Veracruz: 5 centuries of concentration of wealth and social lagging

By María Eugenia Hernández

500 years after the beginning of exploration, conquest, foundation and definition
of economic vocation of the Central Coast of Veracruz — which is still
preserved— to operate as one of the most important centers of the Continent
for the collection and transferring of the wealth of the “New World” abroad;
many of the economic and social problems that were originated with the
European colonization process are still present nowadays.

1
During three centuries of brutal confrontation between three cultures and social
organization, among Conquistadors, native peoples -that still exist nowadays -
and slaves from Africa, there was an economic and social catastrophe which
established the structure of concentration of wealth, social inequality and
unstable growth that persists as financial statistics evidence today in Veracruz.

Low growth and high financial dependence from Central government, that
describes Veracruz´ today economy, arises within the historical process of its
foundation, although the Europeans arrived in 1519, Veracruz was not
considered by the colonizers as an area suitable for settlement, and it was only
driven as a point for deposit, custody and transportation of wealth to Europe for
more than 250 years.

Walled Veracruz 1800

2
For some historians, it was so unhealthy and insalubrious the Walled City of
Veracruz that by the last decades of the 18th century the Colonial Authority was
considering to destroy the Village or relocate its population to Xalapa. Even
during the mid-19th century, the government of Benito Juárez proposed moving
harbor operation to the natural port of Antón Lizardo, 20 miles south.

For other historians, the economic stagnation and poverty it was induced by the
Spain Crown, as considering that the best defense to preserve the wealth to be
sent away, it was to have the port with the lowest number of facilities and Creole
population, to frustrate the arrival of external attackers. It was up to 1780 to
1880, that despite the military ordinance, the population demanded economic
ordinances, as trade relations with Europe was growing rapidly and workforce
and better port facilities were required.

Human Rights: Torture by inheritance

In 1572, the Village of Veracruz get hold of the title of Commissariat of the Holy
Inquisition Court. Then, by torture inquisitors obtained confessions from
hundreds of oppressed indigenous “misbelievers”, slaves from Africa and some
pirates caught prisoners and after a “holy trial” were convicted and hanged.
The small jails and dark dungeons of the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa account for the
terror that the most vulnerable population lived for several centuries.

In 2019, the Human Rights situation in Veracruz it is just as terrifying as it was

then, bloody turf battles among increasingly splintered criminal cartels colluded
with police have left more than 40,000 people missing in the past two decades,

3
as well as around 26,000 unidentified corpses in over 1,100 mass graves,
according to official data.

More than 300 K people have been missed since 2000 due crime and government collusion in
Veracruz. Foto: Cortesía Diario de Xalapa.

Last January, Mexican government officials apologized to families of five youths

killed after police kidnapped them and turned them over to brutal drug gang in
January 11, 2016 in the city of Tierra Blanca, 60 miles from Veracruz harbor.

The youths were on their way home when they were stopped by local police,
apparently in the mistaken belief they had ties to a gang, then turned over to
members of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. They were then
murdered and their bodies incinerated, according to preliminary findings.

Despite the apology, there is a hollow sentiment of accountability from the

victims. In the three years that have passed since the incident occurred,

4
investigations have led to the arrest of 21 suspects. However, not a single
conviction has been seen and no senior Veracruz official has even been
investigated.

Veracruz reports shocking levels of impunity. Only 3 percent of crimes recorded

in Veracruz result in verdicts.¿, according to the New Mexico Global Impunity
Index published by the Center for Impunity and Justice Studies (CESIJ) at
Universidad de Las Américas.

Poverty: The unreachable wealth for Veracruz People

In Veracruz socio-economic indicators are far below the national average.

According to data from CONEVAL (the most recent at this level), the state has a
poverty rate of over half its population and is one of the six entities accounting

5
for around a third of Mexico’s population but 40% of its poor and 60% of its
extreme poor.

Over the time, Veracruz played an important geopolitical role and was
remarkable given natural wealth, soil, climate diversity and for having the most
modern and strategic communication channels to connect with the central zone
of the country. It is the fifth largest economy and contributes with around 5
percent of GDP.

Tertiary sector has been the most dynamic, represented by services such as
energy (oil, gas and electricity), infrastructure (roads, water and sanitation,
building) as well as, housing, real estate development, tourism, retail and logistic
services.

Veracruz total population is currently 8.1 million and ranks third nationally after
the State of Mexico and Mexico City.

6
About half of the population congregates in urban areas founded since colonial
times such as Veracruz-Boca del Río, Córdoba-Orizaba and Xalapa-Coatepec; as
well as zones that flourished especially until the early twentieth century primarily
by the drilling, mining, and oil refining and transport such as Tuxpan-Poza Rica-
Papantla in the Northern Region and the towns of Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlán at
the South.

