1990: Octavio Paz

Mexico City:  March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998

So far I've really enjoyed “El laberinto de la soledad, and Paz's insight on the Mexican identity.  In chapter four, Paz describes the Mexican as inscrutable and a contradiction to outsiders: courteous, but reserved, solemn, but outrageous during fiesta, a being that retracts and then repels.   He goes on to sub-categorize his people by describing the difference between a worker and a technician (eg a government employee), their roles and effects on a contemporary, capitalist society, and how it all connects to totalitarianism.

According to Paz, the worker represents the death of old society and the birth of a new one, presumably due to the industrial revolution and the migration of workers from the country to the cities.  He lacks individuality because, like his boss, “son hijos de la máquina”, and can be bought and sold.  Neither the machines that he works on nor the product that is made belongs to him, therefore he loses his human relationship tot he world.

Contemporary society is described by Paz and complex. and the condition of the worker extended to other groups, such as the technician.  Although he (being a government employee, or another white collared worker) has a higher salary, he also lacks awareness of his creations.  The workers can be considered an analogy for society that has a great efficiency but no aim, “la del mecanismo que avanza de ninguna parte hacia ningún lado”.

He goes on the ascertain that a totalitarian regime makes this concept general when looking at capitalism in a social or political sphere.  He compares mass production to totalitarian politics, such as propaganda, terrorism or repression.

Using the example of terrorism, Paz claims that although it starts with the persecution of isolated groups (like races), it gradually touches everyone.  At the onset it is treated with indifference by a society that may even contribute to the discrimination out of hatred.  With being an accomplice comes feelings of guilt.  Therefore the terrorism is generalized, and the persecuted becomes the persecuted. 

Another interesting idea introduced in chapter for is the “moral de siervo...  son rasgos de gente dominada que teme y que finge frente al señor”.  It states that the Mexican is only intimate during fiestas, while drinking, or when a death occurs, and that metaphorically they always wear masks.  Only alone do they show themselves how they really are, and their relationships are constituted by fear and suspicion.   Paz claims the Mexican is a product of social circumstances, and blames the history of Mexico (especially the colonial period) for the psyche of the people.  He states that the country has not yet overcome their social differences, the abuse of authority by the powerful, the violence, and the skepticism and resignation of the people.