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36 Nine years ago, the author of this book attempted to publish articles in several Mexico City newspapers to criticize the “personal contributions” or “derechos de capitación” that survived in many states of the republic as a bitter relic of long-gone encomiendas. All of the newspapers refused to comment on the issue. The author was nevertheless able to publish the following lines in the magazine Modern Mexico, which was published in New York and circulated in Mexico. “When I admire the great works of the Japanese people, their precocity, and inexhaustible energy, I must naturally contemplate the painful miseries that afflict our poor indigenous class. “Viewingtheethnico-socialcharacteristicsoftheIndian,onefindsveryim­portant factors that could lead to his decisive and transcendent regeneration. “One is surprised by the Indians’ vitality as much as by their vigorous physical nature. Their physiology is intriguing, since we find very few countries in which the human body is so productive in spite of a lack of nutrition. Also, the Indian has intellectual qualities comparable to those of any race. “At the same time, the Indian is timid and lacks energy and aspirations. He lives in constant fear of the scorn and demands of the ‘people of reason,’ of the white man. He still bows his head to his torturer, to him who raised the hobnailed boot of the conquering Castilian. “Poor and pained race! In your breast hides the strength of the tough Tarahumara who fells cedar in the mountain, the exquisite art of the divine 4 The Redemption of the Indigenous Class 37 T h e R e d e m p t i o n o f t h e I n d i g e n o u s C l a s s Teotihuacano, the sagacity of the Tlaxcallan family, the indomitable bravery of the bloody Mexica. Why do you not hold your head up high, proud to show the world your Indian heritage? “Poor and pained race! You were oppressed for centuries by a doubly tyrannical yoke. First, there was the pagan fanaticism with which you deified your ancient king-priests. Second, the brutal egoism of the conquerors that always drowned the aspirations of the inferior class. You will not awaken spontaneously , however healthy and elevated you might be. It will be essential that friendly hearts work for your redemption. “This great task should begin by erasing the eternal timidity that governs the Indian. We must make him understand, in a simple and objective fashion, that there is no longer any reason for him to fear us. He is our brother and will never again be a pariah. Arduous efforts will be needed to inculcate this elementary civic thought into his brain. It will also be necessary to abolish, among other things, that black vestige of the past, that relic of the encomiendas : the head tax. “Once the Indian finds himself exempt from this ‘contribution for living’ and feels himself to be a man, once he has confidence, he will begin to attend school. A rudimentary initiative will suffice to make him look to broader horizons . We should all help in our respective spheres to see how to bring these beautiful ideals into fruition. Next, we will make the reader familiar with an initiative that was proposed in the capital of one of our border states for the benefit of this devalued race.” ...

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