DIFFERENT QUESTIONS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM

I will now join the many fellow writers in Finland who will get to the task of discussing the event that took place in a small community of Oaxaca, Mexico, the past Tuesday, April 27th. The attack on an international aid caravan conducted by one of the armed paramilitary groups operating in that Mexican State resulted in the death of a Finn, Jyri Jaakkola. Finnish authorities are demanding an answer to this, adding themselves to the rest of the Mexican population when we all ask ourselves: what is going on in this country?

Being a Mexican student myself, and currently living in Turku, I am granted with a rare “privilege”. I am actually able to see my own country from the outside, while observing the development of the international community’s opinion on the deterioration of Mexico due to the uprising violence. I see my country from the distance and confirm what I had realized some time ago: Mexico is one of the most complex countries in the world. Today, my motherland is a synonym of drugs, violence, human rights violations, you name it. The truth is that it is all of that and much more, because there are many different Mexicos (yes, in plural) coexisting. Jyri Jaakkola died in one of these Mexicos. Talking about this nation is to talk about a place where social complexity beats as if it were the heart of the land itself. That is why, of out of the many concerns that the unfortunate death of Jyri has arouse, I would like to address the problem not from the most logical angle for many, i.e. Humand Rights, but from that which Europe has decided to openly combat in 2010: poverty and social exclusion.

With over 80,000,000 people living below poverty line in European territories, the EU is planning to take direct measures to fight this situation. Mexico alone estimates over 40,000,000 of its population lives under such conditions. Prioritizing the discussions, I ask you: are Human Rights-related issues the root of the problems in this country? I believe that, to a larger extent, it is poverty and social exclusion what has brought Mexico to where it is now. Organized crime and violence in Mexico have been feeding upon these two main issues for many years now. At the same time, poverty and social exclusion  are two things that the current economic model does not seem to be able to eradicate.

Capitalism is about choice. We choose what and where to buy depending on our interests. Now let’s think, as consumers, what kind of choices can we come up with to help the current economic model become more socially concerned? Can we choose to limit some of our capitalist freedom so that others can get fairly paid? Can we retake a local economy model as a way to fight grand-scale corruption, poverty, and social exclusion? We would be taking several steps back in terms of consumerism choices, I know, but we would be taking a firm step forward towards a more equal global society.

Poverty did not kill Jyri Jaakkola, but it developed the context in which he died, as many other Mexicans do. This is what I see from here, what do you see?

CARLOS ULIBARRI
CARLOSULI22@GMAIL.COM