Tepito: No Thanks, First World

This inner-city community in Mexico City prefers to manage its own affairs, without interference from the forces of de!elopment "y #usta!o $ste!a One of the articles in %eclaiming &olitics '(C)*+, Originally published in Fall-Winter .//. on page 38 Copyright (c)1991, 1996 by Context Institute Gustavo Esteva has been a key figure in founding a number of non-governmental organizations in Mexico and has also been active in building economic linkages among grassroots groups. An economist without training he won Mexico!s "ational #rize of #olitical Economics. $is reflections on economics deal with the imperative of marginalizing the %economy% and replacing its centrality with the centrality of a people!s commons. $e is a front page columnist for l !acional, one of Mexico!s most influential newspapers and he participates in many grassroots community groups. &ontributing Editor 'avid (orten describes him this way) %Gustavo is a leader of a deprofessionalized segment of the *outhern intellectual community that re+ects the terminology and constructs of ,development! in all their forms seeing them as inherently destructive of the human processes by which common people work to recreate community as an expression of their culture and aspirations. $e argues that even the ,alternative! development prescriptions lead inexorably to depriving people of control over their own lives and shifts this control to bureaucrats technocrats and educators. -ather than presume that human progress fits some predetermined mold leading toward the increasing homogenization of cultures and lifestyles his ideal is a ,radical pluralism! that honors and nurtures distinctive cultural variety and enables many paths to the realization of self-defined aspirations.% $e can be reached at Apdo. #ostal ./0 Admon. 1 02/2. 3axaca 3axaca Mexico. "e#ere in$ustices and hu%an rights #iolations are continuously perpetrated against the peasants& organi'ations and the urban popular groups (ith (hich I ha#e associated %y life) *ithin these groups, (e often as+ oursel#es ho( (e could build a %ore $ust social order (hich (ould allo( us to li#e in peace, to flourish and endure) ,or a long ti%e (e belie#ed that the re%edy to our predica%ents consisted in the i%pro#e%ent of the nation&s political regi%e and its legal institutions) ,or %any years (e (aged a (ide and persistent political struggle to get full enforce%ent of the la( and to pre#ent in$ustice and discri%ination in such enforce%ent) *e did not forget, of course, also to struggle against the econo%ic exploitation and the technological, political and social oppression (hich (e disco#ered to be at the root of our predica%ents) -ore and %ore, ho(e#er, (e are .uestioning ho( sensible (e are in proceeding as (e ha#e in the past) "o%e occasional successes in our struggles for refor% / better la(s, $udges, la(yers or sentences / ha#e introduced a ne( +ind of perplexity in our li#es) Instead of i%pro#ing, our situation has deteriorated) 0nsufferable, unprecedented in$ustices ha#e appeared a%ong us and (e are less able to struggle against the%, since they are the result of legally correct sentences, dictated by honest $udges and based on reasonable la(s) Instead of security, police and la(yers gi#e us incertitude) *e don&t trust any court and recur to one only (hen there is no other option left to us) Is it not silly, then, to as+ for %ore la(yers and courts1

