Why more Mexicans wrap themselves in the flag
Father and son, dressed in traditional costumes, show their national pride Sept. 15, 2019, as they prepare for the Independence Day "El Grito" reenactment in the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square.
Alfredo Sosa/Staff
Mexico City
The mood is festive, buoyant. Tens of thousands of Mexicans jam the Z贸calo, the sprawling public square in front of Mexico鈥檚 National Palace. They don oversized sombreros and mustaches in a raucous nod to the revolutionaries who founded Mexico, starting with the call from priest Miguel Hidalgo in Dolores to rise up against colonial Spain on the morning of Sept. 16, 1810.
鈥淰iva M茅xico! Viva M茅xico! Viva M茅xico!鈥 thunders the country鈥檚 leftist president, Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, known as AMLO, from a dais at the National Palace.
鈥淰iva!鈥 returns the crowd in a sonorous, synchronized chant.
Why We Wrote This
What does it mean to be Mexican? Five hundred years after the Spanish conquest, three years after Donald Trump took office, and one year after Mexico elected its most populist president in decades, the answer is complex 鈥 but also proud.
The heroes of Mexican independence celebrations 鈥 which kick off with El Grito, or the cry of Dolores, each Sept. 15 鈥 are always clear. But they are never as absolute as the rituals might suggest 鈥 and that鈥檚 never been truer than this year, 500 years after Hern谩n Cort茅s arrived at the coast of Veracruz and waged the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire.
鈥淰iva M茅xico,鈥 the cry of independence that marks Mexico鈥檚 struggle against imperial Spain, has always implied a search for identity in a country that defines itself as mestizo, or mixed blood, but hasn鈥檛 always been at ease with that reality.
Octavio Paz, the late Mexican poet and Nobel Prize winner, wrote in 鈥淭he Labyrinth of Solitude,鈥 an essay on Mexican identity, that the cry, when used in the context of an expletive, carries with it the subtext of a ravaged nation that is both a challenge and an affirmation. 鈥淲hen we shout this cry on the 15th of September, the anniversary of our independence, we affirm ourselves in front, against, and in spite of the 鈥榦thers.鈥欌
Today the country鈥檚 struggle is no longer in opposition to European conquerors. The new foes are globalization, neoliberalism, and the United States under President Donald Trump 鈥 who many Mexicans believe has humiliated their country, sparking a renewed sense of patriotism and nationalism. It comes as Mexico, not coincidentally, has elected its most nationalist, populist leader in decades.
Indeed, for many in the square here, the 鈥淰iva M茅xico鈥 exhortations are a battle cry for a new Mexican nation, or the Fourth Transformation, that AMLO has promised will mark his presidency. The 4T, as it鈥檚 called, would follow independence in 1821, the reform movement of the 1850s, and finally the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920.聽
Alejandro Moreno, who conducts public opinion polls, says enthusiasm for AMLO鈥檚 government comes with a surge in what it means to be Mexican. In polling around Independence Day for the newspaper El Financiero, national pride stood at an average of 91% for all 32 Mexican states.
On the edge of the main square here, Edgar Tena, an accountant and lawyer, is dressed in a velvet hat with red, white, and green stripes, the colors of the Mexican flag. His wife and college-age sons are wearing equally over-the-top headgear. This he calls their patriotism 鈥 and it鈥檚 the first time they鈥檝e opted to display it at an independence celebration since his sons were born. But he says his nationalism runs much deeper, and he strikes a more somber note.
鈥淲e cannot accept it, so many things have built up, and this is why we shout,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e want to be free. This is a call of hope, and the hope that the 4T represents. Viva M茅xico!鈥
A gulf has always existed between Mexico and American perceptions of the country: At worst, people north of the border view Mexico as a backward or crime-ridden nation that pushes unauthorized immigrants to the U.S., at best a place for a beach vacation. In fact, with thousands of years of indigenous history woven into the fabric of modern life, Mexico is 鈥渢he most authentically mestizo of all the Latin American countries and has achieved a greater degree of cultural synthesis,鈥 says Ronald Wright, author of 鈥淪tolen Continents,鈥 a book about the survival of indigenous cultures after the conquest.