The centers that concentrate services and industrial production kept continuous
development, urbanization and reported the lowest percentage of poverty. While
in rural populations dispersed throughout the entity and in the mountains, where
there is only agricultural production, show a phenomenon that persists since
colonial times: high prevalence of indigenous population and the highest levels
of poverty and extreme poverty.

Veracruz is the third state with the greatest biodiversity and variety of soils in the
country, it has plenty of water and rivers, extensions of forests and jungles;
however, primary activities only contribute five percent of the economy.

7
During the last hundred years, the federal government’s growth policies an
disbursing in Veracruz, which account over 9 out of every ten pesos spent in the
entity, privileged the security of private and public investments and were
directed to the same areas of abundance that enchanted the Spaniards, on the
other hand, capital was not “risked” to boost technology and innovation in
rural areas with greater need and economic deterioration.

Lately, due high levels of insecurity and crime, Veracruz has lost relevance in the
national economic scene. From being the first state economy in the country, it
lost its preeminence since the post revolution period, been replaced by states of
large industrial development such as Nuevo Leon, Mexico State and Mexico City.
Since then it has continued to decline up to ranking fifth place nationally after
the states above mentioned as well as Jalisco and Campeche

Globalization: Unemployment and Informality

Historians note that, during the time of colonial splendor, the value of
merchandise and treasures that were embarked from the harbor of Veracruz to
the Kingdom of Spain per year, it could have amounted to one million dollars.

8
In the second decade of the 21st century, the value of exports that are
transported every year by sea through the port terminal of Veracruz , it is close
to 30 billion dollars.

By 1994, after North America Free Trade Agreement, Veracruz established itself
as a port leader in the Gulf of Mexico. The annual load movement rose from 6
million in 1993 to 29 million tons at the end of 2018.

The effects of globalization in Veracruz cannot be reviewed without pointing out

that the neoliberal project and NAFTA crashed dock workers labor rights as well
as local commerce.

Mexico, United States and Canada agreed the immediate opening to the private
sector of the contracting of services such as the operation and maintenance of
docks, as well as transportation and cargo handling.

Dock workers survivor from Port requisition of 1991, are still demanding labor rights in 2019.

9
In 1991, the requisition of the Port Estate owned company, was decreed arguing
“low levels of productivity and corruption” and tenders were opened to
privatize services at the docks like security, surveillance and logistic control.

Port privatization meant the breaking of the collective contract with the Union of
Port Workers, which had more than 70 years of existence and the immediate
dismissal of more than three thousand workers.

This situation constituted an important antecedent, therefore, with everything

and that the port workers’ union was not characterized as a democratic
organism, shortly after the commercial opening the mass layoffs were repeated
in other industries such as the sugar, petrochemical, textile, metalworking and
rail transport.

Study of the Institute of Socio- Economic Research of the University of Veracruz

states that “The economic adjustment forced by neoliberal policy has caused a
painful debacle in all the industrial sector of Veracruz. It is estimated that
between 1994 and 2000 more than 50,000 direct jobs were lost”

From then on, there was an increase in informal work in micro and small
businesses, for fees and without benefits, and in the form of self — employment
in street commerce and on public roads, parks and plazas.

The response of municipal government to the crisis suffered by Veracruz

economy in the last decade of the 20th century, was to grant thousands of
commercial permits to sell in streets and parks to unemployed people. The
phenomenon formed a parallel, legal or extralegal economy that has managed to
preserve political practices, such as the appropriation, sale and occupation of
public territories and corruption.

10
The most recent Employment Survey indicates that informal labor remains
uncontrollable and currently seven out of ten jobs are in that parallel economy.

Fixed vendor stalls builded over car lanes at Veracruz Historic Distric

Corruption and impunity reached disastrous proportions on local Market since

2011, when Carolina Gudiño managed to be the Municipal President of
Veracruz, and allowed the expansion of informal commerce that is no longer
considered “ambulant”, because her administration promoted and authorized
the sale of public sidewalks and car lanes to leaders of social organizations
related to the PRI to build up concrete stalls with cement floor. It is estimated
that more than a third of the Historic District public space has been sold to
leaders of street vendors up to date.

11
Education: Ancestral inequality

The first Franciscan missionaries, sent by Carlos V at Cortés request, arrived in

Mexico in 1523. Since their arrival, they established schools in the center of the
New Spain, where youngsters learned to read and write and were introduced to
European music and the arts. Adults were trained to practice agriculture and
trades, learning European methods in masonry, carpentry, iron work, weaving,
dying and ceramics.

