An innovative people

Over the last few weeks I have become increasingly convinced that the Mexicans are very innovative. Well maybe it's not the category of 'Mexicans' but 'the poor' - of whom the majority I meet at the moment are Mexicans.

You see, a lot of the time, in this blog I write about things which amuse me out here. And I'm pretty sure that in some people's minds, I bulldoze some cultural sensitivity boundaries each time I put finger to keyboard in this blog. They're things which I find quaint, interesting and even, dare I use such a shocking and inappropriate word, backward. For those of you who reeled when you read that, please don't misunderstand it. I'm not appealing for a return to colonialism... well, except for the United States of Everywhere, which I am still convinced belongs to us. Nor do I think that I am/we are better than the Mexicans. Underneath God, all men (and women, people and others) are equal. Fact. But Mexico is far behind the West in terms of many things: technology, infrastructure, administration, governance and so on... and this means that occasionally the way in which things are done is, well, different.

But we have much to learn from these people. In relationships and ideas of community, we in the UK lag behind by miles. Needless to say, no-one here finds it acceptable to walk around with their mobile phone playing crappy R'n'B music on speakerphone. That's a massive bonus (and I don't know when that became socially acceptable in the UK). But the other thing is that we are definitely not as innovative as these remarkable Mexicans. Perhaps the opulence in which we live has just taken the edge off our creativity and dulled our entrepreneurial spirit but we are the ones that lag behind.

Simply put, if there's an opportunity to make money, someone will be doing it. For example: the Metro costs 2 pesos (10p) to ride anywhere and everywhere, so the street sellers buy a ticket and sell inside the trains to their very literally captive audience. And they get good sales. Some major roads in Mexico City consist of a dual carriageway with another dual-lane road either side in either direction, separated from the main road by a dirt reservation. On the busiest roads, where queues are inevitable 3 or 4 times a day, the locals have removed the kerbs and barriers, and constructed dirt tracks to allow traffic to pass from the main road to the minor road where alternative routes can be found. They then manage the entry and exit traffic and collect tips as a result. Ingenious!

And then there are the ways of getting around spending so much money, like the welder I saw in Ojo de Agua the other day. Somewhat irritated by having to pay for his electricity, he had obviously decided that the un-metered mains electricity lines were an adequate substitute, climbed a ladder with two giant crocodile clips and attached them to the first phase and return lines. When I cycled by he was happily welding away, presumably induced by not having to pay current prices. Shocking. Wire the police not energised enough to make a fuse about this? Surely his resistance to the norms of receiving electricity would be enough to spark an argument with the company. Or perhaps they don't have the capacity to fight back because it looked like he was ohm-ing them.

He he. Enough puns. We should learn from them as my welding friend sheds some light on how to be innovative. They're really good at that.

(and no I didn't write this entire post just to give me an opportunity to sit and think of electrifying puns).