In the article, “The Heart that Bleeds,” they discuss what occurred after the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement was signed and the modernity it brought to Mexico. One of the main factors about this the worry that jobs will be replaced by substitutes. This ties in very well with Bus 174. As we discussed in class, after Import Substitution Industrialization had ebbed because of the rise of the domination of 1^st world powers the economic status quo that had existed before was reinforced. So that people were still in their social situations that had existed during ISI but their economic situations went away. This intense shift for Mexico from its time under ISI is emphasized in the article “I Saw a City Invincible.” During the time of ISI in Mexico the government took aggressive control to try to stop foreign competition. This was one of the worries that were talked about in the first article with NAFTA. People were worried that foreign competition would win out eventually.

In the last article that I spoke about before, the authors point out interesting trends that have been seen in the migrant urban centers. One of these is that people bring the connections that they had in the country with them to the city. This was seen in our last movie City of God when Rocket talks about how migrants will come and stay with family members till they find work and a place to stay. They also speak about the police and how they have given up on many centers of Rio de Janeiro. This is seen in the movie in talking about Sandro’s mother. In a town of effective police force this threat could have been cut down. Also this police force is attacking the problems of urban life with untrained and unqualified men. This creates such problems as what occurred at the Candelaria Church Massacre.

In the next reading for this week, Alberto Salcedo Ramos explains the innocence of a robbery occurring on a Friday night. The take that he gives is very interesting and evokes some of the same emotions that occur during the movie Bus 174. Like the people on the bus Ramos did not know the rules and what he was getting himself into when he took the taxi. One thing that occurred in the movie that also occurred in this article was the robber trying to hide their identity. At first in the movie Sandro would try to hide his face. This was very confusing and I could not figure out why he was doing this. But, in his mind he still had a chance to get out and escape. If he kept his identity hidden then people would not try to come and find him. This occurred in the article also. The robbers made Ramos keep his eyes closed the entire time. They would hit him if he opened his eyes. Both in the movie and in the article this gives the robbers an achieved authority over the person being robbed. For that time they are rulers over their lives, whether they are going to live or they are going to die. One thing that through the article is explained is that both Sandro and the robbers in the taxi did not have a personal vendetta at first against the people being robbed. It could be said that at the end Sandro had bad feelings towards Geisa because she lied about having relations in prison. But, at first he just got onto a bus of people who he had never met. It is to the same way with these men. They attack him because he seems to be a wealthy man. Because of his physical showing of wealth they almost feel that he deserves to be robbed. But, in the last section the author finds out exactly why they are robbing him. He states that they did it because someone in their group was killed and they need three million pesos. But, through him being able to keep it together and not freaking out he is let out safe. They even give him money to make it back home. What he realizes is that the society that he lives in has created this situation of mugging that the only thing you can hope for is to get kind robbers when your time comes.

matteavs