2fter co%paring such experiences (ith those resulting fro% our o(n internal 3$udicial3 syste% / the syste% of social regulation (ithin our groups / (e ha#e started as+ing oursel#es (hether it (ould not be better to be left alone) *e ha#e begun to concei#e ho( it %ight be possible to design a protecti#e barrier around us against the legal order, against the la(yers as (ell as against the police) 4his is not an anarchic cry) *e are not atte%pting the disintegration of the country nor its large social organi'ations and institutions) *e (ould li+e instead to reaffir% our right to exist e#ery day in our o(n (ay) *e (ant direct social regulation, rather than the abstract, i%personal %echanis%s of the la( and the econo%y) 4he stories I a% going to tell in this collo.uy on society and la( illustrate our present situation, (hich in#ol#es constantly testing the li%its of our autono%y and our internal capacity for social regulation) 4he $udicial inflation (e ha#e experienced a%ounts to nothing less than the continual, legal de#aluation of our o(n social procedures) In see+ing legiti%ation and respect for such procedures, (e are also as+ing for restrictions upon the spaces and fields of application of the la( of the state) T0$ &12(T(C3 1F 34%5(562 4epito is a barrio5 in do(nto(n -exico City6 78 bloc+s occupied by 189,999 inhabitants) In 19:; it (as one of the (orst places to li#e in -exico) Its houses (ere really ugly6 they (ere in fact roo%s, not houses, of 13 to 8; s.uare %eters, each one built around dusty yards, (ithout sanitation facilities and %ade of #ery poor %aterials) 4en, t(enty, or fifty of these 3houses3 constituted a vecindad5) Only delin.uents of e#ery +ind / drun+s, prostitutes / accepted li#ing there, gi#ing the place additional handicaps) 2fter *orld *ar II, the go#ern%ent of the city 3fro'e3 the rents of lo( cost housing) 4he people did not percei#e this %easure as te%porary, particularly since they struggled for it) 2s a conse.uence, this special arrange%ent exists e#en today, in spite of countless atte%pts by la(yers, politicians, and de#elopers to eli%inate it) 4hose (ho li#e in 4epito thus en$oy a +ind of econo%ic pri#ilege co%pelling the% to re%ain) 4he #ery lo( .uality of the houses put their rents a%ong the cheapest in the city / (hat today is e.ui#alent to one cent per %onth) "o the 4epitans con.uer spaces (ith ingenuity) 4hey get a second floor by building one in the interior of their houses) -any houses ser#e as (or+shops during the day and as ho%es at night) <atios are co%%on spaces (ith %ultiple purposes) "tep by step, the 4epitans ha#e in#aded the streets, transfor%ing the% into places for (or+shops, trade, and recreational acti#ities) In fact, all of 4epito has been transfor%ed into a creati#e and recreati#e space) 4he trade of used clothes flourishes next to that of ne( clothes produced in 4epito) "hoe repair%en prosper next to (or+shops to produce ne( shoes) 4epitans ha#e re%ade, re%odeled and transfor%ed (ith ingenuity a thousand %echanical and electrical gadgets thro(n out by their rich or %iddle class o(ners) 4he ob$ects refor%ulated by 4epitans ha#e beco%e fa%ous for their .uality) =et public and pri#ate 3de#elop%entalists3 ha#e, for decades, attac+ed 4epito in a concentrated and syste%atic fashion) 4here has ne#er been a %ayor (ho has not pro%ised to get rid of the barrio, for the sa+e of the aesthetics and %odernity of do(nto(n -exico City) 4he o(ners of buildings in 4epito ha#e tried e#ery legal or illegal %ethod to eli%inate the barrio / to build in its place offices, ban+s, hotels) 4hey ha#e seduced, corrupted, threatened, pushed and repressed) #ery t(o or three years, a ne( official <lan 4epito is announced, %eaning no %ore than a ne( effort to get rid of 4epito, to +ic+ out its inhabitants / e#en to