The Conquest of Tenochtitlán (17th-century painting by unknown artist)

However, no school culture was implanted, nor fine arts or crafts flourished in the
region of the supposed “most important Port of the New Spain Colony” as the
natives basically became slaves. Later, native population declined by 90 per cent
due new infectious diseases brought by Conquistadors.

12
It was only until the end of the 18th century, when the first schools and
educational projects for Indians were established in Veracruz territory. With the
main purpose of the Catholic Church to evangelize and teach local natives,
through work and training on different kind of workshops such as printing or
music band education.

At that time, were born the most representative popular crafts of the region such
as “cartonería” (cardboard molding art) and “laudería” (the artwork of
making small guitars with precious wood).

Artist Milburgo Treviño, among the latest exponents of the original folk arts of the Veracruz region

Both traditional and unique folk arts from Veracruz have managed to survive to
present, despite the little or no promotion they receive from educational
authorities, particularly in the current administration of Governor Cuitláhuac
García.

13
According to historian Dorothy Tanck, until the early years of 19th century, in the
province of Veracruz, there was a gap between elementary education and so-
called secondary education (Junior School). There was no such an institution
offering that type of teachings to its young population, whom has had to go
study to Puebla or Mexico City, among other parts of the country that did have
academia and college societies.

“It was until 1848, when the first secondary education campus was opened in
town, later the school became known as “el Ilustre Instituto Veracruzano or “La
Prepa, as said Mrs. Tanck.

With this unfortunate background, it is not difficult to explain why in the Mexican
context, Veracruz remains as a “lagging and under-performing region”. The
poor performance of the education system results in a relatively small pool of
well-educated graduates from secondary and higher education systems.

In the State of Veracruz only 4 out of 10 manage to enter Public University.

14
Veracruz human capital capacity is limited and the average year of study is only
8.1 below the national average of 9 years; in contrast, high illiteracy rate is of 9.5
percent of population, almost double compared to the national average of 5.5
percent.

Natural Environment: Reefs, the despised treasures

The port of Veracruz expansion project vanished reefs off the Mexican Gulf city
of Veracruz, the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA)
said.

Ecological change was regarded as an unpleasant but inevitable side effect of

European Colonization. The introduction of livestock, deforestation and forced
labor institutions irreversibly damaged coastal landscape, especially the largest
coral ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, the Veracruz Reef System National Park
(VRNP).

15
From the very first moment of the foundation of the “First Settlement in the
Americas”, a progressive alteration to coral reefs began and has continued over
five centuries and it is possible to observe four stages of destruction:

The first, during the 16th century, with the beginning of the construction of walls
in the Fortress of San Juan de Ulúa to shelter boats, then, coral stones were used
as raw material.

The second devastation to the reef it was caused during the 17th and 18th
centuries, for the construction of what we know today as the Historic Center of
the City of Veracruz; then over an area of 1 Mi², with more than 300 buildings
and a surrounding Wall of 4,000 Mi² length.

Walled City of Veracruz 18th Century

16
According to Ramiro Gómez, a professional diver who has explored the area for
more than 40 years and studied sea currents “the foundations of Veracruz city
Historic Centre it meant the devastation of about 5 Mi² of the coral reef
platform”

The third strike to reef it was in the 19th century, when the British Company
Pearson removed 14,000 Ft³ of coral stone a day, to keep the access channel to
steamboats open. Reefs surrounding the entrance of Veracruz, which were
historically the biggest threat to navigation of vessels, were in the construction of
“artificial” port the source of material for two esplanades that were built to cut
ocean waves at north and southeast of the harbor.

The fourth and so far the latest attack to the magnificent Veracruz reef system,
took place at the beginning of 21th century when Mexican Government
promoted an ecological disaster of unspeakable consequences, unquantifiable,
for the construction of two new terminals under the Port expansion project.

In 1992, Mexico’s government declared the Veracruz Reef System a Natural

Protected Area. In 2004, it was listed as a Wetland of International Importance
under the Ramsar Convention, a treaty for the protection of wetlands including
reefs.

Despite the reef’s recognized significance, in 2013 the government reduced the
size of the Natural Protected Area and approved a port expansion project.
Construction has damaged not only Veracruz Reef, but also the nearby Los
Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, a jewel of Mexico’s Emerald Coast, which developers
mined for rock to build the port.

17
New Veracruz Port terminal as of June 2019

“By putting at risk the Veracruz Reef System — the largest in the Gulf of Mexico,
whose protection is a matter of public interest — the government also threatens
the right to a healthy environment of the people who depend on it,” AIDA
attorney Camilo Thompson said.

18