
Photo: Julie Schwietert Collazo
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Even if the kissing business is a mix-up, the rest of the law is pretty worrying, too. No swear words in public? Sure, nobody likes a potty mouth, but I do like freedom of speech. And banning beggars? Politicians who ban the symptom instead of attacking the problem get zero credit in my book. (Quick, get rid of those unsightly poor folks…) It's all a little sinister.
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Wow, I did not find a single article related to that on the internet and I've been searching non-stop. I found an editorial from the 22nd lamenting the law and hoping that it would be reversed immediately, and the latest news was that the law had been frozen while the mayor educated citizens about it. But the mayor and the PAN both insisted the law was still valid. And, if you read the actual wording of the law, it does directly prohibit kissing in the street. Maybe they've officially done away with it? Any more info you have would be much appreciated! And I'd definitely be happy to hear that the law has been thrown out! Viva el beso!
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Attacking the symptom instead of the problem–exactly. That summarizes the situation perfectly. I've been reading tons of comments on the websites of Mexican newspapers, and most people are ranting along the lines of "corruption is rampant, politicians are driving around in Hummers with bodyguards while narcos control the country, prices are rising because of the economic crisis, and they're going to ban kissing??" It's pretty incredulous.
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Here is one reference I found: target=”_blank”>MSNBC” target=”_blank”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28761414/“target=”_blank”>MSNBC There was another one target=”_blank”>here” target=”_blank”>http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/out-context/20...target=”_blank”>here It's true that the law is attacking a symptom, and not the core problem. I guess they decide to fight the battles they can. The peso fell yet again today too. Not so much good news. :/
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Grr, having trouble with the posting form. Here's the links: ” target=”_blank”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28761414/” target=”_blank”>http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/out-context/2009/... It's true that the law is attacking a symptom, and not the core problem. I guess they decide to fight the battles they can. The peso fell yet again today too. Not so much good news. :/
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Hey Stephen–thanks for the updates. How strange, because I have found almost nothing in the Spanish language media about the mayor's ultimate reaction. Only one article in "El Pais." Forums are still full of angry ranting by people writing "pinche gobierno corrupto!!" Maybe the mayor is now going back on his promise for fear of the repercussions for the city's tourism industry? I'm sure that's part of it. I found one article in which he tried to justify the law by explaining the difference between "Olympic groping" and mere kissing. Um, I'd like to see the educational demonstrations on the distinction there…since when are governments in charge of establishing a scale of groping from amateur to Olympic? Bizarre.
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Well, Guanajuato being a pretty happening college town and all… I guess things can get out of hand… or in hand in this instance… olympically speaking of course.
The way I look at Mexico is this: Mexico is about 40-50 years behind the US in many ways, including socially. This includes all the good stuff, in addition to the bad stuff. Strong family units are still the most important thing in a Mexican's life, and they will not work more than they have to if it means sacrificing that. People are hard working and industrious, if they don't have a job, they will create one from literally nothing. Salesmen still drive around in their cars selling their goods on your doorstep. Neighborhoods are still a strong community where people look out for one another. And also the government is more obtrusive in the social issues and taboos of the people. Mexican politics are very different from US. The leaders appeal to the peoples emotions, they are passionate and fiery in a very unprofessional and unpolitician way. And apparently they feel that it's still their job to manage the social issues of the people. Whether that's better, worse, correct, or not, I'm not qualified to say. All I can say is I see a lot more genuine smiles here in Mexico than I ever did in the States. So they must be doing something right.
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Stephen–I agree that Mexican politics are very different from U.S politics. However, I think this role of the government trying to manage social life, and impeding on individual rights in the process, is a new one, and I don't think many Mexicans are happy about it. I've heard nothing but complaints about the law in Oaxaca, and I've seen tons of angry comments on the websites of the major dailies. Also, I'm not sure if I would put Mexico on a scale of "ahead of" or "behind" the U.S, as I really sincerely hope that Mexico is not headed down the same road as the U.S as far as capitalist consumer culture/development are concerned. That is one of the main things that concerns me about Calderon's government–the privatization of Pemex, the increasing control of foreign corporations and interests, and the slant towards American neo-liberalism. Combine that with Mexico's ultra-corrupt government, and you have disaster. I agree about a more "genuine" atmosphere, and I think it's because there hasn't been this Starbuckisification of everything, where even interactions between people are commodified. Thanks for your insightful comments, and maybe we'll meet up sometime down here South of the border
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