"In the Valley economic laws work out like a formula in high school algebra, since there is no human element to interfere. The very rich are getting richer and all the others are going broke." -William Lee, protagonist in William S. Burroughs' novel "Junky"
That book was published over fifty years ago. It describes one outsiders brief look into the political and social environment of the Rio Grande Valley. Sad thing is, the criticism still seems to ring true when describing the current state of affairs in South Texas. Take for instance, the growing rash of political corruption at the hands of local officials. According to various media reports earlier this year, PSJA school board member, Jaime Santa Maria pled quilty to bribery charges stemming from "backwoods-type" financial transactions with McAllen based contractor Al Cardenas, Jr. Bribes in exchange for construction contracts throughout the PSJA school district. A few miles to the northeast, the bad apples don't seem to fall far from the corruptive school board tree. Former Edcouch-Elsa school board president Aaron Gonzalez awaits his own trial this month from similar charges of bribery, but has since been charged with witness tampering as well.
In spite of this, not many citizens in the Rio Grande Valley seem to care too much about corruption within our municipalities, and school districts. There is a general sense of apathy towards how our political and social systems work, as well as what citizens can do to ensure those systems run ethically, and responsibly. "Shucks, they're going to do it anyway, what can we do about it?" asks one. Still others are jumping on the increasingly popular, "I'll leave all that to the media and journalists, hey, what time's happy hour?" train.
It is a generation that when faced with the proverbial crossroads of life chose to accept things the way they are, and have been for decades. This type of attitude, though, lends itself to bowing down to a status quo which calls for an unrelenting blind faith in the world around them. A school board member knows what's best for the school district, even if it means buying fifty dollar screws, or five hundred dollar toilets from the "lowest" bidder, which just happens to be someone's cousin, or at worst a politiquera cashing in his chips.
As Burroughs described, there is still no human element to interfere. The very rich, in this case local elected officials, are still getting richer. The others, regular citizens, are going broke. There are exceptions to the rule. As the illegal immigration debate rages on in the U.S. Congress, and the Rio Grande Valley is amidst corruption scandals with FBI investigations on local community entities, there are those who are, for lack of a better term "Bucking the system." In the city of San Juan, thirty-two year old Ignacio Almaguer is accumulating a community involvement resume that could rival that of a seasoned activist twice his age.
What makes Almaguer unique, is the fact that he's lived in the Valley all of his life. He does not share in the knowledge other activists like him have gained from living in activist-rich cities like Austin, Houston, or Dallas. Places that see more than their fair share of community involvement such as the millions who took to the streets this past April to protest the illegal immigration debate. That's not to take away from the important work these activists are making in our community. But there's something to be said about the local wave of otherwise home-grown community activists who somehow found the motivation within themselves to challenge the status quo.
In 1978, his family legally immigrated to the United States. A move Almaguer attributes to necessity, "In order for my parents to provide a better education for my brother, my sister, and myself." I asked Almaguer what he thought of political ideals, such as author Hunter S. Thompson's claim that at the very core of activism, getting involved in politics was essentially "the art of controlling your environment." He responded by saying, "I believe this type of control over your environment is the benevolent side, but the malevolent side is when you become a contractor shortly after you are elected to oversee tax properties and you start purchasing properties at a low price to in turn sell them to municipalities at an inflated price."
So the motivation is what? When other's are afraid of becoming involved because it represents going against an ingrained sense of not being able to think outside the box, or the corruption is still not evidently clear to some people that something is going on, indeed ignorance is bliss, what drives Almaguer to keep going? "My parents taught us to be humble and to help our fellow neighbor. It was the example of hard work that my parents established in my brother, my sister, and myself that led me to provide my skills to the community that gave me so much," he concluded.
Lesson learned.
Ignacio Almaguer is president of the local school board watchdog group, Grupo PODER. PODER is an acronym which stands for "Por Otros Decidimos Escuchar y Responder". This loosely translates to "For others we've decided to listen and respond." The group, Almaguer states is concerned with providing the community at large with the information pertaining to the PSJA school district. He is the creator of the web site for the San Juan community watchdog group, The SanJuanistas. The site, he says, "was initially created to inform the citizens of San Juan about the proposed toll road that would have gone through San Juan." This past Valentine's Day, the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court resolved, at the behest of the SanJuanistas present including Almaguer, to defeat a measure of a toll road through the city of San Juan. The current plight of the group revolves around the purchase of the historic San Juan Hotel by the city from PSJA school board member Roy Rodriguez at a price tag of $575,000 dollars. A move that has been put in limbo due to this past May 13th election which saw Commissioner Ricardo "Rick" Rodriguez defeated by challenger Claudia Gonzalez. Commissioner Rodriguez was one of the commissioners responsible for voting on a measure to study the purchase of the hotel according to The SanJuanistas web site. Commissioner Rodriguez is also an employee of the PSJA school district.
Almaguer is currently a Board Member for the San Juan Housing Authority, and member of the Texas Chapter of La Union Del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE. An organization which believes strongly in the words of it's founder Cesar Chavez who said, "members of the low-income community have the responsibility and the obligation to organize themselves, and through their association, begin to advocate and articulate for the issues and factors that compact their lives."
There is a quote by sixties author, attorney, activist Oscar Z. Acosta that states, "Beat them to death with their own rules." It is a reference on how to approach a political system that has long since lost it's taste for doing what's right for the community at large. Instead, has turned it's bloodthirsty lust for doing what's right for the chosen few. The Valley, itself, may be far removed from radical words like Acosta's, but the underlying sentiment is there, waiting for the last voice to push things over the top. Human elements are beginning to interfere. So now, Mr. Burroughs, how do you like them apples?