But the country鈥檚 rich and diverse history is hard to appreciate in the U.S., experts here say, when the rhetoric coming from the north is often so harsh. In the 2016 election, Mr. Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as 鈥渞apists鈥 and 鈥渃riminals.鈥 He made a border wall the centerpiece of his campaign and promised it would be the Mexicans who would pay for it. His administration has pushed Mexico to do more to stop Central American migrants 鈥 causing some anti-migrant sentiment to flare in Mexico, which in turn has offended people鈥檚 pride in the country as a haven for war refugees and political exiles.
For many Mexicans, the deadly attack Aug. 3 at a Walmart in El Paso by a gunman railing against the 鈥淗ispanic invasion鈥 of Texas represents the apotheosis of anti-Mexican sentiment in the U.S. Its roots trace as far back as Protestant colonizers in a fledgling America whose antipathy toward Catholic Spaniards remains to this day in the form of anti-Hispanic sentiment, says Mexican historian Silvestre Villegas Revueltas from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City.
But animosity toward the U.S. also runs deep in Mexico. Anti-Americanism predates the Mexican-American War, in which Mexico lost half its territory to the U.S. in 1848 while the U.S. became a regional and later a global superpower. From the second half of the 19th century on, Mexican foreign policy was shaped around the idea of differentiating itself, as much as economically and politically possible, from imperial Yanquis.
The antipathy was finally tempered during negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1990s. The accord鈥檚 promise of a partnership drew the two nations together and old misgivings were buried, at least for a time. It would be wrong to say that widespread anti-Americanism has flared anew in Mexico; the deep distrust today is focused mainly on the Trump administration.
But Andr茅s Rozental, Mexico鈥檚 deputy foreign minister during the NAFTA negotiations, says that if Mr. Trump continues his attacks on Mexico, it could despoil three decades of building a bilateral relationship.
鈥淥bviously if the Mexico bashing ... and everything that we have on the bilateral agenda continue to be dealt with by the U.S. president and his government on the basis of Mexico being the 鈥榯hem鈥 against the 鈥榰s,鈥 then I am convinced that there will be eventually a resurgence of what is a fairly latent anti-Americanism in Mexico.鈥澛
And yet Mexico has had to deal with foreign powers on its soil since way before its clash with America. When Cort茅s arrived on the Gulf coast, he aligned himself with indigenous groups against the Aztecs and felled the mighty empire in central Mexico within just two years.
Five hundred years later, as the main square here fills out for independence celebrations, people stream past the Church of Jesus of Nazareth in Mexico City, many blowing whistles without looking up. It is here that the bones of Cort茅s have been laid to rest 鈥 after being moved around and their location kept secret for decades. Even today his resting place is hardly acknowledged: There鈥檚 just a plaque, well above eye level, that reads: 鈥淚n this temple rest the remains of the conquistador Cort茅s, who died in 1547.鈥
The people who have congregated on the benches that surround the nondescript church are using it for a place to rest or eat 鈥 tacos and tepache, a fermented pre-Hispanic beverage made from pineapple peel, raw sugar, and spices. Few know that Cort茅s鈥 remains lie here, and fewer still that it鈥檚 the quincentenary of his arrival in Mexico. Those who are willing to share their thoughts 鈥 and most look confused about why they are even being asked 鈥 say his place in Mexican history is unclear.
Just as an older generation of Mexicans was taught in school about evil American imperialists, it was also given a black-and-white picture of Cort茅s. Officially, he was the villainous intruder who plundered Mexico and stole Tenochtitl谩n for Spain. Diego Rivera鈥檚 early 20th-century murals in the National Palace depict Cort茅s as weak and sickly. The historic figure La Malinche, who served as his ally and interpreter and gave birth to his child 鈥 and thus the mestizo nation 鈥 is reviled. To be a malinchista in Mexico means to be a traitor to one鈥檚 culture 鈥 part of the identity struggle that Paz wrote about.
But distance has given way to a more nuanced view. Blocks from Cort茅s鈥 tomb lie the ruins of the Templo Mayor, one of the most sacred sites for the Aztecs. It is believed to be the spot where the Aztecs witnessed the eagle with a snake in its mouth upon a cactus 鈥 the symbol on the country鈥檚 coat of arms. The stones of the Templo pyramid were used to build the imposing Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico 鈥 the backdrop for Independence Day celebrations.
