13 October 2008 155 views One Comment

Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

Whether it’s getting your car license plates, going to the bank or to pay your phone bill, attending at IMSS to see a doctor through the federal health insurance plan, or simply trying to negotiate your way through traffic, you can’t help but be affected by the bureaucratic inefficiencies in Oaxaca.

Ten times waiting in line at six different wickets in four locations, two of which are at opposite ends of the city, all to get license plates for a new vehicle. Albeit in my case there was at least one extra attendance because the government ran out of plates for trucks, requiring my return another day. And then there’s the constant running across the street to get further photocopies of the purchase documents and receipts just issued. Try it once if you like. However, I learned a lesson and decided next time I’d pay a designate to do the legwork … that came in November, 2004, when I bought my Jetta. I gave the salesman all the necessary documents and fees, happy to have extricated myself from the process. Then why was it that 12 months later thousands of us were still driving around without plates? I’m sure the un-vehicled were wondering why there seemed to be so many cars without them. Well, because of the autumn ‘04 state election and changes that came with it, for a year the government hadn’t gotten around to looking after purchasing raw material for producing the plates … too much red tape having to secure purchase orders, authorizing funds for release, and so on. Compound the problem with the then new state cash grab known as Programa Emplacamiento 2005: At the same time as plates for new vehicles were made available, the government decided that all vehicle owners must now purchase new plates, at 444 pesos per set. So coupled with lineups for those who had been awaiting plates for up to a year were lineups for everyone else who had to purchase another set of plates. All was explained in a flyer with charts explaining what you need for which purpose, and when you could go and get it, depending on the first letter of your surname.

The good thing for those of us who were awaiting plates for new vehicles was that if we parked illegally, transito (the traffic police) couldn’t take our front plate as is its custom. The practice is for the officer to give you an infraction notice as well as remove your plate. One pays the fine downtown, at the municipal offices at the west end of Morelos, south side, beyond La Soledad where you always see policemen and vehicles creating traffic chaos. Generally there’s not much of a lineup. Unless you can get to the office to get your plate back within a day, you have to drive to the suburb of Santa Rosa, along the highway towards Mexico City to retrieve it after paying the fine. But don’t rush to Santa Rosa since we don’t know how long it takes for transito to get the paperwork filed in the one location, and take your plate to the other…just keep driving without that front plate for a while. A friend finally decided to just keep his plates in his trunk because he was tired of having to go and get them back. It was much easier for him to open his trunk and show his plates if stopped, and come up with a good excuse as to why they weren’t visible.

If you’re still considering becoming dependent upon private transit and prefer getting your own plates, ask a friend or neighbor about the various locations and requirements, since both seem to change frequently and without adequate notice.

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About 10% of the working population in Mexico is employed by government. Certainly to achieve the above inefficiency of operations you need a huge workforce. Transito, the state police, and the Federalis is each a significant presence in Oaxaca. A while back a patrol car with two officers, in addition to five motorcycle cops, descended upon my house shortly after I reported that my cleaning lady had days earlier stolen from me (don’t generalize from this…it happens worldwide). Seven officers in circumstances where one or two could have done the job. What they do is hard to understand … virtually nothing except take down particulars and tell you to go to the Ministerio Publico (Ministry of the Attorney General) to have a warrant issued.

At times in Mexico the line between civil and criminal proceedings becomes blurred. While within the Canadian and American Common Law traditions one must not threaten criminal proceedings to exact a civil remedy (“pay me or I’ll go to the police”), here in Oaxaca it is the recommended procedure. That is, enter into a payment agreement with the scoundrel with the strict understanding that if payments are not forthcoming you’ll go to the Ministerio, the likely result being a jail term for the offending party where there’s been a breach of trust. One can only imagine how many additional bureaucrats become involved at the Ministry level where there is actually something concrete to be done!

Perhaps a partial solution is to reduce the government workforce by 50%, and for those remaining add 30% to their modest wages, using the savings for betterment of our streets, sidewalks, gorgeous fountains and general maintenance. Two problems come to mind: firstly, how to re-employ the terminated workers, and secondly, how to motivate the remaining employees to increase their productivity. On the other hand, by simply improving efficiency of operations there may be no need to increase work output.

