Mexico City land protests
Protesters, DF
About five years ago, then-President of Mexico Vicente Fox purchased rural land around the megalopolis of Mexico City, displacing thousands of farmers.. He is accused of paying for 2,000 hectares and taking 50,000 hectares; he is also accused of givin the extra land to large corporations to use for building space. The displaced claim they lost their farmland, their livelihood- and want the government to redress their grievances. Every spring for the past five years, a large group of men, women and children have squatted on a government owned parking lot in downtown DF, for up to three months at a time. Their method of bringing attention to their cause is to protest, mostly naked, wearing Fox masks and dancing in public. They dance twice a day; on cue- and wait interminably during the in between hours. Life in a squatter camp is difficult at best; privacy is difficult to find, bathing and other tasks are undertaken in public view, and protestors must pass the time until their next protest- sleeping, gambling, watching tv, drinking, telling jokes and repairing the blue tarps they live under- all the while hoping that, finally, their voices will be heard, and that they will be able to return to their former lives.
