Freedom of speech and the power of words

On my last night at the coast, I met a Mexican 'philosopher' over dinner of fish steamed with tropical fruits, who was, as many who like to philosophise are, intriguing for five minutes, vaguely interesting for fifteen more, then as self-obsessed in his ideas about life, and telling you about what he thinks, and about himself, as the American girls I had met earlier in the day who had insisted on me knowing everything about their 'free' life back home. This got me thinking about what it means to be free as a person (uhoh, philosophising myself coming on here...) - and to me, it certainly wasn't what the Americans were portraying, of having money and things and what they called 'opportunities'. Freedom is about opportunity and education, which is linked to wealth, but not just through money or objects. Mexicans are not free, because they are suppressed by corruption in their government; but Americans are not really free, because the way they think is suppressed by their educational insularism and sometimes narrow-mindedness (this is a huge generalisation, and not true for all, of course). I asked the Mexican what he thought about the political problems here, and he said the people knew they were cheated, that money was the key to the power at the top, but the peoples' voices were the key to overthrowing that power.

And they are vocal here. Oaxaca itself is a hotbed of political unrest, sometimes violent. Whilst I have been here, the city has been a tranquil, relaxed place, people peacefully promenading about the clean, litter-free streets. Yet locals have told me it is not always this way. Because I arrived at the time of the Guelaguetza, a time when the eyes of the nation are on Oaxaca, the local government had clamped down on any protesters (I'm not sure by what means...) and had put money into cleaning up the place, wiping out any graffitied evidence of complaint which apparently usually brightly covers the buildings, even the historical churches and museums. I can't help thinking this city has such a voice because it is a centre of education (the main protests in 2006 were headed by teachers and students): it is full of museums and art galleries and theatres and music concerts. These things are what we call 'cultured', signifying education and the middle classes. But sometimes words and pictures don't seem enough, power ultimately coming down to fighting with our bare hands, whatever our level of 'culture' or 'class' or 'education'. Violence is most vocal unfortunately.

Still, the more Spanish words I learn, the more I have the power to express myself and to understand others. And this is the greatest personal power of all.