Discrimination Isn't Funny, Mexicans Are Slow to Learn

AP

April 14, 2002

MEXICO CITY, April 13 (AP) - It was supposed to be his finest hour: Gilberto Rincón Gallardo, the head of Mexico's first antidiscrimination commission, on the floor of Congress presenting a bill to ban all forms of discrimination in the public sector.
But not even Mr. Rincón Gallardo, this country's most vocal antidiscrimination advocate, thinks the bill has much chance of becoming law.
"I think there's no question that they've lost interest," he said of the legislators. "The government has shown no interest in this issue."
While Congress prefers to shelve the issue, a growing number of Mexicans are complaining that obvious acts of discrimination - being racist, sexist or even violent toward women - have become part of the social fabric and are often the basis for what much of the country finds funny.
Soap operas routinely show men slapping women in the face, throwing them on a couch or shoving them down the stairs.
A recent television talk show featured a drawn-out boxing match between a midget and a kangaroo.
Department stores and street vendors sell oversized lip disguises and dark makeup that let Mexicans "look like their favorite black basketball player."
One of Mexico's most successful movie series revolves around "La India María" - "María the Indian" - who bumbles her way through challenging tasks like operating a washing machine or riding an elevator. As in many Mexican movies and television shows, the Indian is played by a white actress.
Carlos Monsiváis, an author and social critic, said Mexican humor had forced many in the country to laugh at jokes they do not think are funny. "They have to laugh at something because it would otherwise be hurtful," he said.
The majority of Mexicans - most of whom are varying shades of mixed Indian and European ancestry and can be victims of discrimination themselves in the United States - tend to view racism and sexism as a foreign phenomenon.
Still, President Vicente Fox set up the Citizen's Antidiscrimination Commission on taking office in December 2000, naming Mr. Rincón Gallardo to head it. As a minor party presidential candidate, Mr. Rincón Gallardo had advocated rights for homosexuals and the handicapped in the 2000 campaign that saw Mr. Fox and his chief rival, Francisco Labastida, question each other's sexual preferences.
After presenting the antidiscrimination bill, Mr. Rincón Gallardo said that the measure had been his commission's top priority but that it might never see the light of day. "Without a doubt I'm angry," he said.
The commission has begun a series of radio and television spots urging employers to combat ageism by hiring workers over 40 and other spots discouraging sexism and domestic violence.
Still, advertisers find that embracing racist and sexist stereotypes sells everything from cars to cookies, packs people into nightclubs and can even give help a politician trailing in the polls.
"We are a country that likes to laugh and sometimes we look for humor in places that may seem inappropriate," said Ignacio Montenegro, who runs an advertising agency and is a former president of the Mexican Association of Advertisers.
But Mr. Montenegro said market studies that once showed a Mexican public hungry for stereotypes now disclosed a more liberal outlook. "There is an effort on the part of advertisers to respect the evolving attitudes of the Mexican public," he said.
Standards on what is socially acceptable vary widely all over the world, and Mexico is not alone in Latin America.
The Chilean tennis player Marcelo Ríos is known in his homeland as "El Chino" - "The Chinaman" - because he has a darker complexion and wavier hair than the average Chilean.
The samba number "Face Slap" and its chorus - "When we make love, what does she ask for? S-S-Slap in the face" - was a top song during last year's carnival in Brazil.
Throughout the region, catcalls are common not only in the street, but also in offices and stores.
"In Mexico, women like the men to compliment them," said Pablo Hernández, a taco vendor. He stood on a street corner whistling and yelling "Hey pretty mama" at passing women.
But many women say those are not the type of compliments they are looking for.
"You hear the men yell at you on the street or in your office," said Josefina Molreda, 28, a receptionist. "You are afraid to look around because they might say, `She is enjoying this." '