This blog post is a preliminary sketch of the October 28 Movement in Puebla, Mexico. I will start with some theoretical points of reference and then move on to discuss the movement.
The sociologist William Robinson is a key theorist of globalization. He argues that globalization is shaped by a transnational capitalist class. In terms of theories of imperialism, this is very different from Lenin´s thesis of inter-imperialist rivalry. There is conflict between states in terms of how they position themselves within the global economy, a phenomena which can be understood in terms of the concept of the competitition state. But the primary lines of conflict in the world today are not between states, but between transnational capital and the great majority of people in the world whose livelihoods, communities and environments are uprooted, dislocated or destroyed by the encroachment of transnational circuits of capitalist accumulation. This is exactly what neoliberalism is about globally. In Mexico, it assumes the form of a governmentality (rationality of government) that is necro-political - a determination of which lives, communities and enviroments are valuable and which can be destroyed in order to facilitate the expansion of capitalism.
What we encountered today with the study abroad class that I am teaching in Mexico is an example of this antagonism in the form of the October the 28 Movement of Puebla´s street venders. We visisted October 28 through the good graces of Dawn Paley of the Benemerito University Autonomo de Puebla (BUAP). October 28 is sprawling marketplace - the market of Hidalgo - consisting of some 3,500 venders, who organize their commerial space democratically through mass assemblies. October 28 is an autonmous movement that scrupulously avoids political affiliattions. It has existed for 45 years. It came into existence in 1973 when the Mexican government attempted to drive street venders out of the downtown area of Puebla in order to make room for formal commerical establishments. In the 1980s, the Movement reached an agreement with the government to establsh seven new markets in Puebla, one of these being the Hidalgo market. The PRI government sought, subsequently, to undercut October 28 by promoting the establishment of an alternative organization whose market space is located adjacent to the Hidalgo market and which is used to launch periodic attacks on October 28.
The space that October 28 it occupies is prime commercial real estate with close access to Mexico´s autopista (connnecting Verecruz, Puebla and Mexico City) and downtown Puebla. There are numerous big box retailers in the vicinity and one or more would surely like to occupy the space in which October 28 operates. October 28 has, since the 1990s, been visited with waves of repression that have incarcerated or killed its key leaders. The intent of the state, particularly under the recent governorship of Moreno Valle (of the PAN) has been to destroy the movement through repression and thereby open a new space for transnational circuits of accumulation in Puebla.
Rather than transnational circuits of capital accumulation, October 28 is a central node of a popular economy that links farmers and venders - they are often members of the same family - with the working class households that shop in Hidalgo. October 28 is a commercial space that is embedded within social institutions of solidarity. The organization mediates disputes between venders. It mobilizes their resources to make repairs and improvements to the market space, such as replacing roofing and repaving the floors. The collective mobilization of resources creates economies of scale within the association that surpasses what their capacities would be if they were individual proprietors.
One way to guage the significance of October 28 is to reflect on the fate of Northern Mexico, which has been penetrated by organized crime that extorts small businesses, driving many out business while not touching transnational retailers such as Home Deport or Walmart. Transnational firms were not harmed by the wave of violence set off by the drug war. in fact, they managed to flourish. Below are maps from Geo-Mexico on the expansion of Walmart in Mexico
What this expansion implies is the disarticulation of previously existing modes of livelihood, organized popularly or through the state. The period 1993 to 2007 marked by the implantation of neoliberalism, the privatization of state corporations such as Conasupo, the privatization of ejido lands and, of course, the commercial opening to the United States represented by NAFTA. October 28 is struggling against this tide of historical change. The rising tide of transnationalism produces economic, political and social marginalization in its wake. This is what October 28 is struggling against in the face of relentless state repression that aims to destroy any and all barriers to the expansion of transnational capital.
The sociologist William Robinson is a key theorist of globalization. He argues that globalization is shaped by a transnational capitalist class. In terms of theories of imperialism, this is very different from Lenin´s thesis of inter-imperialist rivalry. There is conflict between states in terms of how they position themselves within the global economy, a phenomena which can be understood in terms of the concept of the competitition state. But the primary lines of conflict in the world today are not between states, but between transnational capital and the great majority of people in the world whose livelihoods, communities and environments are uprooted, dislocated or destroyed by the encroachment of transnational circuits of capitalist accumulation. This is exactly what neoliberalism is about globally. In Mexico, it assumes the form of a governmentality (rationality of government) that is necro-political - a determination of which lives, communities and enviroments are valuable and which can be destroyed in order to facilitate the expansion of capitalism.
What we encountered today with the study abroad class that I am teaching in Mexico is an example of this antagonism in the form of the October the 28 Movement of Puebla´s street venders. We visisted October 28 through the good graces of Dawn Paley of the Benemerito University Autonomo de Puebla (BUAP). October 28 is sprawling marketplace - the market of Hidalgo - consisting of some 3,500 venders, who organize their commerial space democratically through mass assemblies. October 28 is an autonmous movement that scrupulously avoids political affiliattions. It has existed for 45 years. It came into existence in 1973 when the Mexican government attempted to drive street venders out of the downtown area of Puebla in order to make room for formal commerical establishments. In the 1980s, the Movement reached an agreement with the government to establsh seven new markets in Puebla, one of these being the Hidalgo market. The PRI government sought, subsequently, to undercut October 28 by promoting the establishment of an alternative organization whose market space is located adjacent to the Hidalgo market and which is used to launch periodic attacks on October 28.
The space that October 28 it occupies is prime commercial real estate with close access to Mexico´s autopista (connnecting Verecruz, Puebla and Mexico City) and downtown Puebla. There are numerous big box retailers in the vicinity and one or more would surely like to occupy the space in which October 28 operates. October 28 has, since the 1990s, been visited with waves of repression that have incarcerated or killed its key leaders. The intent of the state, particularly under the recent governorship of Moreno Valle (of the PAN) has been to destroy the movement through repression and thereby open a new space for transnational circuits of accumulation in Puebla.
Rather than transnational circuits of capital accumulation, October 28 is a central node of a popular economy that links farmers and venders - they are often members of the same family - with the working class households that shop in Hidalgo. October 28 is a commercial space that is embedded within social institutions of solidarity. The organization mediates disputes between venders. It mobilizes their resources to make repairs and improvements to the market space, such as replacing roofing and repaving the floors. The collective mobilization of resources creates economies of scale within the association that surpasses what their capacities would be if they were individual proprietors.
One way to guage the significance of October 28 is to reflect on the fate of Northern Mexico, which has been penetrated by organized crime that extorts small businesses, driving many out business while not touching transnational retailers such as Home Deport or Walmart. Transnational firms were not harmed by the wave of violence set off by the drug war. in fact, they managed to flourish. Below are maps from Geo-Mexico on the expansion of Walmart in Mexico
What this expansion implies is the disarticulation of previously existing modes of livelihood, organized popularly or through the state. The period 1993 to 2007 marked by the implantation of neoliberalism, the privatization of state corporations such as Conasupo, the privatization of ejido lands and, of course, the commercial opening to the United States represented by NAFTA. October 28 is struggling against this tide of historical change. The rising tide of transnationalism produces economic, political and social marginalization in its wake. This is what October 28 is struggling against in the face of relentless state repression that aims to destroy any and all barriers to the expansion of transnational capital.
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