3golden cages3 on the outs+irts of the city / and finally to let loose a fe#er of speculation and construction in the area) >ut the 4epitans resist) Conscious of the need to i%pro#e the appearance of their barrio for the benefit of clients, tourists, and %ayors / and also because of a real need to i%pro#e their ho%es, (hich are ne#er repaired by the o(ners ? the 4epitans ha#e searched for allies and options) 4hey ha#e found both in certain artistic and intellectual circles) Inno#ati#e architects, rapidly deprofessionali'ed, (or+ed %any hours (ith the% to put so%e initiati#es into practice) 4hey finally for%ulated, as the core expression of the 4epitan spirit, a rehabilitation plan that (ould i%pro#e the entire barrio) 4hose (ere the years of the oil boo%) 2 particularly enterprising %ayor had $ust entered office, and the threats to the 4epitans see%ed %ore dangerous than e#er) 4heir o(n plan, ho(e#er, (on first place in *arsa( at an international contest organi'ed by 0! "CO) *ith this triu%ph in their hands, the 4epitans called the press6 not only (as theirs the best concei#able rehabilitation plan, as the international recognition sho(ed, but it also in#ol#ed no cost to the city) 4he ne( official <lan 4epito / for (hich the %ayor had already secured %illions for financing / (as thus defeated) 4he 4epitans began their o(n 3urban rehabilitation,3 if one can use this technical title for a differentiated initiati#e that called for strengthening fragile (alls and decaying ceilings (hile at the sa%e ti%e enriching the social fabric, o#erall aesthetics, and spirit of con#i#iality and solidarity) O#er the years, 4epito has been transfor%ed into a great %ar+et) >ut its social substance, the %ortar uniting and articulating the (hole, is not an econo%ic one) It is a (ea#e of social relations / a (ay of li#ing, a (ay of being, of tal+ing, of dancing, of lo#ing and drea%ing) In 4epito the cultural character of politics is accentuated) 4he econo%y is constantly subordinated to the cultural center of the barrio and strictly li%ited to the areas and conditions (here it has a prescribed function) T0$ &4772$ 1F T$&(T1 4o(ard the end of the 79s, 4epito filled %e (ith constant perplexity) "haped by the for%al categories in (hich I (as trained, %y .uestions lac+ed pertinence and in#ariably recei#ed surprising ans(ers) 4hrough %any years of contact and interaction, I (as able to identify se#eral hundred different organi'ations in 4epito) @ere an association of shoe%a+ers on this street, there the leathergoods %a+ers or sellers of used clothes) In this street, an organi'ation of those (ith co%%ercial stands and in the other one of those (ith no stands) O#er there an organi'ation of pur#eyors of used or 3croo+ed3 goodsA here, of the 3established3 or legal) 4hen there (ere organi'ations of a particular vecindad, or of those (ho repair cars in the %iddle of the street / exactly in this street, not the other one) In all bloc+s of vecindades, there could be found at least one %utual credit organi'ation, handling a lot of %oney) *hen %y list of organi'ations had gro(n .uite extensi#e and I had the opportunity to see ho( so%e of these organi'ations functioned, I dared to present %y critical obser#ations to a 4epitan friend of %ine) 3=our organi'ations lac+ de%ocracy,3 I told hi%) 3=ou ne#er elect your leaders, nor do you %aintain records of the for%al histories of your organi'ations) 2nd, in addition, you ha#e ne#er consolidated, to create an organi'ation that could include all of 4epito and de%ocratically and effecti#ely represent all 4epitans in their struggles and negotiations)3 -y friend ga'ed at %e (ith a certain tenderness) 3Boo+,3 he said to %e, 3here, e#erything is #ery tough) *ith all the outside pressure, it (ould be #ery easy for a leader to be corrupted, or $ust turn out to be a bad leader) If (e ha#e elections, (e&re scre(ed, because (e (ill ha#e put