鈥淲e are not pure Aztecs, nor are we pure Spaniards,鈥 says archaeologist Martin Robles Luengas, who works as an official guide at the Templo Mayor. 鈥淭oday as a Mexican you cannot complain of the Spaniards, because part of you is a Spaniard.鈥
Yet questions of identity are far from settled. This year AMLO used the 500th anniversary of Cort茅s鈥 arrival to write a letter to the Spanish king demanding an apology for the conquest. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just about the encounter of two cultures,鈥 he said of his request. 鈥淚t was an invasion. Thousands of people were murdered during that period. One culture, one civilization, was imposed upon another to the point that the temples 鈥 the Catholic churches 鈥 were built on top of the ancient pre-Hispanic temples.鈥澛
Some members of Morena, AMLO鈥檚 political movement, went even further. One senator urged Mexicans to give up carnitas, or roasted pork tacos, since pigs were introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards. 鈥淵ou should realize that every time you eat roast pork tacos, you are celebrating the fall of Tenochtitl谩n,鈥 she said.
Spain dismissed AMLO鈥檚 letter, and Mexicans have largely ridiculed conquest politics, not least the call to forgo pork. Many say Mexico would be better off dealing with modern discrimination against indigenous people than a centuries-old war. And yet the issue is symbolic of deeper sensitivities.
鈥淢exican identity is very much founded on the basis of defending our honor, from being trampled on by foreign forces,鈥 says Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador. 鈥淪o we were humiliated by the Spaniards who conquered the Aztec empire, we were humiliated by the United States who stole half of our territory, we were humiliated by the French. It鈥檚 a long story of humiliation.鈥
That story connects to a renewed sense of nationalism that is surfacing in Mexico 鈥 and it is showing up in areas other than politics and whether to eat pork. It has also led to a revival of precolonial art and sport.
On an early evening in northern Mexico City, the skies, beholden to the rainy season, threaten to open. But 20- and 30-somethings continue to arrive, heading to a stone-walled court in the back of a community center, FARO Azcapotzalco Xochikalli. The young people suit up 鈥 binding cloth around their hips, waist, and groin areas 鈥 and start passing a ball back and forth to warm up.
This is no soccer game, however. They are about to play ulama, a ballgame that dates back thousands of years and was once a high-stakes ritual in Mesoamerica. The modern iteration no longer entails human sacrifice, but it is still fierce: At more than 6 pounds, the rubber ball resembles 鈥 and feels 鈥 like a bowling ball. To move it, the players can only hit it with their hips, either bumping it in midair or lying on the concrete floor and sweeping it down the court with a pelvic thrust.聽
In some variations, the object is to put the ball through stone hoops, 20 feet in the air, on either side of the court. But the team is so new that few people here have mastered the skill. Simply reaching the other team鈥檚 end line is the goal at this point.
Chantal Perez Urbina, a university student studying chemical engineering, says when she began playing ulama a year and a half ago, she had bruises and scrapes across her body. But she was compelled to keep returning to the court, despite the skepticism of her family, in a drive she talks about in almost spiritual terms. 鈥淭hese are our roots. This is our origin,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an equilibrium between our energy, just like life and death, the energy moves between us in each blow. This is about rescuing my culture.鈥
It鈥檚 also about understanding themselves. Ulama was so integral to Aztec society that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived they immediately banned it, part of a long process of stamping out indigenous culture, from language to religion to architecture. 鈥淭hey took everything from us,鈥 says Ms. Perez Urbina, 鈥渆ven the very stones of our pyramids to build their churches.鈥澛
The community center offers a host of other workshops built around precolonial traditions, from dance to medicine to indigenous language. But the activity that鈥檚 received the most attention is ulama. 鈥淣o one thought that this workshop was going to work [with] a sport that disappeared 500 years ago,鈥 says Emmanuel Kakalotl, the coach, during the pickup game.
