May 1st
2013
Rural Chiapas highway
Guatemala-bound
The cars are all stopped
What’s going on?
Thirty minutes
Walk to the front
Road blocked with stones
Circle of peasants, organizing
What’s going on?
Walk back to the car
People seem annoyed
But not alarmed
Is this normal?
Peanut vendors emerge
Mango vendors too
Thirty more minutes
Walk back up
Oakley’s man
Costa Rican
Grew up in L.A.
Jean shorts
Spokesman for the group
Campesinos
Frente Popular Campesino de Chiapas
Zapatista offshoot
International Day of the Proletariat
Erecting an impromptu toll booth
Traffic flowing soon
Fifty pesos
Thanks
Back to the car
Van pulls up
Random friend from Oaxaca
Making a border run
Far out
Thirty more minutes
What’s going on?
Rammed by a taxi
He drives away
Thirty more minutes
Really?
Two hours to get your shit together?
C’mon campesinos
Finally
Cars start to move
Fifty pesos ready
Our turn
“One hundred pesos”
And her coy smile
Why?
Oakley’s man said fifty
“One hundred pesos”
And her evil smile
Faces surround us
Growing agitated
Sticks tapping the pavement
“One hundred pesos,
Or pull off the road”
Okay, here it is
“Here’s your receipt”
Finally
Frustrated, but on the road
Well guess what campesinos we met some really nice people at the border and they were driving the other way so we gave them our receipt so that they got to go through for free so I guess you didn’t really get to screw the bourgeoisie over after all did you…