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Another bureaucratic curiosity is the lineups, frequently encountered in front of Telmex on Garcia Vigil and outside the banks. In both cases I believe this phenomenon stems from the same societal circumstances…the individual’s lack of funds to make ends meet on a continuous basis and the mañana mindset of the majority (including expats after having living in the city for a couple of years). If you don’t pay your utility bills by a stated deadline, service is temporarily cut off. Many people because of necessity and/or lifestyle therefore wait until the last moment to pay, or frequently inadvertently miss the deadline and then scurry to get reconnected. When you make a phone call and are told that the line is out of service, you’ll have a good idea why, but don’t despair … try again in a day or two. In June, 2005, I spent three hours waiting to be served at the Telmex office on N. Heroes de Chapultepec (I actually scooted out to run another errand in the interim, with numbered ticket in hand) to ascertain the status of my August 2003 application for a phone. In the course of no more than a two minute conversation with a staff attendant I was told that I’d have to wait at least a further six months. It’s not unusual to wait years for a phone line. In my neighborhood people had been waiting since 1999. That day I attended the Telmex office there was chaos. More than 100 ticket numbers had been given out within a short time-span, the result being that in several cases two people had the same number, and began arguing about whose turn would be next, and who would have to wait for 100 people to be served. Be vigilant while waiting in line so you’ll know with certainty who goes first.

Two further Telmex inefficiencies: 1) When you apply for a phone, and anytime thereafter, Telmex will not accept a cellular phone number as a contact number … but you don’t have a land phone number to give or else you wouldn’t be applying; 2) To let you know that your time has arrived to go to the offices to sign a contract and pay the connection fee, four men are sent around to your house in a VW bug. And if no one is home? In my case my neighbor Álvaro rang the bell and said “quick Alvin, I saw the Telmex car at the bottom of the hill. Lets go find it.” So off we went.

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Regarding banking, friends caution that you shouldn’t try going to el banco the beginning of the month, the end of the month, mid-month, Mondays, Fridays, and the days before and after holidays. A crude calculation indicates that there are perhaps two or three days per month when it’s safe to attend financial institutions. Lineups are frequently for in excess of an hour. Banamex has finally arrived into the 21^st century, with number taking for wickets providing different services, and seating. Otherwise, there are only so many times you can set out for the bank, see the queue, and give up. On the other hand, banks at times run out of money, especially before holidays, so if you simply want to make a cash deposit, a bank employee may be heard asking if anyone’s in line to deposit cash, which will then enable you to jump to the front of the line. But if your intention is to withdraw cash, then just pray that there are others in the building with that cash to deposit.

It’s similar at IMSS, another multi-attendance institution, to see the doctor, get x-rays or blood tests. It’s the same when the time comes to pay the annual IMSS fee at the one bank branch of HSBC on 5 de Mayo where it’s accepted. However, you’ll avoid a lot of wasted waiting time if you ask for the IMSS payment lineup, if there is one that day.

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Strikes and protests. The teachers do it on an annual basis, as the world has now come to know. As well, campesinos from the furthest reaches of the state descend upon the capital with great frequency. In both cases, and in others, the result is traffic jams and street closures. Without commenting on the injustices faced by such groups and the legitimacy of their complaints, the extent to which grievances are resolved in this way, in this particular state, must be examined within the context of the number of police which address the problem frequently with riot squad equipment, and their effectiveness in terms of enabling the city to carry on its business. Perhaps the mere appearance of Federalis serves an important function, but transito blowing whistles and flailing arms does not appear to be effective. Their presence is similarly of little consequence in controlling double parking and day-to-day gridlocks.

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A final word of advice relates to attendances at the Mercado de Abastos. On Saturday (the general weekly market day) avoid all streets close to and including the Periférico as well as the southern access route which meanders alongside El Rio Atoyac, and on Tuesday and Friday (the commercial produce market days) keep clear of the latter roadway. Thursday (the clothing market day) can present problems along the Periférico.

The key to living here in peace and harmony is to simply soak up everything the city has to offer, accept what we experience as part of a society in transition, and remember to check our ethnocentrisms and frustrations because we love Oaxaca despite all of the foregoing.

Alvin Starkman received his masters in social anthropology in 1978, and his law degree in 1984. Thereafter he was a litigator in Toronto until taking early retirement. He and his family were frequent visitors to Oaxaca between 1991 and when they became permanent residents in 2004. Alvin writes, tours couples and families to the craft villages, ruins, market towns and more off the beaten track attractions, consults to documentary film companies, and together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (  http://www.oaxacadream.com ), a unique Oaxaca bed and breakfast combining the comfort and service of a four star downtown Oaxaca hotel with the personal touch and quaintness of country inn style accommodations.