Monday, October 6, 2008

More Mexico edits, but first I wanted to include some more background. These pictures will mainly be from the neighborhood that the children at Caminando Unidos (the volunteer run school that the previous pictures came from) are living in.



This type of lower class neighborhood is called una barranca in Cuernavaca. This specific barranca is along an old set of train tracks in Cuernavaca. Most of the families that live along these tracks built there houses from scrap metal and found supplies.


There is currently a political battle between the community along the tracks and the state Government. The state government purchased the track land from an independent company. Currently the state is forcing families that are already living meagerly on the fridge of lower class to be moved in order to build high end condos in the place of their shacks and small homes. The conflict arises from a federal law in Mexico that permits unused federal land to be claimed by citizens as long as they are paying bills and have proof of taxes or electricity.


The families I meet are mainly women run households and the community that has been there for more than 40 years is very tight-knit.


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