Andalusia Knoll: Mexico's Official Independence Day Fiesta Was a Disaster Andalusia Knoll - VICE News
go to original September 18, 2014

Children received pat-downs from police at a public plaza as if they were entering a high-security bunker, and the Mexican flag fell off its pole at precisely the least opportune moment during its raising on Independence Day in the center of the Zócalo main square in Mexico City.

These were among the most notable flops that occurred this year during the two-day national party that is combined by the "Night of the Shout" on September 15 and the Independence Day military parade on September 16. They marked an overall ho-hum edition of the so-called "fiestas patrias" in Mexico, as stagnant economic growth, persistent violence, and a series of controversial reform laws have led to low approval ratings in less than two years of the current government.

Thousands joined President Enrique Peña Nieto in the heavily guarded and watched Zócalo for the traditional celebrations that Mexicans usually call their biggest party of the year.

But, as it turns out, a significant portion of the revelers that appeared at the plaza on Monday night to hear the president recreate the "Grito de Dolores" — which sparked Mexico's war to liberate itself from Spain in 1810 — were not motivated by their patriotic spirit.

Instead, they were lured by free food, a free concert, and in some cases, cash.

Read the rest at VICE News

Photo: Presidency of the Republic



Operation Tequila Anonymous Mexico (Martin Requenez Bernabe)

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