Breathe
By Aideé Zamorano
Sunday morning February 26th and we are ready for the debut of the bombones in a march in the Zocalo of Mexico City. My sons are 6 and 10 years old, the older one decided to wear the national team's uniform, it makes sense to him to represent Mexico. The younger one imitates him and changes his shirt for the green one.
My children listened to the explanation about Plan B in the words of their father and mine, we stressed to them the importance of living and taking care of a young democracy like ours. I was very clear with them: we are not going to go to defend a person or a party, there are those who are using this event to say that we are going to support them in their political platforms, we come to ask for "a referee to watch that all people who want to hold public office comply with the rules and that office is called the INE (National Electoral Institute)".
"The challenge for those who come to power is to ensure that everyone has access to health, education, security and that privileges do not depend on the family in which we were born" - can you give me an example, Ma?
- You and all the children in the country should be able to go to the same school that the presidents' children go to. All of us should have access to medicines, to bivalent vaccines against covid, for example. To go out in the street and not be afraid, but power makes some people sick and they prefer to change the rules to benefit themselves.
- Is it to avoid another Porfirio Diaz mommy? asks my oldest son as we drive from Atizapan in the State of Mexico.
- Do you mean to tell me that we are going to live through another Mexican Revolution? I don't know what to answer.
- Would he be like Hitler?
- :O
Eight days ago we visited the Museum of Memory and Tolerance and the message that remained is: hate speech can foment wars and genocides.
My children enjoyed the march, they thought it was nice that most people wore pink, they were not afraid, they bought balls, airplanes and a suerito, they got on the subway and sang the anthem with all their might (although the youngest insists that those lyrics are pure dead thing and war and war and war and war).
My Elias approached a man with a banner and asked permission to take a picture of him:
"MALO, Manuel Andrés López Obrador, You are a lying president, you promised security and we live the worst violence. You promised a health system like Canada and Denmark and we are worse than before. Mexicans do not live by promises alone, I demand your resignation. Art. 39. Constitutional" -Mommy, you would have told me to make a sign, I would have written: "We children want a safe country".
The little boy, from his father's shoulders, read the banners: "I am marching for my children. The INE will not be touched, my vote will not be touched" - Mommy, when can I vote?
If all goes well, when you are eighteen.
**This note has been reviewed by my escorts to this morning's march. Now I am going to attend to my internet trolls who claim that I have been paid to attend, that I lend myself to publish about politics and that I am a disappointment. I wish everyone would want to read, be informed and actively participate, that's what democracies are all about.
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