Translated by Amanda Coe
I am ashamed of Mexico. I am ashamed of my president. I am ashamed of the performance of Mexican athletes in the 2016 Rio Olympics. I am ashamed of the lack of sports culture. I am deeply ashamed of the corruption and impunity in my country. I am ashamed of the violence and insecurity that permeates every corner of Mexico. I am ashamed of the damage, at all levels, caused by the demonstrations of teachers of the National Coordinating Committee. I am ashamed of the Mexican telenovelas that millions of viewers follow every day. I am ashamed of the unfortunate state of the streets in Mexico City. I am ashamed of the most recent statements from Norberto [Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico City], about same-sex marriage, and his jet black dyed hair.
I am ashamed of the obesity epidemic plaguing Mexican children and adults. I am ashamed of the pollution we as Mexico City residents breathe every day. I am ashamed of the lack of hope and opportunity for millions of Mexicans with respect to their future. I am ashamed of the increasingly obvious inequality and poverty. I am ashamed of the violence against women. I am ashamed knowing that many citizens were robbed of a future. I am really ashamed knowing that I'm going to leave a country in ruins to my grandchildren. Our leaders know all of this, and they are not ashamed.
I do not like feeling such shame, and yet I cannot help it. Feeling it so deeply in my heart causes me guilt and extreme fatigue. Never before have I felt so embarrassed about a reality against which I am completely powerless. To better understand this word that torments me, I read its meaning in Maria Moliner Dictionary: “Shame: painful feeling of loss of dignity, for any offense committed by one’s self or a person with whom one is linked, or for humiliation or insults suffered.”
Indeed, I felt firsthand the humiliation that Misael Rodríguez must have suffered as the only Mexican athlete [boxer] that won a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympic Games, going to the middleweight semi-final. I do not want to imagine the embarrassment Misael felt every time he passed his “bote” [tin can] to bus passengers and people in the streets of Mexico City to raise funds to attend the World Cup in Qatar in order to place for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I do not know who is responsible for this unprecedented abandoment of Mexican athletes, whether in the case of Misael, Alfredo Castillo, director of Conade [National Council for Sports], withdrew government resources to prevent further corruption or he spent the money to bring his girlfriend to the Olympics [which received much coverage in the Mexican press], or whether it was the Mexican Boxing Federation’s fault for not being concerned about what state Mexican boxers are in. What a shame!
But I feel still more ashamed by Peña Nieto’s shameless response to the article published by The Guardian, that Pierdant [Mexican businessman] paid, in 2014, the property tax of the Gaviota's ["The Seagull", Angélica Rivera's nickname] apartment in the Ocean Club complex in Florida, for more than $29,000.
Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.
María Guadalupe Loaeza Tovar is a contemporary Mexican writer and author of many books, including Las Niñas Bien [The Good Girls], Las Reinas de Polanco [The Queens of Polanco (wealthy Mexico City neighborhood)], Debo, Luego Sufro [I Owe, Therefore, I Suffer] and Compro, Luego Existo [I Shop, Therefore, I Exist], in which she writes ironically about the Mexican upper class.
I am ashamed of Mexico. I am ashamed of my president. I am ashamed of the performance of Mexican athletes in the 2016 Rio Olympics. I am ashamed of the lack of sports culture. I am deeply ashamed of the corruption and impunity in my country. I am ashamed of the violence and insecurity that permeates every corner of Mexico. I am ashamed of the damage, at all levels, caused by the demonstrations of teachers of the National Coordinating Committee. I am ashamed of the Mexican telenovelas that millions of viewers follow every day. I am ashamed of the unfortunate state of the streets in Mexico City. I am ashamed of the most recent statements from Norberto [Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico City], about same-sex marriage, and his jet black dyed hair.
I am ashamed of the obesity epidemic plaguing Mexican children and adults. I am ashamed of the pollution we as Mexico City residents breathe every day. I am ashamed of the lack of hope and opportunity for millions of Mexicans with respect to their future. I am ashamed of the increasingly obvious inequality and poverty. I am ashamed of the violence against women. I am ashamed knowing that many citizens were robbed of a future. I am really ashamed knowing that I'm going to leave a country in ruins to my grandchildren. Our leaders know all of this, and they are not ashamed.
I do not like feeling such shame, and yet I cannot help it. Feeling it so deeply in my heart causes me guilt and extreme fatigue. Never before have I felt so embarrassed about a reality against which I am completely powerless. To better understand this word that torments me, I read its meaning in Maria Moliner Dictionary: “Shame: painful feeling of loss of dignity, for any offense committed by one’s self or a person with whom one is linked, or for humiliation or insults suffered.”
Indeed, I felt firsthand the humiliation that Misael Rodríguez must have suffered as the only Mexican athlete [boxer] that won a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympic Games, going to the middleweight semi-final. I do not want to imagine the embarrassment Misael felt every time he passed his “bote” [tin can] to bus passengers and people in the streets of Mexico City to raise funds to attend the World Cup in Qatar in order to place for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I do not know who is responsible for this unprecedented abandoment of Mexican athletes, whether in the case of Misael, Alfredo Castillo, director of Conade [National Council for Sports], withdrew government resources to prevent further corruption or he spent the money to bring his girlfriend to the Olympics [which received much coverage in the Mexican press], or whether it was the Mexican Boxing Federation’s fault for not being concerned about what state Mexican boxers are in. What a shame!
But I feel still more ashamed by Peña Nieto’s shameless response to the article published by The Guardian, that Pierdant [Mexican businessman] paid, in 2014, the property tax of the Gaviota's ["The Seagull", Angélica Rivera's nickname] apartment in the Ocean Club complex in Florida, for more than $29,000.
As if it did not matter, he told López Dóriga [Televisa news anchor], without any shame:
“he is a friend who is there and that, effectively, he did her a favor. On only one occasion during the 11 years she has had the property, on only one occasion because my wife was here [in Mexico] and he told her, ‘Listen, you can cover the property taxes, but I can cover it for you here,’ which in fact was what occurred.”We can imagine how Angélica Rivera spoke with Pierdant.
“Listen, Richard, you don’t care if you pay my property taxes for my apartment in Miami, right? Oh, how nice, really you would do me this little favor? I know that I can pay online, but you know what? I really don’t feel like doing it. Also, I always get confused with the web and electronic checks. You already know how gringos are, if you don’t pay on time, they don’t stop nagging you. You really don’t mind? Gosh Ricardo, how cool of you. Hey, but I will definitely pay you, eh? What do you mean, no?”What a shame!
Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.
María Guadalupe Loaeza Tovar is a contemporary Mexican writer and author of many books, including Las Niñas Bien [The Good Girls], Las Reinas de Polanco [The Queens of Polanco (wealthy Mexico City neighborhood)], Debo, Luego Sufro [I Owe, Therefore, I Suffer] and Compro, Luego Existo [I Shop, Therefore, I Exist], in which she writes ironically about the Mexican upper class.