Mr. Kakalotl says about half of Mexico鈥檚 states now field teams that play each other in tournaments. Andrea Aviles Escoto, an聽ulama player who took up the sport just 10 days earlier, would like to see teams in every state. She sees the resurgence of ulama as part of AMLO鈥檚 Fourth Transformation. 鈥淭his is the power of Mexico,鈥 she says. 鈥淥ur culture, our land, and traditions 鈥 our ancestral power.鈥澛
As AMLO nears the anniversary of his first year in office Dec. 1, it鈥檚 still unclear whether he can deliver on the promises of 4T 鈥 and even what the initiative really is. In a country with deeply rooted issues that overlap 鈥 from corruption to drug violence to stark inequality 鈥 it would require a radical overhaul to address any one of them. So far analysts see little evidence that is happening beyond the rhetorical.
AMLO鈥檚 popularity remains high, with approval ratings of 60% to 70%. The first leftist president in modern history, he draws the bulk of his support from the working class and rural poor but also from the academic left and disillusioned voters from other political parties.
A lot of his appeal lies in an everyman style 鈥 he addresses the nation every day at 7 a.m. in press conferences 鈥 and eschewing the wealth and pomp associated with earlier presidencies. He slashed his salary and put the presidential jet up for sale, for example, moves that were symbolically resonant.聽
Dr. Villegas Revueltas, the historian, says that the Fourth Transformation is right to try to complete the job of independence, reform, and revolution, to bring economic benefits to all segments of society. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 equal in 1521, nor in 2019,鈥 he says.
But to get there, AMLO is casting himself as a 鈥70s-era revolutionary, Dr. Villegas Revueltas says 鈥 talking about energy, food, and economic independence. Implicit in AMLO鈥檚 message is a rejection of globalization. But if he were to actually act on his words, many believe the economic consequences would be dire.
鈥淲e have a man who talks about energy independence ... about food independence 鈥 those types of things that have already failed in the past,鈥 Mr. Guajardo says. 鈥淎nd yet there is the temptation to go back.鈥澛
In many ways, AMLO and Mr. Trump are similar figures, although from opposite sides of the political spectrum. They both use 鈥渦s versus them鈥 rhetoric to rally supporters.聽
鈥淭hey know exactly how to play to their base and what it is that fires their base up,鈥 says Mr. Rozental. 鈥淚n the case of Trump, it鈥檚 all of this stuff about anti-immigration and then 鈥榣et鈥檚 drain the swamp.鈥 ... Here it鈥檚 the same thing. 鈥楲et鈥檚 get rid of everything that we had before because it was all bad, corrupt, rotten ... and we鈥檙e going to make a new transformation of Mexico.鈥欌
The clash of personalities could lead to a clear rupture in the bilateral relationship if not played right. But so far AMLO has been handling Mr. Trump with restraint, agreeing to do more to stanch the flow of migrants under threat of tariffs, for example, and steering clear of confrontation.
Politically this stance has not damaged him at home, but if Mr. Trump鈥檚 anti-Mexico rhetoric heats up, as many analysts believe it will for the 2020 election, AMLO runs the risk of looking as if he鈥檚 doing the American president鈥檚 bidding.
The strongest stand AMLO鈥檚 government has taken thus far came in the days after the El Paso massacre, which the Spanish newspaper El Pa铆s called the 鈥済reatest racist crime against Hispanics in modern United States history.鈥
Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard called the attack 鈥渁n act of terrorism鈥 and said that he would push to have the gunman extradited to Mexico. He is also organizing a summit of leaders from Spanish-speaking nations to address white supremacy.
Such moves have kept AMLO supporters believing that change is coming. For the first time in her adult life, Ximena Fernandez chose to go to the independence celebration this year so she could show her support for the Fourth Transformation. As regional dance exhibitions from each state dazzle the crowd on large-screen TVs, she says this year El Grito is about far more than patriotism, mariachi music, sombreros, or simply being proud of who you are.
鈥淚 think the meaning of the Grito is not only independence but sovereignty of the people,鈥 she says.
鈥淭oday, in Mexico, we know what President Trump is doing. And we don鈥檛 like it because we are a country of migrants. ... We know as a people or a nation that we have this fight to come,鈥 she says. 鈥淣ot with anger but with, 鈥楬ey, look at us. We are doing something different. We are not only 鈥渘arcos鈥澛爋r 鈥渃riminals.鈥澛燱e are people like everyone in the world who work and just want peace.鈥欌