Whose Freedom?

Sidney Mintz: "The choice between a ‘Danish’ pasty and a ‘French’ doughnut during a ten-minute coffee break is a choice, but the circumstances under which this choice is made may not be freely chosen. Like the choice between a McDonalds hamburger and a 'Gino’ chicken leg during a thirty-minute lunch hour, the choice itself is far less important than the constraints under which the choice is being made...[t]he proclaimed freedom to choose meant freedom only within a range of possibilities laid down by forces over which those who were, supposedly, freely choosing exercised no control at all (Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, PP.182-83)"

The Autonomous Working Class in Mexico

MEXICO CITY - Some 75,000 unionists, farmers and leftists marched to protest price increases in basic foodstuffs like tortillas, a direct challenge to the new president's market-oriented economic policies blamed by some for widening the gulf between rich and poor.(1)

Once again, capital attempts to cause a shift in the transfer of money from the working class to the capitalist class through an increase in food prices. An increase in basic food prices not only decreases the overall wages paid to workers, while increasing the amount of money paid to agri-capital, but it highlights how the working class needs to own its own means of food production. Working class ownership over food production is crucial as capital control over food is a key ingredient in the class struggle and a basis for forcing individuals to work, as they have to purchase food as commodities.

The marchers are angry about tortilla prices that have doubled over the last year to roughly 45 cents a pound, causing hardship among the millions of poor Mexicans for whom they are a staple…with the new prices, workers earning the minimum wage of about $4 a day could spend a third of their earnings on tortillas for their family.(2)

The activity was also unaffiliated with leftist leader Obrador:

[The protest] was also a setback for his archrival, leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who protest organizers prevented from speaking at the demonstration in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza. He held his own rally afterward, and most of the crowd stayed to hear him.(3)

It was very good to see that Mexico still has autonomous working class activity that is spontaneous and not instigated from the top down through some bureaucratic organization. This is another sign that working class activity does not have to be ‘mediated’ through the party but occurs through direct action. This autonomous activity is most clearly articulated here by this corn farmer

"This is a spontaneous people's movement, with no political affiliation," Olivaria said. "Lopez Obrador can participate, but he should not head the march. He should not even speak about it."(4)

The protestors also had additional demands beyond the scope of basic food prices and plans for future action.

The protestors are also demanding wage increases as well as an agricultural policy to promote the cultivation of basic foods such as corn, beans and grains.(5)

Labor unions and leftist groups also plan a "Day Without a Tortilla" on Friday as a show of defiance against major tortilla firms.(6)