If you haven’t been paying attention to the news recently covering events in Latin America…
Well, let me bring you up to speed.
About a month or so ago, there was a major accident with the Mexico City Metro system.
In which, as you can see in this video here, the thing just collapsed!
Killed some odd number of people and that was it.
With folks protesting days afterwards and saying it is an example of corruption and how not all of the necessary funds are used to keep the system up to date…
Maybe some elite is pocketing some of the money…
On top of that, there’s always the concern that the construction company is cutting corners and not doing an adequate job.
Years ago, we had a similar incident where a giant earthquake happened on September 19….
And there was part of a street near Reforma Avenue that was blocked off because of concerns about a building that looked like it could collapse…
They had to blow the thing down from what I remember.
At any rate, there were signs on the wall blocking access to that part of the street bitching about corruption and inefficiency in the construction companies.
That if they would simply do their job by using all of the money appropriated and not cut corners…
Well, many of these issues would be less severe…
Like the metro collapse!
At any rate, that is arguably the most important lesson of this article…
Which is that corruption, cutting corners and inefficiency seem to be more noticeable in Latin America than back home.
Reminds me of a story in a book called “Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman” by Richard P. Feynman.
Who was a famous physicist and spent time in Brazil.
In the book you can find here on page 117, Richard talks about noticing the same issue from above in Brazil. Here’s a quote from that same page:
“That evening I went for a walk in town, and came upon a small crowd of people standing around a great big rectangular hole in the road it had been dug for sewer pipes, or something and there, sitting exactly in the hole, was a car. It was marvelous: it fitted absolutely perfectly, with its roof level with the road. The workmen hadn't bothered to put up any signs at the end of the day, and the guy had simply driven into it. I noticed a difference: When we'd dig a hole, there'd be all kinds of detour signs and flashing lights to protect us. There, they dig the hole, and when they're finished for the day, they just leave.”
Of course, to be fair, I do think Latin America as a whole is getting better when it comes to this type of stuff.
But it varies wildly depending on where you are.
In areas that are less developed or more rural, you can obviously expect infrastructure to be generally worse unless that area has some tourist attraction.
And even then – not necessarily!
When I was in a small town in Bolivia known as Rurrenabaque as you can see in this article here.
I was there to visit the Amazon Rainforest and it happened to be the most popular area to see the Amazon in Bolivia.
Anyway, they had infrastructure problems also.
I ended up getting stuck in the town for a few extra days than desired because the rain was fucking up the airport somehow and they couldn’t get the planes into the air.
Leave by bus?
Some other foreign chick I met there told me that it is possible but that the roads are dangerous and buses have fallen off with people dead afterwards.
Anyway, it didn’t matter – that chick was cute so I didn’t mind spending an extra day or two there.
Then there’s another example I can think of…
Someone on Twitter posted a video showing infrastructure problems in parts of Colombia where trucks carrying supplies simply can’t carry on any further.
And even in richer Latin countries?
Like Argentina?
Well, you’ll notice a similar infrastructure problem in areas less populated obviously.
Like when I went to a small town like El Chalten and noticed how much poorer it seemed relative to other areas.
Was still a nice place though.
At the end of the day, most of this isn’t news in that infrastructure problems will vary wildly depending on where you are down here.
The broader point being that, like the Mexico City Metro system, you have issues like corruption and cutting corners that plague society.
In ways much worse than just how things are constructed down here.
And when shit does hit the fan…
Sometimes the local authorities will do shit that seems like they are doing something productive when they realty aren’t.
A few weeks ago, someone posted on Twitter an image of construction workers fucking around with the metro to see if the concrete is sturdy.
In reality, it looked like a joke what they were doing…
Not taking it seriously seemingly enough….
And, to this day, they haven’t really fucked around with that specific spot in the metro that, based on photos, isn’t very safe looking.
Of course, that could also be an example of “Mañana Time” in which it takes folks extra days to get any shit done down here.
Especially government agencies that like to take their sweet ass time doing anything anywhere in the world.
Still, while the broader points here are really focused on how corruption, cutting corners and “Mañana Time” fuck things up down here when it comes to construction projects…
Let’s wrap this article up on some minor complaints I’ve always had about the metro that won’t serve well as individual articles.
Back to the Mexico City Metro
First, sometimes it smells like piss depending on which metro station you are at.
Not too common but it does happen!
Second, how the fuck does any stranger sleep on the metro with their head leaning on your shoulder?
Aren’t they worried they’ll miss their stop or someone will steal from their pockets if the metro is empty?
Third, they really need to add more metro trains operating on the damn thing.
The obvious issue here is when you have a shit ton of people packed inside like sardine.
Other times there is a clear discrepancy in how many people are waiting and trains that are coming along…
Like if you are standing on one side of the metro station with a lot of people on your side who want to go one way….
Then, across from you, is the other side that is going the other way that has, at most, maybe 10 people waiting with twice or three times as many trains passing by than your side.
“Oh cmon! They got enough trains going their direction, do they? WHAT ABOUT US?!”
Fourth, it’d be nice if cops would stop looking for bribes from people in the stations when they do like you can see in this video here.
Or anywhere for that matter.
Fifth, let’s talk about the point that inspired this article but I figured it wouldn’t make for a good stand alone article…
Which is the damn “women only section.”
Fuck off ladies – you all ain’t that special that you need that much space for you.
What are you all – a bunch of faggots that can’t tolerate the idea of STANDING during your ride?
I’ve seen so many times where you have the “female only section” that looks all comfy with a few remaining seats still available and obviously plenty of walking space inside…
Then the “everyone else” section passes by and it is like a can of sardine!
Everyone and grandma inside the damn thing and you have literally no room to move your feet.
Obviously, the issue would be fixed if they added more trains in service.
But assuming they don’t have the money for the extra trains or don’t want to spend it…
Then how about we cut in half the space used for the “female only” section?
Give it to everyone else so we all have a little more room or so that more people can get on the train to get to work on damn time.
And, while we are at it, have a police officer tell women that they can’t go into the “non-female only” section because they already have a section for themselves!
That’s just straight up trolling at that point…
The “everyone section” is so full that not everyone can get inside to get to work or whatever…
Meanwhile, you got chicks trying to get into it also when they got a nice, comfy “female only” section where seats might even be available!
Where they wouldn’t be burdened with having to stand up for 20 minutes!
Oh yes – the horror of making women stand up for their ride so we have more space for everyone else to get to work on time.
So “strong and independent” but you can’t even stand up for 20 minutes…
Shame shame…
You ladies just need more protein shakes to handle that burden, don’t you?
If I had an affiliate link to some, I’d drop it here.
Final Thoughts
Anyway, in spirit of the main point about inefficiency and corruption in the Mexico City metro…
Here’s a final video by a local here that shows all of the insecurity issues that come with the metro that could cause more people to die.
But don’t tell the government authorities and construction companies that – they don’t want to not cut corners and not save money!
Some rich pig needs to pocket that money, don’t you know!
Enjoy the video anyhow.
And drop any comments you have in the comment section.
Follow my Twitter here.
And thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt