Big Efforts and Small Steps for Change: G20 and the Global Crisis Workshop, Parroquia de la Asunción, Santa Fe, D.F.

The 20 nations with the biggest economies, the Group of 20, is meeting this June in Los Cabos, Baja California – far from the urban centres where they could be bothered by protests . . . or firebombed police cars, as happened in Toronto in 2010.  About a month and a half ago, I had the opportunity to attend an international forum at the Universidad Autónoma de Mexico on the “Global Crisis, G20 and Political Alternatives.”  It was excellent, but what was even more excellent were the connections I made with people in different parts of Latin America working for change.  There was even a speaker from Canada, my home country.  At the end, I met Andrés Peñaloza, a doctoral student of political philosophy.  He asked what I was doing in Mexico and I told him of my work in youth ministry, among the handful of other things I am involved in.  He immediately suggested that César, the young Salvadoran who spoke on the Global Crisis and Neoliberalism, come to our parish to speak to our youth group.  César works with an eclectic movement in Salvador called G-Sin Cuenta, or “G without number,” a play on the exclusionary nature of G8, G20 etc. 

César came to the parish in the next couple of days, but only a handful of youth and some of the theatre group could make it on such short notice.  However, it was definitely worth the effort.  Those that attended left awestruck and buzzing quietly about his talk on the global humanitarian, ecological, social, financial, food and resource crisis we are facing, caused by a voracious and insidious economic system: neoliberalism, and at its core, capitalism.   In his scant spare time, Andrés, runs a couple of non-profit organizations: Coalición Mexicana and Bia’lii, that does investigation on the global crisis.  He suggested we do a workshop at the parish about the global crisis and G20, commenting that we could even make a faith link.  So Emma and I went to meet with him, and he suggested that we have several speakers, but also an artist to paint during the course of the day, as well as for our theatre group to enact some points of interest or discussion.

Since most people in Santa Fe have never heard of G20, much less know what it is, our drama group decided to dramatize the impacts of G20 decisions and their neoliberal agenda.  In a couple of practices we came up with a mime to music piece and presented it six times before the taller, mostly at the Sunday masses.  A clean cut man in a suit comes out, briefcase in hand and removes the names of three countries excluded from the G20, rumples up the papers one by one and throws them on the ground.  He then empties his briefcase full of the names of all the other countries excluded from G20.  His face is half skeleton, half man.  Next, a lady resembling Vanna White comes out and puts a black grim reaper cape over him, and coordinates the placing of his hood with a crescendo in the music.

This is followed by three scenes depicting events that speak loudly to the people of Santa Fe: being fired and general unemployment, as well as the rising of prices of tortillas and gas so that one cannot pay for what they asked for.  Finally, the person representing G20 places a model maquila in front of the audience and puts his gas mask on to protect himself from the pollution. One by one the actors come out coughing, gasping and grabbing their chests and dying. The final character recognizes its G20 who is causing this and tries to grab him, just before he or she falls dead to the ground.  Still donning his WWII like gas mask; G20 goes before the audience as the music fades.  We announced about the taller and explained a little bit about G20, as well as handed out hundreds of flyers over a couple of days.  We even presented the skit at an event attended by about 400 people for Mother’s Day, just outside the church.

I was sure we would at least get 20 people coming to the workshop.  After all, it was about things that impacted their daily life, was free and included a lunch, as Andres suggested.  The lunch was the only payment he asked for.   As Emma and I had both been asked to speak at the event, we were up late Friday night . . . well, okay . . . morning, preparing our parts.  Miriam and Kirsten helped us make sandwiches the morning of and set up the room.

At 11 am, when it was supposed to start, only 2 people were there.  Not even the other speakers had shown up.  We didn’t end up starting until around 11:45.  Throughout the day, there were between 11 and 15 people.  I was quite disheartened.  Nevertheless, we made the event more personal, with everyone sitting in circle.  It became apparent that those who came were very interested.  First, we started with the trivia about G20 that Emma had prepared, and then Andrés spoke on the focal points of the G20 summit this year.  The drama group did a skit about the amount of money given to the Wall Street bankers in 2008: if you were to receive $1.00 USD every second of your life, you would have to live 32, 000 years to receive what was given the Wall Street bankers by the American government. 

Next Emma and I gave an overview of the protests, especially in Pittsburgh and Toronto.  We watched “The Story of Stuff” (http://www.storyofstuff.com/).   I followed that with a short talk on consumption, as the drive to have name brand clothing and the most innovative and expensive cell-phones in this economically depressed area is very apparent.  We had lunch and then continued with an ex-Jesuit seminarian who spoke on Faith and the Global Crisis and solidarity economics.  A Mapuche from Chile also spoke about his people’s cosmovision and the impacts of neoliberalism on his pueblo.  Finally, the Gringo nephew of Andrés spoke on Biblical passages about usury.  The few that attended were really interested, asking questions and making comments. Throughout this, a talented muralist, our friend, Marcos, worked away painting the vision he imagined from our discussions.  Andrés also asked our drama group to tape the skit we did at the taller and the one we did to advertise the event so he can upload it onto his webpage for the Coalición Mexicana frente el G20. 

We finished the day with a one word evaluation.  Some of the comments we got were, “Radical,” “Profound,” “Reflective,” “Creative,” “Excellent Exercise,” “Tara: Keep doing more workshops” as well as, “Profound, because it made me see that there are options for a better life without being a materialistic.”  One man felt that a few words were not enough; he stood up and gave the talleristas a 5 minute speech about how thankful he was for the taller and our commitment to this kind of work.  It was worth it.  I am reminded of a story I heard, even though I forget exactly who it came from.  It was about a mission group that went and put a lot of effort into preparing a retreat.  Only one person came, and as I was, the team was very disheartened.  Nevertheless, they worked with this one attendee.  The next year, they returned to the same site again.  Only this year, the attendee from the year before had organized her own retreat – which was attended by about 20 people.  Our little taller may not have been attended by many, but we were a valiant and important few who are charged to spread the word. 

Shedding discrete tears today at the amount of people begging and barefoot, or selling cheap junk in the metro of this “Unreal City,” and musing on the impending joke of a federal election, I realized that what I have to offer is only a minute fraction of what is really needed.  It is almost unperceivable.  As Oscar Romero says, “There is a freedom in that.”  But what if I didn’t do it? I can’t even begin to think about that; it would be a spiritual death for me.

Tara Hurtford, Incarnate Word Missionary

Santa Fe, Mexico City, Mexico