the po(er in his hands) 4o get it bac+ fro% hi%, (e (ould ha#e to create a counterforce and this (ould di#ide us) "o, here, (hen (e see that a leader is doing poorly, (e start to tal+ a%ong oursel#es until a ne( one e%erges) 4he old leader is the last to find out (hat has happened, (hen t(o or three %onths later he reali'es that no one pays any attention to hi% any %ore)3 32nd ho( about grouping together all of 4epito13 34epito $ust is 4epito, or it isn&t,3 he said, al%ost angry) 3 ither (e are (ho (e are or they $ust scre( us o#er, they %a+e us disappear) 2s it is (e&re together, but (e are not all scra%bled up / as opposed to all those organi'ations you people are so proud of in pri#ate business, unions, and political parties of the left or the right) 3*hen (e ha#e a big proble% (ith the city authorities, (e loo+ for a real articulate guy, real s%art / but he officially represents no one and nothing) "o (e send this guy to negotiate, explaining real (ell (hat (e (ant) Off he goes to argue (ith the authorities) ,inally they (rite up an agree%ent and he signs it and brings it o#er to us) @ere, (e all discuss the agree%ent) It circulates fro% person to person, fro% group to group) If (e li+e it, that&s that) *e abide by the agree%ent) If (e don&t li+e it, if it has things in it that (e $ust plain can&t accept, (e go to the authorities and accuse the% of negotiating (ith this guy (ho doesn&t represent anybody) 2nd it starts all o#er again)3 4his is, ob#iously, only one of the %any thousands of tric+s that the 4epitans constantly use in their daily life and their political struggles) 4he asse%blies of 4epito / asse%blies of 7, 79, or 799 / ine#itably re%ind %e of #illage asse%blies in the indigenous 'ones) 2n asse%bly is not a space for de%ocratic decisions, such as can be found in unions, uni#ersities or political parties, (here indi#iduals #ote on alternati#es presented to the% by the spea+ers) @ere asse%blies are theatrical representations for the ritual ratification of pre#iously %ade decisions arri#ed at through extensi#e and #ery co%plicated exploration, in (hich the decisions the%sel#es ta+e for% (ith the participation of e#eryone) ffecti#e go#ern%ent is not arri#ed at through representati#es and their experts (ho go#ern for the people once they ha#e been elected (ith a greater or lesser degree of de%ocracy, i)e) according to the ritual proceedings of suffrage that is called de%ocracy else(here) @ere the need for a leader is clearly recogni'ed6 the need for so%eone to coordinate the collecti#e efforts and to conduct the group as their initiati#es, talents, needs and aspirations re.uire) >ut the po(er itself al(ays re%ains in the hands of the people, (ho, depending on co%plex patterns of beha#ior, %ay or %ay not follo( the leader, but (ill ne#er let go of the reins of control) @ere is go#ern%ent of the people, and by the people / not for the people) I do not +no( (hether the barrio (ill sur#i#e) Cecent atte%pts to destroy it loo+ to be %ore successful than pre#ious ones) 0sing the (ell?+no(n s%uggling expertise of 4epitans, and under the banner of efforts to control inflation, the authorities ha#e fostered an artificial and unprecedented econo%ic boo% there) Officially sponsored s%uggling / dri#en, perhaps, by fear of the fiery autono%y of the barrio during the earth.ua+e days ? is under%ining 4epito&s #ery basic social foundations) In order to earn .uic+ %oney, young people ha#e started to abandon (or+shops (here they had pre#iously been learning a thousand and one s+ills) Drug addiction and traffic+ing ha#e appeared) *hate#er happens, 4epito&s history and practices ha#e circulated o#er the entire city) 2 thousand 4epitos ha#e been born and reborn) 4hey are not ideal %odels) It (ould be cri%inal to fall into the trap of an ideali'ation of the conditions these co%%unities suffer, exposed as they are to a thousand for%s of econo%ic exploitation, cultural aggression, social discri%ination and political subordination)

>ut the socio?cultural substance that 4epito sy%boli'es and illustrates explains (hy (e ha#e not already %urdered each other in this urban %onstrosity of t(enty %illion inhabitantsA (hy, for %any of us, -exico City is still a good place to li#e / clearly superior to !e( =or+, 4o+yo or <aris) 4he for% of direct go#ernance, in a con#i#ial life style, defines also a %oral and political substance that has spread to the deepest bases of -exico City and gi#es roo% to alternati#e (ays of urban existence that deser#e serious consideration)

8 4arrio and vecindad ha#e no direct translation) 2 barrio is %ore than a neighborhood) It is a collection of neighborhoods, li+e the de#elop%ents of a %odern city, but it is not a de#elop%ent) It is %ore in the tradition of the ,rench 5uartier, in (hich the co%%on traits defining the place and distinguishing it fro% others co%e fro% the inside, fro% the soul of the barrio, and not fro% the frontiers established by de#elopers or officials) 6ecindad is a +ind of neighborhood, but not defined by the %ere #icinity of the houses but by the +ind of con#i#iality existing a%ong the neighbors (ho happen to li#e there) ? Gustavo Esteva return to textE

Tepitan Tactics 7he following stories illustrate alternatives to the current state of our behavior in the %8irst 9orld.% As 8irst 9orlders we want sewage systems and we want +ails. 9e want our excrement to vanish our social failures well out of sight. *imilarly when we send a mother with Alzheimer!s disease to an old folks! home we believe we have found a solution. 9e wash our hands of it satisfied. 7o take care directly socially implies accepting serious real responsibilities that we have been unwilling to shoulder. 4ut it also implies the power to live our lives on our own terms.

4he success of the people of 4epito in attracting rich clients a(a+ened the a%bition of pic+poc+ets, and they started to proliferate in the area) Of course, this affected the prestige of 4epito, and caused an exodus of custo%ers) 2s a response, 4epitans established their o(n security syste%) *hen a pic+poc+et (as detected trying to rob so%eone, they (ould gi#e the alar% signal, catch the pic+poc+et, sha#e his head, ta+e his shoes, and send hi% running) 4he poor pic+poc+et had to go running out of the area, not (ithout recei#ing his share of beatings on the (ay fro% those (ho recogni'ed hi% / sha#en and barefoot ? as a pic+poc+et) <ic+poc+ets si%ply stopped appearing)

,or %any years, all alternati#es to the flush toilet (ere persecuted by the sanitation engineers, authorities and de#elop%entalists) *e had to use our latrines and co%posting toilets in a clandestine fashion, con#erting the% into part of a social struggle) ,or this reason, both the right and the left considered us to be reactionaries, opposed to progress6 dangerous hippies dedicated to a return to the "tone 2ge) !e#ertheless, in 198; (hen the earth.ua+e destroyed the se(age pipes of t(o %illion fa%ilies (ho could no longer do (ithout the% and 1;9,999 fa%ilies (ere left ho%eless in the #ery center of the city, (e, the so?called reactionaries, (ere the only ones (ith the experience needed to rapidly re%edy this collecti#e predica%ent)

,ro% that ti%e on, the authorities (ere forced to cease the persecution and e#en to bac+ up the alternati#e proposals)

2n atte%pted rape of a four?year?old girl by a neighbor (as disco#ered one day, and the entire vecindad (as discussing (hat to do) One of %y co%panions reacted i%%ediately and #ehe%ently, expressing perfectly her %iddle?class rage) 34o $ail (ith hi%,3 she de%anded pere%ptorily) 4he neighbors ga'ed at her cal%ly) 3*hy13 they said, 3"o they can turn hi% into a cri%inal13 32t least to the psychiatrist,3 she de%anded) 3*hy13 they insisted, 3so that they %a+e hi% go cra'y13 4hey continued the discussion for a long ti%e) "o%e suggested he be +ic+ed out of the co%%unity) Others argued that this %an had fought hard as one the %ost dedicated for 4epito&s ne( ho%es) "o%eone suggested that he be sent at least to a different vecindad) 4hat (ould also be unfair, ran the counterargu%ent6 3@ere at least (e +no( hi%, (e +no( ho( he is, (e can ta+e care of hi% and of oursel#es) *ho +no(s (hat he (ould do in another vecindad13 4he final consensus leaned to(ard letting hi% stay, but only if the child&s %other accepted) Once consulted, the %other agreed) 4he %an still li#es thereA I a% told that he is a %odel of cooperation and solidarity) @e no longer li#es alone, as he used to, and since he found a young (o%an to li#e (ith hi% despite his fifty years of age, he see%s .uite content) - Gustavo Esteva